Dozens of websites promise to provide eyeglasses and contact lenses for less than local eye-care professionals charge. But how much can you really save? And is buying glasses and contacts online truly safe and practical? If so, what is the best online glasses store?
You could save 40% or more on contact lenses by buying them online versus buying them at a local eye-care store…and potentially 50% or more on eyeglasses. But eyewear e-seller prices vary substantially, and the best-known eyewear websites often are not the ones that charge the absolute lowest prices. Example: The best-known contact lens website, 1-800 Contacts, offers significant savings compared to many local opticians, but it is still more expensive than some lesser-known online lens sites, such as Lens.com and ContactsAmerica.com (these websites are a single company doing business under different names) and ContactLensKing.com, according to recent research by the nonprofit consumer advocacy Consumers’ Checkbook. As long as a seller stocks the brand and style of contacts you wear, why not get the best possible price? An Acuvue Oasys lens sold by a little-known merchant is exactly the same as one from a well-known merchant.
Sellers and strategies are different with eyeglasses. The best-known online eyeglass stores include ZenniOptical.com, WarbyParker.com, GlassesUSA.com and EyeBuyDirect.com. As with contact lenses, these online leaders offer low prices but not the absolute lowest. The lowest prices for many of the same models of frames tend to be found at lesser-known websites such as Kits.com, SimplyEyeglasses.com, SmartBuyGlasses.com and LensesRx.com.
When shopping for eyeglasses, landing the absolute lowest price should not be your top priority. It’s vital that you end up with glasses that are well-made, feel comfortable and look good on you—and these are tricky things to gauge when shopping online (more about this below). It’s worth paying a little extra to buy glasses from a well-established seller that has a liberal return policy and a solid reputation for quality products and customer service.
Helpful: It usually is not worth paying extra for frames that feature the name of a well-known fashion company—these typically are made at the same manufacturing facilities as less expensive frames, and there often is little, if any, difference in quality.
You will need a prescription to get glasses or contacts—and that means you will need to get an eye exam from a local optometrist or other eye-care specialist even if you intend to buy online. You don’t have to buy contacts or glasses from the optometrist who provides your exam—by law, he/she is required to give you a written copy of your prescription that includes the information you’ll need to enter into the website of the online seller.
Buying contact lenses online is relatively straightforward once you have a prescription, especially if you’ve worn the same brand and style of lens previously and already know that they work well for you. If you have not worn the style of lens before, the eye-care professional who provides your prescription might be able to supply a free sample pair before you place an order.
Buying eyeglasses online creates additional challenges—it can be difficult to assess how particular frames will look or feel on your face when you can’t physically try them on. Many Internet eyeglass stores let shoppers upload photos of themselves into their sites and “try on” frames virtually, which can help somewhat with aesthetic decisions. A few—most notably Warby Parker—will even ship shoppers a selection of frames to try on at home and then return after making their final selection.
Even if you choose wonderful eyeglasses online, you still won’t have an eye-care pro on hand to adjust them so they fit your face properly. You could bring the new glasses to a local eye-care pro for adjustment, but he/she likely will charge a fee for doing so with glasses you didn’t purchase from him.
If you think the challenges of buying glasses online outweigh the savings, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re stuck paying steep optometrist or optician prices. A third option is to buy eyeglasses at a local Costco optical, Walmart Vision Center or Warby Parker location—Warby Parker sells glasses both online and through its own stores. These chains’ eyeglass prices tend to fall between those of the online sellers and local optometrists/opticians.
