Back in the dark days of the internet (we’re talking early 2000s), the idea of buying contact lenses online seemed pretty sketchy. Many sites didn’t ask for prescriptions—which is illegal in the United States—and you’d often receive weird, generic contacts that simply didn’t work as well as their brand-name counterparts.
That’s changed. Today, you can legally purchase high-quality contact lenses online, and 1-800-Get-Lens has emerged as one of the leading marketplaces for brands like Acuvue, Biofinity, Focus, and Dailies.
We’ve worn contact lenses since for ages, but we’ve never ordered them online without feeling totally weird about the whole experience. We decided to give 1-800-Get-Lens a shot; here’s our honest review.
You can actually order contact lenses without an up-to-date prescription.
Well, that’s not entirely true—you get a new, up-to-date prescription through the site’s online vision test.
Here’s how it works: For $40, you can take the eye test for either your glasses or contact prescription (pay another $20 to test both). A physician reviews your results, then issues your prescription. The test is simple, easy to use, and actually sort of fun.
While we’ll still be visiting the optometrist—an online test can’t check for things like glaucoma—1-800-Get-Lens provides an excellent, streamlined approach to obtaining eyewear, especially if your prescription rarely changes or if you can’t easily book an appointment with your local eye doctor.
Yes, you’ll save a ton of money.
We got a three-month supply of Acuvue 2 lenses for less than $17, which is certainly a less expensive rate than our local optometrist offers. While we did find a few online stores offering cheaper rates, 1-800-Get-Lens offered the best value among U.S.-based shops.
The site’s selection is pretty outstanding, with hundreds of options from top brands. We had a few minor issues navigating the site via its dropdown menus, but the search function worked perfectly, and we were able to find our favorite contact lenses in a matter of seconds.
If you already have a prescription, the process is even easier.
Simply fax or email the prescription to the 1-800-Get-Lens customer service department, and they’ll verify it. Alternatively, you can enter your eyecare provider’s information, and a representative of the site will contact your eyecare provider on your behalf.
We can’t comment on the speed of this service because when we checked out the site, we didn’t have an up-to-date prescription, so we took the vision test. It seems relatively straightforward, however.
Overall, 1-800-Get-Lens changed our perception (literally and figuratively). Our order arrived quickly, the customer service team was prompt and courteous, and everything felt professional and legitimate—including the eye test, which is definitely our favorite feature. If you’d like to check out the site for yourself, here’s a link.
