Costco Wholesale Optical Dept

For the past couple of years I’ve been using only Costco’s Optical Department for my spectacles and eye exam, I’ve been so pleased with my entire optical experience at this particular Costco!
The eye exam procedure seemed seamless and the optician was professional, kind and efficient.
There is a large selection of frames here, and their inventory changes often, so I pop over to the department from time to time to check things out.
I had an issue with some frames that I purchased there a while back. The sum of the two (same frames) along with the price of Progressive lenses was a lot of money to me. The notion that I won’t be wearing either frames and that I’d have to take the loss seemed devastating.
I finally mustered the nerve to ask for help from the Manager there named Helen. I’d like Costco to know that because of Helen’s help, I’m quite certain that I’ll be a life-​long customer of the Costco Optical Department. I can’t imagine getting better customer service anywhere.
Many thanks to Helen. Problems solved, I now love my frames and lenses from Costco.

Dr. Lance McNaughton saved my boyfriend’s eyesight. He diagnosed him with keratoconus and made sure he got the proper treatment, and then fit him with the custom contact lenses he needed afterward that now provides better vision than he had before. Beyond the extra mile care and treatment. My boyfriend says «Costco is to be commended for allowing doctors like Lance McNaughton to work out of a tiny space by the entrance and provide A level care at every day prices. Dr. McNaughton is a breath of fresh air because he loves what he does. He cares about his patients’ needs. He is thorough, professional, at the top of his game, committed and a really nice person. It’s clear he loves doing what he does and you’re lucky if you count yourself as one of his patients.»

Dr Oh was great. Although they really nickel and dime you. Getting extra tests has higher fees that would normally be included in a regular optometrists office visit. I mean $ 10 to train someone how to put in contacts… that’s just crazy. I liked how I was in and out in under 30 mins. The glasses selection wasn’t that great but I found a pair of Fendi glasses I really liked so I was happy. I don’t know if I would return in the future.

Friendly people, and I was in & out of my eye exam in less than 20 minutes! Make sure to make an appointment before you come in.

You can get your nose buds replaced for free and make any adjustments on your glasses when needed. The staff in my opinion is super nice and friendly. Plus you can get your eye glass cleaning solution refilled here!

I had a good experience here. I saw Dr. Sally Oeung, and she did a great job with my eye exam. I had the pretty run-​of-​the-​mill exam with glaucoma check and other basic services; they also offer more advanced eye care if needed.
Pros:
1. They’re very up front about the costs, and the $ 89 contacts exam is a lot less money than other opticians I’ve priced.
2. You don’t need a Costco membership to see the optometrist (warning: you DO need a membership if you want to buy glasses or contacts at Costco).
3. Since the optometrist is a separate entity from the store, there are no high-​pressure tactics to get you to buy expensive glasses or contacts with them. They will cheerfully give you your prescription so you can take it elsewhere to buy your glasses or contacts.
The one con is that they do not take any form of insurance. However, this still worked out for me: my insurance doesn’t cover contacts exams, so if I’d gone elsewhere I would have ended up paying just as much, or more, out of pocket.

What is there to say, cheap, well made glasses. The only downside is you have to wait a few days. The optometrists’ office on site is excellent, but again, you’ll have to make a reservation well in advance. Small price to pay to save better than 50% off the same prescription at the mall store.

Novice Optomotrists, poor quality frames, and poor customers service. The frames on my husband’s reading glasses (that he bought for $ 10.00 from Walgreens) were better quality that the ones on my prescription glasses that I bough for $ 80.00 from Costco’s Optical department.

