Eye Glasses from Sam's Club or Costco?

[howlongtildisney]

I always get my contacts at Costco and got my last pair of frames from them. They were more reasonable than anywhere else. Just bought a new pair from a different place because they didn't have any frames that exactly matched what I wanted this time. But they'll always be my first stop.

 

[Iralyn]

Love Costco for glasses! Definitely cheaper and they do the price 'all in' vs. with my optometrist who would have a base price and then have to add on anti-glare coating, etc. I was also very impressed with how quickly they were ready for pick up. I have a strong prescription -- one that those 1 hour places can't do and that even on 'rush' through my optometrist (when my glasses broke) it took about 7 business days. With Costco, I ordered them on a Wednesday and they were ready to be picked up on Sunday!!!

 

[EACarlson]

I've bought all my glasses for the last 10 years from Zenni. My wife also gets hers from there. I wear contacts 90% of the time and so I'm not real hard on my glasses. But other than my prescription changing I haven't had to buy another pair.

 

[JenzyHP]

Costco has been great! I've ditched my eye insurance because their exam and glasses come out way less.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I also have gotten many pairs of glasses from Costco. No issues and their prices and selection are very good.

 

[DLgal]

Update: just picked up our kids glasses from Costco (first purchase). They are great! I'm never going back to the optometrist for glasses. My sons use Transitions lenses and I got one pair for $138 total and the other was lens replacement only, since the frames are Ray Bans and only a year old...$104 for those (included $25 lab fee for creating lenses for frames not purchased at Costco). The total for both was less than 50% of the cost at the optometrist for the same thing. These glasses were done in 5 days. Great experience.

 

[MNMomof3]

We love Zenni’s! We adjusted them pretty well with the instructions they had online (heating up with a hairdryer for 30 seconds, then bending). Our eye doctor place also was good with making adjustments too.

 

[DrLolo]

I've been using Costco for glasses for a long time now. One point of note is that they will replace your lenses one year from purchase date. I had scatched up my sun glasses pretty bad one and got new lenses replaced for free

Thanks, I didn’t know about this! I’ve been going to Costco optical for years and been very happy with the in house Optometrist & several pairs of glasses. I usually shop around & order contacts elsewhere for better pricing with cash back options and sometimes coupons/rebates.

Update: just picked up our kids glasses from Costco (first purchase). They are great! I'm never going back to the optometrist for glasses. My sons use Transitions lenses and I got one pair for $138 total and the other was lens replacement only, since the frames are Ray Bans and only a year old...$104 for those (included $25 lab fee for creating lenses for frames not purchased at Costco). The total for both was less than 50% of the cost at the optometrist for the same thing. These glasses were done in 5 days. Great experience.

The $25 fee for making lenses is news to me, thanks for this info. My local Costco told me they won’t make lenses for frames not purchased there. I have some really nice frames (they were stupidly expensive & not purchased at Costco) with an outdated prescription that I’d like to use for sunglasses. I’ll ask again!

 

[dosekies]

My whole family has ordered glasses from Costco and never had any problems.

I will add, if anyone is very sensitive with their vision (gets migraines when vision is off, etc.), I personally advise away from 'cheap' online places like Zenni, EyeBuyDirect, etc. I ordered multiple pairs from EBD at the same time, all the same prescription and everything on the order, but when they came all of the prescriptions felt off when wearing them. If I switched from one pair to another, there was a noticeable difference in my vision. The frames were also pretty cheap so you get what you pay for.

 

[DLgal]

Thanks, I didn’t know about this! I’ve been going to Costco optical for years and been very happy with the in house Optometrist & several pairs of glasses. I usually shop around & order contacts elsewhere for better pricing with cash back options and sometimes coupons/rebates.


The $25 fee for making lenses is news to me, thanks for this info. My local Costco told me they won’t make lenses for frames not purchased there. I have some really nice frames (they were stupidly expensive & not purchased at Costco) with an outdated prescription that I’d like to use for sunglasses. I’ll ask again!

It may vary based on location since they use local optical labs to make the lenses. Our Costco uses a lab down in San Diego (we are about 80 miles away from there) and that particular lab will make lenses, but there was a chance that they would be unable to do it, and if that happened, we would receive a full refund.

 

[Disneyfan754321]

We saved the most buying online, there are so many companies.. with my insurance I got name brand Kors for free / 40.00 copay for lenses.

 

[Iowajes]

I wasn't happy with Costco's selection or their customer service (which was basically "let us know when you picked a pair."

