Your Warby Parker Experience?

[matthewac]

I just ordered my first pair as well, got them in yesterday. I think its okay so far, I don't wear my glasses all that often so I don't need them to be "perfect". Taking it to a local optometrist's office to get them adjusted.

[JasonS]

I purchased a pair about 6 months ago and have been happy with them. I tried on more expensive brands locally, but did not find any that I liked as much as WP. My only complaint is that smudges show up easily on the lenses and they are difficult to clean. Often I have to resort to soap and water. My optometrist explained that this is a problem with some AR coatings.

[lmwilson]

I'm trying to wrap my head around the "get what you pay for".

I've had by WPs for a year I'm not sure what this means either. They are the same material and construction as any glasses you would pay $200-$500 for at your optometrist.

[fash1on]

I purchased a pair about 6 months ago and have been happy with them. I tried on more expensive brands locally, but did not find any that I liked as much as WP. My only complaint is that smudges show up easily on the lenses and they are difficult to clean. Often I have to resort to soap and water. My optometrist explained that this is a problem with some AR coatings.

this happens to me when my dedicated lens cloth is dirty from multiple cleanings. if this is the case, give it a good wash in plain water, let dry, and that should fix it.

[LesserBlackDog]

I've had by WPs for a year I'm not sure what this means either. They are the same material and construction as any glasses you would pay $200-$500 for at your optometrist.

Strongly disagree with this... I've had some Perry Ellis plastic frames that I bought at my optometrist for around $200, that were noticeably nicer in terms of construction and feel than the Warby Parker models I tried on. I've tried on other plastic frames at Costco that were between $40-60 for the frames (+$30-70 for the Rx, depending on what you needed) that were as good as the WPs.

I really don't think Warby Parker is anything special in terms of quality (unless they have changed dramatically since I tried on a bunch last year). The price is decent for the complete package but I wouldn't compare the WPs to $500 frames.

[Idle_Hands]

I'm trying to wrap my head around the "get what you pay for".

I have been wearing glasses since kindergarten, over 25 years now. I have never owned a pair of glasses, plastic or metal, that have so regularly become lopsided as my WPs. Especially a pair of glasses I've only had for 6 months.

I've also had the same experience w/ WP lenses as a poster above: they get dirty extremely easily, in a weird, streaked way, and it's not as easy to get them clean as it is with all other lenses I've had. This was as true of them the first time they got dirty as of the 50th, so it's not the case that my cleaning rag is dirty or ineffective. They're just noticeably poorer quality lenses than any others I've had.

Again, I think WPs are well-styled and decent value. Great value if you only need a pair to wear on occasion. But, without knowing enough about glasses construction to know why, a lot about WPs, at least in my experience, indicates that corners had to have been cut somewhere.

[Chareth]

I have some plastic Oliver Peoples frames that I think are genuinely overpriced considering that they probably manufacture it for less than $10, if that. However, side-by-side, I will say there was a noticeable difference in quality with the Warby Parkers. The WPs most certainly looked and felt cheaper than the OPs.

[bruschetta]

I agree with those that have said that Warby Parker's frames are lower quality than designer brands. However, I still feel that they're a good deal.

[scoobydrew]

My home try on kit is coming in tomorrow. I'll update this post to reflect my thoughts.

My current insurance doesn't take care of any vision related things, so I usually have to empty my pockets when I get a new pair of glasses from the local Lenscrafters. If all goes well, these WPs will be a nice change of pace.

[trash]

I've also had the same experience w/ WP lenses as a poster above: they get dirty extremely easily, in a weird, streaked way, and it's not as easy to get them clean as it is with all other lenses I've had. This was as true of them the first time they got dirty as of the 50th, so it's not the case that my cleaning rag is dirty or ineffective.

I've read that this can be due to lower quality anti-reflective coatings, which pretty much all cheap eyeglasses will have. I'm not sure you can ask for no coating from WP though. Sucks that there's nothing in between - either cheapo glasses online or super expensive from the usual places. Since markups on eyewear are so high, you'd think there's some room for price competition.

