Very disappointed in first Zenni purchase

[Rudolf Schmidt]

On 9 November I ordered a pair of rimless glasses from Zenni. They
arrived today. In short, they are a mess. The build quality is very
poor. This is the first pair of rimless I've had, so I've nothing to
compare them to, but everything seems to be crooked. The screws that
go through the lenses are all at different angles and the nuts are not
tightened, which seems to me to be crucial because all these details
determine the angles and planes of the lenses. In addition, one of the
temples is slightly bent. Worse, the temples are far too short to fit
my head because the nose pieces push the frames out too far--which is
not necessarily Zenni's fault, I admit; I failed to take that into
account when I ordered, since the glasses I've been wearing don't have
nose pieces. They're also too narrow, so that the temples squeeze my
head, but this too depends on the overall assembly.

I'm really disappointed, although not too surprised: this is about
what I expected for $33 from China. What surprises me is that anyone
has ever been satisfied by Zenni. I suppose Zenni might do better with
simple plastic frames, which only require the insertion of lenses.

Hopefully I will be able to return them for a full refund, but I
suspect Zenni will not be willing.

[Chuck Knight]

I'm so sorry to hear that your first Zenni order was unsuccessful!

Let me start by saying that Zenni's return policy, as stated on their
site, very clearly, is 50% refund if not satisfied... They have made
a limited number of exceptions in the past, so good luck on the 100%
request.

But, let me also point out that the several fit issues were not
Zenni's fault. The bent temple arm might have been caused in
shipping. BUT, the loose screws are definitely unacceptable, though
not unprecedented WRT to online glasses. I've read a number of posts,
from all different retailers, about the occasional loose screw. Not
usually from Zenni, though.

Good luck on your refund request, and please keep us informed!

-- Chuck Knight

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[bhyde]

That's a bummer.

I have bought 4 rimless frames from Zenni and they have been great.
So I'd like to think your experience is exceptional. It's hard to
say. While Zenni seems to get very disparate reviews (very love/hate)
I've often thought that some of the negative reviews are because their
customer support is so brusque - since in my experience all 10 frames
I've bought had lovely build quality. I've only had one pair that had
a problem.

Anyhow. Send them an email, and they will give you an return auth.
number. Mail them back with a cover letter. See what happens. The
best you can hope for is they remake them; but you can 50% back.
Patience and a cheerful bemusement at their somewhat aggressive
approach to customer service will help.

- ben

[Bullet875]

I'm surprised that Zenni did such a poor job, although I have to be
honest, I have never ordered rimless frames from them. However, I did
order 2 pairs of $8 semi-rimless and they are both beautiful and I am
very pleased. I was surprised that they came out so well because I
have a strong prescription have yet to have a bad pair (I have 7 or 8
Zenni pairs as do my kids).

I hope that they are ble to work things out to the OP's satisfaction.
They may offer a replacement pair instead of a refund. Please let us
know!

Also, if you do get a pair of glasses online that you decide that you
do not like for some reason and can't return, please donate them to
the eyeglasses for the needy program. Even if the frames are bent or
the lenses aren't the greatest, the lenses can be recut/reground and/
or placed in different frames for someone who needs them. I wear my
cheap online glasses until I get sick of them and then donate them.
You can usually donate through any Walmart, Target, or Sears optical
center. Your local Lions club may also accept the glasses too.

On Nov 24, 11:13 am, Chuck Knight <chuckkni...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I'm so sorry to hear that your first Zenni order was unsuccessful!
>
> Let me start by saying that Zenni's return policy, as stated on their
> site, very clearly, is 50% refund if not satisfied...  They have made
> a limited number of exceptions in the past, so good luck on the 100%
> request.
>
> But, let me also point out that the several fit issues were not
> Zenni's fault.  The bent temple arm might have been caused in
> shipping.  BUT, the loose screws are definitely unacceptable, though
> not unprecedented WRT to online glasses.  I've read a number of posts,
> from all different retailers, about the occasional loose screw.  Not
> usually from Zenni, though.
>
> Good luck on your refund request, and please keep us informed!
>
>      -- Chuck Knight
>

