Zennioptical (Zenni optical) - Review

[JJ23]

Retracted:
They're decent.
I think we've all experienced buyers remorse for a few seconds after getting a new pair of glasses. Its something we're just not used to and it takes a while to grow on you.
Yes, the metal pair isnt exactly made very stiff, but it does give a different appeal to your face - you can meld it on you face and bend it to form, and it fits closely unlike traditional pairs, without being tight on the sides. i initially tried doing adjusting it the old fashioned way, taking it off the face, but its just easier to bend it while its on - its that pliable, and not that weak that it will snap.
On looking again at the gut around the lenses, there is no gap. It is just an newish design style for me, and optical illusion of a gap from the polished edges.
After giving the glasses more than 10 seconds of acuity testing (ie: adjusting to how the feel), the image is very good.
They require some TLC on and off the face, and cant be banged around like regular pairs, but they look good.

I still think the Plastic pairs should be gotten in solid colors as there is evidence of color bleed on the internet with some peoples multicolored plastic pairs.
My plastic pairs vision is also good after giving it more than 10 seconds of trying on, and adjusting to the higher power. and yes it is wider on the sides than I thought, but it will still make a good spare pair for hardware type activities and use.

Hello. Here is my unbiased (not in the industry) review of Zennioptical.com

Ordered my glasses last Monday, received them today, Friday. 10 days total.

I ordered after reading good reviews (and some bad ones), as well as watching good youtube.com videos by users.

I did not order the basic $8 to $19 pairs with included lenses. I actually took a long time choosing frames by measuring my current frame (numbers on the side) and went to get a new prescription as well. That cost me around $90 (I am aware they can be got for $70, but i didn't want to skimp).

My strength is -7 and -6 around, and I have always been recommended to get high index frames, which I did.

In the end I ordered 2 frames, around $23 to $29, and high index 1.67 lenses, with anti-reflective coating.
Total damage with shipping came to $130.xx

I had heard from youtube and written reviews, that sometimes the frames had gaps in them between the lenses. I expected this from the cheap sets only.

Initial impressions on Metal frame: "It doesn't have screws, but clear gut wire like rimless glasses" - not what I expected. Anyways, put them on and thought "Why is there a clear end of something sticking out on the top left frame". It turns out the gut holders around the frame are melted on the ends to seal them. There is absolutely no play on the gut holding the lens, versus rimless frames I bought locally which do have some room for play.

This is not a good thing as the entire bottom of the metal frame lenses sits offset from the bottom of the frame itself.

Using an exacto knife, I trimmed the gut glob at the top to make it barely visible. This was a risky move as cutting the gut off by mistake would render the pair near useless. I totally expected for this frame metal screws, and a decent fit.

Second impression was the 1.67 high index lenses which cost $39.00 extra. They were thin at the middle, but extremely thick at the bottom sides. *Much* thicker than the Canadian high index 1.67 lenses in my current pair. A different standard indeed.

Regarding the frame and lenses Visual Acuity/vision precision, it is hard to gauge, as we know new glasses always feel weird when looking through initially.
Would I trust adjusting my eyes with this non 1.67 index seeming lens, that didn't fit the frame and test it over time? No.

Second frame, which was plastic: "They looked like a stylish Oakley shape online" but are extremely thick on the sides. Much more wide than the picture represents. (Luckily I ordered all black frames because I was about to order the "Black on the outside, Purple trim on the inside" Set, when I saw pictures of it online by searching Google images showing an uneven blend. There is even a youtube lady with Green plastic frames with and tinge of yellow who had extremely uneven melding of the colors.

All in all, I think the youtube folks were either happy with and $8 steal, or rationalizing/justifying their purchase, which is subpar to say the least.

Would I order from them again: No

Would I try their glasses on a lark for the $8 pairs: No

Would I test their glasses acuity to see if its good over time: No. I don't want to ruin my eyes further, not knowing (but guessing) the quality of the lens precision itself.

Would I wear these glasses if they were free: No

Are they a good backup pair if working in the shop: Maybe...but I'm just rationalizing or justifying the purchase again here.

Final impression: Regret over spending $130 and trying to beat "The Man" and the system by getting 2 cheap pairs for less than the Canadian price of one high index pair.

