When I was searching for a deal on contact lenses recently, I discovered a website called Lens.com with an unbeatable price — less than $15 a box.
That same 6-pack of contacts would normally cost $60 when purchased from my optometrist.
Lens.com Review: My Real Customer Experience
Is Lens.com too good to be true? I read the reviews and complaints on the Better Business Bureau’s (BBB) website before deciding to give them a try.
In this article, I’ll provide my real customer review of Lens.com and what you need to know:
Table of Contents
Pricing
I found Lens.com by doing a simple Google search for the brand of contacts that I wear, Air Optix Aqua by Alcon. Lens.com was the first result in the snippet below.
The Lens.com price listed on Google was $14.74 for a 6-pack, with free shipping and no tax.
Contact Lens King, OptiContacts.com and Contacts1st.com showed up right below the result for Lens.com, but I haven’t used those sites.
I typically purchase my contacts online from 1-800 Contacts or LensDirect.com.
When I followed the Google link to Lens.com, it showed the price of $14.74 per box. But once I added the purchase to my cart, I saw that shipping was not free.
I ended up paying $7.95 for 5-7 business day shipping and a $3.50 processing fee.
Here’s what’s interesting: When I visited Lens.com directly and not through a Google search, a different price was shown for the same Air Optix Aqua contacts.
The price shot up to $41.99 for a 6-pack, but there was some type of rebate offer available.
I would rather pay $14.74 than $41.99 per box, so I went back to the Google result, clicked on the link and got the lower price.
With shipping and the processing fee, my total was $40.93 for two boxes of lenses.
Ordering process
Aside from the pricing, the ordering process was pretty straightforward. You simply enter the number of boxes that you want to order and the prescription information.
You’ll be asked to upload your prescription or provide your optometrist’s phone number.
This is important: After you get an eye exam and pay the contact lens fitting fee, your doctor is REQUIRED to provide you with a copy of your prescription. It’s the law!
Have them email it to you so that you can easily upload it when you buy contacts online.
Once I uploaded my prescription, I selected a shipping method (5-7 business days) and entered my credit card information to pay for the lenses.
Phone and chat support is available for ordering, but I didn’t require any assistance.
Shipping and delivery
As I mentioned, I opted to pay $7.95 for 5-7 business day shipping. That was the cheapest option. You can pay more for faster shipping.
Here’s a timeline of my order:
- Placed order: June 1
- Order shipped: June 4
- Order received: June 7
The order was shipped from Missouri and arrived at my home in Florida within 5-7 business days, so I had no complaints.
When I opened the box, I checked to make sure I got the correct prescription.
One thing I noticed is that the boxes didn’t look the same. Although one box featured Air Optix Aqua’s older look, the lenses are good and don’t expire for 2.5 years.
Also in the box was a free lens case and magnet with Lens.com’s phone number: 800-536-7266.
Returns
I had no problem with the Air Optix Aqua lenses that I ordered from Lens.com, but the company does have a 100% money back guarantee.
A return label is included with your delivery to make the process easier. Here’s the policy:
A guarantee shouldn’t be complicated, so ours isn’t. At Lens.com we guarantee that you will receive the exact type and brand of contact lenses specified in your order and confirmed by your doctor’s prescription. Also, every lens is guaranteed free of manufacturer defects.
Returning contact lenses to Lens.com is very easy. All contact lenses must be in the manufacturer’s original, unopened boxes and/or vials. Simply call us and one of our friendly customer service representatives will make it right.
Key takeaways
After my first experience ordering from Lens.com, I would definitely use the service again. It’s legit and not a scam! I saved a lot of money.
Before I placed my order, I did read many of the BBB reviews and complaints about Louisiana, Missouri-based Lens.com. The company had a B rating when I checked.
The most common complaints that I reviewed related to missing rebates and delivery delays.
