Niximus
Brownlow Medallist
I have just re-ordered my contact lenses online and thought that some of you might be interested as opticians here are a damn rip off.
I'm a bit short-sighted and have both glasses and extended wear disposal contacts (Extended wear contacts you leave in for up to 30 days and nights and just put drops in morning and night).
Anyway, I have saved a fortune by sourcing my contacts online for example -
I've just finished a 12 month supply and re-ordered, a new 12 month supply (24 lenses) cost me about USD$158 which is about AUD$175 through PayPal. For comparison, when I used to buy them from the optometrist I'd get a three month supply for AUD$160 - $53 per month has become less than $15.
All I did was go to the optometrist and have my exam as per normal - then you have to be firm - they'll try to sell you glasses/contacts and you have to decline and instead ask for a copy of your prescription (you'll need a different one for glasses or contacts and for contacts you'll also need to know the brand and the prescription is brand specific).
They'll be pissed at you but they have to give you your prescription.
For contacts that's all you need and you can go to http://www.discountcontactlenses.com/default.asp - enter your prescription details and order however many you want.
The lenses ship from the US and are the exact same brand as I was getting here. (You should still have a regular eye exam as you would with any lenses though).
For glasses, on top of your prescription you'll need what's known as your pupilary distance or, the distance between your pupils so they know where the focal points of the lenses need to be.
You can get this easily with an old pair of glasses. Put them on and look into a mirror, with a texta place a dot on each lens covering your pupil, take the glasses off and measure the distance between the two - that's it.
I use this site for glasses http://www.eyebuydirect.com/
Glasses though need to suit you, luckily they are so cheap on this site (as long as you're only after single vision lenses not multi-focals or something) that I ordered three different pairs (a total cost about a year ago of AUD$80).
One pair I hated - they are now in the Car as my emergency pair if I'm stranded without lenses and need to drive.
Another pair they emailed me and told me was the last of its style and was damaged, they cancelled that one and refunded my money (luckily I ordered before the dollar went down and it dropped before they refunded and I actually made a little money).
The third pair were great, I really like them, they are stylish and suit my head really well, they are just like what I had been looking at in the shop but only cost AUD$30 or thereabouts, if they break I'll just order another pair.
Anyway that's my little money saving tip for any one that's interested. Let me know if you have any questions.
I'm a bit short-sighted and have both glasses and extended wear disposal contacts (Extended wear contacts you leave in for up to 30 days and nights and just put drops in morning and night).
Anyway, I have saved a fortune by sourcing my contacts online for example -
I've just finished a 12 month supply and re-ordered, a new 12 month supply (24 lenses) cost me about USD$158 which is about AUD$175 through PayPal. For comparison, when I used to buy them from the optometrist I'd get a three month supply for AUD$160 - $53 per month has become less than $15.
All I did was go to the optometrist and have my exam as per normal - then you have to be firm - they'll try to sell you glasses/contacts and you have to decline and instead ask for a copy of your prescription (you'll need a different one for glasses or contacts and for contacts you'll also need to know the brand and the prescription is brand specific).
They'll be pissed at you but they have to give you your prescription.
For contacts that's all you need and you can go to http://www.discountcontactlenses.com/default.asp - enter your prescription details and order however many you want.
The lenses ship from the US and are the exact same brand as I was getting here. (You should still have a regular eye exam as you would with any lenses though).
For glasses, on top of your prescription you'll need what's known as your pupilary distance or, the distance between your pupils so they know where the focal points of the lenses need to be.
You can get this easily with an old pair of glasses. Put them on and look into a mirror, with a texta place a dot on each lens covering your pupil, take the glasses off and measure the distance between the two - that's it.
I use this site for glasses http://www.eyebuydirect.com/
Glasses though need to suit you, luckily they are so cheap on this site (as long as you're only after single vision lenses not multi-focals or something) that I ordered three different pairs (a total cost about a year ago of AUD$80).
One pair I hated - they are now in the Car as my emergency pair if I'm stranded without lenses and need to drive.
Another pair they emailed me and told me was the last of its style and was damaged, they cancelled that one and refunded my money (luckily I ordered before the dollar went down and it dropped before they refunded and I actually made a little money).
The third pair were great, I really like them, they are stylish and suit my head really well, they are just like what I had been looking at in the shop but only cost AUD$30 or thereabouts, if they break I'll just order another pair.
Anyway that's my little money saving tip for any one that's interested. Let me know if you have any questions.
