FAQ

1. What do I have to do to order my glasses?

2. Where do I get my glasses prescription from?

3. What if I am unhappy with my glasses when they arrive?

4.What if I make a mistake when I enter my prescription for my glasses?

5. I have got my prescription but I do not really understand which parts to input where. How do I do it? 

6. On your website at the stage where I put my prescription in it asks whether I need my glasses for a) reading b) everything/distance or c) intermediate/computer work, which am I?

7. What is the pupillary distance (PD) and how can I get mine?What is the pupillary distance (PD) and how can I get mine?

8. Why is my prescription not an option on the drop down menus when I am trying to enter my prescription?

9. Can I get prescription sunglasses?

10. Can I get one of my old glasses re-glazed?

11. Can I order glasses without prescription lenses?

12. Frames and Lenses

13. Delivery

1. What do I have to do to order my glasses?

It could not be easier!! Simply browse through the images of the glasses on our site (split into various sections e.g. designer glasses, cheap glasses, Armani glasses, Dior glasses etc). Click on the glasses you want. Choose the colour for the glasses you want from the drop down menu. Do not forget to tick the box saying whether you require prescription lenses or not for your glasses. Then click on the “add prescription” button. Now choose what you will use your glasses for from the drop down menu (see below for a explanation of the choices). Next comes the inputting of your glasses prescription. For this you will need your most recent prescription. For example:

The above is one example of how a glasses prescription may be presented. There are various ways to write a glasses prescription but they all follow roughly the same rules. They will be split in to right eye and left eye. Your glasses PRESCRIPTION can involve up to 6 different parts:

1. The spherical element sometimes abbreviated to sph.
2. The cylindrical element sometimes abbreviated to cyl.
3. The axis, only present if there is a cylindrical element.
4. The reading addition, often abbreviated to add
5. The intermediate addition
6. The prism

Prescriptions do not necessarily have to have all the above elements. The most common alternatives in a prescription would involve:

1. sphere only
2. sphere, cylinder and axis
3. sphere, cylinder, axis and add
4. sometimes everything will be involved i.e. sph cyl axis add and the prism.

If the above patient was entering his prescription for the right eye for distance the sphere power (or sph) would be +1.50 for the right eye. The cylinder power (or cyl) would be -0.75 and the axis 130. These should be entered in the relevant drop down menu on our website, making sure he chooses the correct power sign e.g. in this case for the sphere power entering +1.50 NOT -1.50. The same process should be repeated for the left eye. If this patient just wants his glasses for distance this is all the information we would need. If he wants his glasses for intermediate or near vision (reading) then we would need him to input the intermediate or near Add. In the above example the intermediate add is +1.00 and the near add is +2.25 (these values are always + so sometimes the sign is left off the written prescription you receive from the optician). Next we need your PD (or pupillary distance) to be entered so we can centre the lenses for your glasses properly. See below for how this can be obtained.

Next we move on to the lens options for your glasses. Below we explain what the various lens/coatings options are. Also notice we recommend what we feel is the best lens for your glasses prescription. You do not, however, have to follow our advice but we recommend what we feel will give you the best possible finish on the lenses. When you have made your spectacle lens choice just click on “add to basket”. That is the end of all the complicated options. From there it a simple case of following the on screen prompts for delivery address, payment etc. Then sit back and wait for your glasses to arrive in the post.

2. Where do I get my glasses prescription from?

Your local optician should give you your prescription at the end of your eye test. If you have lost your prescription or they forgot to give it to you they should be more than happy to provide a copy. We recommend you use a prescription that is less than two years old.

3. What if I am unhappy with my glasses when they arrive?

We offer a no quibble returns policy. If, in the very unlikely event, you are not happy with your glasses for any reason just return them to us and we will be more than happy to refund 100% of your money.

4. What if I make a mistake when I enter my prescription for my glasses?

We check every prescription when it comes in. If something looks a miss on the prescription, we will contact you to double check. If you know you have made an error then use the “contact us” section of the website to let us know as soon as possible. For your peace of mind if there are any problems with your glasses when you receive them then just send them back to us for a full refund.

