At the end of January I went for my routine two yearly eye test and shocker, my prescription had changed. I was expecting it but it was such a drastic change that I was told I’d need to have my lenses thinned, which added another chunk of money onto my already expensive frames. I’d not planned on that so couldn’t afford them right away, and began panicking as I try to keep to a budget. I’d also been advised to have another eye test in a year instead of two, since the amended prescription was so extreme. This added to my ‘I don’t want to pay out loads of money for glasses I might have to change in a year,’ dilemma. My best friend had previously bought from Glasses Direct, so when I got home, I got online and had a browse.
This post isn’t sponsored, Glasses Direct have no idea who I am but a few people have asked me about my experience ordering specs online so I thought I’d share how I got on.
I made an account with Glasses Direct and spent a few days adding various pairs to my favourites. There was so many styles and colours that it took me a while to narrow it down to four pairs for the Home Trial. I’d decided to go with glasses that were in the 2 for £49 range as there was currently an extra offer on top of that which knocked a further £30 off. Essentially it was 2 for £19 but that was if both pairs were £49. If you picked a £49 and a £69 pair, you’d pay £69 minus the £30 offer, so £39. For two pairs of glasses, that’s dirt cheap.
I was concerned that I wouldn’t be eligible for the 2 for £19 as it was an offer for new customers and they had 7 days to claim it. I knew that with doing the Home Trial it would take me over the 7 days so called Glasses Direct and they said they’d honour the offer for me. Bloody marvellous.
The Home Trial is completely free and the frames are shipped in 2-4 working days. You have to provide your card details for validation purposes but you’re not charged. You must send your trial back within seven days. If you try on all four pairs and don’t like any, you can do another Home Trial once you’ve returned the first trial back to Glasses Direct. You can do as many Home Trials as you like – you have to find the perfect pair after all. Returning the trial is simple and free, and Glasses Direct keep you up to date via email every step of the way.
If you didn’t want to go with a Home Trial, there’s also a Virtual Try-On, which I also had a go of. You take an instructed video of your face which is kept on your account (you can take as many as you like, I had some extremely ugly ones) and can see what the frames look like that way. I quite liked this but did find the scale was quite temperamental.
Anyway, my trial arrived really quickly and the box is the perfect width to fit through the letterbox. So, you don’t have to worry if you’re not home to collect the package.
There’s an outside box with all your details on, and an inner one which contains the four pairs of glasses in sealed plastic bags. The names of your glasses are on the bag, along with a receipt with when the frames need to be sent back by and any information you might need.
Karl Largerfeld KL889 | £119 | Glasses Direct |
I loved this pair. So chic and simple, and I felt they framed my face really well. I haven’t had completely black frames for years and these are timeless.
My total order for a pair of glasses and sunglasses came to £102.95. ‘How?’ I hear you ask. Well, because I needed my lenses thinned on both pairs, which costs £25 a pair, that added an extra £50, and then the sunglasses tint was £10, plus £3.95 first class shipping. I priced them up on the high street and they were double that so I can’t complain.
I was told my glasses would take 7-14 days after I made my order but they arrived within a week. I couldn’t believe how quick it was, especially since my prescription isn’t an easy one. I was kept up to date throughout the whole process via email and really appreciated knowing exactly what they were doing with my specs.
If you’re concerned about ordering glasses online, do the Home Trial, it’s such a great service and you can do as many trials as you like. There’s so much choice, so many on-trend styles and at great prices.
I definitely recommend Glasses Direct, I spoke to the customer service department a few times and they were really knowledgeable and friendly. They’re super speedy, always have some awesome offers on and I will be getting my next pair from there, for sure.