EyeBuyDirect Review: 5 Things To Know Before Buying Glasses

If you wear eyeglasses, then you know how expensive and inconvenient it can be to replace them. I’ve worn glasses for years and have gone way too long without replacing them in the past because I’ve wanted to avoid the cost. 

In this article, I’m going to review EyeBuyDirect. I took a close look and found it to be an affordable option for buying glasses online.

This article was updated in January 2024 and I review it every six months. Detailed notes on all updates can be found here.

5 Things To Know Before Ordering from EyeBuyDirect

Whether you’re looking for eyeglasses or sunglasses, EyeBuyDirect is worth checking out. You’ll find a huge selection of styles and colors as well as popular brands and competitive prices.

EyeBuyDirect was founded by Roy Hessel. The company’s website says Hessel wanted to make quality eyewear accessible to everyone. And for every pair you buy from EyeBuyDirect, the company says another pair will be donated.

If you’re shopping for a new pair of glasses, be sure to consider these five things about EyeBuyDirect before making your purchase:

1. What Is EyeBuyDirect?
2. How Does EyeBuyDirect Work?
3. How Much Are EyeBuyDirect Glasses?
4. What’s Available at EyeBuyDirect?
5. How Long Does EyeBuyDirect Take To Ship?

1.  What Is EyeBuyDirect?

EyeBuyDirect is an online company that sells prescription glasses for women, men and children as well as prescription and non-prescription sunglasses. The retailer offers a large selection of frames online, but it has no brick-and-mortar store locations. Still, you can try on your frames virtually before deciding to order them. 

The company offers low prices, popular designer brands and a variety of lens types including prescription and non-prescription options. 

According to the website, EyeBuyDirect does everything in-house. By cutting out the middle man, EyeBuyDirect is able to pass the savings onto their customers.

The low prices aren’t an indicator of low quality. In fact, Consumer Reports (subscription required) ranks EyeBuyDirect as one of the top ten places to purchase glasses. The top three places include Costco Optical, Warby Parker and Sam’s Club Optical.

In addition to offering great prices and reliable service, EyeBuyDirect also partners with nonprofits to distribute glasses to people in need. You can learn more about the Buy 1, Give 1 program on the company’s website.

2. How Does EyeBuyDirect Work?

Since there aren’t any physical locations, the only way to order glasses from EyeBuyDirect is online. Still, it’s a simple process that requires only that you have a valid prescription from your eye doctor.

When you first visit the website, you can begin browsing available eyeglasses, sunglasses and brands. You can scroll down to find featured styles and collections as well as a style quiz and guides for buying online.

I started with the style quiz. It asks you 15 questions and provides suggested frame types based on your responses. You can shop from these frames or browse the entire collection. 

If you’re looking through all women’s, men’s or children’s frames, you can narrow your results by brands, size, shape, rim, material, color and feature. You can also sort by popularity, newest arrivals, recently viewed or price. As you find pairs of glasses that you like, you can click on the small heart next to the picture so you can easily compare your choices later. 

You can also try on glasses virtually. To do this, click “try on.” From there, you’ll be able to upload an image of yourself and see what the frames would look like on your face.

Once you’ve chosen a frame style, you’ll be asked to answer a few questions before you can add your choice to your cart. You’ll need to select your usage (distance, reading, multifocal or non-prescription) and enter your prescription as well as your pupillary distance (P.D.). If this information isn’t included in your prescription, you can use EyeBuyDirect’s free online tool to measure it yourself.

Next, choose the lens color type (clear, blue-light-blocking, sun or light-adjusting) and lens bundle, which varies based on your other selections. Of course, some options are more expensive than others. You’ll be able to review your final selections before you add the glasses to your cart.

When you’re ready to check out, you can review your order, add any promo codes, decide on shipping protection and proceed to checkout. You’ll need to enter an email address for confirmation, but you don’t have to create an EyeBuyDirect account unless you want to for future orders.

Insurance, Returns and Warranties

According to the website, prescription glasses from EyeBuyDirect are covered by out-of-network insurance policies. You’ll receive a detailed invoice of your purchase for you to submit to your health insurance provider if you plan on making a claim for reimbursement.

