I have no doubt that the quality of the lenses and the frames are excellent. However, I don't recommend going to the store if you are on a budget. The prices are exceedingly high and rather than the staff person accepting your limitations and wishing you well, they will continue to bury you with facts about how the product is superior. It's condescending and disrespectful. read more

The professionalism and craftsmanship of this shop literally saved the vision in one of my eyes when I was randomly injured and the glasses I bought here absorbed the shock. The owner is simply a genius with a heart of gold. Ten years ago the cheap glasses I had bought were fixed for free and when I needed new glasses, I decided to return to the nice man who had fixed my cheap glasses for free. He fitted me perfectly for progressive lenses and those lenses saved my vision. Can you get cheaper glasses somewhere else? No. You simply cannot, because hour for hour of wear these are absolutely the most cost effective, comfortable, and in my case safest available. The staff are extremely talented, knowledgeable, efficient, and helpful. There are roughly 24,000 waking hours in a four year period. If you invest less than a half penny for each of those hours you more than cover any premium you would save going to McGlasses or McGlasses.com and you will have the finest glasses available. How ugly are the faces in your life or boring the books you read or bland the flowers you look at that you would even think of not investing in the best for your eyes? read more

My husband had an exceptionally good experience with the shop. The owner was fair-minded, thoughtful, willing to go the extra mile to solve a problem. Highly recommend. read more

Had a very pleasant experience with my new Lindbergh's. A bit pricy but it is quality.

The middle-aged gray haired employee was rude and insisted I follow the latest Valentin "French" fashion and style for eyewear compared to a more conservative look for my grandmother. He disrespected my knowledge of fashion, called my clothing "Chinese made" and rushed me out the door. Unacceptable practices here. AVOID. read more

The best optical shop in the Valley. They have more fashionable frames, best quality lenses, and impeccable service. I'm an artist, so seeing well and looking good are important! I've been delighted with glasses from them for 23 years. read more

I had a positive experience at Amherst Optical over the course of several visits to pick out new frames. Both employees who assisted me were helpful, friendly, and patient, even as I tried on at least a dozen different frames, and they were clearly knowledgeable and passionate about the brands they stock. They offered feedback and suggestions that took into account the specifics of my very high prescription while also allowing me space and time to ponder on my own. At various points during my visits, several other customers came in to pick up orders, etc., and all were treated professionally and courteously. Many of the frames they stock have more character than what you can find online or outside of major metropolitan areas. COVID safety precautions in place include: masks for all customers and employees; appointments to limit the number of people inside; sanitizing frames and equipment before/after use; and, importantly, communicating to customers about those precautions. Hand sanitizer was also readily available. read more

DON'T DO BUSINESS WITH THEM! One Star is too generous! I'm all for supporting and doing business with locally owned shops around town but... (Our household spends $1300.00+ on prescription glasses annually, we also like fun and good looking/quality frames). A couple of days ago an $800 pair broke, and the distributor said we should go to Amherst Optical Shoppe (AOS). We called, and here is where the list of rudeness, snobbishness, petulance and lack of respect toward potential customers starts: They were really bothered by our phone call; Jim was genuinely put out saying: "...well, I've never done this before and I have to spend 15 minutes of my time to contact the company to see if they will be willing to fix your glasses... since we didn't make the here I don't know if they'll take them..." REALLY it bothers you to make around 70 bucks to make a phone call and give the box to your UPS guy who comes in every day?!? Since they are the only shop in town that has a business relationship with Italee (Swiss Eyephoric 2.5 gram frames) we decided to go into the shop and put up with the attitude and the rudeness of (owner?) Jim. Guess what?! We got the same treatment in person! But I persevered... I had called the shop in Nevada where the glasses were made, and they said they'd charge me $72 to send them in, no problem (but we were really trying to go local for our business). I had also called Italee directly (to save him some of his precious 15 minutes), who said they didn't care where the glasses came from or who made them; they would repair them at HQ in L.A., and I would be charged whatever he optical shop's rate was. Jim, after not getting away with the "well I don't know if..." argument since I'd done all of the work for him, responded: "well, IF I send these glasses in for repair who will be responsible for the if they break or get lost?" ASK ITALEE, since YOU are the one with a business relationship with them!!! From experience, we know that the repair is not free and they would make a cut. (Usually this kind of repair costs around $30-35, a shop usually doubles the price, and makes a 100% profit... nothing wrong with that so far.) I pushed them for an estimate (like pulling teeth), and was told the repair would cost a minimum of a $100 but they weren't sure, maybe more (to a co-worker: $150 do you think?). We insisted that they call us with an estimate before doing anything with the glasses, and just in case, asked for some proof that they had my glasses (you know, just in case they break or get lost!) WOW, Jim exploded, red in the face and rude: "I've never done this before! I don't even know what to put this on!" and unwillingly started to write a card with our info asking his associate "What should I write on this card for these people?" and then stopped, retreated to the back, saying, "I don't have time for this, you deal with it, I have more important work to do" The other clerk, "No-eye-contact-quiet-guy" (NECQG for short) finished the card. I mentioned to him that we wanted to do business with them in the future but this wasn't a good way to treat new customers. Still hopeful (but who knows why), we left with a bitter aftertaste. We called Italee back; are there ANY OTHER optical shops that work with them? Yes, there were a few more scattered around the area. We called Hutt Eye Associates in Holyoke and they were happy to help. I nearly fell over when a very kind optician (Tammy) said that the whole repair, including shipping, would be less than 35 dollars, sans attitude! No way were we going to give away $150+++ when nice professionals would take $35!!! Operation "rescue the glasses" begins. No call yet, and NECQG was at the counter at Amherst Optical Shoppe, and lied to my face: "...since we didn't make the glasses, we can't send them back to Italee, and the insurance would be prohibitively expensive," Having called Italee myself (and done out-of-house repairs before elsewhere) I knew this wasn't true. "Oh well," I said and took the glasses, "You know, I'm really sorry my business was such an imposition on you, you can rest assured it wouldn't bother you again." He acted confused. I repeated that Jim seemed so terrifically bothered by every interaction with us, we would be sure to take our business elsewhere... and we did! What's wrong with these people?!? Surely they must know you can always go to another shop in nearby Northampton, or these days even get your glasses on-line... this is no way to treat customers or anyone! They are sales people selling goods and services, but they acted like we were such an interruption of their important existence, like they were doing us a favor merely talking to us on the phone and in person. We felt so icky about the whole thing, we decided to write this review to warn others not to bother these people with your petty and pedestrian business and certainly not with your money! Save yourself the trouble. read more

