Pair Eyewear Logo
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3.2

Overall Score

Author: Kaitlyn Short

LAST UPDATED: May 28th, 2024

Founded in 2017 by two Stanford University students, Pair redefined glasses for kids. Founders Nathan and Sophia spoke with over 500 families to see what they were looking for in glasses for kids, and they found that the biggest problems were price and variety. Working to solve these problems, they formed Pair and became the first online prescription eyewear provider that makes low-priced customizable eyeglasses for kids.

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The Good

  • Prescription Eyewear and Base Frames
  • Interchangeable Frames
  • Exclusive Frames
  • Kid-Friendly Frames
  • PAIRCare
  • Polycarbonate Lenses
  • Pricing
  • Free Shipping and Returns

Prescription Eyewear and Base Frames

The first and most important part of your experience with Pair is finding the right pair of frames for your child. Pair Eyewear offers five different basic styles with both rectangular and round frame shapes. Each style is sized slightly differently according to face shape and size.

Important note: The reported measurements are representations of facial measurements in millimeters.

  • The first number = Lens width
  • The second number = Bridge width
  • The third number = Temple arm width

The following frames styles are currently available online:

  • The Cedro — This frame is a fairly basic rectangular frame that is sized for kids on average between the ages of 5 and 9 years old. Its measurements are 46-17-135.
  • The Serra — The Serra is also made for kids between the ages of 5 and 9 years old, but instead of being rectangular, it has more of a rounded shape. Its measurements are 45-18-135.
  • The Otero — For kids between the ages of 9 and 12 years old looking for a rectangular frame, The Otero is a great option. Its measurements are 49-17-140.
  • The Twain — The Twain is one of the biggest frames available online and the frames are rounded similar to the Serra frames mentioned above. It is recommended for individuals from 9 year old to adults (with small heads). Its measurements are 47-18-135.
  • The Larkin — For kids with bigger heads that are just too small for adult-size glasses, The Larkin is the way to go. This frame is rectangular in shape and fits kids ages 10 and up. Some adults with small heads have purchased them as well. Its measurements are 51-17-140.

Interchangeable Frames

One of the most popular reasons that kids like Pair Eyewear is because of the interchangeable frames that allow kids to change the color or design of their glasses instantly. Though many other well-known glasses brands offer kids prescription eyewear, this feature is unique to Pair.

Exclusive Frames

Soon after Pair launched its interchangeable frames, customers started to request that other colors and designs be made in addition to those available online. To keep up with these requests, the Pair team decided to create limited edition frames during certain months providing customers a chance to expand their collection of frames.

Kid-Friendly Frames

Purchasing glasses for your children from an optical or eyewear stores can be frustrating for a number of reasons, but one challenge that continues to cause angst between parents and kids is when kids break their glasses. Kids’ glasses are often made of cheap materials since it is expected that they will be broken.

To combat this issue, Pair has created "adventure-proof" glasses. These frames are made from durable hand-polished acetate and the lenses are scratch-resistant and kid-proof. To further ensure that glasses are not easily broken, Pair glasses are equipped with flexible spring hinges making them much less likely to break.

PAIRCare

Pair wants to make sure that customers are satisfied in the long run. To do this, PAIRCar, which can be purchased for an additional $40.00, will replace your kid’s glasses if they end up breaking or getting scratched. PAIRCare is good for up to one year after original purchase. With this guarantee, you don't need to worry about constantly having to buy new pairs of glasses.

Polycarbonate Lenses

Once your child has selected the frames that they want, you are able to select what type of lenses that you would like. Options for lenses are detailed below:

  • Classic Single Vision — These clear lenses are scratch resistant, anti-reflective, and accommodate basic vision correction.
  • Blue Light Filtering — For kids who spend a lot of time with screens, these clear lenses help protect the eye and reduce digital eye strain from blue light.
  • Premium Ultra Thin — For kids with strong prescriptions, the ultra thin lens will help keep the overall thickness of the lens thinner than other basic lenses.
  • Sunglass Lenses — These polarized lenses are scratch resistant and they block 100% of the UV rays that your child may be exposed to.
  • Light Responsive — These lenses help your eyewear act as glasses and sunglasses as they transition from clear to tinted when under direct sunlight.

