Do you remember when a pair of glasses was a rare and costly thing that could only be procured by a doctor? Choosing a pair of glasses was a decision that would impact your life to the end of the forseeable future, and wearing a pair was taking the risk of exposing the holy grail of your possessions to the dangers of the world. …But then.. after I had been among the number of glasses wearers past the initiation period, banner ads started talking to me. They told me I could get prescription glasses at a discount – and not only that – I could have my first pair FOR FREE. I knew that the truth of this had to be investigated, so I took one for the team and ordered three “free” pairs of glasses from three different companies.

This video gives a detailed rundown on the experience and result of each company. Its in depth, and somewhat long, so notes are provided below in case you want to skip to.. whatever you deem to be the important part. The companies I ordered from are Coastal, Firmoo, and GlassesShop.com. A shorter, “Cliff’s Notes” version of my experience with each company follows the video, along with pictures (which we all know is the reason you came here – esp. you, person who gets here every day by searching “eye patch porn”).

Video notes:

:10 – The three companies and three pairs of glasses

:46 – Coastal shipping and unboxing

1:45 – Firmoo shipping and unboxing

3:07 – GlassesShop shipping and uboxing

4:28 – Coastal style, selection, and quality

6:02 – Firmoo style, selection, and quality

8:27 – GlassesShop style, selection, and quality

10:49 – Summary and who to order from

12:48 – Coastal style shots

12:55 – Firmoo style shots

13:03 – GlassesShop style shots

Coastal

Shipping paid: $9.95

Glasses chosen: Love L742 Passion Fruit Fade

Strengths: huge selection, the free trial can be used on a wide variety of pairs, including higher priced ones. Quality of glasses is extremely good. Packaging was good, shipping was fast, and glasses came with cleaning solution, case, and tool.

Weaknesses: Not necessarily a weakness, but the regular prices at Coastal tend to be higher than the other sites, although quality is consistent with the prices.

Perfect when you want: High quality glasses that are an investment but still lower priced than going to the optometrist. Designer glasses, or a more edgy, out of the ordinary design.

Firmoo

Shipping paid: $6.95

Glasses chosen: #F04

Strengths: Low regular prices, many colors to choose from, including brights. The website also shows photos of actual glasses on actual customers. Shipping was very cheap for international shipping. Ordering from Firmoo did not result in a ton of spam email.

Weaknesses: Glasses shipped in a case, in a bubble envelope; the case was slightly smashed although the glasses were fine. Most of their frames tend to be within the same vein of hipster/geek chic style – which is fine if you want that.

Perfect when you want: A variation of the basic hipster plastic frame glasses that is on trend now, perhaps in a funky color, and you want it for cheap.

GlassesShop

Shipping paid: $6.95

Glasses chosen: #2007 Red

Strengths: Some of their glasses have crazy low prices. They offer a large variety of looks and styles, and the selection for the free trial pair is pretty large. Free trial can be used on sunglasses as well.

Weaknesses: Some of the frames may require an extra fee based on your PD, and you find this out when you are in checkout. Quality was ok, not as good as glasses from the doctor.

Perfect when you want: Something different for cheap. At any given time there are many pairs on sale for under $20, I recommend impulse buying from whatever is currently a good deal and keeping your expectations in line with the price.