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America's Best Contacts & Eyeglasses

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5.2

Overall Score

Author: Kaitlyn Short

LAST UPDATED: November 21st, 2024

America’s Best Contacts & Eyeglasses offers customers access to over 800 styles of frames for a low price as well as a variety of contact lens options. With over 700 retail locations in the United States, it is able to provide eyewear to large populations. Its mission is to deliver the best value and quality eyewear and eye care for the lowest price.

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The Good

  • Frame Selection
  • Lenses and Coatings
  • Contact Lenses
  • Free Eyeglasses Exams
  • Contact Lens Exam
  • Bundle Pricing

Frame Selection

Finding frames that you like is not always a simple task. America’s Best Contacts & Eyeglasses offers over 800 different frames to choose from. There is something for everyone. To help you in your search, you can filter the frames online by age, gender, price, brand, color, frame material, frame type, frame shape, and frame size. 

Lenses and Coatings

After you have found the frames that you would like, you will need to select the lenses that you would like. America’s Best Contacts & Eyeglasses offers a couple of different lens options. They are as follows: 

  • Single Vision — Options for single vision glasses include the basic plastic lens (which is included for free), and the Verilite Polycarbonate lens. The Polycarbonate lens is an additional $69 and is 22 percent thinner than the plastic lens. 
  • Lined Bifocal — If you decide to get a bifocal lens, you will start with an additional $20 charge. From there, you can select either the basic plastic lens or the Verilite Polycarbonate lens. If you are looking for a smaller lens that is impact resistant, you will want to go with the polycarbonate lens. It costs an additional $69. 
  • DigiVue Elite — This lens starts out at $219 (not including the price of your frames). You can then choose the Verilite Polycarbonate lens (which is included with this lens option), or the Verithin (Hi-Index) lens that is a bit thinner than the polycarbonate lens and works well with rimless glasses. This thinner lens costs an additional $40. 

One other option for lenses that is not mentioned with the above options is transition lenses. These lenses cost $80 in addition to your frames and whatever other coatings that you will be adding. 

If you would like to add an anti-reflective coating to your lenses as well, you can do so for $55. This coating will help to eliminate glare and should make driving at night easier. 

Contact Lenses

If you have decided that contact lenses are the best option for you, you will be happy to know that America’s Best Contacts & Eyeglasses, unlike a number of online eyeglasses providers, sells contacts online. On its website, you can select from a number of different brands of contacts. 

America’s Best Contacts & Eyeglasses offers two of its own contact brands here as well:

  • Sofmed — These contacts are basic soft disposable contact lenses. 
  • Acuvue — These lenses help with astigmatism, are UV blocking, and come with added hydraclear plus. 

The company also offers the following brands online:

  • Sofmed
  • Acuvue
  • Air Optix
  • Biofinity
  • Biotrue
  • Clariti
  • Clearsight
  • Dailies
  • Soflens
  • X-Cel
  • FreshLook
  • Proclear

Pricing among brands and contact types varies. 

Free Eyeglasses Exams

If you decide to go into an America’s Best Contacts & Eyeglasses location to purchase two pairs of glasses, you qualify to get a free eyeglasses examination. It is important to note that you will only get it for free if you buy the two pairs of glasses. If you end up getting a contact lens examination in the process, you will be charged for the examination. 

Contact Lens Exam

Having all of your eye needs taken care of in one place is not always an easy thing to do. America’s Best Contacts & Eyeglasses offers Contact Lens Exams for just $89. In this appointment, you will meet with an optometrist who can help you understand what type of contacts that your eyes need. It is likely that they will suggest that you attend a class on contact use in order to make sure that you do so safely. 

Bundle Pricing

Who doesn’t love a good deal? If you are planning on investing in more than one pair of glasses, it will be cheaper for you to invest in the 2-for-1 package deal that is offered. This package allows you to select any two frames that cost $59.99 individually for just $69.99 together. 

You should be aware that this only provides you with the frames for the cheapest lens option. If you would like to upgrade any part of your order, additional charges will be added. 

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The Bad

  • Low Quality Products
  • Poor Customer Service
  • Advertising 
  • Hidden Fees
  • No Guarantee

Low Quality Products

One of the challenges when purchasing products that are being sold for lower prices is not knowing if they are good quality. A number of customer reviews have mentioned that the frames provided in the 2-for-1 deal are cheap and do not last. Those who have purchased some of the more expensive frames have also had challenges with them. Frames have broken, bent, or lost screws within a matter of days in some cases. 

Other reviews talk about the lens quality and clarity not being the same as lenses that they have purchased through other providers (even with the same prescription). If you are concerned about this happening, make sure that you do your research first.

Poor Customer Service

Unfortunately, a number of customers have complained that customer service has been sub-par. Employees have brushed them off when they have gone into physical locations and have been less than helpful. Some reviews report that representatives have rolled their eyes at them as they ask questions and seek clarification. 

