Ebay And Contact Lens

[mikey4444]

I have tried to buy some contact lens on Ebay this morning but I can only find cases and solutions. Does anybody know why Ebay doesn't see the lens themselves ? They sell reading glasses after all.

[237SJ]

See section 6 http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/Cheap-Contact-Lenses/#tipSix

[hc4361]

Any substance or item that requires a prescription from, or the supervision of, a licensed practitioner (such as a doctor, dentist, optometrist, optician, pharmacist or veterinarian) to dispense isn’t allowed on eBay.

http://community.ebay.co.uk/t5/Selling-on-eBay/Can-you-sell-contact-lenses/qaq-p/1215105

[mikey4444]

Thanks 237...I have already found them slightly cheaper but I was wondering why I can't get them on Ebay, as I get pretty well everything else from Ebay these days !

[mikey4444]

Thanks hc...that explains it. However, the people that get them from at the moment ( Vision Direct) doesn't seem to need a prescription.

[hc4361]

Hope you shop around, mikey, not everything is cheaper on eBay. I find Amazon and online High Street shops can be cheaper.

[hc4361]

That is because Vision Direct avoids the law by passing your order on to their European partners.

We will then process your order via our European sister site Vision Direct BV where prescriptions do not need to be checked.

http://www.visiondirect.co.uk/no-prescription-needed

[mikey4444]

Thanks HC...I have been using Vision Direct for a few years now and just re-order automatically every three months. I don't really have a problem with them but the price has crept up recently. 1st class postal service though...
I ordered mine yesterday at about 08:30 and they arrived this morning !

[hc4361]

Try comparing the costs with other opticians.

[mikey4444]

I have hc and Vision Direct have always been cheaper. Thanks.

[Peter Pedant]

christ mikey would you stick anything up an orifice that has nt been passed bu a doctor

I am shocked.... would you buy false teeth on ebay ?

[Daffy6543]

There is no way I would use contact lenses that hadn't been prescribed and dispensed by a licensed optician! I've heard and read some horror stories over the years about cheap, non prescription contacts.

[mikey4444]

I get exactly the same lens from Vision Direct, as I would from my friendly neighbourhood optician but at about half price. They come sealed in the same foil containers, inside the same sealed boxes, and they are made by the same people.... Acuvue Oasys. Most people I know no longer use opticians for anything other than eye tests, which I have done every 12 months. Glasses are different of course, but contact lens are the same the world over.

The same argument was used by Opticians when people wanted simple reading glasses. You couldn't get then anywhere except High Street opticians, but now you can get them anywhere you want, as the daft law was changed. 100,000's of reading glasses are sold outside of Opticians these days and rightly so.

I used to get my lens from D+A direct, via my Optician, which is now re-badged as Boots. But why should I pay twice the price ? They also used to charge me twice the price for the same fluid that I can get in Tesco, or Superdrug. I stopped wasting money a long time ago.

PP...your question about dentures is plain silly ! How would you get a perfect fit, sitting in front of your PC screen !

[Daffy6543]

My contact lenses are custom to my eyes, they are even measured to fit my specific eyeball shape, you don't get that without a prescription.

[ivor4781]

on line contacts from abroad are no cheaper than tesco's opticians

[mikey4444]

Perhaps I am lucky daffy, in that my prescription is fairly simple. But why don't you put YOUR prescription into the Vision Direct website, and see if you can save money ::

http://www.visiondirect.co.uk/

They have more types of lens than you can throw a stick at. But it could be, of course, that your condition can't be stocked by outlets like VD. I have a friend who is very shortsighted and cannot use soft lens. Her prescription for hard lens is at least minus 14 and her astigmatism is too severe for soft lens.
So she is forced to pay £180 per pair !

[mikey4444]

Ivor...what you say about Tesco may be true but I had a nasty experience with a Tesco Opticians about 3 years ago. The young girl doing the eye test was constantly chewing gum, and drinking from a bottle of Coke during the consultation. I asked her if she thought it was appropriate to do this during her work, but she said something like "whats it got to do with you ? "

I got up immediately and asked to see the manager, but he had gone to lunch. I called back the following day. He admitted that he had received some complaints about this woman before. About a week later I had an impeccably worded letter of apology, and a £20 voucher !

But it was once bitten, twice shy as far as I was concerned. My experience wasn't typical I hope but my trust in Tesco for anything in the medical line had been shattered. I can still see that girls smirk, even three years later.

I have to say it would never have happened in D+A ! ( I hope )

[mikey4444]

Ivor...I have just checked and Tesco Opticians direct are indeed 60p cheaper per box than VD ! But to get them at that price would mean me taking an eye test with them again, so still not keen. I have my annual eye test in a small place here in the village, for free, as I live in the Peoples Republic of Wales !

[Mamyalynne]

They have to get NASA involved to make my spectacle lenses, so I very much doubt going back to Contacts would be viable for me.

[mikey4444]

Sorry about that Mamy ! The only time I wear glasses now, is when I go to bed and I like to read a bit. Contact lens have been a revelation to me, since I began wearing them when I was in my mid-thirties. I can now enjoy a swim, with my lens in although I have to put goggles on of course.

When I was a boy, I used to go the swimming baths every Saturday afternoon here in Swansea, with all my mates. But once I was in the water, I couldn't see a thing, as I had left my glasses in a shoe, back in the changing room. I used to sidle up to my mates and chat, to find out that they weren't my mates at all ! Very embarrassing !

By the way I have been avoiding using the plural for a contact lens all afternoon ! Is it "lenses" ?

[hc4361]

Yes, lenses.