Pricing

A major advantage of purchasing prescription eyewear from Pair is the pricing. Pricing information is listed below:

  • Frames — The basic frames with prescription lenses are sold for $60.00.
  • Top Frames — Each additional top frame costs $25.00.
  • Blue Light Filtering Lenses — An additional $49.00
  • Premium Ultra Thin Lenses — An additional $49.00
  • Sunglass Lenses — An additional $49.00
  • Light Responsive Lenses — An additional $100.00
  • PAIRCare — An additional $40.00

The overall pricing for these kids glasses is competitive with a number of other online prescription eyewear providers.

Free Shipping and Returns

To add to the list of good things about Pair, the free shipping and returns policy sweetens your deal. This only applies to standard shipping which should take between four and seven days. If you are not satisfied with Pair's glasses, or if they are broken or don't fit, you can return them for free during a 30-day trial period according to the current return policy.

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The Bad

  • Don’t Come in Adult Sizes
  • Online Prescription Entry

Don’t Come in Adult Sizes

One of the only apparent downsides of this company is that it is not currently selling glasses for adults. After its quick success, some adults thought it would be fun to have customizable glasses too. Though Pair does not currently sell prescription eyewear for adults, the largest size of kids glasses fits adults with small heads. If you consider your head to be on the small end, you may be able to try either the Larkin or the Twain frames, as they are the largest frames available.

The fames are sized as follows:

  • Twain — 47-18-135
  • Larkin — 51-17-140

Online Prescription Entry

If you are planning to purchase a pair of glasses from Pair, you will need to either provide a picture of your current prescription, or your eye doctor's information. The Pair website does not allow you to enter in the details of your prescription yourself. Though this feature does help ensure that errors are not made in the ordering process, it also can be a hassle if you do not have a physical copy on-hand or if you don't feel comfortable providing your eye doctor's information.

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The Bottom Line

If you are looking for children's eyewear, we recommend that you look into Pair Eyewear. Not only are these glasses made for kids, but they are built to last. Pair glasses will let your kids have the option to wear different color glasses throughout the week instead of the same generic pair every day.

Even though these glasses are not sold in adult sizes, and therefore cannot provide eyeglasses for the whole family, we think that it will be worth getting them for your kids. With free standard shipping and free returns (during the 30-day risk-free trial), these glasses are a great option for those seeking quality glasses and a hassle-free purchasing process.

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Star Rating

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2.4

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45 Reviews

Review Breakdown

5 grade

27%

4 grade

2%

3 grade

4%

2 grade

16%

1 grade

51%

Sentiment Criteria

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Martha Meyers

I have not actually received my order yet. I placed it 2 weeks ago. When I checked out via online payment They gave me an order number confirmation which luckily I took a screenshot of. It's 2 weeks later. Now I have yet to receive my order and zero communication from them whatsoever. I finally called them tonight because when I tried to log in on their website they said the account didn't exist. When I'm talking to the man on the phone he reads the email back and it is in fact the correct one. He proceeds to tell me that they've been trying to get in contact with me and have emailed me twice 🤦 because they need more information from me. Now If you needed more information from me then why did the computer even prompt me to check out and tell me I was done and give me an order confirmation?? Secondly, It's funny and just irritating how you happily take people's money and you make sure you don't get that information wrong but can't make sure you have an email right. So after I told them I had never received an email from them and asked them why didn't they give me a call because they had my phone number on file So naturally, if you need more information from someone to process their order, wouldn't you use All contact information? No you were just going to leave it at two emails. Take my money and move on. One star so far

10 months ago

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Lynn VA

After 8 month of wearing the glasses, not only the lens have a lot of very noticeable scratches, have four spots on one len that have a layer of film? scratched off, leaving burry areas. The plastic for the lens are just too soft, too poor quality. Also brought the blue tined sunglass topper. I use it 4 times so mostly in backpack with protective cloth pouch. the blue tine in the middle part scratch off after 3 months, revealing black plastic behind and leaving blur spot when wearing. Overall, look good quality when first arrived but shockingly poor quality for the long run. I had glasses that I wear for five year that only have barely visible scratches. Never had glasses lens this poor quality in my whole entire life of wearing glasses.... so far no problem with the plastic frame tho.

