$12.95

Do you like wearing glasses? I do not. Thankfully, it was never utmost necessary for me to wear glasses. See, my prescription is a mere -0.75 and -0.50 on the two eyes. This means I can get a driver's license w/o restrictions, I can read almost all that I need to from a respectable distance. I can get by with little trouble and no one ever suspects that I cannot see clearly from a distance. Yes, there is some trouble when I am seated in the very back row of a room and the presenter is particularly merciless to backbenchers. There is some trouble reading road names and road signs from a very long distance. But none of this ever bothered me. Despite my calm over my short sightedness, sometimes, I did get frustrated at not being able to see. On one such frustrating day, I went to lenscrafters to get my glasses made. The optometrist came back with the un-surprising result. She recommended me to use glasses if I want to - as usual. I looked at some of the frames they had on the wall. The frames I liked were close to $200 a pop. I asked the lady at the counter for lens options and found out that with anti-glare coating, anti-scratch coating and high-density lenses, my total expense would be close to $400 and then they would apply a discount to land me a pair of unnecessary see through holes in a metal frame for about $325. Sears optical had a buy one get one free and I could get something similar for $275 or $300. I decided, as usual, to drop the idea.
On a lark, I searched for the term "glasses" on google. The second link from the top (in the sponsored links) was Zenni Optical. This is the best e-commerce business to happen to folks who have prescription glasses! One look at the link will tell you what I mean. The cheapest glasses you can get from them costs - get ready for this - $12.95 shipped to your mailbox. The most expensive set with all the bells and whistles would probably be under $80. Now thats a bargain.
This website has a left hand side vertical panel that organizes its catalog with price, fashion and material with which the frames are made. The way you order is to first choose a frame from their catalog and then enter all information from your optometrist's prescription into the website. When I entered my info, there was no ambiguity on what was required. The terms used on this site and the terms on my lenscrafter prescription were exactly the same. The only metric missing was "pupillary distance". As you must have guessed, its the distance between your pupils when you re looking straight ahead. As per the website and as per wikipedia, the pupillary distance can be measured simply by holding a ruler in front of your eyes and getting a physical measurement in millimeters. You can be off the mark by as much as a couple mm or more - it is OK. Then you choose the lens type, any coatings you want and then you pay via credit card or whatever they accept and thats it. Just wait for the glasses to arrive in your mail. Mine came in a week. I am thrilled with what I got. For $12.95, I think the glasses I am wearing are a STEAL. The lens comes with anti-scratch coating, UV protection within the cost. Best part is that I am going to place an order for at least three more pairs. One for parties, one very light one for travel and the third one as an spare pair. I'll get an upgrade to 1.67 RI glass for $37 and a premium anti-reflective coating for $4.95. That will be just cool!
Here is some more very interesting reading on this topic: glassy eyes.