Upgrading your eyewear shouldn’t mean straining your budget. Thanks to a surge of affordable online retailers, you can now shop for quality prescription glasses for a fraction of their high street prices. Read this guide to find budget-friendly frames, lenses and extras tailored to your vision needs and style.
Set Your Spending Range
First, determine what affordable means for your finances—maybe £30, £60 or £100 frames. Narrow options focus only on sites meeting that price point rather than getting distracted by tempting designer deals. Top budget eyewear e-shops like Arlowolf Eyewear, Glasses Direct and Select Specs offer optical frames and lenses starting at around £30. And flash sales can slash extra percentages off making upgrade deals even sweeter.
Measure Your Specs Properly
To ensure the right fit, have recent prescription details handy detailing your lens power, pupillary distance (PD) and frame dimensions if replacing a current pair. If not, use sites’ virtual tools to self-measure your PD at home or book an optician’s appointment for proper pupil, lens and eyewear fitting advice. Accuracy here means clearer, more comfortable vision.
Pick Frames Flattering Your Face
Discover frames best flattering your face shape—oval styles for rounder faces or angular designs sharpening softer jawlines. Online quiz tools match shapes and sizes or post a selfie for recommendations. Focus on lightweight durable metals or flexible acetates for reliable wear at economical pricing. And don’t shy from bold colours to make your fashion upgrade pop.
Select Your Vision Lenses
Next comes choosing lenses that address your specific vision needs within budget. Need vari-focal progressives, digital protection coatings or high-index thinning? Add cart filters for multifocal, anti-glare and high-precision plastic options. Can’t decide? Lens packs compile best-value essentials like standard 1.5 index with hydrophobic and hard coating defenses. Just click to customise ranges for your prescription strength.
Look Into Lens Extras
Extra lens upgrades further optimise viewing experiences. Prioritise polarized filters reducing reflections and glare—a must for driving—or mirrored coating shielding eyes from excess light ideal for outdoor activities. Photochromic lenses conveniently darken in sunlight and lighten indoors saving money on dedicated prescription sunglasses. Or select blue light options blocking LED damage from device overuse.
Verify Returns Policies
One advantage of online optical retailers is flexible returns allowing home try-ons. Make sure to check policies first—many offer free no quibble returns within 30 to 100 days. Some even provide prepaid shipping labels and refund lens costs alongside frames. Trying frames virtually first often helps reduce return needs.
Scope Out Seasonal Sales
Keep an eye out for special seasonal sales around holidays and retailer anniversary events. Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Boxing Day often bring extra markdowns on frames and package deals. Sign up for email alerts so you never miss a short-term promo code or flash deal. And set calendar reminders about your favourite online shops’ yearly sales like Glasses Direct’s summer and winter offers. Limited-time reductions let you score bold designer-inspired styles or lens add-ons at even more wallet-friendly price points. Planning an eyewear update? Add sale-spotting to your strategy for unlocking maximum savings year round.
Join Loyalty Schemes
Finally, offset future optical expenses by joining loyalty and referral programs. Email sign-ups provide exclusive discounts, flash sales invites and point-earning opportunities with every purchase. Referring friends nets further savings vouchers. And remember to claim repeat customer price-matching often offered.
Shopping for prescription glasses online stretches your pound further without skimping on style or vision clarity. Follow these budget buying tips to upgrade your frames, lenses and view affordably. You can check out Britain Observer for more fashionable trends. Soon you’ll be seeing your favourite sights more clearly and saving a healthy chunk of change.
Lynn Martelli is an editor at Readability. She received her MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University and has worked as an editor for over 10 years. Lynn has edited a wide variety of books, including fiction, non-fiction, memoirs, and more. In her free time, Lynn enjoys reading, writing, and spending time with her family and friends.
