Buying guide
Lenses and what arrives
Our eyeglasses are sold as frames only. Here's how to turn one into glasses you can wear every day.
What arrives
Eyeglass frames arrive with non-prescription demo lenses, or with none; each listing says which under Condition. Demo lenses hold the frame's shape in transit and aren't meant for wearing.
Sunglasses arrive ready to wear, with their own tinted lenses.
Check the frame before lenses go in. You have 7 days from delivery to request a return, and a frame that has had lenses fitted or been adjusted can't be returned. Try it on first. Return policy
Take it to an optician
We fit prescription lenses in our own shops: online we sell frames only, so bring the frame into Arlington or Dumfries and we will glaze it. Ring ahead so we can book the time and tell you the cost. If you are nowhere near us, most opticians can fit lenses into a frame you bring in. Some charge a fitting fee or ask you to sign a form, because a frame can occasionally be damaged while lenses are cut and fitted, so it's worth calling ahead.
Bring with you:
- An up-to-date prescription.
- Your pupillary distance (PD), the distance between your pupils. The optician can measure it.
- For progressive or bifocal lenses, expect the optician to measure your fitting height with the frame on your face. That's why these lenses are best fitted in person.
Choosing a frame for your prescription
- Stronger prescriptions make thicker lens edges. A smaller lens width and a full rim, especially in acetate, hide that thickness best.
- Progressive lenses need enough lens height. See the frame size guide.
- Rimless and semi-rimless frames need lenses that are drilled or grooved. Check your optician offers it.
- Strongly curved sunglasses can limit which prescriptions will work in them.
Paying with FSA or HSA money
The order of events matters. A frame on its own is not the qualifying expense; the finished pair of prescription glasses is. Pay for the frame with an ordinary card, keep our receipt, and claim it together with your optician's lens invoice once the lenses are in.
For an FSA there is a timing catch worth knowing: the expense is dated to the day the lenses are fitted, not the day you order. Buying a frame in December does not spend that year's balance if the fitting falls in January. Using FSA or HSA money for a frame
Questions about a particular frame?
Send us the frame you're looking at and your question, and we'll tell you what we know about lenses for it.