Over the last twelve years I have owned several pairs of Oakley Zero’s. My favorite style is the 0.4². They are so light that you hardly notice them when you are wearing them. The last pair I had were given to me by the Coolest. He received them from Marlboro when he won a trip to race cars in California. About a year ago they finally broke in half. The Zero’s are known to break at the middle of the nose from just normal wear and tear. It has happened to me more than a few times but the glasses are so cool I keep going back to them. 0.4²‘s where discontinued in 2004 so I am unable to purchase a new pair from Oakley directly or from any authorized dealers like Sunglass Hut.

Lately I have been scanning Ebay for a new pair. I had no idea there was such a huge secondary market for these glasses. They are still going for their full retail price if not more. I lost 8 auctions before I finally was able to place a winning bid. Unlike me, most people are uneducated on the history of Oakley’s Zero line and I would realize this when I opened the box I received a few days later after winning my first auction. I was so excited when my package arrived but that didn’t last long. I thought I purchased a pair of 0.4²‘s but what I received was a pair of 0.7’s. the 0.7’s are similar but are much smaller in size than 0.4²‘s. Guess I’ll be putting those back on Ebay with the proper description. Rats. Round 2. On my second go round I thought for sure that I would get it right. I chose “Buy It Now” on a pair of glasses that were described as 0.4’s. When I received them they were definitely 0.4’s but they were not 0.4²‘s. 0.4’s are also similar to 0.4²‘s but are also smaller in size. The 0.7’s and 0.4’s look funny on my fat head. Oh well, round 3. After failing to acquire the glasses on my first two tries, I figured the third time would be the charm. This time I did a very specific search for the 0.4²‘s. The only auction that turned up was for a pair of FMJ 5.56 0.4²‘s. I have only owned black ones in the past but I decided to take a chance on these. On this particular auction I was able to negotiate the price and I was able to pay what I thought was fair. When I received the glasses (the next day in fact) I was very hesitant about opening the box. I didn’t want to be disappointed again. I was pleasantly surprised by what I found in the box. The glasses were definitely 0.4²‘s and were in perfect condition. The only bad thing was that they reeked of cigarette smoke.

Now that I have had a taste of success I want a black pair and a platinum pair. Amazon.uk has a few pair but I can’t get them to mail to my address. I eventually found one site last night that claimed they sold what I am looking for. sunglassplanet.com. They didn’t look trustworthy so I did a little research. I pulled their “claimed” address in Texarkana up with Google maps to see if they were in a residential neighborhood or an industrial area. It looked like they were located in a business park. I also checked the BBB. No info, good or bad. I also did a few google searches for any information about them but couldn’t find any. Eventually I sent them an email asking if they were still in business. I received no reply. This morning I called the number that was listed on the site. OMG! I called the number from my office at work while on speakerphone. All of the sudden some women starts moaning and groaning over the speaker telling me how bad she wants me. Conversations carry through my area so I couldn’t pick up the handset fast enough. I couldn’t believe it, all I want is to buy a pair of sunglasses, not carry on an erotic conversation with some unknown siren in Texarkana. Jeez.

I’ve left my name and number with the Oakley outlets here in Houston just in case any come in. I recieved a call today from the location in Cypress, but they just wanted to know exactly what I was looking for. Oh well, the quest continues…