Where's the Best Place to Buy Cheap Contacts?

Brought to you by Cheap Contacts Guide.com

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Before the mid '80s, you basically knew that if you wore contact lenses, you bought them from your eyecare professional. He or she fitted you with contacts, dispensed them to you and sold you replacement lenses. Typically, that meant getting a new pair about once every 12 to 18 months.

Then came the introduction of contacts that were replaced frequently, sometimes as often as every day. The growing popularity of these disposable and planned replacement lenses encouraged entrepreneurs to begin selling contact lenses.

Now, besides being able to buy contacts from independent eyecare professionals and large chain optical retailers (such as LensCrafters and Pearle Vision), you can also purchase them from mail-order/Internet companies like Lens Express and 1-800 Contacts, online pharmacies like PlanetRx and local warehouse clubs like Costco.

What's the difference where you buy them? That depends on your needs and expectations. There are six points you ought to consider before purchasing contact lenses (not necessarily in this order):

Availability
Price
Insurance
Service
Convenience
Eye Health

But before you determine which of those areas are most important to you, you'll need a contact lens prescription. Without it, you'll be able to buy contacts legally only from your eyecare provider.

How Do I Get My Prescription?

Contact lenses are not just consumable products for sale to the general public — the FDA has classified them as medical devices. To obtain them legally, you need a valid contact lens prescription. To get one, you must be fitted for contact lenses (an eyeglass prescription is not sufficient). Throughout the U.S., you can be fitted by an optometrist or ophthalmologist. In some states, an optician who is certified to fit contact lenses may also fit you.

A Federal Trade Commission rule states that eyecare professionals must give you your eyeglass prescription after an exam. However, only 26 states have laws that mandate they release your contact lens prescription, and even then only upon your request.

In addition, in almost all of these states the prescription release does not occur until the end of the "fitting period." This is to ensure that the lenses are indeed working well for you and are not causing a health problem or exacerbating an existing one.

That means eyecare providers in half of the country are not legally obligated to give you the contact lens prescription. If you live in one of those states and want the prescription, you'll have to ask at the time you make the appointment if the eyecare professional is willing to give you a copy after the exam.

Be aware that if your eyecare provider gives you an exam and contact lens fitting but does not give you the prescription, you will have to purchase your contacts from him or her.

Where You Have the Legal Right to Your Contact Lens Prescription

These 26 states have laws that mandate that your eyecare professional release your contact lens prescription to you if you request it.

However, in almost all of these states the prescription release does not occur until the end of the "fitting period," which can vary in length. Many eyecare practitioners feel it is best to monitor your eyes' adaptation to the new contact lenses, to be sure there are no health problems that would warrant use of a different lens instead. This is the purpose of follow-up visits.

Alabama
Arizona
California
Colorado
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Minnesota
Nebraska
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
South Dakota
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
Wisconsin
Wyoming

Source: Review of Optometry

When Will My Contact Lens Prescription Expire?

Some eyecare professionals will write an expiration date on your prescription. Says Dr. Burt Dubow, an optometrist in St. Cloud, Minn., "For the average patient, we write a prescription that's good for a year. But for some patients, we may expire them every three to six months. In any case, we write the expiration date on the prescription and in the patient's chart."

"Our expiration dates vary with the circumstances of each patient," adds Dr. Dubow. "We expire extended wear prescriptions sooner than daily wear ones to help prevent eye health problems. We also shorten the time span for those who are non-compliant or at-risk."

["Non-compliant" patients are those who don't clean their contact lenses regularly, sleep in their lenses even when told they shouldn't, skip follow-up appointments, or otherwise ignore their doctor's advice. "At-risk" patients are those who, because of inadequate tear film, tendency toward infection, or other problems, may not do quite as well with contact lenses as others and therefore need closer monitoring. — Ed.]

Dr. Dubow also says that age makes a difference. The younger the patient, the shorter the expiration date he writes on the prescription.

Some eyecare professionals do not write an expiration date on the prescription. That, however, does not mean the prescription never expires. Most eyecare professionals agree that the standard of care mandates that, in general, contact lens prescriptions expire one year from the original date of the prescription whether or not an expiration date is included, says Dr. Joseph T. Barr, an optometrist in Columbus, Ohio.

Some states do have laws that set parameters for expiration dates when one is not present on a prescription. For instance, says Lens Express executive vice president Brian O'Neill, "In Florida, it's two years. In Texas, it's one year. And in Washington, it's two years." However, in some circumstances, such as in the presence of disease, the expiration may be shorter in certain states.

It's common sense that if your contact lens prescription is more than a year old, you may need to see your eyecare professional and get an updated prescription. Besides a possible change in vision, other things can happen to the health of your eyes in one year, and some may not be noticeable without having a complete exam.