I have no reason to question those complaints, but there are a few things that we can do as customers to have a better experience with Lens.com or another company:
- Get a copy of your contact lens prescription and upload it during the checkout process to avoid delays related to verifying your prescription.
- Don’t wait until you’re on the last pair of contacts to order new ones. You won’t have to pay for fast shipping if you plan ahead.
- Avoid the hassle of mail-in rebates. Do a Google search for the brand of your contacts to find the lowest price.
Have you purchased cheap contact lenses from Lens.com or another online retailer? Leave a review of your experience in the comments section below.
Should update this article, Lens.com is a scam and deserve to get sued.
Wasted time comparing prices and going through an order to find they added $180 in hidden fees on the last page of checkout. I thought it was a mistake and called in. They confirmed the total and threw around numbers on rebates, shipping, “taxes and fees,” etc to confuse the amounts.
I guess they are banking on customers not noticing it.
Eventually went with Costco. No rebates or promos and they were about $30 less than all the “discount” websites that required jumping through hoops.
I had been ordering contact lenses from Lens.com since 2017 and was satisfied. They would only give me the best price if I called on the phone which seems to defeat the whole point of online ordering. But it was a small annoyance compared with the good pricing they gave.
But that all ended today. They offered the same price as the previous four years for my Acuvue Oasis lenses. But this time they matter of factly added in a “processing fee” that was over $50!
No explanation of what that could possibly mean. They then went on to lie and claim they have always had a “processing fee”. I pointed out I had never been charged such a fee before.
I could attach a photo of my last invoice that shows no such fee if you had a way to do this.
Oh. Well, now we do. They also claimed I would never find a lower price even with their “processing fee” (read hidden ripoff).
I would never reward such dishonest behavior. I would actually be willing to pay more to another vendor just to avoid rewarding them. But as it turns out, I immediately found another place that had lower prices without such a ripoff. I hope these people go out of business soon.
I wonder if the jump in “processing fees” reflects the higher cost for labor. Minimum wage jumped all over the country in the past couple of years and people aren’t willing to work for minimum wage anymore because they can get more on unemployment. I don’t know if that’s why, but it seems like this sudden jump in cost probably has to do with the cost of labor.
I think they should increase the base price and not charge a processing fee. It would be more transparent.
The processing fee charged is substantially higher than what is shown in this post. I too clicked on Google Ads for contact lens by lens.com and found that at checkout the processing fee consistently charged (regardless of the contact brand) was 50% of the subtotal! Thus, on my $132 order the processing fee was $66, bringing the total to $198. Comically, their site says the processing fee is my “best friend” and that it “cover[s] [lens.com’s] costs and overheads in the processing fee rather than hiding them” like other companies do “into the per-box price.” See below. Ultimately though, you will save money over more well known retailers despite the processing fee.
“It’s your best friend when it comes to saving money. Other sites pack all their costs into the per-box price. We don’t. We keep our per-box price as low as possible, passing on the savings to you. We cover our costs and overheads in the processing fee rather than hiding them.
Other sites without a processing fee will often price match. We don’t. That means they know their price is high. They require you to waste your valuable time scouring the web to find a lower price. If you don’t, you’re guaranteed to be paying too much. Oh by the way, our competitors often have to match our everyday low prices and they hate it.
The bottom line is…. with Lens.com the amount that comes off your credit card is lower, even with the processing and without you needing to play the price-match game.”
Wow that’s crazy. My post reflects my real experience, so it’s accurate. But I don’t think I’d pay that processing fee if I had your experience. I recently tried Contact Lens King for another year’s supply of contacts and they were slightly cheaper than Lens.com.
I had a similar experience ordering my contact lenses, however after some price comparison I decided to go with Contact Lens King, where not only did I save money like you did through Lens.com (even with the processing fee) but I received my package within 3 business days after being upgraded to 2ND Day shipping at no extra charge. I will definitely be ordering from them again!
Thanks for letting me know! I was wondering about Contact Lens King myself.