“What is the difference between prescription reading glasses and store bought?”

Reading glasses are usually for people over 45 years of age.  Non-prescription readers could work well for people with equal prescriptions in both eyes and little to no astigmatism.  Custom made/prescription  readers can take care of differences in refractive errors between the two eyes, including astigmatism, yielding better quality vision. Glenn C. Campbell, MD Naples, FL

There may be no functional difference between store bought readers and reading glasses prescribed to you if you do not have astigmatism or want special coating on your lenses. Store bought reading glasses are a spherical plus add only and are useful for many, but not all people.

Prescription glasses have the exact prescription you need for distance and near for both eyes and store bought glasses have the same prescription on both eyes.