If you're like me, you probably don't love going to the store anymore. Wandering around a department store or the mall looking for something specific, these days, is usually fated to fail. Nothing beats shopping online. Unfortunately, some drawbacks to online shopping exist as well. One of the biggest troubles relates to clothing and accessories. Until you have the item in your hands, you can't know if it works for you. Clothes fit differently, shoes vary in comfort, and glasses sometimes look great online, but not "on face." No 100% certain solution exists, so to alleviate this final pain point of shopping for glasses online, check out the five great tips below for buying glasses online.
Before You Order Glasses Online:
1. Check the Return Policy
Most online retailers have generous and simple return policies. Absent that, most customers would refuse to shop. The obvious reason is that you never know until you try it. Especially with online-only retailers, a great return policy is a must. If the place you're shopping has a great return policy that allows you to try their product and gives a grace period for return, then maybe buy the glasses and give them a shot that way.
2. Read the Reviews
If a product has many reviews, odds are you'll find someone whose experience may be of help to you. Someone else out there has similar concerns or questions, if they're active online they just might have written a review of the product. Reading several reviews of the products as you consider buying them helps give a better picture of the experience with the product.
3. Watch Review Videos
Similar to the previous point, some people make product review videos. For something like glasses, this allows you to see someone wearing the glasses, using them, talking about them. It's not quite the same as doing so yourself, but watching someone else with the product can be extremely helpful. Sometimes these video reviews are called "unboxing videos."
4. Find Out Your Face Shape
Knowing your face shape, and the types of frames that compliment your face can be extremely helpful. Some people don't realize this consideration is important, but it really is. You might have never realized that certain glasses don't look good on you simply because of the angles of your face. For example, people with heart shaped faces often struggle in this area. Find out your face shape, learn what glasses work with your angles, and then start shopping.
5. Virtual Try-On
A newer approach to the problem of online glasses shopping is virtual try-on, offered by GUNNAR. This allows you to try on a selection of frame and lens types using your computer's camera. The screen will bring up a video stream of your face, and you'll see a selection of 3 frame options, each with different lens and frame color options. This gives you a peak and just what the glasses will look like on your face. It gives a whole new approach to the idea of "try before you buy."
Shopping for glasses online can be tough. Take our advice, and simplify the process. Check out our Virtual Try-on feature today, and see yourself in a pair of GUNNARs.