1 year ago

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Cheryl Clarke Calgary, AB

I'm Canadian and ordered a set of pair eyeglasses and extra Toppers on their website. I entered my eyeglasses prescription and paid in full. A few days later they contacted me to say that they could not make my eyeglasses as my prescription was too high. They gave me the option of getting a full refund or picking out sunglasses etc. I requested a full refund. They did give me a full refund however, in American dollars so I ended up being shorted $25 because of the exchange rate. When I reached out to them they offered me a $25 credit. What would I do with a $25 credit for eyeglasses that I can't use?? When I pointed this out to them they said "we are very sorry. There's nothing we can do" I suggested that they should have a failsafe on their website that would let you know right away if your prescription was too high so that you wouldn't be able to order at all . They wrote back "Management knows that this is an issue and we apologize." That's it. So I'm out $25 and there's nothing I can do about it. It's not a lot of money but the refusal to take accountability and make acceptable reparations is very frustrating

1 year ago

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Hamblin Family Lehi, UT

All they care about is advertising. Actually filling the orders they are HORRIBLE at!! Orders sit in an “en route” for weeks. This doesn’t even mean it’s actually en route to you. It just means that it’s sitting in one of their bins for god knows how long until they decided to do something with it. On their website where is say 10 to 14 days from order to delivery is not even a close estimate. Maybe if the spent less time making TikToks and more time filling orders people could actually get what they pay for. DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY ON FASTER SHIPPING! It will never happen and then you’ll have wasted even more with them.

2 years ago

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Ashley Broken Arrow, OK

The tops constantly FALL OFF. The magnets are Not strong enough at ALL. Barely touch them they fall off, a big gust of wind they fall off, look down they fall off. I was told by customer service to “Rub a magnet on them to make the magnet stronger.” Nope still they fall off. Ive lost Three pairs of SUN TOPS because of this. And since its After “30 days”. Theyll do Nothing! Said ill have to Keep ReBuying them everytime they unknowingly fall off Due To Magnet Strength! All i want is for them to make stronger ones & maybe add magnets to the bottom part of frame as well. WHY would i want to keep wasting money having to REbuy new ones just for them to keep having the Same issue! Ive even had Other pair eyewear’s ask me if mine fall off easily too because so do theirs after noticing were both wearing PAIR. All Your Magnet strength Needs to be stronger Especially for the Sun-Tops since they have Weight in the lenses UnLike the regular Tops. Not going to continue purchasing Unfortunately you lost me & ill no longer tell people how great they are for people who need sunglasses that wear rx glasses. Because it costs too much to keep replacing for your cheap materials & “customer service.” ZERO STARS!

2 years ago

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Ricky Turnbaugh Park Hills, MO

The base frame was good quality but overpriced greatly compared to the competitor i ordered from the same day "zenni" (16.95 total) which i received 10 days sooner than my "pair". So i only tried "pair" because of my interest in the "tops system". The tops did not fit correctly, there was a huge gap between the frame and "top". Customer service looked at pictures I sent and recommended an exchange on the "top". When it arrived I experienced the same problem. It just looked goofy not fitting right , also the attachment method was flawed. A light wind litteraly blew the "top" off the frame. Ultimately I returned them. The customer services was great, the flawed product is the only reason my experience was bad. Great customer service can't make up for a bad product.