> On Mon, Nov 23, 2009 at 7:20 PM, Rudolf Schmidt <eurb...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > On 9 November I ordered a pair of rimless glasses from Zenni. They
> > arrived today. In short, they are a mess. The build quality is very
> > poor. This is the first pair of rimless I've had, so I've nothing to
> > compare them to, but everything seems to be crooked. The screws that
> > go through the lenses are all at different angles and the nuts are not
> > tightened, which seems to me to be crucial because all these details
> > determine the angles and planes of the lenses. In addition, one of the
> > temples is slightly bent. Worse, the temples are far too short to fit
> > my head because the nose pieces push the frames out too far--which is
> > not necessarily Zenni's fault, I admit; I failed to take that into
> > account when I ordered, since the glasses I've been wearing don't have
> > nose pieces. They're also too narrow, so that the temples squeeze my
> > head, but this too depends on the overall assembly.
>
> > I'm really disappointed, although not too surprised: this is about
> > what I expected for $33 from China. What surprises me is that anyone
> > has ever been satisfied by Zenni. I suppose Zenni might do better with
> > simple plastic frames, which only require the insertion of lenses.
>
> > Hopefully I will be able to return them for a full refund, but I
> > suspect Zenni will not be willing.
>
> > --

> > Check us out at the oft-updatedhttp://glassyeyes.blogspot.com!

[Rudolf Schmidt]

> But, let me also point out that the several fit issues were not
> Zenni's fault.  The bent temple arm might have been caused in
> shipping.  BUT, the loose screws are definitely unacceptable, though

Chuck, the temple could not have been bent in shipping because it was
inside a hard plastic case. And I do feel that Zenni is partly to
blame for the bad fit because in the case of rimless glasses the fit
is determined by how the components are assembled. If the components
had been assembled properly the temples might not have squeezed my
head.

Yesterday I emailed Zenni for a RA and have not received any response
yet, so it looks like this is going to be a big hassle.

[Rudolf Schmidt]

After closer inspection, I've revised my initial opinion somewhat. I
unscrewed the nosepiece (no easy task without a tiny wrench), then re-
assembled it, and realized that the crookedness I first complained
about is largely due to the fact that the cap screws sit at odd angles
because the tops of the bolts are uneven. These bolts are also too
long, so that there is a couple millimeters of space between the
screws holding the lenses in place and the cap screws; this means that
the the cap screws can't be screwed down onto the screws holding the
lenses in place, so the screws holding the lenses in place will
forever need to be re-tightened. It's a bad design.

The one temple is still undeniably bent.

So my revised opinion is that although there's nothing seriously wrong
with them, I still would not have purchased them if I had been able to
see them before ordering. They just look a little too cheap and
sloppily constructed.

The rest of my complaints concern the size, which is one of the big
drawbacks of ordering online. Had I tried these on in the store, I
would have realized immediately that they don't fit.

Zenni replied to my request for a RA with an offer to send me a
replacement for the bent temple. I asked for two longer temples, if
that's possible. We'll see.

[Chuck Knight]

Well, keep us informed!

The vast number of online experiences reported here are undeniably
positive...but the true measure of a company, to some, is how they
handle it when something goes wrong.

I, for one, look forward to your future posts.

Happy Thanksgiving!

-- Chuck Knight

> --
> Check us out at the oft-updated http://glassyeyes.blogspot.com!

[Rudolf Schmidt]

I pulled out an old pair of glasses with the same temple length
(140mm) as the Zennis and they fit just fine. The difference is that
the Zennis bend nearer the lenses than the old pair, so they don't get
behind my ears. Are temples supposed to be bendable? It seems like
they should be, but whenever I try they aren't very pliable and I'm
afraid of snapping them.

[clocker]

When I was a kid, ages ago, my Dad used to fit temples by heating them
in hot sand to manipulate their shape. Do they still adjust like
that?
Ian

[Rudolf Schmidt]

Yes, several years ago I saw a contraption in an optometrist's office
that did just that: it was a little heater full of sand, into which
the temples were stuck.

[Rudolf Schmidt]

I just discovered that the clip-on sunglasses don't work at all. When
the glasses are on my face, they flex so that the clip-ons won't fit
into the magnetic slots. More superb craftsmanship from China.

[sj]

Yes, they do much better with ordinary frames than with rimless. My
Zenni rimless simply would not stay straight and correctly aligned, an
issue that got worse over time. There was too much play in the slots
in the lens that was supposed to keep the frame straight. There's
clearly a lot of hand work in assembling rimless so quality is
probably all over the map.

But, I've been a repeat buyer of multiple pairs of metal full-rim and
half-rim glasses from them and I'm very happy with these glasses.