CONTACT LENS STORES

Contact Lenses are often the number one choice for people with vision correction needs. Besides offering flexibility and convenience, contact lenses come with a variety of types and features, catering to consumer's needs.

There are a great many reasons why people choose to wear contact lenses over traditional eyeglasses. Some of these reasons include

•  They allow a natural field of view, unobstructed by eyeglass frames

•  They do not fog up or get splattered by rain

•  They generally offer better sight correction than eyeglasses

•  Many people feel they look better and more natural in contacts than in eyeglasses

So which kind of contacts are right for you? Many people are surprised by the types of contact lenses that are available. From soft contact lenses to Extended Wear lenses to Disposables, each type of contact has its own unique set of pros and cons. For your convenience, we have put together this contact lens cheat sheet that describes the different types of lenses and what you should expect from each one.

There are a number of items to consider when looking to purchase contact lenses on the internet. Some of these factors include:

•  Variety.  Does the store offer the type of contact lens you need, with the features you want?

•  Cost.  Does the store consistently offer competitive rates for the contact lenses they sell?

•  Guarantee.  If you aren't happy with the product, can you return it for a refund?

We hope you find this information valuable in purchasing your next set of contact lenses!

 

 

COASTAL CONTACTS

 

 

 

 

1-800-Contacts promises that they are dedicated to providing consumers with simple, fast and hassle-free ordering of contact lenses. With a motto of We Deliver. You Save, we found their service to be exceptional, but their prices generally higher than the competition.

1-800-Contacts has a great reputation for service. The website was easy to use, and provided useful features such as Vision 101. This high-tech section, unique to 1-800-Contacts, delivers flash animation illustrations, showing you everything you'd like to learn about the eye. With features such as eye anatomy, how the eye works, 20/20 vision and common visual problems, 1-800-Contacts delivers more than just the basics. This feature is unmatched by their competitors and is extremely helpful to consumers who are unfamiliar with eye care.

1-800-Contacts offers several ways to search for contact lenses and other information. A "what's hot" section describes the latest innovations in contact lenses, from comfort-fitting contacts to astigmatism.

With an inventory of over 20 million contacts, 1-800-Contacts is the largest contact lens store in our review. This helps ensure that they have your order already in stock and ready to ship. Unfortunately, this high volume did not translate into lower prices. In fact, 1-800-Contacts was consistently on the higher end of the contact lenses we researched. This was disappointing since the rest of their services were found to be very high quality.

1-800-Contacts offers a convenient Buy Now Pay Later option, which means you can purchase your contacts immediately but put off paying for 90 days. They also provide free shipping on orders greater than $50. These features are a reflection of their dedication to a quality experience for their shoppers.

1-800-Contacts guarantees your satisfaction with a full return policy on unopened packages. They also support 24/7 customer service, so you can talk to a live person at anytime throughout your ordering or post-order process.

Unique to 1-800-Contacts is that you can set up eye exams through the official national doctor network. All you have to do is call the toll free number listed on their website, and they will provide you with a doctor or list of doctors in your area. No other contact lens provider provides this level of information.

With so many unique services, 1-800-Contacts scores high marks for ordering contacts online. With their attention to quality and consumer-friendly mindset, they deliver a shopping experience that is truly first-rate.

 

 

 

1-800-Get-Lens delivers a positive shopping experience with a variety of products. Visitors can shop by brand, type of lens, or alphabetically. The website features cool, calming colors which helps the consumer to be patient when looking through their many options in contact lenses.

On the very first webpage, shoppers are given the option of searching by most popular contacts, top lens types or top brands. This helpful feature allows consumers to quickly choose from a variety of ways to search, meeting a wide range of needs. Additionally, you can easily search by most popular lenses or by the quick links at the bottom of the webpage, which narrows down the search by type of contact lens. Visitors that are unsure of what they are looking for can easily search by top brands to help narrow their focus to match their specific needs.

1-800-Get-Lens advertises that they are the most affordable and convenient source for contact lenses. We found that consumers can save up to 70% from retail prices on brand-name contact lenses, including top brands from Acuvue, Focus, Freshlook, and Biomedics. However, many of the other companies in our review also matched 1-800-Get-Lens prices.

