Buying frames you cannot put on your face is a reasonable thing to worry about. It is also very manageable, provided you check the things that can be checked rather than hoping for the best.
1. Start with measurements, not photographs
Photographs are taken on models and lie about scale constantly. Measurements do not. Every serious product listing gives three figures in millimetres: lens width, bridge width and temple length.
The shortcut is a pair you already own and like. Those same three numbers are printed on the inside of a temple arm, usually in a format like 52□18 145. Match them within a millimetre or two and the fit will be close. This one habit removes most of the risk from buying online.
2. Confirm the seller is an actual stockist
Brands publish their own lists. Ray-Ban has a store locator on ray-ban.com; search your area and see whether the retailer appears. A seller that is not on the brand’s own list is not authorised, whatever the site claims about being official.
This is the check that protects you against counterfeits, and it is more reliable than trying to spot a fake from a photograph.
3. Read the ultraviolet specification
Look for UV400, or a statement of 100% UVA and UVB filtering. Vague wording about ultraviolet protection with no figure is telling you less than it looks like. Remember that tint darkness is unrelated: a dark lens without ultraviolet filtering is worse for your eyes than no sunglasses.
4. Find the return path before you buy
The single most useful thing to establish in advance is what happens if the fit is wrong, because with eyewear that is the likeliest problem. Look for a clear window, stated in days, and a named way to start the process. At Aweh that is 30 days from delivery if the fit is wrong, arranged by contacting us first.
A retailer that does not say anywhere what its returns position is has told you something.
5. Know the total cost before you commit
Delivery should be calculated from your address at checkout, before payment rather than after. Ours is quoted at checkout and goes out with The Courier Guy, tracked, usually arriving in two to three working days.
Check the currency too. Prices in rand from a South African seller avoid the customs charges and long waits that come with importing a pair yourself.
6. Check how you are paying
Card details should be entered on the payment provider’s own secure page rather than stored by the shop, and the site should be running over an encrypted connection throughout.
A short version
Measure a pair you own. Check the seller against the brand’s own stockist list. Look for the ultraviolet figure. Find the returns window. Everything after that is choosing a frame you like.