If you’d like to use a flexible spending account to pay for your EyeBuyDirect glasses, you can use your FSA debit card or submit a claim later. 

When it comes to returns, EyeBuyDirect offers a 14-Day Fit & Style Guarantee. The guarantee allows you to make a return for a one-time replacement or refund — for any reason — within the two weeks of receiving your order.

Additionally, your glasses will come with a one-year product guarantee. It covers a one-time replacement pair within 12 months if there are clear defects in the glasses. This warranty doesn’t cover accidental damage.

3. How Much Are EyeBuyDirect Glasses?

Frames vary in price based on the materials from which they’re made. Lens prices also vary based on the features your prescription requires. 

EyeBuyDirect offers frames starting at only $6, though you can find bigger price tags (up to $430) on high-end styles such as Oakley and Ray-Ban. A lot of popular selections range from $25 to $70.

While these prices aren’t quite as low as those at Zenni Optical, they do beat the median price of frames and lenses at Warby Parker and Costco Optical. Plus, you may be able to find additional savings online for EyeBuyDirect. As of January 2024, you could buy one pair of glasses and get a second pair free with code SAVINGOALS.

At EyeBuyDirect, bifocal lenses begin at $29 and progressive lenses begin at $49. You’ll also find options including blue light filtering, polarized, transition lenses, prism glasses, gaming glasses and more. 

If your total price is over $119, you’ll get free shipping. Otherwise, shipping will cost $5.95. 

4. What’s Available at EyeBuyDirect?

When it comes to frame styles, there’s no shortage of selection at EyeBuyDirect. Whether you’re looking for prescription glasses, prescription sunglasses or non-prescription sunglasses, you’ll find hundreds of options for men, women and children. 

In addition to EyeBuyDirect’s industry-standard quality frames, you’ll find Ray-Ban frames beginning at $142, and Oakley frames beginning at $155. EyeBuyDirect has also launched its own premium brand of frames, RFLKT, which are available starting at $40.

Frames are available in extra small, small, medium, large, extra large and custom sizes as well as multiple colors. You can browse ten different frame shapes and choose from nine different materials including acetate, titanium, plastic, wood, metal, aluminum alloy, carbon fiber, eco friendly or a mix of metal and plastic.

Lenses are made from lightweight CR39 and polycarbonate plastic. They come in six different refractory indexes. You can also choose from any of the following lens types:  

• Blue light filtering glasses
• Progressive lenses
• Prism glasses
• Bifocal lenses
• Lenses for reading
• Lenses for nearsightedness
• Gaming glasses
• Transitions
• Lens coatings (polarized, anti-reflective, mirrored sunglasses and more)

In addition to standard single-vision and progressive lenses, you can also get lenses with prism correction. For more information on these lens types, visit EyeBuyDirect’s website.

Unfortunately, EyeBuyDirect does not currently offer contact lenses.

5. How Long Does EyeBuyDirect Take To Ship?

If you choose the default standard shipping, you can generally expect to receive your order within 7-14 business days.

According to the table in EyeBuyDirect’s help section, orders over $119 are eligible for free standard shipping. Other orders will be received in the same turn-around time for $5.95. UPS delivery begins at $19 and typically reduces the turnaround time by 2-4 business days. 

Once you’ve made your purchase, you can enter your order number or tracking number on EyeBuyDirect’s website to check its status.

Final Thoughts

Overall, EyeBuyDirect is a great place to shop online for affordable prescription glasses and sunglasses. 

If you’re buying regular frames and single-vision lenses, you can expect to pay around $70 total on average. Progressives and other options cost more.

To optimize your savings, be sure to check out any current promotions on the home page, browse the on-sale selection and consider referring a friend if you have a good experience. You may also be able to find additional discounts on promo code sites like Rakuten. If you’re a student or veteran, you get an additional discount.

Before you get ready to place your order, make sure that you have a valid prescription nearby and know your pupillary distance.

Have you ever ordered from EyeBuyDirect? Tell us about your experience in our Clark.com Community!