This is not true in all cases, but the vast majority of reviews provided online (from a variety of sources) are less than three out of five stars. 

Advertising 

Beware the advertisements that you may see from America’s Best Contacts & Eyeglasses. Unfortunately, though some parts of them are true, the majority has been skewed. Ads for the 2-for-1 deal fail to explain that you will need to pay for any additional coatings, quality lenses, and a required one-year protection package. Though you hope to pay just $69.99, it is likely that you will be charged over $200. It would be beneficial for you to get online and go through the options in the cart to get a better idea of what the final pricing for your glasses is going to look like before going into any physical location. 

Hidden Fees

Unfortunately the hidden fees that are involved with America’s Best Contacts & Eyeglasses stem from some of the most basic features offered. 

  • Protection Package — Coatings will resist abrasions, provide 100% UV absorption, and come with a one-year protection plan. Costs $69 for two pairs. 
    Transitions Signature Package — Lenses will darked upon exposure to sunlight and comes with the same one-year protection plan. Costs $128 for both pairs of glasses. 
  • Anti-Reflective Coating — This premium coating helps with glares and night vision. It costs $88 for both pairs. 

If you decide that you would like to upgrade to the polycarbonate lenses, you will be required to purchase a $21 protection package. Though this is not openly advertised, it is automatically added to your total when checking out online. 

No Guarantee

America’s Best Contacts & Eyeglasses says that it provides a guarantee. Unfortunately, that guarantee is a one-time guarantee that will replace your glasses if they are damaged during the first couple of weeks of use. It has not been uncommon for multiple pairs of glasses to break during these first few weeks. It appears to be due to the quality of the frames. If you have already had a pair replaced, America’s Best Contacts & Eyeglasses does not claim responsibility. 

Long story short, its guarantee is short term and largely ineffective.

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The Bottom Line

If you have struggled to find frames that you like in the past, America’s Best Contacts & Eyeglasses offers a number of options. That being said, it does not have the best reputation for quality frames. With largely negative reviews, we would recommend looking to other online eyewear providers before recommending this company. Don’t get distracted by the promotions that seem to be great deals unless you understand what hidden fees might be involved. 

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Star Rating

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4.3

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91 Reviews

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20%

3 grade

10%

2 grade

7%

1 grade

3%

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James Wilson Irving, TX

My wife had a bad experience with Lasik Plus, and needed glasses to get her through the next 5 weeks until the corrective lasik procedure could be scheduled. The plan was to get the frames, then go to a store that made lenses in about 1 hour because she was nauseated due to the poor vision. She found a set of frames that she liked at "America's Best" stores, but none were in stock at that location. After waiting in line at that place, I was told that another one about 10 miles away (Southlake Tx) did have them and they would be waiting for us, so I went there. I was asked to have a seat. After about 10 minutes, I flagged down the person behind the counter. She took the glasses out of the drawer and put them at the back of the line behind a couple of other people that came in well after I did. I was told to go to the waiting room. 46 minutes later, I went back up front and communicated my disappointment at the Excessive Wait. Though they were not that busy, the excuse was being short staffed. She looked through the bin that held the folders that represented the few waiting people and their place in line, and said I was next in line. The store manager was the next person free for me to pay for the frames, so I sat down across the desk from her. She did not say a word, got up, and chose what appeared to be the folder behind mine in the bin, called the people from the waiting room, and had them sit at another table for her to wait on them, while leaving me sitting at the desk she had been working at. Either the woman l spoke with lied about me being next, or the manager blatantly took someone else ahead of me. In any event, 52 minutes into waiting to for a 2 to 4 minute task to pay for some frames, I was D-O-N-E. Even when they are not excessively busy, clearly they have too many customers to take care of in an efficient way. This experience made it too late for me to get the frames elsewhere and get to the 1 hour lens making place in time for them to make the lenses, since it was already 4PM. My wife will be nauseated for at least another day as a result. I will never darken the doors of any so called "America's Best" stores again under any circumstances. If this is the "Best" they can do, I don't need the frustration and wasted time, or to deal with overtly rude people or those that lie on her behalf. I don't believe in rewarding what is among the sorriest excuses of customer service that I have had in a very, very long time, and I hope you won't either. I will be spreading the word on this experience for quite some time to come.

2 years ago

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Ilene Metrick

My husband and I went to get new glasses. Since they are so expensive we thought we would go to America Best. They just opened up 5 minutes from our House Of course their special deals didn't pertain to us since with both have a stimatism in one eye. At first the frame were ok and need a small adjustment. Then my husband had to go more frequently since the frames were wire they were thin and fragile. He has worn frames like this for so many years, but these broke too many times. He was so fed up and went to buy another frame elsewhere

1 year ago

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MBA Dallas, TX

Over priced services. The give you prescription with a two week expiration dates. They are hesitant to give them out. They want you to use their store for eyewear when it’s cheaper elsewhere.

2 years ago