Clear Choices: Get the Best Buys on Eyeglasses and Contacts
To see properly, about 75 percent of Americans have the privilege of either wearing specs (hey, four eyes!) or affixing little slivers of plastic onto their eyeballs. Luckily, glasses and contacts have come a long way. The 75 percent of American adults who need some sort of corrective eyewear can choose between comfortable contacts and thousands of fashionable frames. Still, shopping for new specs and contacts can be a major hassle.
Thankfully, glasses and contacts have come a long way. Those of us who need corrective eyewear can choose between comfortable contacts and thousands of fashionable frames. Still, shopping for new specs and contacts can be a hassle and nonprofit Consumers’ Checkbook’s undercover shopping research indicates that many stores have prices that are off the charts. You’ll want to choose retailers carefully.
Don’t let a doctor’s office gatekeep your eyewear options. Once you get a vision test, you have the right to take your prescription for glasses or contacts anywhere else to buy them. Under federal law, after completing an eye exam that includes a refraction (vision test), an ophthalmologist or optometrist must provide the patient with a copy of their prescription for lenses, whether they ask for it or not.
Because you have the freedom to shop around, look for outlets that provide the best service and low prices. The ratings Checkbook collected from thousands of consumers indicate that customer service is a challenge for some eyewear outlets. In general, chains and franchise operations received lower ratings than independents, but there was variation among chain and franchise operations.
Checkbook’s shoppers found identical eyeglass frames and lenses cost more than twice as much at some outlets than at others. For eyeglasses, the least expensive sellers were usually online. But shopping for glasses online is challenging: Despite websites’ nifty virtual-try-on technology, it’s still harder to tell which frames will look good on your face, compared to shopping in person.
Comparing costs for frames is complicated by the dominance of EssilorLuxottica, which not only manufactures millions of pairs of glasses, many with familiar designer labels, annually, but also markets and sells them via thousands of retail stores it runs, including For Eyes, LensCrafters, Pearle Vision, Sunglass Hut, and optical departments at Target. It’s often difficult to assess whether a designer frame it makes is worth hundreds of dollars more than a nearly identical, far-less-expensive model that possibly was made in the same facility.
For the limited selection of specs they carry, Checkbook found Costco, Walmart, and Warby Parker offered low prices, and Costco and Warby Parker received positive overall ratings from their surveyed customers. For contacts, Checkbook found that several online contact lens sellers offered prices that were at least 25 percent lower than the average prices at local stores.
However, some well-known online sellers — including 1800Contacts.com — offered prices that were higher than the average prices offered by the lowest-priced brick-and-mortar outlets Checkbook shopped. For the brands Checkbook shopped, the lowest prices were offered by Lens.com and ContactLensKing.com. If you’re replenishing a year’s supply and not changing brands or type, there’s little reason not to grab the savings by buying from a low-cost supplier.
About Consumers’ Checkbook
Consumers’ Checkbook is a nonprofit organization with a mission to educate and help consumers make smarter choices. It offers advice, price comparisons, and in select markets, unbiased ratings of local service providers. It is supported by consumers and takes no money from the companies it evaluates. You can learn more about Checkbook and keep up with its latest reports by visiting Checkbook.org/NFCC.
