Last Updated on May 16, 2023 by amy
How often have you visited that site to finally buy glasses online, only to back out at the last minute? The truth is it’s difficult to take that first step to buy glasses online when we’re all captives of tradition to a certain degree. We’re accustomed to buying glasses in-store, where we can deal with people instead of an automated online system.
That said, it doesn’t mean buying glasses online is bad. Online stores won’t be able to cater to everybody, but we can say the same about glasses retail shops. The simple fact is that some people prefer buying glasses online and vice versa. Regardless of preference, what we can say for sure is that both buying glasses online and buying glasses in-store both have their exclusive advantages.
Time & Convenience
As with many other products, buying glasses online poses many benefits, the most obvious being that it allows you to shop at your convenience. Just as you might browse Amazon, Target, or Best Buy for certain products, online glasses vendors provide the same convenient service. Making time to go to the store in the middle of your busy schedule can be a hassle.
Fortunately, buying glasses online allows you to peruse them at your leisure; you don’t need to set time apart to travel to a particular store to find a pair of glasses. Do you need prescription lenses? No problem. Many vendors include prescription lenses with the price, and as long as you have your prescription handy, buying glasses online is a simple and convenient process.
Endless Selection to Choose From
Not only is buying glasses online convenient because it saves you time, but it also gives you access to an enormous variety of glasses. When you go to a store, you’ll have to go through a bunch of glasses styles that really don’t appeal to you and then, more often than not, find that the section you like is extremely limited.
Even if you have an inkling of a consideration about buying glasses online, it doesn’t hurt to give it a shot. The internet caters to all, whether you’ve never worn glasses or if you’re a glasses guru. If you’re not sure what kinds of glasses you might like, you can scroll endlessly through pages of different glasses styles to see what’s available, and there’s a chance you’ll come across something you like. Or perhaps you already know what type of glasses you’re looking for—then you can instantly refine your search to find many specific glasses styles.
Affordability
One real upper hand that buying glasses online boasts is the affordability of glasses. Most, if not all, online vendors price their glasses at a lower price than actual retail shops do. And you might’ve heard the reason for this, but it’s primarily because online vendors tend to cut out the middleman in the supply chain. Doing so allows them to keep prices for glasses low without compromising quality—a real perk for anyone looking for a decent pair of frames without breaking the wallet.
Should I Buy Glasses Online?
Buying glasses online presents numerous benefits. However, buying glasses online is more for consumers who already have all the knowledge regarding their prescription, lens type, and style of glasses that they may want. Of course, it’s not to say that someone new to glasses can’t go about buying glasses online. Online vendors will certainly help you out in the best way possible, but it’s more likely that you might have to do more personal research. Otherwise, buying glasses online is ideal as it provides a fast, quick, and easy process.
Buying Glasses In-Store: More Personal Assistance
So as we’ve seen, buying glasses online has many advantages which may seem unmatched. However, buying glasses in-store presents its own upsides that buying glasses online cannot. For instance, buying glasses in-store allows you to interact with experts ready to help you on the spot. Even if you know nothing about glasses, you could probably step into a store and have someone walk you through the whole process of getting a pair of glasses.
With more personal assistance, you might get better recommendations and suggestions rather than going off alone, assuming that something will look good, only to regret your choice later. Buying glasses online doesn’t afford the same level of personal customer service that going to a store does, and it’s in this aspect that buying glasses in-store has the upper hand.
Buying Glasses In-Store: Finding An Accurate Fit & Trying On Glasses
In addition to the fact that you can interact with experts and receive more personal assistance, buying glasses in-store allows you to see the product first-hand. Buying glasses online means you can only see a picture of a particular product you may consider buying. Of course, if you do at some point consider buying glasses online, vendors provide trial kits that are sent to your home. However, trial kits only include 2 or 3 pairs at a time which can be good if you’ve narrowed down your options and want to finalize your choice, but not if you want to browse and try on several pairs.
By buying glasses in-store, you have the whole selection at hand, and you’re free to try on any pair on the spot; you can try on multiple pairs of glasses and see what works and what doesn’t. And perhaps even as you’re trying on different glasses, you might come across a pair you may not have considered if you had opted to buy glasses online.
How often have you bought clothes online, only to discover that they don’t fit well or look as good as you thought? With the products immediately available, you can see what looks good and which glasses might fit better.
Buying glasses online presents risks because you might order a particular pair only to find out later that the fit isn’t quite accurate or the lens prescription is a bit off. Buying glasses in-store avoids such a problem as such issues can be addressed and remedied immediately.
Buying Glasses In-Store: Avoidance of Risk
This goes hand in hand with the previous benefit, and it’s only logical because you can physically see and handle the glasses and then choose whether or not to buy them. Buying glasses online inherently forces you to buy a product blindly. And although many online vendors offer trial kits, there are still many that do not. So naturally, sometimes, buying glasses online may expose you to a certain level of risk because they may not fit well.
Another sort of risk that you might need to consider when buying glasses online is the vendor’s reliability. Are they safe? Are they trustworthy? Is the company legitimate? You’d want to verify if the company has a phone number you can call, an address you can contact them at, or even an office that might make inquiries. But as you might’ve noticed, buying glasses online is a lot of work. Buying glasses in-store means you can avoid all this risk and have peace of mind knowing that the store you’re at is relatively reliable. You probably won’t have to do background checks—maybe just a Google review.
Should I Buy Glasses In-Store?
As with buying glasses online, buying them in-store also presents many benefits. But as we discussed earlier, buying glasses online is geared more towards people who might already have a good idea of their prescription information, the lens type, and the glasses style they might want. Buying glasses in-store would be more for first-timers with glasses or just generally unsure about what kinds of glasses would look good. This route is more for anyone who prefers face-to-face interaction and recommendations and suggestions from expert personnel.
You’ve seen the advantages of both buying glasses online and in-store. Now the question is, which one do you choose? If you’re experienced with your prescription and lens type and know what kind of glasses you want, go for buying glasses online. It’ll save you much more time and money than going into a store and going through unnecessary interactions to get what you already know you want.
If you’re not experienced at all, opt for buying in-store. People can walk you through the whole process, answer your questions, and make recommendations based on your preferences and uses for glasses. Sometimes you might want to consider mixing both buying glasses online and in-store for the best results. Even if you’re an expert at glasses, going into a store doesn’t hurt—you get to interact with personnel, stay updated on what types of glasses or lenses are new, and get some feedback on anything you might have questions about. If you’re clueless about glasses, it also doesn’t hurt to look online and see the variety available. Either way, both routes will take you one step closer to getting your glasses.