I really wanted to like this place- being local, family owned- but honestly, it is very disappointing shop in all regards. I walked in to scope the frames out and to ask if they could gently bend my glasses so they don't slip off my nose. Admittedly, the specs in question were purchased in a shop in DC, but i have asked lens crafters and other optical shops to help and they are more than willing to do it for free. This time, the man said there would be a fee, but as the other places do it for free and it is an easy task, i assumed it would be nominal. Needless to say, it was not until i was signing my credit-card receipt that i saw i just paid $20 for a glasses fitting that most other places are willing to comp. Although is bad to charge for such a small task, it is reprehensible and a bad business practice to not alert the customer of a fee that is $20- until it is too late. On other thoughts: the frames were dated and he sunglasses selection is rather sparse- especially if you want prescription sunglasses. There were exactly 2 ray-bans that were worthy of consideration. I do not recommend going here: their frames are dated, the sunglasses are paltry, and you may just get charged $20 for asking them to clean your specs. read more

I have been a customer here for 30+ years. The service is always courteous and professional, and the products are more stylish and of better quality than I have seen anywhere. I now live in Hawaii, and when come back to Amherst, this is the place I return to for anything optical. They are simply the best. read more

I've been a customer of Amherst Optical Shoppe for over thirty years. I've consistently found them to be helpful and attentive. When I recently brought in a prescription for a new pair of eyeglasses, the staff helped me pick a frame that better suited my face than the one I'd chosen (he was right). He also adjusted the frames several times - at no cost, and over 3 visits - until they were comfortable and didn't chafe. read more

The staff provided me excellent service, knowledge on the glasses, custom fitting, and recommendations, I picked up a nice pair of Maui Jims here read more

Avoid them like the plague! they charged me $15 to replace a screw because it took them "quite some time" to look for the right screw . Everywhere else in the world it would have been free. And to make the scam seem more believable, they tell you to come back in an hour or two (really?? for a screw??) These people have no shame. read more

These guys are great. They are very helpful, very honest, and stock quality products. I have nothing bad to say about them at all.

Not a great experience with these people. Unfriendly service, sky high prices. I brought in a pair of my own frames to have lenses mounted in, and the attitude just didn't stop. And they charged me $75 fee to mount the VERY expensive lenses in my glasses. Really!?!? read more

My partner was injured and broke his glasses. There was a snowstorm and our regular optician is far away. So I brought my partner's glasses here to get them fixed. It really only required a screw replacement. I was treated rudely and charge $30. There is no reason to be rude to a potential customer. Good customer service expands exponentially. Bad customer service does also. Experienced nothing but bad faith here. A small business should do better than this. I will never shop here. read more

The other reviews of this business are way off base. I have been a 15 year customer & find their services excellent.

