The Best Place for Contact Lens Coupons and Discounts

Despite some relief in coupon and discount hunting being offered by large coupon sites, shopping for contact lenses still proves to be a daunting task considering the large number of websites that need to be surveyed for prices and deals. Even if you consider a dozen or so popular retailers out there, noting prices on each site, then adding shipping costs and finally subtracting available coupons and rebates in order to reach the final cost is a time consuming and unproductive exercise.

What if you could find a resource where all this information was hosted under one website, eradicating the need to hop around between sites? Cheap-ContactLensesOnline.com is one such rare and precious resource for contact lens wearers and bargain seekers. Created on the concept of comparison shopping based on the three central cost factors in contact lens orders – price, shipping and coupons – ‘Cheap Contact Lenses Online’ facilitates consumers by providing all the relevant information on one website. With price differences between retailers in some cases reaching $10 per box, Cheap-ContactLensesOnline.com allows users to easily examine prices for the same brand and make a quick choice on where to buy their contacts.

Each retailer also has a page dedicated to their coupons and rebates. For instance, consumers keen on obtaining a suitable 1800contacts coupon code can simply click the relevant link in the menu and view the most current discounts, rebates and promotions being offered by 1800Contacts. There are ten popular contact lens retailers listed including Discount Contact Lenses, Vision Direct Contacts, Lens.com, Walgreens, Contact Lens King, America's Best Contacts, AC Lens, JustLenses and Lensmart. Coupon codes and rebates can found on each of their individual webpages.

Prices for particular brands of contact lenses are available for all ten retailers and are neatly arranged to ensure the utmost convenience for consumers to compare prices. Each vendor has a ‘buy’ button which when clicked leads directly to the retailer website where consumers make their final purchase and avail any applicable coupons and discounts. Relevant information regarding specific contact lenses can be found if users scroll to the bottom of each contact lens page. This data has been picked up from manufacturer websites to ensure accuracy and further convenience.

Another convenient aspect of Cheap-ContactLensesOnline.com is the shipping cost page which neatly displays various shipping costs for each of the ten retailers in a table format. The shipping costs for different delivery preferences such as standard shipping and express delivery are mentioned along with details on when shipping is free for consumers – as can be seen, most retailers require a minimum purchase before free standard shipping is applicable.

Contact lenses are also categorized into broad types like disposables, toric, colored and conventional contacts. Each category lists the different brands that are available for a particular type of contact lens which can be followed to compare prices. For instance, customers interested in disposable contact lenses can view the different brands of disposables available, categorized further into duration of wear, and then the brands can be explored to select affordable contacts.

Some Online Contact Lens Retailers That Offer Coupons and Discounts

1800Contacts

Probably the most popular of all contact lens retailers, 1800Contacts has the entire range of popular contact lens brands. The website is easy to use and has a simple ordering process for consumers. They ensure the accuracy of an order by checking the prescription information with the consumer’s eye doctor, the information for which is entered during the ordering process. Buyers can also fax in a copy of a prescription from the eye doctor to speed up the approval process. 1800Contacts advertises regularly and has a unique humorous theme to its ads – view it yourself.

Vision Direct Contacts
Also a popular contact lens retailer, Vision Direct offers big discounts and super bargains including online rebates and volume discounts. They offer free shipping on all orders over $99 and guarantee that they will more than meet a competitor's price by hundred and five percent if the price offered by Vision Direct is more. They carry a complete range of name brand contacts and have a simple and secure ordering system. Vision Direct verifies prescription information by calling the consumer’s eye doctor and confirming the details entered in the online order form.

Discount Contact Lenses

Discount Contact Lenses is one of the fastest growing full-service, direct delivery contact lens supplier companies in the world. It was set up in 1996 and stocks a large inventory of contacts in their custom-built warehouse. Contacts are shipped safely in sealed containers and are certain to be the precise lens prescribed by the eye care professional. Discount Contact Lenses ships to all 50 US States as well as Europe, South America and the Far East. They too offer a hundred and five percent price match guarantee whereby if a consumer finds a lower online price on their contact lenses, Discount Contact Lenses meet the price and take an additional five percent off of the difference.

