It’s Time to Reconsider Buying Glasses Online

We’re in an era of buying everything online. Even things that people said would never make sense to buy online are becoming commonplace. Trying on clothes in the store has been replaced with great online return policies, finding the right firmness of mattress has been replaced with glitzy startups using “space-age materials” and going to the grocery store has been replaced by some kind of magic only Amazon fully understands.

Now sure, there are some good reasons to buy online, but we think there is a strong case for why you should buy your glasses or contacts with Cargo Eye Care, instead of going online.

The Problem with Online Contacts

This is the easy one. The two big reasons you should choose to purchase contacts from your optometrist: price and quality.

Pricing

Now we know not everyone is going to believe us on this one, but contacts with the newest and best technology are generally cheaper to buy in-office. This is because your optometrist has built relationships with the companies that create contacts. At Cargo Eye Care, we specifically work with Bausch + Lomb to provide not only a discount but also a great rebate when you purchase a year’s supply of contacts. You can find out more about that here.

Of course, you can find contacts online cheaper than we may be able to provide, but they are more often than not, older generations of contacts. At Cargo Eye Care, we focus on getting deals on the newest contacts to help provide the best visual experience possible. Because of that, we can offer prices on the highest-quality of contacts for prices that are similar to what you’d pay for a step down in quality.

Quality

Speaking of quality, because we can offer top-of-the-line products at lower prices, often times the only way to truly save over buying in the office is to take a serious drop in quality. It should be no surprise that we don’t recommend that drop in quality, but seriously, we could write an entire blog on why not to skim on contacts.

The short story is every single side effect associated with contacts is more likely to occur in older technology. From dry eye and discomfort to eye infections, you can expect an all-around worse experience from discount contacts. Be especially wary of bottom-dollar prices from less-established companies because you’ll more than likely end up buying contacts with technology that’s around two decades old. Yes, we said TWO DECADES!

And the best thing about buying with an optometrist is that you’ll get to try on the contacts and find out if they meet your needs. Even if you want to buy online, we’ll give you the chance to try a few pairs so you can feel the difference between the highest-quality contacts and those that could save you a bit of money. Remember, you’re going to be wearing these contacts almost every day, so you should be sure they’re perfect for you. Thankfully, you can trust Dr. Cargo, Dr. Patel and the entire team to help you in that department.

The Value of Buying Glasses In-office

So the conversation about glasses might be a bit more complicated. We can understand the appeal of rock-bottom prices on glasses (maybe not as good as our deals though). It may be a great choice for people who just want some backups, but you get what you pay for.

That said, we still think there are some very compelling reasons you should choose to buy your glasses at a doctor’s office, especially if your glasses are your vision’s “daily driver.”

Experience

The fact is, no matter how fancy of a digital try-on tool a website has or the home try-on options they offer, there is no comparison to having a vision expert in your corner when you’re looking for a pair of glasses.

Not only does trying on glasses in-store offer you the input of an expert, but it also means you can trust that you’re getting the best glasses for your vision. We’ll touch on this more in a bit, but the quality of your vision comes down to more than your prescription. An expert like those at Cargo Eye Care of Las Colinas can help you find exactly the right glasses for your vision.

A common misconception is that the retail part of an eye care center doesn’t care about patients in the same way as the doctor does during his exam. That couldn’t be further from the truth. In reality, the team is in place to help you find a great style that meets your visual needs, complements your features and for a price that makes sense for you.

That quality extends to after your purchase when you run into issues. When you buy online, you’re essentially on your own once you have your glasses in-hand. But when you come into our office, we’re happy to offer many simple services such as:

• Repairs
• Deep cleaning
• Fit adjustments (including with that cool heat gun)
• Screw and part replacements

Quality

The next thing you can expect is quality. Now, we have to be fair, some online retailers offer quality glasses, too. But, when you come into Cargo Eye Care, you can rest assured that only the highest quality of glasses are available.

We work with glasses reps to ensure we have both the latest styles and latest materials. The beauty of all this is if your prescription remains stable for another year, you don’t need new glasses. Or you can keep using that insurance to update your look all over again. This means whether you want to go classic or trendy, you can be sure that the glasses will last.

The Pitfalls of Buying Online

Truth: there are some serious downsides to buying glasses online that you need to know about.

First off, it’s very common for glasses to be outright wrong. This study by the AOA shows 44.8% of 200 glasses purchased online had incorrect prescriptions or didn’t pass impact testing. Specifically, 29% percent had incorrect prescriptions. Additionally, many of the glasses didn’t have the extra coating that was requested.

When you buy from Cargo Eye Care, we will check all of these things and prevent you from receiving an improper pair of glasses.

But aside from that, even in a world where you get exactly the pair of glasses you order, there are minutiae to ordering the right glasses for you. First off, there is the pupillary distance. This is the space between the centers of both your eyes, and it has to be measured correctly to result in a properly fitted pair of glasses. If it’s incorrect, then it can feel like one of your eyes is being pulled “off center”.

Another big factor is the lens shape. Depending on the quality of your vision, smaller lenses may limit some of your field of vision. Also important is the fit of the glasses themselves; certain frames work better on certain faces (both in how they look and how they correct your vision. We won’t go on forever, but this is just a few examples of the considerations that go into your perfect fit.

Luckily for you, combining your eye exam with a glasses fitting at Cargo Eye Care can do wonders for the look and feel of your glasses.

Ready for Some Help Choosing Your Next Frames?

So there you have it – all the reasons you should choose your favorite optometrist’s retail shop before you jump online for glasses or contacts. We totally understand if you still think online is the best option for you, but give us the chance to wow you and you won’t regret choosing Cargo Eye Care.

Schedule today by clicking the button below, or schedule an appointment by calling or texting 972-432-2020.