FramesDirect Review

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Last updated: October 17, 2024

About FramesDirect

Based in Austin, Texas, FramesDirect is one of the first online-based eyewear companies to hit the Internet, getting their start in 1996 (really not long after the Internet was born!).

They have a vast selection of eyewear products, including eyeglasses, prescription sunglasses, and contact lenses, and are a great place to shop if you’re looking for designer eyewear.

The founders of the brand are two optometrists by the names of Dr. Cooper and Dr. Hodgson.

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Our FramesDirect Review

We put 5 separate pairs of glasses (2 sunglasses, 3 prescription glasses) through rigorous tests to measure their durability, build quality, and overall satisfaction as glasses-wearers.

FramesDirect Lens Quality 8/10

Some people might feel a little hesitant getting their prescription filled online, especially if you’re relying on your glasses heavily for vision needs.

Overall, our experience with their lens quality was very good, with accurate prescription fills and no issues with our order.

However, if your prescription is filled incorrectly, they will replace your lenses within 30 days of receipt at no cost.

Additionally, if your optometrist changes your prescription within 30 days of your order, they’ll replace your lenses at no charge (if this occurs 31-90 days after your prescription is filled, they’ll replace the lens at 50% of the retail cost).

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FramesDirect will even call you prior to filling your prescription to verify all the information. When it comes to quality, our review showed they were very concerned with getting everything right.

Besides our own experience, we scoured the web and found a significant number of customers who were very pleased with the quality of their lenses.

One customer said she was very happy with the accuracy of her new lenses and another customer praised the quality of his new lenses.

We did find one review from a customer who claimed her lenses were popping out of the frames and did not fit properly.

However, with most companies and brands, there are generally always a couple negative reviews and issues.

FramesDirect Frame Quality 10/10

FramesDirect stands behind the quality of their frames.

They even have a 12-month manufacturer’s warranty for each frame sold.

If your glasses arrive and have any of the following frame issues, the company will provide you with a full refund: striped screws, broken nosepad posts, broken or loose hinges, dislodged jewels or logos, oxidation or discoloration.

Customers also have reassurance knowing that glasses sold by FramesDirect are not simply private label frames from various manufacturers.

The glasses we reviewed are the same designer labels you can get in any physical retail store.

They carry all the major designed eyewear brands including Ray-Ban, Burberry, and DKNY.

Essentially, when it comes to frame quality, there’s no difference in purchasing your frames from a physical retail store/optometrist office or with FramesDirect.

We also think it’s great that the retailer offers different frame sizes, which makes sense since not everyone has the same sized head or shape.

They have a size chart if customers feel confident enough to figure out their own size, but they also suggest customers call them directly to speak with an expert.

Lastly, we wanted to take a look at what customers were saying about their new frames.

We did find a couple of negative reviews about the company in general; however, we found it much more difficult to find a review that specifically mentioned any issues with the quality of frames.

There was one customer who had an issue with the nose piece on her glasses, but as promised, FramesDirect fixed the issue at no cost to the customer.

Some of the words used to describe frames by customers were: perfect, great quality, work perfectly, exactly as described, perfect condition, and many other praises.

FramesDirect Style 10/10

When it comes to style, FramesDirect definitely does not disappoint.

With thousands of designer glasses to choose from in various colors and styles, there really is something for everyone.

When you consider that these brands are coming from designer labels that follow all the latest fashion trends, you really can’t beat FramesDirect’s style options.

FramesDirect Customer Service 7/10

Customer service is available toll-free via phone (800-248-9427) Mon-Sat with the following hours in Central Time:

Monday–Thursday: 7:00 am–7:00 pm
Friday: 7:00 am–6:00 pm
Saturday: 8:00 am–5:00 pm

Alternatively, you can fill out the form on their Contact page to get in touch with the team.

We do have to ding them for not having a live chat feature, which is pretty standard for most ecommerce and online retailers.

We looked to customer reviews on FramesDirect’s customer service, and found that the majority of reviews were positive. Like this one:

But, unfortunately, there were also reviews like this:

We figure there are always going to be some negative reviews and some instances where customer service isn’t at its best.

However, they have tens of thousands of reviews on TrustPilot, where they have an excellent rating.

FramesDirect Cost 8/10

For designer glasses at a reasonable price, you can’t get much better than FramesDirect.

In general, their glasses are sold at about 30% off of what you would find at a regular retail store.

Also, they have a price match guarantee, meaning if you find frames on another website that are being sold for less, you can let them know and they’ll match the price.

There are a couple exceptions and a handful of brands that don’t qualify for price matching, but for the most part, we think price match is a huge bonus and reassurance that you won’t pay more than necessary.

It should be noted, however, that while they do offer the lowest price on designer eyewear, it is still  designer eyewear, which comes at a relatively high price.

For example, if you’re looking at Burberry frames, you can expect to pay upwards of $200.

This isn’t exactly cheap, but in the world of designer frames, you’ll save some money shopping at FramesDirect.

FramesDirect Review Final Thoughts

If you don’t want to pay full retail price on designer eyewear, FramesDirect is a solid choice.

The retailer has a decent return policy, good lens options, and a great selection of brand name frames.

If you’re looking for more affordable but still stylish options, check out EyeBuyDirect or GlassesUSA.com for great deals on prescription glasses.