Lens.com

Lens.com supplies the foremost contact lens brands, as well as the different kinds of contact lenses at prices they claim are almost seventy percent below retail. It is also one of the fastest growing direct-to-consumer contact lens suppliers in the world and achieves low prices by checking the prices of all major contact lens retailers every day to ensure that they maintain a price advantage for consumers. The majority of orders are processed and shipped within forty eight hours and arrive within three to five business days at the consumer’s doorstep. Lens.com provides free standard shipping on a minimum purchase amount and has several attractive coupons for additional savings.

Contact Lens King

Contact Lens King offers free standard shipping on all orders within continental United States, a truly valuable offer considering its already low priced contact lenses. Similar to other retailers, Contact Lens King provides great customer service and several deals and coupons for outstanding consumer savings. Prescriptions are verified and orders are generally ready to ship within one business day after verification. Its reputation for reliability, low prices – up to seventy percent less than retail – and friendly service has been growing rapidly as more customers are opting to buy contact lenses using their easy-to-navigate website.

What are the Different Contact Lens Coupons and Discounts Commonly Offered?

Contact lens discounts are generally offered in the form of coupons, bulk purchase discounts or rebates. All three forms of discount are quite common in the contact lens retail industry and can lead to significant savings for the consumer.  Some retailers like America’s Best Contacts also provide discounts to eye clubs for lower prices on eye exams and professional eye care. In some cases the different kinds of discounts are tied together – for example, a rebate may be offered if a minimum number of contact lens boxes were purchased of a particular manufacturer.

Coupons are fairly simple to use and are usually offered by top online retailers on total purchase. The discount may be free shipping on a minimum dollar purchase or a percentage off on the final sale value and may or may not be dependent on a minimum value of the order. Most retailers require a coupon code to be entered in the coupon entry area or special instructions area at time of check out. Once the coupon code is entered, the price is automatically reduced and a lower total price is then charged to the customer. Finding the best discount can be tedious if one thinks about hopping from one retailer site to another, comparing promotions and prices.

Almost all retailers offer bulk discounts and these are generally displayed on the shopping page of each particular brand or kind of contact lens. The retailer clearly exhibits the prices for the different volumes of boxes for contact lenses being purchased, providing the consumer to save more by buying more. This can be a great way to save money especially when combined with coupons. However, people should consider buying in bulk soon after an eye exam and they should always keep their unused boxes sealed. An enthusiastic purchaser may open all the boxes upon delivery – avoid this as several large retailers will exchange unopened boxes of contact lenses if your prescription changes.

Rebates are a bit trickier and require a bit more effort on the part of the contact lens wearer. Rebates are offered by manufacturers and are discounts that can be availed after the purchase has been made. They are largely used by manufacturers as clever promotional tools due to several reasons. Rebates allow manufacturers to avoid dropping prices temporarily as raising them again may be poorly conceived by consumers. Not all rebates are cashed in by consumers and this allows manufacturers to benefit while creating the perception of a significant discount.

Contact lens consumers can avail rebates by generally filling in an enclosed rebate form (or available at the store) and mailing it to the manufacturer or assigned clearing house along with proof of purchase like a receipt or bar code from the contact lens box. A check for the rebate amount is then sent to the consumer within the stipulated period. Rebate offers can be found on manufacturer or retailer websites, newspapers and magazines or in the stores. Be sure to check current rebates whenever you’re shopping for your contact lenses.

Where Can You Get Free Contact Lens Trials?

Thinking of getting contact lenses for the first time or switching brands? A great way to try contact lenses before making a final decision is by getting a free trial pair. However, a getting a free pair may not always be the best option for new contact lens wearers as it usually takes time to get comfortable with wearing contacts. Even then a free pair doesn’t hurt.