I came in for a Contact Lense Exam this month, and saw SALLY OEUNG, OD. She was great and I cannot speak highly enough of her service.
I was very impressed with this Costco. I came in for a weekday appointment at 4pm, arrived early and was seen EARLY, with virtually NO WAIT TIME.
The price for contact lense exam is the same as it’s always been… around $ 89. They didn’t pressure me to purchase additional service. The equipment is high tech. Everything is digital/​automatic, she didn’t have to touch the machine at all. It was awesome.
SALLY OEUNG, OD listened to my concerns regarding the size of my lenses (I’m 8.4 not 8.8 curve) and responded appropriately. I left with my prescription in hand, happy and satisfied!
13 463 Washington Blvd., Marina Del Rey, 90 292
310) 821‑8382

I have purchased all my glasses here for over 7 years. I can not reason with some of the harsh reviews. There has never been a problem with any order. The quality of their frames are very good. The prices beat everyplace around the West L A area. I saw on one review that they wanted to use their old frame and just buy lenses. It is simply not worth it as the charge for this has a premium and their frames are priced right. They take VSP insurance so they just give you a credit which really works well since there is no paper work.

It’s your typical optical Costco department with it’s ups and downs.
I’ve been coming here for a few years now, just because it’s really convenient and the prices are a little bit better than other places, especially my regular doctor’s. I have to say that they have a wide variety of frames and different contact products, and I’ve never had a problem getting my prescription done here. It takes a little bit of time if you order glasses to be made, about 1.5−2 weeks from the time you place your order, but again the prices are better than if you were to get them done at Lenscrafters or someplace else. The actual price that you pay will depend on the type of lens that your doctor prescribes for you.
A huge downside is that this place is always pretty crowded, so you always have to prepare for a long wait. They have a few people working there at a time, but maybe because they have to take time with each customer, it slows down the process. Average wait time would have to be at least 20 mins, and can definitely be higher during peak hours of business.
I have to say though that for the most part, the people who work there are all very nice and professional. They help out with recommendations, and they’re easy to talk to if you have any questions or concerns at all. Like I mentioned before, the worst part about this place is just the very long wait time that you probably have to endure.

So the exam went well. $ 89 for contacts and glasses exam. However, the glasses prescription that Dr. Nishida wrote me is not legible! I didn’t realize that until after I left the office. I tried calling a dozen times the past couple days to get my prescription so I can go on and get my glasses but there’s no answer. LAAAAME! I guess I’ll have to go back in person –_–

My review is for Dr. Ha (she’s great, and so professional, and sweet!) and the optical department. I came bright an early at 10AM (first one seen!)
I was seen quickly and promptly, the girls at the reception were nice. When you make an appointment they give you a follow up call the day before to confirm (as many places do). You fill out a short short two page paper if you haven’t been there before. It’s a small waiting room with maybe 6 – 7 little wooden chairs.
All their prices are listed right at the front desk. The general exam I believe is 49.99÷59 (one of those!) and some change — if you opt to have your pupils dilated and have retinal pictures is a $ 30 extra fee. I did it, because I hadn’t had my eyes checked in years (literally, like 8 years!).
Bring your old prescription glasses, they have a machine that will read the prescription from your glasses. My exam took maybe 15 – 20 minutes maximum. Dr. Ha explained everything to me, I really enjoyed her demeanor. Highly recommend making an appointment with her!
So, for the optical department, you gotta grab a ticket. It’s a bit of a wait — I’d say maybe 10 — 15 minutes (I came in the AM, so this was around 10:30am). You chose your frames (in the meantime) and when you’re called they ask what type of lenses you want, etc.
The lenses were about ~74 bucks (my prescription) it’s an extra charge if you want your glasses to change in the sunlight to protect from UV (I didn’t get that). And my frames were 60 bucks.
Total visit: ~ $ 213. Got there early, and gone it done. For someone that hasn’t been to an eye doctor and gotten a glasses upgrade in years this was a good experience.