3 years ago

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Lena munn Elmira, NY

Do not order these if you're expecting to get them in a timely fashion. I ordered on the 16th and got nothing until the 24th , just them saying they would be prepared soon. Then the 29th I got an email saying the base was done but they were being shipped somewhere else to be paired with the toppers and that would be within a week. I paid 60 for next day shipping hoping that would speed things up. Talked to customer service. They let me know nothing would be shipped until the 10th. Which means the people I talked to lied when telling me they would be here within the week. They gave me a refund on my shipping and a free topper but changed shipping to 3-4 days, but guess what wasn't shipped on the 10th. It's now been 25 days since I placed the order and nothing has been shipped yet. Very frustrating.

3 years ago Edited January 11, 2022

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PB White Plains, NY

Absolutely terrible. Nightmare level terrible. Avoid this company like the plague. We had a good experience the first time around with my kid’s glasses, so when it came time for me to order a pair, I thought it would be fun to get them and be able to switch out my frames whenever I felt like it. It. Is. Not. Worth. It. I ordered a pair of glasses with a prescription uploaded from my ophthalmologist, naively thinking I would then…receive working glasses. Oh, I was so young and innocent then. I placed the order and was told that, due to the pandemic, shipping would be slow. That I completely understood. However, it took five weeks for my glasses to arrive. When they did, I could only see out of the top quarter of the lenses. I contacted Pair and they told me that they had made the glasses correctly according to the prescription and I should just “get used to them.” I explained that that couldn’t be true because otherwise I would actually be able to, you know, see out of them. I also explained that unless I somehow swapped out my eyes for someone else’s in some low-budget Face/Off type situation, I wouldn’t be able to “just get used to them.“ I should also mention here that every single email communication from Pair took a minimum of three days to get a reply to. Their chat option only offered me a bot that was even less helpful than the actual human who works there. So email was the only option and going back-and-forth with them three or four times could take 10 days. All this time, remember, I don’t have working glasses. Despite the fact that my glasses had obviously been made incorrectly, they told me I should make an appointment with my ophthalmologist to have them checked. I did that, at my own expense, and he confirmed that the glasses had, in fact, been made incorrectly. Shocker. He re-printed the prescription for me with an additional note explaining exactly how to make them so that I could actually see out of them. I took this information back and contacted Pair. Several days later, I received yet another inscrutable, generic, unhelpful email telling me that I should return the pair I had and place a new order for another pair. You would think this would be as bad as it gets, but you would be woefully mistaken. First, they told me that they would have to receive my old pair before they would be willing to start making my new pair. Given that they simply could have charged me twice if I didn’t return the incorrect glasses (since they apparently thought it would be super tempting for me to keep them for some reason?) I don’t understand why they couldn’t have just started working on my new pair while I was sending back the old one. But they wouldn’t and I couldn’t waste another week arguing about it. So after ANOTHER two weeks of waiting for them to receive and process the return, I was informed that they were about to begin making the new pair. Huzzah? Three weeks after THAT, I was told that the glasses were ready…to send to their distribution center and be paired with the top that I bought before they’d be shipped out. Who was making these glasses, people too slow for the DMV? Seems like it shouldn’t take so long, but at this point nothing surprised me. Two weeks after THAT, I finally received the replacement pair. For those of you keeping track it was at this point about two months from the time I’d placed my first order until I received my second order. Guess what? These glasses didn’t work correctly either. When I reached out to Pair to explain this, I was told yet again that the glasses must be correct because they had followed my prescription. I informed this same woman, over the course of another week, that again the glasses actually couldn’t be correct because I STILL COULDN’T SEE OUT OF THEM. I was essentially told that this was not their problem and that I should just take the frames to my ophthalmologist and have him put in prescription lenses while sending the incorrect lenses back to Pair. But even that process was ridiculously complicated. Could I simply keep the frames I had, send back the lenses for a refund, and take the empty frames to my ophthalmologist to get correct lenses put in? Of course not! That’s WAAAAAY too logical and speedy for Pair! Instead they wanted me to order a NEW pair of identical frames, this time with non-prescription lenses, wait to receive those, then take the prescription lenses OUT of the Pair that I ALREADY HAD, put them in the box with the NEW frames I had just received with the non-prescription lenses, and mail all of that back. It would have been comical if I weren’t so furious. When I asked them why I couldn’t just put the lenses by themselves in a box and keep the frames I had now, they said, “We don’t do that.” After that, I didn’t get a response for a while. So I did something I never do, which was turn to social media to complain. Within an hour of having tagged Pair on Facebook and Twitter, I magically received two messages and a phone call asking how they could help me. Given that paying for my now-necessary psychiatric bills was off the table, I told them that all I wanted was to return these glasses and be done with them. During this conversation, I was informed that the reason the second pair of glasses didn’t work was because they had made them the exact same way as the first pair that I had returned. When I, in disbelief, asked how that could be, the one helpful person that I spoke to during all of this, who I wish I’d worked with from the beginning, said that when she checked my order, the details for both pairs were identical, meaning they had completely ignored my ophthalmologist’s note. When I took this information back to the original maddening person who had been handling my order, she informed me that the glasses had actually been made correctly…except that they couldn’t make the necessary changes (which is untrue because the other rep had already told me that they absolutely could have). When I sent her the screenshot proving this from the other rep, original lady admitted that even though they KNEW that the new glasses wouldn’t work, they simply made the new pair the exact same way as the old one and sent them to me anyway. It was at this moment, not an hour ago, that I decided to write this review. I’m not one to bash businesses, especially smaller ones, because I understand that everybody can have different experiences and I don’t want to destroy anyone’s livelihood. But this was a series of terrible choices to provide piss-poor customer service, combined with what’s apparently gross ineptitude on the manufacturing end. That’s a systemic issue and based on reading all of the other reviews, which I wish I’d done beforehand, I’m not alone in this kind of experience. So I’m writing this review. Nobody should have to go through this much aggravation to get a cheap pair of glasses that don’t even look that great when they arrive. I know the gimmick is cool, but it’s really not worth your time and effort and stress and energy. Great idea, horrific customer service.