But before you get your free trial, you’ll probably need an eye test and you can get those for free as well. Free eye tests are offered periodically by some large well-known retail chains and it would be wise to select which place you actually go to quite carefully. Vision is an extremely important aspect of all our lives and eye care is not something you should take lightly. So make sure the eye care provider you choose is well recognized, reliable and reputable.

Most large contact lens manufactures provide free trial options, depending on which part of the world you belong to. Johnsons and Johnson, manufacturers of the popular brand Acuvue, CibaVision, manufacturers of the popular brand Air Optix, Bausch and Lomb, manufacturers of the popular brand PureVision 2 and several other manufacturers all provide free trials to their new customers residing in the United States. In fact wearers of colored, non-prescription contact lenses can also get a free trial pair from Freshlook.

The process of obtaining a free pair of contact lenses is simple enough. All you have to do is answer a few questions in a form, fill out your contact details and the pair of contact lenses or a certificate for a free trial gets shipped to your specified address. For example with the Air Optix free trial page questions and details related to the type of lenses you wear, what brand you currently use, how often you wear contacts, duration of wear, date of birth and email are required to be filled out and you’re done.

So why do contact lens manufacturers provide free contact lens trials? In exchange for the valuable information you’re providing them about wearing patterns, which brand you use, whether you suffer from eye problems like astigmatism and other important aspects of contact lens marketing and manufacturing. Additionally, the possibility of obtaining a new repeat customer is an added bonus and a free pair of contact lenses is probably a low cost to pay for that business. The advertising dollars spent on obtaining new customers would be far greater.

Saving Costs on Contact Lenses with Insurance & Discount Plans

Vision is one of the most cherished senses for a person and as such, eye care should be an important consideration in all our lives, especially if you wear eye glasses or contact lenses or feel you may be in need of them. Just as medical examinations or physical checkups are considered important after a certain age, so are eye exams and the necessary corrective steps to ensure clear vision and healthy eyes and it is a wise idea to visit an optometrist at least once every year. All this can however add up to a significant amount of money and if you have vision insurance or a vision discount plan you need to be sure that you are availing the financial benefits available to you.

Vision insurance plans are offered by numerous personal insurance companies, many of which like eHealthInsurance can be found online. Getting approved for such a plan is usually quite simple due to the limited coverage and services that can be availed. Vision insurance plans usually cover regular eye exams and the purchase of contact lenses or glasses for a fixed number of times in a certain period. Make sure that your insurance plan includes preferred vision care providers and contact lens retailers in your area and if they do not, figure out how much out of pocket cost you would end up bearing.

It is also wise to use your Health Savings Account (HAS) or Flexible Savings Account (FSA) to cover any out of pocket expenses you need to make for services or products that are not covered entirely by the insurance plan. This is a good use of your pre-tax dollars especially in the case of your FSA where any unused money is not carried on to the following year.  It would be economical to plan your purchases to ensure that any surplus money in your FSA is consumed for whatever services or purchases need to be made before it lapses.

Discount plans are different in that they do not provide coverage against claims, but instead give discounts on services and products that are available through their network of participating eye care providers and stores. For example Alliance Health Card members are entitled to vision service programs provided by their network of eye care professionals, with no limit on the number of times a year their services can be used. A subscriber simply has to pay the bill minus the applicable discount when paying. Alliance Health Card members can select from over 45,000 vision providers in over 21,000 locations, including many of the larger retail chains. Members can save anywhere between 15% to 40% on eye exams, contact lenses and contacts accessories. Unlike most Vision Insurance plans, these discount plans do often cover more complex eye procedures as well.

So although contact lens coupons and discounts are great tools in saving cash it is important to know the other ways in which your eye care costs can come down.  Talk to people you know – friends, family, colleagues – before you decide on an insurance or discount plan. It may be wise to consult your optometrist as well.