Sitting at my computer, I glanced out the front window just in time to see Kathy, our mail lady, stepping up onto the front porch. “Hello Simon!” She gave our door guardian a cheerful greeting and he stood to wag his tail eagerly.

Kathy had come up to the door to deliver a big package of books, which is always exciting, but I was even more excited by a small padded envelope she carried along with our “regular” mail.

The return address said “Zenni”.

I just about grabbed it out of her hands, nearly dancing with delight and excitement.

“You have to look at this with me,” I said. “I’ve been so excited for it to come!” Kathy stood there bemused but smiling as I ripped open the small package – no easy task.

Zenni is an online optical company. I had been hearing about it for more than three years, but had been dragging my feet about ordering glasses online.  It just seemed too strange and risky.

My sister, Monica, and my friend, Kristina, had done nothing but rave about Zenni products and service. So I asked my sister if she’d show me the web site and walk me through the process when she came out for our daughter, Monica’s wedding.

It was so fun and easy!  We went to http://www.zennioptical.com/ where I created an account and uploaded my prescription and a picture of my face.

Then I went shopping through the hundreds and hundreds of pairs of glasses in the Zenni inventory.  Every color and style you can imagine. I clicked the “try on” button and, voilá! The glasses were on my face.  There’s a “favorites” page so I could pick a bunch of pairs and then go through them again, to make final choices.

There are so many choices, and they can make sunglasses and transition lenses and even bifocals and progressives. Each added thing adds a little to the cost, but it’s still laughably inexpensive.

(Before Zenni, my most recent pair of glasses were over $200.00)

Shipping is $4.95 for your entire order. But I wanted to be cautious with this first trial, so I only got one pair. I chose a cute funky green frame for a whopping $6.95.

After I ordered them I was on pins and needles, so eager for them to arrive!

And less than 10 days after I placed the order, here was my mail lady watching me open them. Kathy was getting kind of excited too, as she watched me pull out my new glasses.

They were so cute!

“You’re kidding!”  Kathy was amazed as I babbled about my Zenni experience. “$6.95?”

I pulled off my old glasses to try on the new pair.

Kathy was shaking her head. “And can you see with them?” she asked. “Can you can see as well with these as you can with your regular ones?”

“Yes!” I was so thrilled to tell her so. (I had been almost afraid to hope they would really work.)

Kathy was digging through her bag to find a pen and paper.  “I’ve been wanting to get another pair of glasses,” she said, explaining that she has trouble going from dark to light and her progressive lenses stay dark when she goes into apartment buildings and so on…

And since I got these and began to tell people about Zenni, a lot of other friends have said the same kind of thing.  Most people have a reason they’d like a few pairs of fun glasses, and at these prices we can have a pair to match every outfit and every mood!

You can check out Zenni’s facebook page right here!