SEE Eyewear Review: What to Know Before You Buy
SEE is both an online eyewear retailer and a brick-and-mortar retailer, with several locations around the country. They have a wide selection of products, including glasses, sunglasses, and accessories. They also offer eye exams.
How Do They Work?
SEE is a higher-end eyewear retailer, with a variety of striking frames of their own design available. You can choose a pair of eyeglass or sunglass frames from their collection and then further customize the lenses from a variety of options.
What Does SEE Offer?
SEE sells eyeglasses and sunglasses as well as some accessories, such as cleaning cloths and cases. They offer most standard lens options and a “frame only” option, where you will receive only frames without lenses.
The company more or less completely lacks budget-tier eyewear. It is a higher-end retailer with a focus on fashionable eyewear and unique designs that would often be difficult to replicate using offerings from other retailers.
The company offers eye exams at their physical locations.
Pros & Cons
SEE offers a number of very unique frames that can fit a wide variety of looks. For those who tend to see price as less of an obstacle than the average buyer and who are highly fashion conscious, SEE will likely have some offerings that interest you.
At the same time, SEE is fairly expensive for those just looking for prescription glasses. You can certainly get glasses that most people would still find aesthetically pleasing or at least fashionably neutral at what may be a much lower price elsewhere.
They also lack middle-tier lens options. You can either get shatter-proof lenses that offer 100% UV protection for no additional charge or can pay upward of $100 (potentially much more) for additional lens options. UV protection coming standard is a nice feature, but we would have liked to see some other lens options available at a lower price tag.
Cost & Insurance
The cheapest frames available at SEE are $199, which seems to be a standard sale price they place some frames at regardless of the frame’s original pricing. Standard lenses come free with the frames, including prescription lenses, but other lens options have the potential to significantly increase the total cost of the purchase. For example, the company offers Premium Anti-Reflective Lenses (AR) at three different tiers, with the most expensive being $260. Blue light filtering options are similarly expensive.
SEE will count as an out-of-network provider under vision insurance, meaning you may be able to get reimbursed for some of the cost of your purchase, but you’ll need to submit a claim to your insurance company. Note that vision plans often won’t fully cover luxury-priced eyewear. Make sure you research what level of coverage you can expect before making a big purchase.
How Do They Compare Pricewise to Competitors?
Pricewise, almost any standard eyewear retailer can offer prescription glasses at a cheaper cost than SEE. The only real exception is for designer and similarly luxury eyewear. This isn’t a brand for people shopping on a budget. If you like unique frames and premium lens options, SEE might be the right choice for you.
Shipping Information
For orders over $100, SEE ships for free to U.S. customers. Because of their luxury pricing, almost any eyewear purchase will meet this threshold. Only small accessory purchases may not meet it, at which point standard shipping costs $9.99.
The company also offers UPS Next Day Air shipping for $40, although they note that the glasses must first still be prepared before they can ship and won’t necessarily come the very next day.
Shipping to other countries is expensive. Shipping to Canada costs $65, and shipping anywhere else costs $110.
How Does Ordering Work?
To start ordering online with SEE, find a pair of frames you like and select a color scheme. Then, select the lens option you want.
You will need to upload a prescription, assuming you want prescription lenses. Once you have input your prescription, you can then select some further options available for your lenses. Finally, you confirm the product is what you want, put in your shipping information, and pay for your order.
The company’s online return policy is that a return must be initiated within 14 days of delivery. The item you want to return must be new and unused, and shipping isn’t refunded. Frames in their Hot Deals section or marked Final Sale cannot be returned. Accessories cannot be returned.
How to Get Started
For higher-end products like those sold at SEE, we recommend making an account with the company on their site. This will make it easier to track your orders and keep in contact with the company if you have any issues.
You will also want to get vision insurance in order to maximize your savings, paying close attention to how reimbursement works for out-of-network glasses purchases. Keep in mind that this will only generally work for prescription purchases, and even then, the provider is going to have limitations on what they will and won’t cover.
Keep in mind that SEE isn’t a budget retailer. If you want prescription glasses at an affordable price, you will want to look at other options.
Reviews & Brand Reputation
SEE Eyewear reviews well, getting 4.8 stars on Groupon. Keeping in mind that reviews for their physical and online stores somewhat bleed into each other despite offering different experiences, people seem to be happy with the service the company provides and the products they sell overall.
Is SEE Worth It?
While most people can get prescription eyewear for much cheaper than what SEE offers, their customers are generally happy with their purchases
Alternatives to Consider
Alternatives to SEE include other luxury options, such as these:
- Cutler & Gross
- MOSCOT
- Tom Ford
You can also find a range of options, including designer brands, at Warby Parker.
References
SEE. SEE Eyewear.
Eye Exams at SEE. SEE Eyewear.
Shipping. SEE Eyewear.
Return Policy. SEE Eyewear.
SEE Eyewear. Groupon.
The Best Places to Buy Glasses Online of 2023. USA Today.
Voted “Best Eyewear”. SEE Eyewear.