Terrible customer service, I waited at the counter quite some time before they deigned to notice me. Same experience as another reviewer, charged $15 to screw my glasses back together because it "would take quite some time to fine a screw". I never would have left my glasses at all if they had mentioned this outrageous price up front. I assumed, as with any normal optometrist, it would just be a couple bucks. Never again. One star is too high. read more

Well I am going to be the first one to give these people a good review, I haven't had insurance till this year for eye wear and have been paying a pretty penny out of pocket since. Back when I had no insurance I wanted to find a hassle free shop that would give me the best optics. This place was the right one. Initially i tried lenscrafter and had terrible success, lots of chromatic aberrations and reflections everywhere. while they took maybe a day, not same day, they did it in house and helped find the right glasses with knowledge. They asked which frames I wanted, I went through about 3-4 of them, trying to find the most durable as most glasses break within a year on me, to be redirected to seiko's due to weight recommendations, fit for my face, and titanium durability. I was redirected due to my prescription for slightly higher index 1.6 and good carl zeiss plastics no polycarbinate because of plastics better optic quality and some good anti-glare protection. Had them in my hands the next day and never had an issue with them since, best pair lightest weight ever and the price wasn't too unreasonable if I remember they were about 500-600 dollar glasses. 8 years later I now have insurance under my employer plan. I went out to get similar glasses, insurance doesn't cover high index, doesn't cover carl zeiss, doesn't have any titanium frames or any frames that are somewhat light. Went out got the best I could, plastics with anti-glare, and even transitions. Can't use them why because they came out crooked, and are unfinished with reflections on all edges I see 3 road lights when driving. It is now 8 years and I am back to the same glasses, can't even use my new prescription as I have almost gotten into a car accident on the first day because I tip my head forward I see my spedometer 3 times, backwards I see the cars lights on top and bottom inversed to the middle lights going opposite directions, up a little higher I can see the lights from the cars behind me, almost caused a car crash once. So I am back to using my old seiko's with an older prescription luckily not a big change occured, I still can see about 20-25 in one eye and 20-30 in the other. I think overall if they will sell me a good pair of glasses that last 8 years without issue, I will go back to this place without insurance again and get a solid pair. I have been unsatisfied with any place but this one so far to date as they all seem to be just having errors to make a decent piece of glass, its not rocket science, it is simple quality is quality. read more

Highly disappointed. I brought in a pair of prescription sunglasses that I had purchased online that needed a slight adjustment. Even though I'd had similar fixes done at other optical shops for free, I expected to pay a nominal amount since I hadn't purchased the glasses through Amherst Optical. I did not, however, expect to pay $25 for an adjustment that, less than two weeks later, hasn't even held up. The smug, "well, there's only so much that I can do since these are poorly made glasses to begin with," attitude didn't help matters, either. It's a shame when a local business, even one that's probably hurting with the rising popularity of online eyeglasses retailers, stoops to terrible customer service and shoddy work. Definitely won't be back. read more

I'm also surprised by the bad reviews of this shop. I"ve gone here for the last 10 years or so, having tried other shops that didn't have quite the service or frame-choice that I wanted. I've never had a problem with their quality or service. The frames are not cheap, but I don't know that they're more expensive than other shops carrying the same frames. When I bought my last pair of prescription glasses, they patiently walked be through all of the options, dealing with my indecision around frame shape, up to the last-minute of closing time (since I'd waited until the last minute to spend down my health-care spending account money). The didn't pressure me to get more expensive lenses -- they just told me the options available and answered my questions. Both men are friendly -- though if you're not used to New Englanders' reserve, you might not think so at first! They've always made basic fitting/adjustments for free -- though this last pair has only needed one adjustment in 4 years. They did this even when I took in frames that I didn't purchase there (though I had purchased the lenses there, I think). I agree with one of the reviewers below that they should always let people know ahead of time if there will be a charge. (But again, I've never had that problem.) So -- yes, I recommend them! read more

Terrible experience as well. I just needed a screw to be put in. They told me to come back after 2 hours (!) because they needed to look for the right screw. I needed the glasses right away, but decided to leave and come back anyway, and only then did I realize that the charge was $15...for a screw!! I made it clear that I was surprised and they rudely replied: it's not only the screw you're paying for, but also my trouble of looking for the right one (WTF) and the work I put in it. Horrible people. Despicable behavior. Greed greed greed. PS: I got the same job done in NY this weekend for FREE.Shame on you! read more

I bought a very expensive pair of glasses from this shop only to roll over them while taking a nap (yeah I know) - I could not afford to buy the same pair so I called the shop and told Jim what I had done and how I could not afford to buy another pair. Jim said to come in to the shop and he would see what he could do. Well he took the lenses and put them in another pair of glasses and I only paid $75 dollars. The pair of glasses he picked looked great and I wore them for another two years. Recently I had a horrible experience with a eyeglass shop in Hadley and went back to Amherst because I trust them to give me an excellent pair of glasses. read more