How much do eye exams usually cost? Where are good places to get them cheap?

[lulubird]

I'm having difficulty finding an eyedoctor that provides an eye exam for under $80. This is my first time wearing contacts, and my parents want me to get an exam because they dont want me to screw up my eyes, which is understandable, but they want me to pay for it myself, which i definetly cannot afford at the moment :[ I really dont want to pay more than $30 for the visit, but since I've never been to an eyedoctor i have no idea if they even come that cheap o___o

Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thank you guys!

[mikazuki]

Good luck. Most contact lens exams typically cost between $50 to $80. You might find it costs less if there is a warehouse near you like Costco or Sam's but most likely not less then $45 or $50.

[FallingAngel]

No, there is NO way your going to find an eye exam for $30. Contacts require a different exam than eye glasses, about $80 is the usual charge, I think my first one was $85 and that was a few years ago. Last time I went to costco it was $90 (although that included a dilation, which was I think $15 or $20). Here's the thing, do you need an Rx? If yes then there's no way to avoid the exam. If your just looking for some fancy contacts for a cosplay only then you might be able to get away without one, as long as you know someone who can teach you the proper way to put them in/out and care for them. You *might* be able to get a trial pair from an eye Dr for free/cheap to practice with but I really wouldn't count on it unless you do the exam.

Contacts are considered a vanity item (except in rare cases) and so they are priced accordingly, fancy ones even more so. Although, you should be careful of what brands/kind of contacts you get since not all are created equal or high quality (which can damage you eyes).

Let me know if there's anything else you would like to know, I've got a lot of contacts experience.

[Brittany Bunny]

Last time I went my eye exam was like...$120 and my contact lens fitting was $80. So $30...ha. That won't cut it.

[vasher]

Hmm, does your (or your parent's) insurance cover it at least partially? I know when I got my eye exam (for glasses), it came to about $15 for the exam and $30 for the glasses, but without insurance it would have been an insane amount higher.

Definitely, though, you need to get the lens fitting for contacts.

[ayareinami*YAY*]

thanks so much guys! This helped alot :]

-is lulubird/thread starter ^^;;;

[agent_airline]

I know that at my local community college, you can get health checkups and dental exams for free, by medical students being overseen by professionals. Maybe there is something like that for eye exams?

But aside from that, it really depends on your insurance.

[CezzaXV]

I know that in the UK alot of places offer free eye examinations, but in America it's probably different.

[kkoganei1328]

even at costco, the contact lense exam is 79 dollars, which is probably the cheapest you can find, unless you have insurance. in which you should then find a doctor your insurance carrier will pay for to go to.

[OMFG_its_Hanako]

My mom has insurance so when I got a contact lense eye exam, it only came to a grand total of $45.

[4ng31]

I have full insurance coverage, so when I got mine done, I paid roughly 90 for the exam, and 40ish for a box of contacts...but then was reimbursed by my insurance company so it costs me nothing.

I'd suggest going to a Pearl Vision if you have any near-by, as they were very helpful to me, and have written prescriptions and faxed them to other places for me to get different lenses (I just ordered a Wild Eyes lense for my Agito costume and they wrote and faxed the prescription to a Wal-Mart within minutes).

[Crystalike]

Erm...I had an eye exam two days ago, and all I paid was $34...I use VSP Insurance and my eye doctor is with Spectrum Eye Physicians. ^_^ Try going to an eye doctor and find out what kind of health insurance your parents have and if it applies to you too.

[FallingAngel]

I was told by my eye Dr not to use Wild Eyes as they were of a poor quality. Although I suppose if you're only planning using them every now and then for cosplay it would probably be ok.