3 years ago

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AngryAndCanNotSee Waverly, IA

Had all of my new prescription info on a Monday and sent payment to Pair Eyewear. I was very excited to try them. They left me down right angry. Here we are 10 days later and I had to order from a competitor of theirs. The customer service at Pair Eyewear is non existent. Company seems to be run by incompetent people. Upon speaking to someone on the phone today he sounded like my order was ready and wasn't sure why it hadn't been sent out, he tried to blame the USPS for delays. He then asked if I wanted to go ahead and have my order continue to be sent out. Then he slipped up and I found out they still had not started on my lenses after more than a week. At this point I had wasted enough time and had to cancel the order. Very dishonest company. How is it the mail's fault that the glasses are slow if you don't make them?

3 years ago

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ALG Centreville, VA

At first I was happy with Pair. I ordered a pair of prescription reading glasses and they were shipped and received in a reasonable time period...about two weeks. So then once I tried on the glasses and decided they work for me, I wanted some toppers. I ordered about 7 toppers on Monday, Sept 27, 2021 and have yet to receive them. It is now October 12, and my package was sent via DHL, I followed the tracking, it made it all the way to my town's post office, at which time the tracking info said it was being shipped BACK to Pair due to "insufficient address." I live in a major metropolitan area with very reliable postal and delivery service. I tried to email PAIR and no response. I tried to call them, and first I dealt with the computer menu, which told me to basically chase down my package with the delivery company. Uh...NO! That is PAIR's job!!! Then I tried talking to a human being and no one answers. I spent $180.00 on toppers alone, and have no idea where my items are. I would never recommend this company to anyone. I hope I get my toppers because I do like the glasses. But they are a very unreliable and disorganized company who does not communicate openly and honestly. They seem to be hiding. I don't trust them.

3 years ago

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Michelle Quan Burnaby, BC

Spent over $500 CAD for progressive frames and 3 toppers. 2 out of the 3 toppers only stick to one side of the magnets with the other side dangling. They’re useless. Can’t even wear them. The toppers are also flimsy and cheap looking. I sent an email asking how this can be rectified and I received an automated response saying it can take 4-5 days to receive a response. So disappointed.

