As many of you know, I work in the eye care industry. I am a certified para-optometric assistant and t I spend most of my days doing contact lens fittings, teachings, etc. Every time a new contact lens brand hits the market, my office carries it. Over the years, this has allowed me to become very familiar with the pricing of contact lenses from an optometry office compared to other outlets like big box stores and online retailers.
The office I work in is large and has a very high volume of patients. For this reason, all the major contact lens manufacturers try to get us to carry their products. This allows me to constantly be in touch with representatives from all 4 major contact lens manufactures: Johnson & Johnson, Alcon, Bausch & Lomb, and Cooper Vision.
As with all corporations, the contact lens manufacturers’ main goal is to make profits by selling their products. One of the things I noticed about this company representatives is that they play both sides of the coin when it comes to private optometry practices and big box stores/online retailers, which only makes sense of course. They want business from as many places as they can.
No matter how large an optometry clinic is, it still will never have anywhere near the volume of customers that Wal-Mart, Costco, or ContactLensKing.com have. Because of that, small private practices can’t get the same volume discounts that the big corporations get, and that it why your contact lenses cost a little more at your doctor’s office.
However, price shouldn’t be the only deciding factor when it comes to buying your contact lenses. There are both pros and cons to buying to your contact lenses from your eye doctor, from a big department store, and from the internet.
Buying contact lenses from your eye doctor
Pros:
- Your money goes to supporting a local business.
- You are supporting your optometrist who you know and like (presumably) instead of large faceless (and most likely unethical) corporations.
- You get much better customer service if there’s ever a problem with your contact lenses.
- You have access to some mail-in-rebates which are not available when you order online.
Cons:
- You pay more than you would online.
- No at home delivery, you have to go pick up your order.
- Restricted to store hours.
- Often faced with more sales pressure to buy larger quantities, accessories , etc.
- Selection may be more limited.
Buying contact lenses from a department store
Pros:
- You pay less than you would at your optometrist.
- Less sales pressure because employees typically aren’t attached to the success of the store.
Cons:
- Lack of customer service.
- Restricted to store hours.
- Your money does not stay in your local economy.
- No at home delivery.
Buying contact lenses online
Pros:
- Can shop anytime of the day.
- Convenient at home delivery.
- Cheapest place to buy contacts (especially if you consult Contacts Advice’s Lowest Price page)
- No sales pressure from salespeople.
Cons:
- Need to convert your own glasses prescription to contact lenses (luckily for you there is Contacts Advice’s Convert Your Prescription page)
- Selecting the correct brand may be confusing.
- Your money does not stay in your local economy.
There’s no question that the internet is the cheapest place to buy contacts, but don’t assume that every site that sells contact lenses has the same price. Prices vary (sometimes incredibly) from site to site, and even from week to week within the same site. That’s why I set up my Lowest Price page.
I do weekly price comparisons for all the top brands of contact lenses at all the major contact lens websites to make sure you always know where the lowest price for your brand of contact lens can be found.
==> Click here to find out the cheapest place to buy contacts on the internet <==
I started this website because whether optometrists like it or not, people are going online to buy their contact lenses, and I want those people to make the best informed decisions that they can. If you can’t find the information you’re looking for on this site, please send me an e-mail at julie@contactsadvice.com and I will gladly address it.
Cheers,
Julie
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