A question that I get asked all the time is ‘who is the best online glasses retailer?’ and I have to say that it’s a very difficult question to answer. You see there are so many online glasses companies in existence now that the market has become completely saturated and the only way for the competition to stay in business is to offer its customers something a little bit different. That is what makes it so difficult as some companies focus on offering their customers cheap prescription glasses where as others focus on designer frames and then there are some retailers who specialise in complex prescriptions.
If you go all the way back to 2004 when the first ever UK online glasses retailer first appeared on the internet it was something that people were very wary about. For hundreds of years folk from all walks of life have been visiting their local opticians to have their eyes checked by a qualified professional and to purchase prescription glasses so the idea of buying something so valuable and important to the health of your sight over the internet was quite unnatural. The company managed to monopolise the market very quickly so at this stage they could argue that they were the best online glasses retailer as the competition was almost non-existent. However, as the company grew in stature so did consumer confidence and more and more people were beginning to get used to the idea of having their eyes tested at the local Opticians but then buying their prescription glasses online. This of course eventually attracted the attention of other Opticians to start their own web sites and so the online glasses market started to grow quite rapidly by the end of 2007.
This brings us up to present day and the online glasses industry is now booming with hundreds of retailers competing for the title of best online glasses retailer. The only problem now is that those smaller companies that first started out a few years ago have become major players in the retail market and many consumers will argue that customer service has suffered because of this. Whereas before each customer was treated as an individual, now a lot of consumers feel like just another number and are invited to ring through to call centres where a machine, not a human, will answer the phone and request that you wait because the lines are too busy. So you see that’s why you can’t actually pin point who really is the best online glasses retailer as most of the main players offer very much the same level of customer service and lead times for your glasses.
My advice to anyone thinking of buying prescription glasses online is to research the company you are hoping to buy from on some of the many consumer websites on the internet.
If you are looking to buy prescription glasses online then you may want to read some of my articles at the prescription glasses guide website.