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For the commenters asking: this applies to contact lenses, not eye glasses. From the Contact Lens Rule [1]: "a contact lens seller cannot provide contact lense

For the commenters asking: this applies to contact lenses, not eye glasses. From the Contact Lens Rule [1]: "a contact lens seller cannot provide contact lenses to its customer unless the seller either obtains a copy of the prescription or verifies the prescription information with the prescriber" The Eyeglass Rule [2] doesn't contain this stipulation. https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/rules/rulemaking-regulatory-reform-proceedings/contact-lens-rule https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/rules/rulemaking-regulatory-... https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/rules/rulemaking-regulatory-reform-proceedings/eyeglass-rule https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/rules/rulemaking-regulatory-...

nostromo 5y ago
Many states have that rule though. In California, for example, you can't buy prescription glasses without an active prescription. I found this out when my glasses broke on the weekend and couldn't get replacements before talking to a doctor -- none of which had availability for several days. So I suffered from headaches and poor vision for several days thanks to this ridiculous regulation.
- bckygldstn 5y ago
  Interesting, I thought I had bought glasses in a CA Warby Parker store without a prescription. Maybe it's a Tesla-style showroom thing where you look at the frames in store but technically buy the glasses online.
- jsmith45 5y ago
  Sure states may have that rule, but it is totally legal to go to a state that does not have the rule, buy some glasses and bring them back. (Or to buy online from a state that does not have the rule). Neither the FDA nor FTC at the federal level technically require prescriptions for glasses. Indeed, most online glasses shops will simply take you at your word that you have a prescription, presumably because they are located in a state that nominally requires a prescription, but places no requirement on the shops to verify that the customer really does have one. This is totally different from contacts, where at the federal level, sellers must verify the prescription with the prescriber, except that if 8 business hours have passed since they started trying to contact the prescriber, without hearing back, the prescription is considered verified. (That last is to prevent the prescriber from trying to prevent customer from getting lenses elsewhere by refusing to verify).
DeusExMachina 5y ago
It is amazing how things that we take for granted somewhere do not work in other countries. Here in The Netherlands, I can walk in a shop and get contact lenses off a shelf. It does not even need to be a dedicated shop. These are available in generic care shops where you can also buy shampoo, vitamins, and even some medicines that don't require prescriptions.

nostromo 5y ago

Many states have that rule though. In California, for example, you can't buy prescription glasses without an active prescription. I found this out when my glasses broke on the weekend and couldn't get replacements before talking to a doctor -- none of which had availability for several days. So I suffered from headaches and poor vision for several days thanks to this ridiculous regulation.

bckygldstn 5y ago
Interesting, I thought I had bought glasses in a CA Warby Parker store without a prescription. Maybe it's a Tesla-style showroom thing where you look at the frames in store but technically buy the glasses online.
jsmith45 5y ago
Sure states may have that rule, but it is totally legal to go to a state that does not have the rule, buy some glasses and bring them back. (Or to buy online from a state that does not have the rule). Neither the FDA nor FTC at the federal level technically require prescriptions for glasses. Indeed, most online glasses shops will simply take you at your word that you have a prescription, presumably because they are located in a state that nominally requires a prescription, but places no requirement on the shops to verify that the customer really does have one. This is totally different from contacts, where at the federal level, sellers must verify the prescription with the prescriber, except that if 8 business hours have passed since they started trying to contact the prescriber, without hearing back, the prescription is considered verified. (That last is to prevent the prescriber from trying to prevent customer from getting lenses elsewhere by refusing to verify).

DeusExMachina 5y ago

It is amazing how things that we take for granted somewhere do not work in other countries. Here in The Netherlands, I can walk in a shop and get contact lenses off a shelf. It does not even need to be a dedicated shop. These are available in generic care shops where you can also buy shampoo, vitamins, and even some medicines that don't require prescriptions.