Buying contact lens from the USA/Europe: Special Feedback Area

Former_MSE_Archna

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Buying contact lens from the USA/Europe

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grex9101

I've recommended AClens a few times in the past,

https://www.aclens.com

Probably the best service i've had from any contact lens provider online.

SDP

I have used coastal contacts twice and found them really good, no problems at all. A few weeks ago i needed a new pair of lense tried them again but they have stopped doing the lenses i wear ( 6 monthly vial lenses ). I looked everywhere for another company that do the ones i wear and found them on a site called contactlensesweb.com again an american site they were very good got them in 8 days. Great service from both companys, much cheaper than this country would buy from both again.

Print_Screen

I've used Clear Vision Contacts and had no problems. Their website looks very amaturish though and this may put some people off. They are the cheapest provider I have found so far although aclens come close

ghafooci

I've recently received delivery of 5 months supply of Acuevue Moist Dailies from Lens.com, based in the USA. (The more you buy, the cheaper it is).

All in all, even with delivery costs, the exchange rate ensured I saved abut 60 quid on the UK price.

Btw, for pre-purchase checks I wrote to the manufacturer Johnson & Johnson to enquire whether the lenses are the same in both countries - they are identical, in terms of quality and prescription (i.e. your UK eyesight prescription is the same as your American one would be).

stornuk

Can you tell me if you had to pay customs as well?If you did how much did you have to pay?Thanks a lot.

Ed_Eichman

Here are two articles about buying contact lenses from outside the EU from my www.edscontactlenses.com blog...

Buying Lenses from the USA

I reported earlier that 1 out of every 4 or 5 packages of contact lenses purchased (without VAT) from the USA get flagged at customs. In this case, you will pay an extra 2% import duty, and additionally an extra 17.5% in VAT. In addition (although we've never heard of this happening), you "may be liable to financial penalties or criminal prosecution". Read the note about "unscrupulous overseas suppliers" in the HM Revenue & Customs "Shopping on the Internet" page.

DO NOT BUY from US companies unless they clearly state that they will charge you VAT and import duty and will correctly fill out the customs declaration!

They compete favorably on prices, but do not mention that what they are doing is basically leading you into illegal activity, which only YOU are responsible for. In the end, you may get lucky... or maybe not.

US Suppliers Revisited

One of the problems I heard about UK (and probably EU) customers is that of duty and insurance problems with goods coming from the US. I already reported on the duty problems you might run into - now I want to talk about possible insurance problems.

I sent this question (unanswered for the last 2 days) to LensCatalogue: "Do your prices include VAT at 17.5%? Does your invoice separate the 17.5% so customers can then reclaim from their insurance companies? Does your invoice also include the company name, company number, registered office, and VAT number?".

I sent the same question to CoastalContacts.co.uk. Coastal DOES ship from outside the EU, but from what they've explained to me about their operation, I am guessing that they do their invoices correctly. I greatly doubt that the other non-EU suppliers do this, but I wait for a reply from LensCatalogue to see what they have to say.

I am not a lawyer nor an expert in insurance claims - I'm only going on stories I heard where I did not investigate thoroughly. Right now, I just want to see what the companies have to say. However, before buying from the US, you should make sure that you are covered.

Hope that helps,
Ed

Ed_Eichman

Hi All,

Slightly off topic, but click here to see a great video showing how contact lenses are made.
http://crackle.com/c/How_To/How_contact_lenses_are_made/1539774

Ed

RJKES

Everytime I collect a parcel from the Post Office I see atleast 1 person arguing about the import duty on contact lenses and how they have never paid it before.
The normal response seems to be you have just been lucky which makes me think that they are cottoning on more to personal internet imports.
I use www.contactforlenses.com who are Jersey based and have never had any need to complain.

bjo_2

i get mine from www.shopping4net.com
2x6 pack monthly lenses = 6 month supply
total cost = £28.79. yes all in
delivery takes about a week
brother and i have never had any problems
regards
bjo

rhysw

grex9101 wrote: »

I've recommended AClens a few times in the past,

https://www.aclens.com

Probably the best service i've had from any contact lens provider online.

Ive used AClens three times now and have been very satisfied with their service and prices. I've also had no problems with import etc tax. They appear to mail form within the UK but I may be mistaken.
www.aclens.com