1-800-Get-Lens guarantees that consumers will receive their contact lenses and that the lenses will be sealed in the manufacturers sterile packaging, or your order will be refunded. Additionally, if you find that their product is unsatisfactory, you have 30 days to obtain a refund. Only unopened boxes can be returned for a full refund. Like many sites, custom lenses, including novelty and made-to-order lenses, cannot be canceled, returned, or exchanged.

We found the Frequently Asked Questions section very detailed and helpful in answering our shopper's questions. Customer service is available 6 days a week, with a live person answering consumer questions. 1-800-Get-Lens even offers an international toll free phone number for calls originating overseas.

At 1-800-Get-Lens, you can expect to find all of the most popular brands of contact lenses, offered at prices competitive with their competition. The information offered in the FAQ section helps this site rise slightly above average.

 

 

 

Just Lenses claims to be the most convenient and affordable choice for refilling a contact lens prescription. Unfortunately, when we took a look under the covers, we found an average site with prices that could be bested by their competition.

While the Just Lenses website appears clean and easy to navigate at first, the bland yellow color bars used to feature certain popular products proves unsuccessful in attracting attention and is uninviting to the user.

Search functions are comparable to other sites. Visitors can shop by lens type, manufacturer, most popular lenses and other products (for example, reading glasses). In addition, average customer product ratings are featured to give shoppers a better understanding of the product and the experiences of others.

Unfortunately, Just Lenses has a rather high handling fee on all orders placed. They state that they are working on ways to eliminate this cost to their consumers, but the handling fee to consumers currently stands at 6.5% of the product value. This fee is added automatically to your purchase and will be included in the itemized invoice of any order.

If problems occur when you receive your order through Just Lenses, they ask that you contact their customer service department immediately and they promise to make things right. They do not offer a money-back satisfaction guarantee however, which is something we place a high importance on when ordering products over the internet.

With middle of the road prices and a bland website, the experience offered by Just Lenses lags behind the top-rated companies in our review.

 

 

 

Lens.com fails to offer their consumers a friendly and inviting website. With bright red featured as a predominant color, our reviewers were looking for opportunities to turn away and shop elsewhere. This is unfortunate because their search options are easy to use and their prices are competitive.

As the fastest growing direct-to-consumer contact lens supplier in the world, lens.com is doing something right. One feature we liked was their helpful customer product reviews, located at the bottom of each product screen. These can help shoppers can get a better idea of the products they are browsing, by reading about the experiences of others. Lens.com also offers a convenient reorder service and refer-a-friend program.

Lens.com prides themselves on their high quality of customer service and order fulfillment. All of their orders are shipped either by U.S.P.S or FedEx. Most orders are processed and are ready to ship within 48-hours and should arrive within three to five business days. Orders can be placed either online or over the phone.

Lens.com promises to supply all of the major brands and types of contact lenses at up to 70% below retail. While this might be true, the navigation issues and strain on the eyes makes it a chore to shop. You can find deals that are just as good, and a far better shopping experience, with one of our top-rated selections

 

 

 

With a promise of over 1,000,000 lenses in stock, one would think that Contacts America could deliver on all your contact lens needs. Contacts America claims they carry all major brands such as Acuvue, Biomedics, Focus, and Freshlook - but so do all of their competitors. Contacts America also promises to carry hard-to-find specialty lenses such as toric contact lenses, colored lenses, bifocal lenses and multifocal lenses - but again, so do their competitors.

While carrying so many lenses is helpful, Contacts America's website features colors that are harsh and flashy. The choice in colors might have been chosen to keep with an American theme, but as presented on this website they are overwhelming and unappealing to someone shopping for something as delicate as contact lenses.

During our repeated testing efforts, the website exhibited numerous technical issues that affected the display and usability of the site. Certain elements slid right off the visible area of the webpage. This proved to be aggravating at the least and confusing to potential shoppers.

While Contacts America does provide a side-by-side chart showing consumers their price compared to other contact lens providers, it just wasn't enough to receive a higher rating. Aside from the issues with where the chart was displayed, the information in the chart itself was somewhat misleading. It features Contacts America's lowest price only when you order a minimum of 4 boxes per eye. This high volume of contacts may not appeal to consumers who don't want to buy contacts in large quantities, or whose prescription needs change more rapidly.

Contacts America offers to refund or exchange unopened lenses within 30 days of delivery.

Although Contacts America is a simple site, it is difficult to navigate due to the bright colors and technical difficulties. They need to spend time improving the shopper experience if they hope to be a competitive player in this market.