Evaluation of Coastal Contacts Brand and Offerings
Coastal: Your One-Stop Shop for Quality Contact Lenses and Eyewear
Coastal, a leading online retailer of contact lenses and eyewear, was founded by siblings Roger and Michaela Hardy in 2000. Initially focusing on contact lenses, Coastal has since expanded its product range to include glasses and sunglasses from a variety of brands.
Quality Products, Quality Service
Coastal offers a wide selection of contact lenses from well-known brands such as Acuvue, Air Optix, Bausch and Lomb, Biofinity, Biotrue, Clariti, Dailies, FreshLook, Precision1, Proclear, and more. Their lenses come with added features like antireflective coating, impact-resistance, scratch-resistant coating, and UV protection.
For eyeglasses and sunglasses, Coastal stocks a diverse inventory that includes brands like Armani Exchange, Brooks Brothers, Champion, Chaps, Isaac Mizrahi, Jill Stuart, Michael Kors, Modo, Nike, Oakley, Polo, Ray-Ban, and many more.
Customer-Friendly Policies
Coastal provides a 30-day exchange and return policy for sealed, unopened, and unmarked contact lenses. For eyeglasses and sunglasses, they offer a 60-day return and exchange policy. They also have a price-match guarantee, though it cannot be combined with other discounts.
Coastal continually updates their coupons page, offering customers discount codes for products and shipping. With standard shipping, an order from Coastal arrives within 4-5 business days. With priority shipping, it takes 3-4 days.
Virtual Try-On and MyFit Tool
Coastal offers a virtual try-on function and a MyFit tool to help customers find the right glasses. They also provide informative guides for buying glasses online and choosing the right lenses.
Prescription Verification and Insurance
Coastal's prescription verification process requires a current prescription and a copy of it by email or fax to ensure accuracy. They accept most forms of health insurance, but do not bill providers, requiring customers to pay first and then submit a claim.
Health Reminders
Regular eye exams are crucial for maintaining eye health and well-being. It's recommended that you visit your eye doctor at least once every two years. In a 2016 study, routine eye exams led to the diagnosis of eye diseases in 31% of participants and prescription changes in 41%.
Alternatives in the Market
Top alternatives to Coastal for online sales of contact lenses and prescription glasses include Zenni Optical, GlassesUSA, Warby Parker, EyeBuyDirect, and Lensabl. These retailers are popular for offering a wide selection of frames and lenses, competitive pricing, virtual try-on tools, and return policies.
It's important to note that each of these options provides a variety of price points, styles, and service features, making them strong competitors to Coastal for purchasing contacts and prescription glasses online.
Health Concerns
If you experience issues like blurry or distorted vision, redness in the eye, fluid draining from the eye, eye pain, specks floating in the field of vision, flashes or halos of light in the field of vision, it's recommended to contact your eye doctor immediately.
[1] Source: Reviews.com, "The Best Online Glasses Retailers of 2021", https://www.reviews.com/online-glasses-retailers/ (accessed 2022-03-14)
Coastal's product range has expanded to include eyewear for those with other vision problems, such as eyedisorders and uncategorized health-and-wellness concerns, beyond just contact lenses. In the realm of science and healthcare, educating oneself on common symptoms like blurry vision and eye pain can be valuable towards maintaining overall eye health.