1 year ago

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Dorothy Robbins Swarthmore, PA

My expensive frames barely lasted a year before the coating got damaged. I had purchased many tops, so I went to re-order and pay full price again as they said I was not eligible for replacement. Then, they tell me my prescription is too strong and they can no longer make my lenses. What a waste of money and poorly made frames. Don't waste your money!

2 years ago

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Jodi Kennedy Shelby, NC

I was charged for my glasses before they were even sent to the lab. I have a very strong prescription, but was not told that their lab couldn't even do my lenses with the strength of my prescription. I think it's ludacris to charge a consumer on the day they order, only to be told days later that the prescription is too strong. They should have never accepted payment until this was clear.

2 years ago

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Becka Drum Prosper, TX

I purchased a pair of glasses from Pair Eyewear and glasses they delivered were wrong. They made me nauseaus with bad headaches. I contacted them for a return. Their response takes 3-4 business days minimum. They refuse to refund the $49 I spent for blue light filtering because they didn't put it on my glasses. I ordered and paid for blue light filtering but they didn't put it on my glasses so they won't refund that money. I am two weeks into trying to return them and it is a horrible process. I don't recommend them to anyone.

2 years ago

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N/a Kansas City, MO

Same as a lot of people. Took forever to get my glasses. You can’t talk to actual human. My tops were wrong when I got them. I will never buy from here again. I figure it was going to be great having a second pair of glasses not to expensive that I can use as sunglasses when outside. But I guess not bc I don’t think this company really Exist. Who knows maybe I will get a phone call or email back one day.

2 years ago

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Kate’s Kool Krafts Cotten Marysville, CA

NEVER BUY FROM THIS COMPANY!! Not only did my eyewear magnetic covers keep slipping off, irritating me constantly… but when I tried to return them I was redirected, time and time again, then ignored, then told that I couldn’t return for a refund. ?!?! Because of this I now own a defective pair with several sets of covers that do not work and I have lost over $200 for some thing a can’t even wear. This company had better rethink their procedures, integrity and customer service issues or I am certain they will not survive. I am EXTREMELY dissatisfied with EVERYTHING.

2 years ago

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Marcia Fullwood Alpharetta, GA

My glasses were ordered 3 weeks ago. Within a week I received notification that they were shipped. Everything has screeched to a halt since then. No updates from UPS, no responses to my emailed requests to Pair Eyewear's customer service team. No call backs in response to my telephone messages to their customer service team. This is unacceptable. This is frustrating. Perhaps if I cancel the order I'll get a faster response.

3 years ago

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Rachel Milwaukee, WI

This company is a scam! I paid hundreda of dollars for glasses for my kids and it’s been nearly 3 months and nothing to show for it. They never are there when I call (always goes to voicemail) and wait days or even weeks before returning my emails. All they do is tell me “we’re working on it, they should get to you soon” with no ETA! Don’t buy from them. You will lose your hard earned money and never get anything from them.

3 years ago

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AMHinTX Riverton, NJ

Cute but the little attachments on the front fall off. Magnets are not strong enough, have lost one and almost a second...they fall off at the drop of a hat, not like you have to hit it or anything. Major design flaw, will not purchase again. Disappointing, do not recommend at all.

2 years ago

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Nicole Morris San Antonio, TX

That are a scam!! I have been waiting for a month for my glasses and have received nothing! Their customer service is a joke! Good luck on trying to get a refund.....its always we will send out a replacement in 7 business days.....its a scam and they are theives!!

3 years ago

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Dorothy Erickson Tacoma, WA

Received glasses and everything was great. Then order some top frames and have not received order. Have tried to contact Pair but can't seem to get a response. Terrible customer service.

3 years ago

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Rachel Woodley Madison, WI

This company is awful. Terrible customer service- incredibly unorganized. It’s been over a month since my order and I still don’t have my glasses though I’ve been promised multiple times they would ship by now.

3 years ago

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Hailey Wamboldt Denison

Orders over a month ago. Customer service sucks! I will be taking my business elsewhere.

3 years ago