Conclusion: I'm out $130. Will not return as a part of me doesn't want the hassle, and a part of me wants the backup pairs.
I should have saved that money and put it towards a good $250+ pair locally, and I will be visiting my local optician as soon as my budget allows it to do so. Nothing beats choosing a pair in store, with contact lenses in place, knowing how it looks on your face.

I will try to take some pictures of the products later and add to this thread.
I just wanted to add to the body of knowledge on zennioptical, on this forum, and save someone the costly experiment they might have been considering.

[Kuurgen]

Hello. Here is my unbiased (not in the industry) review of Zennioptical.com

Ordered my glasses last Monday, received them today, Friday. 10 days total.

I ordered after reading good reviews (and some bad ones), as well as watching good youtube.com videos by users.

I did not order the basic $8 to $19 pairs with included lenses. I actually took a long time choosing frames by measuring my current frame (numbers on the side) and went to get a new prescription as well. That cost me around $90 (I am aware they can be got for $70, but i didn't want to skimp).

My strength is -7 and -6 around, and I have always been recommended to get high index frames, which I did.

In the end I ordered 2 frames, around $23 to $29, and high index 1.67 lenses, with anti-reflective coating.
Total damage with shipping came to $130.xx

I had heard from youtube and written reviews, that sometimes the frames had gaps in them between the lenses. I expected this from the cheap sets only.

Initial impressions on Metal frame: "It doesn't have screws, but clear gut wire like rimless glasses" - not what I expected. Anyways, put them on and thought "Why is there a clear end of something sticking out on the top left frame". It turns out the gut holders around the frame are melted on the ends to seal them. There is absolutely no play on the gut holding the lens, versus rimless frames I bought locally which do have some room for play.

This is not a good thing as the entire bottom of the metal frame lenses sits offset from the bottom of the frame itself.

Using an exacto knife, I trimmed the gut glob at the top to make it barely visible. This was a risky move as cutting the gut off by mistake would render the pair near useless. I totally expected for this frame metal screws, and a decent fit.

Second impression was the 1.67 high index lenses which cost $39.00 extra. They were thin at the middle, but extremely thick at the bottom sides. *Much* thicker than the Canadian high index 1.67 lenses in my current pair. A different standard indeed.

Regarding the frame and lenses Visual Acuity/vision precision, it is hard to gauge, as we know new glasses always feel weird when looking through initially.
Would I trust adjusting my eyes with this non 1.67 index seeming lens, that didn't fit the frame and test it over time? No.

Second frame, which was plastic: "They looked like a stylish Oakley shape online" but are extremely thick on the sides. Much more wide than the picture represents. (Luckily I ordered all black frames because I was about to order the "Black on the outside, Purple trim on the inside" Set, when I saw pictures of it online by searching Google images showing an uneven blend. There is even a youtube lady with Green plastic frames with and tinge of yellow who had extremely uneven melding of the colors.

All in all, I think the youtube folks were either happy with and $8 steal, or rationalizing/justifying their purchase, which is subpar to say the least.

Would I order from them again: No

Would I try their glasses on a lark for the $8 pairs: No

Would I test their glasses acuity to see if its good over time: No. I don't want to ruin my eyes further, not knowing (but guessing) the quality of the lens precision itself.

Would I wear these glasses if they were free: No

Are they a good backup pair if working in the shop: Maybe...but I'm just rationalizing or justifying the purchase again here.

Final impression: Regret over spending $130 and trying to beat "The Man" and the system by getting 2 cheap pairs for less than the Canadian price of one high index pair.

Conclusion: I'm out $130. Will not return as a part of me doesn't want the hassle, and a part of me wants the backup pairs.
I should have saved that money and put it towards a good $250+ pair locally, and I will be visiting my local optician as soon as my budget allows it to do so. Nothing beats choosing a pair in store, with contact lenses in place, knowing how it looks on your face.

I will try to take some pictures of the products later and add to this thread.
I just wanted to add to the body of knowledge on zennioptical, on this forum, and save someone the costly experiment they might have been considering.

I liked my glasses which cost me $40.00. These same glasses would have cost me $200-300 locally.

I think Zenni does fix mistakes if you contact them.

I used to be insanely protective of my glasses. Now I have 3 pairs I can rotate through, and not worry if any break.

I am glad places like Zenni exist. How many people are wearing up to date lenses because of this place? Food for thought.

[sweetmikem]

For the price and quality, use clearlycontacts or costalcontacts.