For example, you can develop glaucoma without showing any symptoms for quite some time, but it is a disease an eye doctor would catch during a complete eye exam. Glaucoma must be diagnosed early to prevent vision loss.

Do I Really Need a Follow-Up Visit?

Safety is the main reason it's important to make the follow-up visits recommended by your eyecare provider — even if they are scheduled to occur more than once a year and even if you purchase your contact lenses from another source.

That's why contact lens prescriptions expire: to make sure your eyes are checked for trouble at reasonable intervals by an eye doctor.

"Just because your eyes feel good and your contact lenses seem to be working well does not mean your eye health is O.K.," says ophthalmologist Charles Slonim, M.D. of Tampa. "You may be having microscopic problems that can be seen only with a slit lamp [a type of microscope with a narrow beam of light used by eyecare professionals]."

Dr. Slonim says that 10 percent of the time when he sees a patient during a follow-up visit, he notices something that could become a problem if not taken care of immediately.

Hazards of Outdated Prescriptions

Here are some of the potential problems that could occur if you try to circumvent your prescription expiration date or don't make your follow-up visits with your eyecare professional:

Contact lens damage from using eyecare solutions that are incompatible with each other or with your brand of lenses;
Oxygen deprivation to the eye, which can lead to a chronic or permanent condition called neovascularization (blood vessel growth in the cornea);
Giant papillary conjunctivitis, a type of pink eye with itchiness and irritation underneath the upper eyelid;
Swelling of the cornea due to poor lens fitting or incompatibility of solutions, which can develop into corneal ulcers (a potential cause of blindness);
Generalized swelling that can cause a change in your prescription.

Where's the Best Price?

To get the best price on contact lenses, you have to comparison shop. Don't assume you'll find a significantly better price on the Internet than you will from an eyecare practitioner; ask about prices during your eye exam or contact lens fitting.

Also, don't assume that a company that sells one lens brand and type for less than another company will be cheaper overall. One company may sell a standard spherical lens for less, but the second company might sell a toric lens for less than the first company. It all depends on what kind of purchasing deals these companies have made with contact lens manufacturers or distributors. Also, pricing can change regularly, particularly at Internet sites, where special discounts can appear at any time.

You can do a general scan of different contact lens pricing on the Internet by visiting lensprice.com. The site provides links to the companies whose prices are listed.

However, the selection of lenses priced at this site is limited. And we found that some prices noted at lensprice.com were not up to date. For example, lensprice.com showed that the lowest price for a One-Day Acuvue 10-pack was $8.99 (for a minimum order of 10 boxes) at WebLens.net. But when we visited WebLens, the listed price was $12.95, even after we plugged in an order for 10 boxes.

Two of the better known mail-order contact lens retailers, Lens Express and 1-800 Contacts, were not listed at lensprice.com. Their prices for a One-Day Acuvue 30-pack were not only less than the actual price at WebLens, but also less than the lower price for WebLens as listed at lensprice.com.

Lens Express was $1.55 cheaper for the 30-pack than 1-800 Contacts. But 1-800 Contacts offered a cheaper per-box price if you ordered more than four boxes. That company also had $10-, $20- and $30-off discounts, depending on the amount you were spending, while Lens Express provided frequent buyer discounts and credits if you referred a friend.

(Note: We found the above prices on the Internet at the time we researched this article. Do not use them as a guide, because they have surely changed by now.)

If you want to buy your lenses from your eyecare professional, but the prices are higher than from an Internet company, tell your practitioner. He or she may agree to meet or beat the prices you find online.

Does Price = Value?

Some eyecare practitioners offer bundled packages of lenses and professional services. If the lens price is slightly higher than a competitive source, but the package includes office visits or other services, the value may be greater.

It's wise to also evaluate mail-order companies by value, and not just price. A great price won't mean much if your lenses are not available, or if they arrive long after you need them.

Some eyecare practitioners also offer contact lens replacement programs, which give discounts on lenses and other services at the office. For instance, a New Jersey practice that specializes in contact lenses offers two plans:

Plan A costs $25 and offers a lens discount and free replacements of damaged lenses.
Plan B costs $50 and offers a lens discount, free replacements of damaged lenses or free replacements in case of a prescription change, two free emergency office visits and a 20 percent discount on contact lens solutions.

The lens discount is pretty substantial. Without either plan, a three-month supply (24 lenses) of one toric lens and one aspheric lens from CooperVision would cost $230. With either plan, it costs $160.

A Note About Insurance

Clearly, if you have a health insurance plan that covers contact lenses, you need to contact your plan coordinator to identify your benefits. Do this before you make an appointment for a fitting.

Many health-care plans, such as Aetna/US Healthcare, have vision care programs that offer both eye exams and discounts on contact lenses. Usually, you must purchase the lenses at specific optical retail locations.

