To Buy or Not To Buy | Rx Tinted Glasses

1:39:00 AM mandy 2 Comments

I was SO excited when I woke up to a tweet from rolala loves that said I had won a $20 E-Gift Card to use at firmoo.com. There had been so many rave reviews for the company for their prices. Plus I have been wanting another pair of glasses for a while now. But as I browsed their site I had the hankering to order myself a pair of prescribed sunglasses (I am not a contacts person and am too scared to try).

The prescription I needed turned out to be too high for prescribed sunglasses. But the Firmoo suggestion boxes said that I could opt to purchase prescribed tinted glasses instead. Which I don't think should be too different. Right? After picking the options that I wanted, my total turned out to be pretty hefty. Although, definitely not as much as if I were to get any kind of prescribed [sun]glasses from the optical store.

The giveaway that rolala loves had was specifically for the Classic series of frames at Firmoo, with frames ranging from $16-$39. The pair that I ended up liking the most was priced in the middle at $26. (Well to be more honest, I restrained myself from choosing the $39 frames and I didn't like the $16 frames very much.) Which isn't as great of a price as I had seen from other Firmoo reviews, but still on the cheaper end when compared to the optical store. I wish I could have chosen from the less expensive frames in their whole collection but I guess I can't complain too much since these are brandless frames.

Total + $20 "E-Gift Card"

I added all the extras that I wanted:
Super Thin lenses ...... $35.95
Anti-Reflective/Anti-Radition ...... $2.95
UV Coating ...... $4.95
Tinted ...... $9.95
Total = $79.80 (sans ship)

 I went on towards finalizing my Checkout.
Added on the FREESHIP code first because I noticed that I could qualified with my order total.

Afterwards I tried to add my $20 E-Gift Card / Promo Code, only to find that the FREESHIP discount was cancelled.

Then I remembered that the big selling point for the site was their "First Pair Free" deal. I googled and found that the way to get this would be through another Promo Code. Which of course would not work in my case because I already have a code to use. So technically, I wouldn't be able to get my first frames free...ever if I ordered using the E-Gift Card code...correct? Also, if I choose to get my first pair free instead, I would actually get a better deal since the frames I chose were $26 v the $20 E-Gift Card. So technically, I could browse through the more expensive frames and pick one with ease because I am not constantly thinking of the higher price of the frames.

Total + First Pair Free promo code

I added the FIRMOOFREE code just for the heck of it at around 11PM EST, and was told that the code couldn't apply. It said along the lines of the code I wanted to use could not be applied to the style that I chose. Thinking that was odd to have such a restriction when they market on the first pair being free, I found on their FAQ that perhaps they reached their daily limit for the free frames. So I tried again at 12:30AM just for the heck of it and the code went through! Perhaps they should switch up their error messages because the one I was told had a totally different meaning than reaching their Free Frames cap. It fueled to my dislike towards them even more at that particular moment in time.

Basically, the $20 that I won would cover shipping & a little extra.
But I would get a better deal not using what I 'won' by $6 which would cover the shipping costs. It would essentially be as if I had a $20 discount ... which makes giving away $20 "E-Gift Cards" totally counterintuitive.

Frames I might buy instead if I choose to use my First Pair Free promo These are NOT a part of their Classic, so I would not be able to use the -$20 anyways & It would be too pricey at $39 for my liking to use a -$20 for (just a personal preference)

I don't know, this makes any sense at all to anyone else?
Right now I don't have very high & positive feelings towards their marketing ways.
If I didn't notice the Free Shipping for $39+ AND I forgot that they had First Pair Free promotion, I wouldn't get the best deal as I could have.
Although I have to say, I really do love their customization options and obviously (just as everyone else) their cheaper prices.
Maybe I am just making a big deal out of nothing?
Perhaps I should just forgo my $20 "E-Gift Card" and use the First Pair Free promo instead?
But with their return policy and the total price of the frames that I want, it seems too much to take a risk on.
The $20 E-Gift Card is a lot more useful for returning customers. Definitely not as great for a first-timer like myself.

What do you think? Am I overreacting? How would you feel in my situation?

I realized that had it not been for winning the giveaway, I probably wouldn't ever consider purchasing a pair of prescribed glasses or sunglasses any time soon. An extra pair of frames or sunglasses is nice to have, but not a need for me.