I Finally Ordered Contacts Online and OMG I’m Never Going Back

Things I am skeptical of: life coaches, vegan butter, anybody who stops me on the street to ask where I get my hair cut, telemedicine. After all, shouldn’t you have to see a doctor IRL in order for them to accurately understand your body?

Well, as for that last one, I am now a convert—at least when it comes to eye doctors. (I’m probs going to see my gyno in person, thank you very much.)

See, I finally tried out one of those nifty online vision test/mail order contact places— LensDirect, to be exact—and oh my God, I am never going back.

Here’s the deal. After creating an account, you can search for your preferred contact brand (Acuvue, Biofinity, etc.) and type (dailys, weeklys, etc.) and select how many boxes you’d like to order. If you already have an up-to-date prescription from a doctor, you can upload it. If you don’t, you can take the $20 15-minute online vision test, which, honestly, is pretty cool, and I feel like I need to explain how it works. (As you might imagine, online vision tests were another thing I was initially skeptical of.)

So, to take the test, you need to be wearing your contacts and holding your cell phone. LensDirect then texts you a link so you can essentially use your phone as a joystick. At this point (and after calibrating the size of your computer screen), you’re told to stand a certain distance away from your computer and begin. On the computer, you see what looks like a traditional eye exam. On your phone, you see the prompts: “Cover your left eye and read line 3, what letter do you see?” You then make your selections on your phone, which guides you through the rest of the exam. (I took the test in my open-plan office, and my colleagues took great joy in watching me shuffle ten paces away while covering one eye and trying to muddle through my near-sightedness.)

When you’re done, the results are sent off to an eye doctor, who reviews everything and either confirms your existing prescription or offers a new one. (Mine was confirmed.) Then you can place your online order and everything is shipped off to you in a matter of days.

LensDirect.com does not accept vision insurance, but if you’re anything like me, your vision insurance is actually pretty terrible and doesn’t cover much of your contact costs anyway. Plus, since prices are low (mine were $40 per box), and you can buy them with money from an FSA or HSA account, it ends up being super affordable.

So there you have it. I’m a convert. Your move, vegan butter.