5. I have got my prescription but I do not really understand which parts to input where. How do I do it?

Please see the answer to the first question that hopefully explains comprehensively how to enter your prescription.

6. On your website at the stage where I put my prescription in it asks whether I need my glasses for a) reading b) everything/distance or c) intermediate/computer work, which am I?

a) Reading. Reading spectacles are used for reading and general close work. If you have an Add on your prescription (not all prescriptions do) then this add is added to your distance prescription to give us the power needed to make your reading spectacles.

b) Everything/distance. These glasses would be used for general use, as in walking about or driving.

c) Intermediate/computer work. These glasses would be used for things like computers or sometimes reading music. These are set so the focus is a little further away than for reading but will still not be clear for the far distance (often they are set for about 60cm from your eyes).

7. What is the pupillary distance (PD) and how can I get mine?

Pupillary Distance (PD) is the distance in millimetres between the centre of the pupils when viewing a distant object. You can use one of three methods to obtain this measurement:

Method 1

The simplest method is to go to your Optician or Optometrist for an eye exam. Ask your Optician or Optometrist for your PD measurement.

Method 2

You can use this method wearing glasses, contacts, or no visual aids. You will need:

Follow the steps below::

1. Stand with you face about 20 cm (8 inches) from the mirror.
2. Close your right eye and look only with your left eye.
3. Place a ruler flat against the mirror and align it horizontally with the millimeter scale pointing up.
4. Look over the top of the ruler and align the zero mark in the centre of your left pupil.
5. Open your right eye and close the left, but do not move your face or the ruler.
6. Read the millimeter measurement corresponding to the center of your right pupil.
7. Repeat the procedure several times to make sure you have a consistent measurement.

Method  3

You can use this method only if you are wearing glasses. You will need:

1. Your glasses
2. A NON-permanent marker
3. A person to help you
4. A ruler with millimeter measurements

Follow the steps below:

1. Have your helper stand in front of you and mark a dot in the centre of each pupil on your glasses making sure you are looking into his opposite eye when he does so i.e. when he is putting a dot at the centre of your left pupil you are looking into his right eye and vica versa.
2. Measure the distance between the dots in millimeters

8. Why is my prescription not an option on the drop down menus when I am trying to enter my prescription? 

We are willing to supply a range of prescriptions that we feel are safe to be supplied over the internet. Some internet suppliers are willing to supply prescription glasses to very high powers, we do not feel this is in the best interests of the patient. For these sort of prescriptions we feel face to face time with a dispensing optician is crucial and so would not be willing to supply glasses to this power without seeing the patient. If your prescription is outside the power ranges we offer we really do recommend you buy your glasses by actually going in to an opticians. 

9. Can I get prescription sunglasses?

We do have prescription sunglasses available and we can also tint the lens of a normal pair of glasses. Just select “tinted” as an option with your lens choices.

10. Can I get one of my old glasses re-glazed?

Unfortunately we do not offer this service at this time.

11. Can I order glasses without prescription lenses?

Of course. Just do not tick the prescription lenses box when you order your lenses and the glasses will be sent with no power lenses. This is one option if you want bifocals or varifocals. You can order the frame from us and go into your local optician for the lenses.

12. Frames and Lenses

1. Do you supply varifocal or bifocal lenses?

   Unfortunately we do not supply varifocal or bifocal glasses. Again we feel this is something that really needs face to face time with a dispensing optician. There are some extra measurements that need to be taken for these types of lenses and although some internet glasses sellers are willing to do this, using various methods, over the internet we feel this is not in the best interests of the patient and cannot be done to the level of accuracy required to give good patient satisfaction everytime. If you need either of these types of lenses we strongly advise you get your glasses face to face from an optician.

2. How do you offer glasses at such cheap prices?

   Simply, we do not have the overheads of the high street optician. We are offering exactly the same products as you find on the high street. We use the same lens manufacturers, frames etc but the cost of your glasses on the high street has to factor in the rent, expensive eye testing equipment, optometrists wages etc. It has been estimated that it actually costs about £70 to provide an eye test so the high street opticians have to make this up when they sell their glasses. The eye test is effectively a loss leader for high street opticians. They do a eye test in the hope you buy glasses from them. We at internet optician feel very sorry for the high street opticians as they are caught in a no-win situation. If they charge £70 pounds for an eye test then no one would come to them, so they would not sell any glasses, but if they charge what they do currently and people buy their glasses elsewhere then they still lose money. It is effectively a unsustainable situation, but the politics of optometry should not concern you. All you should be concerned with is the fantastic savings that you can find on our website!

