Originally Posted By: kb01
I've been thinking about trying mail order for years when it comes to glasses. I know a lot of people who have been very happy with the experience.
I have horrible vision and a very strong prescription and it's been my experience that if I don't pay extra for very thin lenses, that it's easy to wind up with Coke bottle glasses. I did try a local discount glasses shop and was very unhappy with their premium glasses. They were thick and had a slight distortion around the periphery, as well as a very subtle grayish hue. My old Army issue glasses were the same way -- the lenses were probably a half inch thick.
I wish I could find the same quality of lenses that my eye doctor offers without paying $300 for a new set.
If you need to keep the lens as thin as possible you have to go with glass lenses with a high refractive index. There are only a few companies that produce this type glass. Also, high quality glass does not come cheap.
Plastic lenses, like polycarbonate lenses, will always be thicker, and also optically inferior to the best glass lenses. I'd scratch plastic lenses very quickly.
The quality of anti-reflective coatings is also reflected in price. Dust and dirt-repellent coatings are also fairly expensive. While a high price by itself doesn't guarantee high quality, if you are informed and know what you are buying, you get the best value.