Also, many of these plans cover the cost of traditional, daily-wear contacts but not disposable or specialty lenses (such as torics for astigmatism, bifocals, or colors).

Some eyewear benefits plans simply offer discounts on certain replacement lenses. These programs don't include eye exams or contact lens fittings, which you will need in order to obtain a prescription.

Availability: Can I Get My Prescription Filled Anywhere?

Contact lens sellers must have your up-to-date prescription. If a company offers to sell you contacts without a written prescription or without contacting your eyecare provider's office, they are not complying with the law.

Some companies, other than your eyecare provider's office, may not carry the contact lenses designated by your prescription and may not be able to get them, particularly if they're specialty lenses. That's because most major contact lens manufacturers don't sell their products to mail-order/Internet companies. Still, many of those companies are able to stock and sell most contact lenses, because they buy them through contact lens distributors, which is legal.

Also keep in mind that if your eyecare professional gives you a prescription for a "private label" contact lens (one that is packaged and labeled for that particular office), you will not be able to get that lens elsewhere. Private labeling is a technique some practitioners use to encourage patients to buy lenses only from them.

Remember, aside from being illegal, it is dangerous to accept a lens that isn't the exact one on your prescription. Contacts are made of different lens materials and come in millions of different sizes and shapes. If you don't wear what's been prescribed to you, you could risk your eyes' health.

What to Consider Before Ordering on the Internet

1. Smaller, lower-volume companies may not always have the lens you need. You may not be very happy if every time you order lenses you have to shop for a new source.

2. Does the company stock all the products it offers on its website? It they have to obtain the product after you order it, delivery time may be longer than you expect.

3. Is customer service readily available? If there's a problem with your order, it's nice to know that you can easily access a customer service representative to handle it.

4. Will the company be in business tomorrow? If there's an accidental double-billing of your credit card, you'll want to be confident in the integrity of the company, and a quick resolution. — L.S.

How Fast Can I Get My Lenses?

How fast a company or practitioner responds to your contact lens needs may be important to you. In fact, their ability to respond quickly may depend on your prescription. For instance, if you wear a basic spherical disposable contact lens, it's likely that your eyecare professional will have at least a few pairs of that lens in stock, making it easy to get lenses fast if you neglect to reorder before you run out.

In that case, it might make more sense to purchase the lenses directly from your eyecare professional rather than having to wait for a mail-order company to send them to you. Lens Express reports that it typically ships lenses to customers using USPS Priority Mail, which takes from two to seven days. But you can also elect to have lenses shipped by Federal Express for an extra fee.

It used to be that the only way you could have your contacts mailed to you was if you used a mail-order company. Today, eyecare practitioners can also ship replacement lenses to you. Depending on the lens brand, they can also arrange to have the manufacturer ship directly to you. Shipping fees are typically standard mail or UPS ground rates. While some offices promise no shipping fees, the lenses they sell may be priced slightly higher to offset those fees.

What If Lenses Are Damaged During Shipment?

Does the place you want to buy contacts from have a return policy if the lenses are damaged? Because each lens is carefully packaged, it is unlikely that you will receive a damaged lens. Nevertheless, the possibility does exist.

Most eyecare professionals will replace your damaged lens at no cost. While Lens Express says it will replace damaged lenses, some other mail order companies may not. Make sure you know the store's policy before purchasing.

Also on that note, you may decide to buy a large number of lenses at one time to obtain a discount price. If you do, make sure the store or practitioner allows you to return the unopened lenses if your vision changes and requires you to get a different prescription. If you don't find such a program and buy a year or two's supply of lenses, you may end up stuck with contacts you can't use. Reselling your own contacts, even if unopened, is illegal.

Four Important Points to Remember

1. When shopping for the best price, ignore your preconceived ideas about who's cheaper. Evaluate a variety of sources.

2. Focus on value, not just price. Take into account the level of service when evaluating Internet retailers — and professional services when evaluating eyecare providers.

3. No matter where you buy your lenses, be sure to get eye exams regularly. How regular is right for you depends on your eye physiology and conditions, and the type of contacts you wear.

4. If having a choice of replacement lens providers is important to you, ask for your contact lens prescription when you get your eye exam. But be aware that there may be a "fitting period" first, and that in nearly half of the United States, eyecare practitioners are not legally required to give you the prescription. — L.S.

The Bottom Line

As this article shows, there's no one answer to the question, "Where should I buy contact lenses?" Since there are so many choices, to get the most value from your purchase, you'll need to do quite a bit of comparison shopping.

There is one constant, however. The FDA classified contact lenses as medical devices because they touch your eyes all day every day, and they can have an enormous effect on long-term eye health and vision. That's why, no matter where you buy your contacts, always make sure good eye health is your number one consideration.

For more information on contact lenses and other vision care options, visit AllAboutVision.com.

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