Eyeglasses: As Much as Meets the Eye

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Once again, I've been sponsored by a merchant of vision correction. This time, though, it's a store selling good old-fashioned eyeglasses in the United States (and I'm waiting to hear back on whether they ship internationally).

It's nice to see high-index wearers such as myself finally getting some attention: refractive indices from 1.57 to 1.67 are available (though only the basic 1.57 for bifocals), with prices well within the double digits including shipping.


The site does have a few drawbacks. You need to already have a prescription, which can be expensive if you don't have insurance that covers eye exams (although one review reports that low-income Brooklyn, NY residents can get eye exams for $15-$50 at Lutheran Medical Center). Designer frames aren't available. Shipping can take up to a month, even within the US. Also, the lenses are made in a lab in China, so I'm guessing they aren't sweatshop-free.

An interesting question, though, is why two of my three sponsors to date have been in the vision-correction industry, given that I don't normally write about eyesight. Do they think people with 20/20 eyesight are never into heavy metal or high tech? Or is it just that the optical industry is one of the earliest adopters of blog marketing?

Eyeglasses: As Much as Meets the Eye