I get it, we all want to save money, but sometimes trying to save a little means spending way more later. I rushed into buying a pair of reading glasses with lights. I saw the promise of seeing tiny print in the dark, and I clicked 'buy' too fast.
I made these mistakes so you don't have to. Learn from me. Skip the frustration and get a pair of glasses that actually work and last.
My first big mistake was thinking the lights were the expensive part. I looked for the lowest price tag I could find. This meant I got a decent frame—similar to the P54123 Acetate Cat Eye style—but the lenses were awful.
The truth is, when buying prescription or even simple magnification, the lens quality is everything. Cheap lenses cause strain. They might have distortions. The light feature doesn’t matter if looking through the lens gives you a headache.
I learned quickly that high quality requires a real investment. One reviewer pointed out this fact clearly:
Don't make my error. Do not skimp on the part that actually touches your eyes.
When you are buying reading glasses with lights, you are adding weight to the frame. The frame must be strong. I bought a cheap pair made of thin, brittle plastic. It snapped within two months right at the hinge.
Quality materials, like the durable acetate used in the P54123 frames, mean the glasses can handle daily wear and tear. They can handle the weight of the lights and batteries. Cheap frames feel flimsy, look cloudy quickly, and often break when you fold them up too hard.
When you focus only on the low price, you are buying a disposable item. You want glasses that feel solid and well-made.
I saw that the glasses themselves had okay reviews, but I never checked comments about the actual buying process. This came back to bite me hard. Ordering glasses online should be easy, but a messy website makes everything a nightmare—from inputting your diopter to tracking the shipment.
One frustrated shopper wrote about their ordering process:
I had the exact same experience. I had to input my custom prescription data three times because the site kept crashing. This caused delays and worry that my order was wrong. A glitchy site means bad customer service is probably waiting for you later.