Contact lenses?

Hi all.

Can you tell me where you get your contact lenses in England and how much they cost? Also, do they have the same brands available in the US?

I used to get mine from 1800contacts in the States, so they were fairly inexpensive.  I'm sure I won't be able to get them as cheaply here, but any info would be much appreciated.

Also, what do you pay for an eye exam?

Mine are Specsavers (high street opticians), £13/month including all eye examinations, etc. Could probably get it a bit cheaper but doesn't seem worth the hassle to save a few quid a month.

This is a good question, fallgal! I'm planning on stocking up before I go, but I guess I'll eventually need to figure this out!

pdf27, do you mean you're using specsavers brand contacts? Or do they carry regular brands?

I worked with an ophthalmologist last year and he said he always got his lenses from contactlenses.co.uk.

I've also gotten lenses from lensway.co.uk.

This past time I got a box of 3 lenses (one eye only) for £12 from a high street optometrist. (To be fair, though, he said he'd match online shopping prices, so I don't know if that's what he'd normally charge.)

I did the Specsaver plan for a few years but I've decided it's not economically beneficial for me anymore.  The quality of the lens they send declined at some point last year (when they introduced a new line that cost a few quid more per month) so I got less wear out of each pair.  I was always calling them to get some replacements and fair play, they didn't charge me for them, but it was a pain in the ars*.

I'm just going to buy lenses through the mail.  I don't need a sight test every year.   I'll get better quality lenses for less than I pay with Specsavers and front the money for a sight test when I feel I need one.

pdf27, do you mean you're using specsavers brand contacts? Or do they carry regular brands?

http://www.contactlenses.co.uk/page?id=16 - they're a relabelled version of one of the regular brands. Looking up the ones I wear, and making some rough assumptions for the price of getting checked every year or two then I wouldn't save much from changing (I'm paying ~£150/year, the lenses alone are ~£110 on the site linked above). If you're on different lenses, you may do better - particularly if you can switch to a different (cheaper) brand.

I've used Postoptics (now renamed http://www.getlenses.co.uk) for nearly ten years now and have been very happy with their prices. I get my contact lens prescription and eye health checkup at 20/20 on Tottenham Court Road and then buy the lenses online afterwards. Postoptics have been less than HALF the price that 20/20 charge for the same lenses. But 20/20 literally saved my life back in 2009 (the first sign of my bone marrow failure was in my eyes) so I trust them completely now and will only ever get my eyes checked by them.

Thank you everyone for your recommendations. I will be investigating all of them and hopefully will make a decision soon - as I  only have 2 pair of contacts left.

Thanks again!

http://www.contactlenses.co.uk/page?id=16 - they're a relabelled version of one of the regular brands. Looking up the ones I wear, and making some rough assumptions for the price of getting checked every year or two then I wouldn't save much from changing (I'm paying ~£150/year, the lenses alone are ~£110 on the site linked above). If you're on different lenses, you may do better - particularly if you can switch to a different (cheaper) brand.

Thanks. I have a specific brand (Acuvue Oasys- torics) that works for me.

I've used Postoptics (now renamed http://www.getlenses.co.uk) for nearly ten years now and have been very happy with their prices. I get my contact lens prescription and eye health checkup at 20/20 on Tottenham Court Road and then buy the lenses online afterwards. Postoptics have been less than HALF the price that 20/20 charge for the same lenses. But 20/20 literally saved my life back in 2009 (the first sign of my bone marrow failure was in my eyes) so I trust them completely now and will only ever get my eyes checked by them.

These are great. I've book marked both sites! It looks like if you sign up (now) with 20/20, they give you a free eye exam (how much are they normally? Couldn't find that on the site.) And my contact brand is right on the front page of the getlenses site. That price is comparable to what I pay now here in the US! Yay!

(how much are they normally? Couldn't find that on the site.)

Remind me on Friday and I'll tell you - I've got my check up & contact lens fitting/assessment/whatever appointment on Thursday night.

Ok, fresh from my appt at 20/20 last night, I can tell you that the full eye exam (which you need every 2 years) is £45, and the contact lens exam & fitting (which is valid for one year) is £35. I had a birthday discount so mine was a bit less.

Their lenses are a separate company and are stupidly expensive, though, so when the optician handed me off to the sales guy, I just said "I buy mine at GetLenses.co.uk", he went off to check the site, and came back and said they couldn't possibly price match GetLenses, as the lowest he was authorised to go was £190/12m supply of my lenses, and GetLenses had them for £135 for 13 pairs. No hard sell at all - they price match where they can, and let you buy elsewhere when they can't.

I just ordered mine this morning and there's a valid 20% off code floating around right now that works, too (SAVERM, good til 20 June, or you can use my referral code 5704493F for £10 off £50 spend, no exp date), so I ended up getting 13 pairs of monthly toric lenses for £125 shipped. Sweeeeeeeet.

I can't comment on contact lenses, as I don't wear them, but I have a friend that does, and she had me stock up on contact lense solution for her when I was on holiday in the States. Apparently, what I paid around $10 for in the US is over £20 in the UK. So, definitely make sure you take over a pretty big supply before you move!

Ok, fresh from my appt at 20/20 last night, I can tell you that the full eye exam (which you need every 2 years) is £45, and the contact lens exam & fitting (which is valid for one year) is £35. I had a birthday discount so mine was a bit less.

Their lenses are a separate company and are stupidly expensive, though, so when the optician handed me off to the sales guy, I just said "I buy mine at GetLenses.co.uk", he went off to check the site, and came back and said they couldn't possibly price match GetLenses, as the lowest he was authorised to go was £190/12m supply of my lenses, and GetLenses had them for £135 for 13 pairs. No hard sell at all - they price match where they can, and let you buy elsewhere when they can't.

I just ordered mine this morning and there's a valid 20% off code floating around right now that works, too (SAVERM, good til 20 June, or you can use my referral code 5704493F for £10 off £50 spend, no exp date), so I ended up getting 13 pairs of monthly toric lenses for £125 shipped. Sweeeeeeeet.

That is very reasonable! Probably less that what I pay here, tbh! Thank you for following up on that!