By Cheryl G. Murphy, OD
Cyber Monday sends consumerssailing to their laptops and tablets instead of stampeding to brick and mortar stores for certain items. However, those who purchases prescription eyeglasses online they may getsomething they don’t expect: a longer wait time for their new glasses.
At many optometry offices, a simple pair of single-vision prescription glasses can be selected, measured, manufactured, adjusted and presented to a patient in just minutes. This isn’t the case for single-vision glasses bought online from popular sites such as Warby Parker and glasses.com. Buying glasses online might save someone money, but if we dissect the whole process, it may take even longer, a lot longer.
Warby Parker (WP) and glasses.com have been successful at quelling consumer fear at not being able to try on glasses before they buy them. In addition to lenient return policies, WP offers a home try-on program where they send consumers five prescription-free pairs for five days so that they can try on five different frames to see what looks and feels the best on them. In addition, shipping to and from their location is “100 percent free.” Being able to physically feel and inspect a frame can make one feel more comfortable about making the $100+ purchase online since they are not doing it sight unseen, and WP is not the only site offering this.
Online retailers reimburse for professional PD and adjustment fees
Warby Parker offers an “optical measurement reimbursement fee” to consumers for up to $50 within 30 days of purchase. This applies if the consumer feels more comfortable having an optician or optometrist measure their pupillary distance instead of doing it themselves with one of the suggested in-home techniques.
Also, glasses.com says on their web site that they will discount the fee an optician or optometrist charged to have the new prescription frames adjusted once the consumer receives them off of their consumer’s original purchase price.
Glasses.com has a similar program in place, which they call their “in-home try-on” where consumers are allowed to pick four prescription-free frames and have them shipped to them to try-on and check out for seven days in order to see which one is right for them, and again, shipping and return shipping of the four pairs is free.
Now consider the time involved in all this.
Both sites have the consumer then go back online to let them know which frame they liked the best, and then and they make up their prescription in those frames while the try-on kit is being shipped back to them. It is important to note that it takes time for patients to receive the in-home try-on kit (WP: five business days) and then even more time for them to receive the finished product of their selected frame with their prescription in it (WP: an additional seven-10 business days), and certain prescriptions, like progressives, may take longer compared to single-vision lenses (WP: an additional 10-12 business days).
That means that if one does the home try-on program, they may not get the finished product for at least 12 business days, a pretty long time to wait for a simple pair of single-vision glasses. Receiving progressive prescription glasses can take even longer when first opting to use the home try-on program, anywhere from 15-17 business days.
Of course, one could bypass the home try-on program and try on glasses virtually through the impressively innovative apps and programs that glasses.com and WP have in place. The glasses.com app allows one to create a 3-D photographic map of their own head and neck, capturing images as one looks straight ahead and then slowly to each side using a smartphone or tablet device and a bedroom or bathroom mirror. It is then easy for consumers to see what they would look like in the frames of varying designers, shapes and colors that are currently available on the glasses.com web site.
Even if one selects a frame they think looks great on them in cyberspace, and purchases it to be filled with their prescription, glasses.com estimates that their new single-vision prescription glasses could take up to 10 business days to arrive, similar to WP’s estimate of 7-10 business days. This seems like a long time to wait for a new pair of glasses, especially when compared to how promptly they could be made and dispensed at a brick and mortar optometry office, particularly if they have a lab capable of making the glasses onsite (same day). Both sites offer “expedited” shipping if consumers need their glasses “in a hurry” for an additional fee, of course, of either $30 (for WP) or $12.99 (for glasses.com).
Other delays when ordering prescription specs online are possible, besides a long receiving time, such as delays in prescription verification, obtaining an accurate PD measurement or the added time it may take to have adjustments made on the new frame to ensure it fits the person properly once it has been received. These steps take extra time and could possibly require a trip back to the eye doctor, so was there really any “drive time” saved and was the whole process any more convenient?
Also, besides being faster, optometry offices can offer prescription lenses in more parameters than some online sites. WP says they are unable to fill prescriptions with a sphere greater than -11.00D or +6.00D or a cylinder greater than -4.00D. Additionally, if someone has a sphere higher than -8.00D and an astigmatism, that person should call their customer service department to see if their prescription will be able to be filled by them.
Until online retailers can deliver patients a finished, professionally measured and adjusted product as fast as brick and mortar optometrists and with as many parameters, we have an advantage over them: timely, professional and personalized service with a genuine, screen-free smile and a place where people aren’t just consumers with an order number, but valued patients who are our neighbors, our community, and in some cases, our friends.
Do you think people are aware of the wait times of purchasing prescription glasses online? How do we as a profession show the value of purchasing prescription glasses at a local optometrist’s office versus a web site? How much do you think patients value saving money over saving time?
Cheryl G. Murphy, OD, practices in Holbrook, NY. You can like her on Facebook or follow her on Twitter @murphyod. To contact her: murphyc2020@gmail.com.