3. How do I know if my glasses will fit and what can I do if they do not?

   All our frames have their sizes displayed on the website. Some actually come in different sizes. The first (larger) number refers to the lens size in millimetres while the second (smaller) number refers to the bridge (nose piece) width in millimetres (remember there are two lenses if you are trying to work out the total glasses width!). Your current glasses will have similar measurements, most likely on the inside of the arm although they can be elsewhere. If your current glasses fit well then try to get similar sizes, although a few millimetres difference will make little difference to the glasses. Whatever happens if you are in the slightest bit unhappy with your glasses just send them back to us and take advantage of our full no-quibble money back guarantee.

4. What do all the different lens options mean?

   Lens thickness:

   Lenses can come in different thicknesses. It will make no difference to the vision you get through the glasses, all it means is, cosmetically, the lenses look thinner. The standard thickness lens is a 1.5. The next thinnest lens is a 1.6, then a 1.67 and the thinnest available lens in plastic in the world today is a 1.74 lens. These are all options on our website. After you have put in your prescription we even recommend the type of lens that we feel would be best for your glasses/prescription. The reason for this is that sometimes it is not worth paying the extra for a 1.74 lens when, with your prescription, a 1.6 lens would give you a perfectly nice finish on your glasses. There are also various tints and coatings available on different types of lenses. Explanation of these is given by clicking on the question marks as you order your glasses.

5. Are your frames and lenses the same quality I would expect to find on the high street?

   Absolutely. See question 2 of this frames and lenses section for an explanation of how we can offer exactly the same product as the high street for a fraction of the cost.

6. Can I get prescription sunglasses?

   Only on some! As many sunglasses frames are quite curved it can be impossible to glaze some prescriptions into them. If that is the case prescription lenses will not be an option when you try to order them. Of course another option is to get normal glasses and choose the tinted lenses option for your glasses.

7. What colours can I have my lens tinted?

   Black, blue, brown, grey and pink. If you would like a different colour then use the contact us section and we will let you know if it can be done.

8. I chose the 1.74 lens and I wanted it tinted but this was not an option. Why was this?

   Unfortunately the 1.74 lens is made from a very dense material (remember your GCSE physics?) which is what makes it so thin but a side effect of this is they are virtually impossible to tint to any sort of darkness, so we do not offer it as a option for your glasses.

9. If my glasses need adjusting where can I go?

   Most local opticians are more than happy to make any minor adjustments you need.

13. Delivery

1. How long will it take for my glasses to arrive after ordering them?

   Delivery times are usually upto 2 weeks from when the order is received if you choose Special Delivery™ Next Day (see below) as your delivery option, otherwise please allow upto 3 weeks although it is frequently quicker.
    

   However as we aim to offer an extensive range of frames and lenses occasionally an item may be out of stock. If this is the case we will contact you to advise of the expected dispatch date and offer the opportunity of a refund if required.

2. What are your P&P costs?

   Delivery of your glasses is FREE on all orders £36 pounds and over, if you opt for second class postage while placing your order. We will have proof of postage but the package is uninsured. If you opt for Special Delivery™ Next Day your new glasses, designer sunglasses or contact lenses will be insured, have proof of postage, a signature on delivery and on despatch we will also email a reference number to you so that your order may be tracked  online on the royal mail's track and trace web-site:
   http://postcode.royalmail.com/portal/rm/track?catId=500185&mediaId=22700601&keyname=track_home

   This option would be £5.40.

    

   What is your returns policy?

3. We have a no quibble returns guarantee. If for any reason you are not happy with your glasses then send them back to us with your details to the address in the "contact us" section and we will refund your money.

If you have any further questions that we have not covered on here then feel free to use the “contact us” section and we will get back to you as quick as we possibly can.