I've gotten my last 3 pairs at Walmart and have been pretty happy with them. Last year I tried to get glasses and they kept not working for my face when I got the real pair vs. the try on, or I'd get weird rainbows on the edge of the lens, etc. They took them back no questions asked each time (and in the end, I stuck with my old ones). This year I got glasses from them again, and I love them- they recommended a different lens than last year, and that seemed to have been the problem. I love how easy their returns are, and how great their warranty is (with a toddler- a year no questions asked breakage warranty is incredible.) And the price is amazing.

I have a difficult to fit face (an unusual size frame needed) so online places just aren't an option for me.

 

[DLgal]

I wasn't happy with Costco's selection or their customer service (which was basically "let us know when you picked a pair."

That's too bad, and the total opposite of our experience. I sat down with my son, told the lady "he wants blue glasses, that have rectangle lenses, with a nosepiece." She measured his face, brought out a box of that size frame, and we went through, literally the whole box, trying on each pair until we narrowed it down to one, which we bought. Took all of 10 minutes and the lady helping us could not have been more patient or helpful. My son has autism and is very peculiar about his glasses and she was super sweet to him when he would reject a pair a little too strongly. She helped us find the ones that looked and fit the best and they look great on him. I had no idea what to look for and she explained how the different parts of the glasses (temple arm, lenses, and frame width) should sit on the head/face, and how you can tell when you have a pair that fits well (the eyes are centered in the lenses and you can't fit a finger under the temple arm, and the lenses don't extend out beyond the sides of the face).

In contrast, our optometrist office was always "just try on a bunch and let us know when you found one you like." And then, we would bring up a pair that we liked, and they would say "those are too big" or "those are too small." Not very helpful, actually.

 

[Lewisc]

Costco is top rated by Consumers. Costco doesn't use local labs. Costco has their own lab, unless something has recently changed they only have one lab. Costco lenses include features which are up charges almost everyplace else. An example, Kirkland progressive lenses are high definition.

I agree with a PP, visionworks frames don't seem be that well made.

Walmart, and I assume also Sams Club, are good if you have a prescription Costco can't handle. Quality lenses a WalMart seem more expensive then at Costco.

 

[tcufrog]

I've had good experiences with Sam's Club. The last few times I tried Costco I didn't like their frames selection. I found lots of frames that I liked at Sam's.

 

[DisMommyTX]

I have used Goggles4U very successfully twice. I wear contacts all the time, so glasses are just a back up used a couple times per year. Last purchase was 2 pair for $30. I used old pairs for measurements and bought styles similar to what I had used previously. Couldn't be happier! I also bought a pair for my son last year after the first two bit the dust. First pair was one month past warranty. Second pair he lost, and warranty only worked if we turned in the previous pair. Two purchases in 16 months was enough. The $20 pair from Goggles4U lasted until his prescription changed and insurance renewed.

For daily wear, I'd probably go to Sam's, but online is great for a cheap backup.

 

[DVCjj]

Dumb question, I'm sure, but I have always just gotten my glasses and contacts through my ophthalmologist. What do you do, just ask your doctor to give you your prescription after your office visit and take it to Costco?

Sorry, I know this is from February but NEVER be sucked into buying glasses (especially) or contacts at your ophthalmologist. They are insanely higher for no better quality than Costco. I go twice a year to eye Dr because my mom was blind from glaucoma so I've very careful never to miss an appointment. Anyway...They have always just handed me my prescription when checking out. Yesterday, no one handed it to me and when I asked, they said it now goes directly to the EYEGLASS area in the same office suite. Ummm, No. I walked over and went to the their person and said I would like my prescription please. She printed and handed it to me, no problem. Next appointment I'm specifically mentioning it to my long time wonderful Optha that I think it stinks it goes directly to the glasses area and feel they are highway robbery.

PS: While waiting for my appointment last year, I overheard the guy really hard-selling a VERY expensive pair of frames plus extras to elderly lady and it really made me mad. When he temporarily walked away, I told her to get her prescription and take to Costco, Sam's or anywhere else...just not this one associated with the Practice. I told her she would save hundreds of dollars (very true) and she was grateful I told her.

 

[thestrongmike]

Dumb question, I'm sure, but I have always just gotten my glasses and contacts through my ophthalmologist. What do you do, just ask your doctor to give you your prescription after your office visit and take it to Costco?

Also, if you want to buy online (I've purchased at framesdirect recently and been very pleased), make sure you get the OD numbers (distance from the center of your face to the center of each pupil) from the eye doctor - in my experience they won't always put that on the rx, but they've always done so when I asked.

 

[DodgerGirl]

I wouldn't recommend Zenni if you are buying eyeglasses because when my dad needed new glasses he had seen a commercial for Zenni and decided to order glasses from them and when the glasses came they were not the ones Dad ordered and he found them very uncomfortable and so we had to mail them back when we complained to customer service. Dad then went to America's Best and was able to get new glasses in no time at all and he has been very happy with his glasses since