Operating online is cheaper, but even Clearly Contacts has opened a few storefronts – they’ve realized how important it is to have your glasses customized to fit your face in order for the prescription to work well!

Also for the glasses to work well, the prescription needs to be filled correctly. A 2011 study evaluating online orders showed nearly half of the prescription glasses purchased online did not meet patients’ “visual or physical needs.” The study showed 28.6 per cent of the glasses contained at least one lens that failed a component of optical analysis (eg. failure to match prescription, failed impact testing, incorrect/added lens treatments, incorrect lens type single vision vs bifocal).
These things get inspected at an optometrist’s office before the glasses are dispensed. They may be sent back to the lab for correction, which is why your delivery gets sometimes takes a bit longer, but it’s worth the wait to ensure quality.

An experienced optometrist or optician will help you choose frames that work with your particular prescription needs, and make recommendations about coatings and lens materials based on your specific prescription. They require measurements to customize the lenses for the frames you choose, and in high prescriptions, even a small error can cause headaches.

Glasses are something that you have to depend on daily, so take the time to get them right!|

See here for an article about buying online from CTV News: Buying glasses online may be cheap, but not necessarily safe, doctors warn