There are so many options now available online to buy glasses, so it can be hard to cut through the noise. There are pretty much two main fronts a brand can compete on:
- Price: lower the better (right?)
- Quality: of glasses and / or service offering
One of the leading brands online in the quality category glasses space is Warby Parker, and I feel one of the reason for this is their at home trial option. The purpose of this page is to detail this service. If you’re interested in reading about their order process, glasses quality, and overall service please see my recent post here.
Selecting The Glasses To Try At Home
The overall process is nice and simple. All you have to do is select five frames of your choice, and add to your free trial cart.
Step 1 – Selecting Frames
Please note that some frames are NOT available for selection due to either new style releases, or highly demand frames.
With the above “Ames” frame design, the Whiskey Tortoise was available, but Graphite Fog was not (which incidentally is the frame I ended up purchasing).
Step 2 – Full Up Cart With Five Frames
Once you’ve selected all five frames you’re good to proceed to the checkout (make sure the price is “free”).
Step 3 – Checkout
Upon arriving at the checkout page you will have two options
- Login to your account: this is a nice feature that if you’re a returning customer your details are saved, and you still have the option to take advantage of the at home trial as new designs are released.
- New customer: you will need to go through their process. Note: will need to put in credit card details to secure the order, but won’t cost you anything.
What To Expect When The Glasses Arrive
My package took about one week to arrive. It came in a black box, with five separate compartments, one for each frame.
The box comes with a nice post card to fill in the frame style you like, and make any small comments you may have. I suggest you try each frame on, take a face on picture and create a collage of them to compare side by side. I really like to use the Pixlr Express Editor for this (the pictures above and below were created using this free online tool). Also you can have your significant other, or friend(s) to assist. I even lined it up with my girlfriend to get a package, so it was nice doing it together!
Experiment & Have Fun
I would suggest that one of the main things to do is have fun with it. Glasses have become relatively cheaper, so why not get a couple of pairs!
Try At Home Conclusion
Pros
Well it goes without saying that the biggest pro is the zero cost of this service outside of your time. Further pros include:
- Try on in the comfort of your own home
- Try on while someone else is there without needed to coordinate schedules
- Ability to try out some different styles than you’re used to
Cons
There are few cons with this service. But the two that I come up with are:
- Not all frames are available to “Home Try-on”
- Several of the frames I received were dirty, and one was even slightly bent out of shape
Final Thoughts
This is the second time I’ve ordered the at home try-on package, as their frames changed and my own tastes evolved. The difference between the first order about 18 months ago and today is quite stark with respect to quality of packaging and overall quality / cleanliness of frames received.
It’s a slight shame, as the glasses you end up buying are some of the highest quality I’ve ever bought and worn. I understand the difficulties that the Warby Parker team must face with such a fast expanding business, and I hope they soon return to their original quality.
With all that being said, I 100% recommend using the service due to it’s ease and zero cost. You can visit Warby Parker here.
About the Author: Paul Anthony
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