The prices here are very competitive and they have good deals if you intend on buying two or more frames on the same day. Don’t forget to pull a number from the machine and wait for your number to be called. I don’t really understand why people are down on the staff for not apologizing for keeping them waiting. It’s COSTCO. Everybody is waiting. The deals are worth it. If these folks want good prices and to be waited on hand and foot, I’d refer them to a boutique frame and contacts store where they pay several times more for concierge style service. On weekends you can knock off a star because of the crowd (especially near the end of the year when vision care insurance re-​ups for everyone), but I don’t blame the staff – Costco management should have more people available during the weekend rush but it is obvious they’re stretched to the limit on weekends and the optical department isn’t any different.
Let’s talk about the Big Picture now: Shop at Costco if you want to avoid running into the same Luxottica brands. They do carry some Luxottica products, but they also have their own Kirkland and other brands that aren’t made by the same ridiculous monopoly that overcharges everyone for eyewear. Check out the 60 Minutes special
.
Here is the list of Luxottica-​owned brands: Arnette, Killer Loop, Luxottica (duh), Persol, Ray-​Ban, Revo, Sferoflex, Vogue, Adrienne Vittadini, Anne Klein, Brooks Brothers, Bvlgari, Byblos, Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, D&G, Donna Karan, DKNY, Genny, Miu Miu, Moschino, Prada, Ralph Lauren, Salvatore Ferragamo, Sergio Tacchini, Versace, Versus, and most recently, Oakley.

Nias was very helpful and courteous. He toggled between helping me and a few other customers to get the line down and he still was attentive and informative.

Consistently the worst customer service experience. I suspect they recruit thier staff from a pool of convicted felons who have done hard time but were fired from thier prison jobs for providing such bad customer service to the other prisoners.

Review for Optical department where they sell glasses and contacts. For my review of the independent optometrist search for Dr. Jun Nelson on Unilocal.
This place needs some help with re-​training or something. Very bad when it comes to customers and waiting. There is never any urgency when it comes to helping people. Today the lady working there knew she has up to four people next in line. While helping the one, she says nothing to us about waiting or «thank you for your patience» or «sorry for the wait». Not one bit of urgency in her demeanor. I feel like she just believes in «people will leave if they don’t have the time and I’ll always have a customer waiting so why rush?» I had to wait a good 30 minutes for the guy to come back from his lunch to get helped. The process of purchasing went smoothly with him (Juan). So IF you can wait he’ll be able to help for sure. I don’t know about the other lady though. She’ll probably be busy when it’s your turn.

Wholesale? Uh, no way.
I called today to get pricing on my contacts. $ 50.99 per box. A two minute Google search resulted in my finding every vendor online selling them for much less. WTF Costco?
I’m buying online now for $ 37.33 per box. That’s a monthly savings of $ 26. Multiply that by 12… I’m saving $ 312 annually buying my lenses somewhere else.
I repeat: WTF Costco?

Went to the independent Optometrist within Costco for an eye exam ($ 50) and received a prescription for glasses to fix a very mild astigmatism. Needless to say I went to the optical dept. to pick out some glasses. I think all the negative reviews here stem from a combination of high-​traffic times and perhaps impatient people (except for the hour long contact lens pickup, that just sounds ridiculous).
My experience however was quite satisfactory =) I went around 8pm so it wasn’t busy at all. My gf helped me pickout a pair of frames that she didn’t find disgusting and we took a number ticket to have someone help us. They were prompt and courteous — but I could see the possibility of them getting swamped during the daytime.
In the end I got a decent pair of frames, transition lens, with anti-​glare treatment for a total of $ 170, prolly less than I would have purchased even if i went with my insurance provider’s in-​network 20% off.

*** I’m a fan of Costco Optical’s great deals! ***
I’m not the biggest fan of Costco overall though.
Their groceries are often times overpriced but I
must admit that they offer some fantastic deals
on items of $ 200, or more. I’ve bought a Blueray
player $ 150 (Panasonic), memory foam mattress
$ 450 (Queen-​sized), digital camera $ 160 (Kodak),
when all these were priced much higher elsewhere.
My best deal ever perhaps was in their Optical Dept.
Eyeglasses with polarized lenses can be expensive.
I was just browsing one day while a friend shopped,
and surprisingly I found frames I liked for just $ 120!
After tax and transition lenses, my total was $ 190.
*** Exam req’d ($ 75) if you have no prescription. ***