[Shomas]

I've read that this can be due to lower quality anti-reflective coatings, which pretty much all cheap eyeglasses will have. I'm not sure you can ask for no coating from WP though. Sucks that there's nothing in between - either cheapo glasses online or super expensive from the usual places. Since markups on eyewear are so high, you'd think there's some room for price competition.

I think that's right, but it's not confined to only online sellers. The last pair of glasses I had, I got the frames from the factory and had the lenses put in my the optician at my optometrist's office. Within six months, they were all smudgy and foggy from the cheapo anti-reflective coating. I always ask them to leave it off now, and I don't find the view out of the lenses to be impaired at all.

[Ian619]

I have a brand new pair of WP that I'm wearing today and I'll share my thoughts/experience with the company and provide some points of comparison.

My prescription is not that strong, slight near-sightedness. I don't wear glasses 24/7 and I wasn't getting tested every year regularly. I updated my prescription last month at LensCrafters (last exam was 2 years prior). Turns out my eyes got a little worse (I have astigmatism in both eyes) from last exam and the optomitrist said I really should be wearing them when I drive now (shit I'm getting old).

Anyways, my insurance is pretty solid, so I was able to get some nice, sleek Ermenegildo Zegna frames and the "top of the line" single vision lenses with all the premium coatings blah blah blah for $180. I know I'm paying for the name and I'm fine with that considering the titanium WP are like $150, I felt it was worth the slight price difference to get a designer frame that I loved.

My frames from 2 years ago are also Zegna, but a different style and I still like them a lot, so I found a company online (39dollarglasses.com) where you can send in your frame and they will put in new lenses. I opted for the same top of the line single vision with all the coatings, etc. That ran me like $80 + $6 for me to ship to them. Not bad at all if you don't have insurance. They also have standard single vision lenses that they can pop in for $39 or sell you a pair including frames for $39. LensCrafters price for the high end lenses without insurance is like $400+ ridiculousness and that's not even transition or bi-focal, etc.

Both of the Zegna frames are metal and I wanted to try some plastic frames for more casual wear or activities/outings where I wouldn't be heartbroken if they got damaged/lost etc. I did the at home try on and that was smooth. Their website is nice and has good features. Got to "model" them for my girlfriend and family to get their opinions on what looked best. I was on the fence on ordering them because do I really need 3 pairs of glasses, but then I got a notice about a $10 statement credit for American Express when you spend $95 at WP (cost of one pair), so I figured for $85 why the heck not.

I got them today and I can confirm the AR coating doesn't look as good as my LensCrafters pair or the 39dollarglasses.com lenses (which were made by Seiko), but for the price I think it's fair. I think it's a great value if you don't have insurance. If you do have good insurance, then I think it's marginal (less selection, not that much cheaper). In fact it might be more expensive depending on the frames you like and the type of lense you need. My girlfriend got a pair for $65 at LensCrafters with insurance that she loves and she didn't find anything she liked at WP, which would have been $95.

So long and the short of it, I think it will be a great deal for some, and others not so much.

[John Hamnett]

Got the home trial box and none of them worked for me. I have a friend who swears by them... he and his gf got new pairs recently.

[DerekH]

I bought my first set back in December and am a huge fan of these guys. I agree with a lot of this thread on the quality level, however, I'd rather own four pairs of differently styled Warby Parkers than one pair of some other frame. For me, the price and variety options are what trumps it -- plus, I actually found the buying experience to be easier. I brought my home try on to the office after I'd narrowed down my frame choices to 3-4 options and asked some people their opinions; I could never do that at the traditional store buying model.

I don't see why I'd go back to buying from the Optometrist shop now, unless I'm getting a huge insurance-discount. It isn't even like they make the lens any faster than WP.

Has anyone tried the prescription sunglasses from WP? I've been considering a set for awhile, but that's something I'm not 100% sold on yet.

[louisvillesmuggler]

I just received my 5 try on frames - pretty impressed. As Derek said above, there should be no reason to go to a lens crafters again.