Can you really buy glasses online? Yes, including lenses in your prescription. When you buy glasses on the internet, you take over a few steps an optician would otherwise handle in the shop: entering your values, comparing measurements and choosing lenses. Here is how it works, what a virtual try-on shows and what applies if the glasses don’t suit you after all.
Key points at a glance
- You can buy glasses online in four steps: have your values ready, choose frames, choose lenses, check and order.
- For lenses in your prescription you need the values from your prescription and your pupil distance (PD).
- The measurements on the arm, for example 52□18 140, show whether frames fit. Compare them with a pair that already fits you well.
- If the glasses don’t fit or you don’t like them in real life, you can send them back under our right of return.
Buying glasses online: the process in four steps
Ordering glasses online works in a similar way for prescription glasses and sunglasses:
- Have your values ready: your prescription and your pupil distance.
- Choose frames: shape, colour and measurements. The virtual try-on helps you decide.
- Choose lenses: lens type, lens thickness and extras such as anti-reflective coating or tint.
- Check and order: go through all values before you send the order. If you have questions, customer service can help.
Your prescription and values: what you need to order
For lenses with a correction you need the values from the prescription from your optician or eye doctor, given separately for the right (R) and the left eye (L):
- Sphere (SPH): the power in dioptres. Minus stands for short-sightedness, plus for long-sightedness.
- Cylinder (CYL) and axis: the correction for astigmatism. The two values belong together.
- Addition (ADD): the extra power for near vision, needed for varifocal and reading glasses.
- Pupil distance (PD): the distance between your pupils in millimetres.
If your PD is missing, you will find help for working it out when you enter your values, and an optician can measure it too. If your last measurement is a year or two old or your vision has changed, have your values checked again by an optician or eye doctor before you order. If you notice sudden problems with your eyes, see an eye doctor.
Finding the right frames: shape, colour and measurements
Which shape suits you depends on your face shape, colouring and style. As a rule of thumb, glasses should contrast with the lines of your face: round faces suit angular frames, angular faces suit softer curves. You can take a type test in What Glasses Suit Me? Find Your Type in Five Steps, and What Glasses Suit My Face? Frames for Every Face Shape explains the different face shapes. In the shop you can filter by face shape, frame shape and frame size.
Whether frames fit is shown by the three numbers on the inside of the arm, for example 52□18 140: lens width, bridge width and arm length in millimetres. Take a pair that fits you well and compare. If the values differ by only one or two millimetres, the new frames will usually sit in a similar way. Also check that the model is available with a prescription.
Current models from Ray-Ban, Oakley, Miu Miu, Prada and other brands:
Miu Miu MU 01XV VAU1O1£134.56Miu Miu MU 09XV VAU1O1£134.56Miu Miu MU 04UV 1AB1O1£134.56Miu Miu MU 01XV 19P1O1£134.23Ray-Ban RX3928V 2500£86.92Ray-Ban RX3928V 2501£86.92Miu Miu MU 09XV 16K1O1£135.40Ray-Ban ALAIN (RX7239 2001)£60.29Trying glasses on online: what the screen shows
With many frames you can put the glasses on virtually and see on screen how shape, colour and proportions suit your face. You can’t feel how they sit or how heavy they are, and not every model can be tried on virtually. How to get the most out of it: Virtual Try-On: How to Try On Glasses Online.
Choosing lenses: single vision, varifocal and extras
- Single vision lenses correct one distance, for example far or near.
- Varifocal lenses combine distance, intermediate and near vision in one lens. You need the addition from your prescription and some time to get used to them.
- Lens thickness: with higher values, thinner lenses with a higher refractive index are flatter and lighter.
- Extras: anti-reflective coating, hard coating, lotus effect, tint or a blue light filter that filters part of the short-wave blue light from screens.
You can see which coatings are already included when you choose your lenses. The lenses are made individually, which takes longer than frames without lenses.
Advice from an online optician: who helps you?
An online optician has no counter, but help is still there: the order guides you step by step through frames, values and lenses, and if you have questions you can contact customer service before you order. The eye test and the measurement of your values remain a job for an eye doctor or optician.
Right of return: what if the glasses don’t fit?
If the glasses don’t fit well or you don’t like them in real life, you can send them back under our right of return. You will find the details in the returns conditions in the shop.
How to recognise a trustworthy online optician
A trustworthy online optician makes it easy to check these points:
- The company details and ways to contact them are complete and easy to find.
- The returns conditions are clearly described.
- You can also find reviews from other customers on independent portals.
Edel-Optics is an online optician based in Hamburg. With us you get genuine branded products.
Frequently asked questions about buying glasses online
Which online optician is the best?
There is no general answer, and we don’t name a test winner. Compare the whole package: frames, lenses, extras, returns conditions and advice, not just the price.
Are glasses cheaper online?
Online, costs such as shop space at every location fall away, and this can show in the price. Whether a pair ends up cheaper only becomes clear when you compare frames, lenses and extras together. The shop shows the current prices.