[momofcrt]

We've ordered from Zenni a few times. First three orders were here in a week. Last order a month, this order ...time will tell. They were supposedly made Jan 20, but didn't leave HongKong until today. We asked for priority shipping and were told it can't be done. Then after I emailed them a week after the order was complete I received the following note:
We are sorry for the inconvenience caused to you. Concerning your case, if you want to reorder from us, you may put the physical address in the order form and leave a note in the customer notes area, requesting us to send your order via DHL or FedEX. When we receive your order, we will check the notes and deal with your order accordingly.

So, you can order them via courier? UM hello?????
Will not order again, I'll go with clearlycontacts or another company.

[laurieanne06]

I wear progressives, so the last time I got new glasses the frames were just under 200, the lenses were another 500+. I do NOT like spending that much money on a pair of glasses, so figured I'd try the online path. Zenni was recommended to me by an acquaintance, not a close friend or family member. I took my time, reading all of the reviews I could find, then spent two weeks on the site trying the different frames. In the end I ordered three pair. Total cost for all three was $146. Less than my old frames alone. They took about three weeks to arrive (expected was two to four, so no complaints on shipping). They were packaged well, and no problem with the package.

All three pair were taken to the optometrist the next day to confirm the prescription. All three were correct. The frames were what I had expected, and I am very happy with the service, the price, and the support from Zenni.

Will I order from Zenni Optical again? Absolutely, no hesitation.
Would I recommend Zenni to others? Absolutely, no hesitation (I have, several times already).

[Aydn]

So I still haven`t received my order made on March 15th.. it is 23 days later. HK Post says it was shipped out on March 30th. I am regretting ordering from Zenni at this point and wondering how others have handled this long long wait.

edit: woops, It's been at my post office for 4 days. Sorry Chinese factory workers, I judged you too soon... I regret the >=( face I made on live chat. Tomorrow I'll see if the glasses refract light or not.

[icemasta]

I bought a pair from Zenni a couple years ago after being tired of spending so much money on glasses and some breaking on me. Interestingly enough I still wear the pair I bought from Zenni to this day. I bought I think the $7-8 frames with free lenses as a test and I'd say the quality is decent yet I've gotten many compliments on the glasses. I've dropped in many times and they are still in great condition. Don't exactly remember shipping time but I'm sure it was a couple weeks. I'd definitely buy from them again.

I also have a couple orders from Clearly Contacts and if you want quality then that's where you go, but if you don't want to spend the extra for a brand name then Zenni is a great choice.

[greenmoon]

I have only ordered from Clearly Contacts so far, and judging by the feedback I see on Zenni, I am glad I am sticking to CC. My prescription is low so I usually get basic lenses, and with some discounts that are often available on CC all the pairs were very inexpensive. But what I really like about them is the fast turnaround time, usually my order would be shipped the same business day (or next day, as I often place orders around midnight), and then it's just an extra day for Xpresspost delivery. I once had to return a pair and it was minimal hassle: quick phone call, print out the label, stick it on, and off into the red postal box.

I have nothing against Chinese workers, but having the glasses assembled in Canada definitely cuts down on the shipping time.

[avp77]

I ordered a pair of prescription glasses (tinted) from Zenni, and have no complaints. With high-index lenses, it ended up being half the overall price I paid at Clearly Contacts, even with CC's 'free' frames.

[studolf]

I got 2 pairs from Zenni this week, and I must commend them on quick shipping. I ordered on Saturday, and the glasses were at my doorstep on Wednesday. Besides low prices on glasses, Zenni also prices the coatings below other online retailers. Sure Clearly contacts can keep running their free glasses promotion, but they burn you on the shipping price and the coatings. I got the fancy oleophobic coating for just $15 on mines, plus shipping is just $10 to Canada, or $5 to the US.

I bought 2 pairs with 1.57 index lens, fancy coatings and clip on sunshades for around $100. I have $200 annual vision coverage from work, so they cost me nothing, and I can still get more. Now I don't have to be so protective over my glasses, since they're cheap to replace.

[Kuurgen]

I used to be insanely protective of my glasses. Now I have 3 pairs I can rotate through, and not worry if any break.

Amen to that!

I have 3 or 4 pairs that I can rotate through, however, I will say I've had difficulty determining what the temple length should be on the arms.

[Dwight10]

I want to try the glass of Zenni optical to test its quality. I hope that its quality will be good.