Vision Direct Shipping Information
Rates and policies for nonprescription orders
You can choose from a variety of shipping options. Shipping costs are based on the shipping service level you choose. Check the table for our domestic shipping rates.
| Nonprescription Orders | Standard Shipping | 3-Day Shipping | 2-Day Shipping | Overnight Shipping |
| Shipping Rates | $5.99 or free¹ w/$49 purchase | $8.95 or free¹ w/$99 purchase | $14.95 | $29.95 |
| Order Processing* | 1-2 days | 0-1 days | same day | same day |
| Shipping Time | 2-7 days | 2-3 days | 2 days | 1 day |
| Overall Delivery Time | 4-7 days | 2-4 days | 2 days | 1 day |
Last updated 3/31/05.Rates may change
We're sorry, but expedited shipping service is unavailable for P.O. boxes, US Territories and APO/FPO Military addresses. We ship via standard shipping only to these locations. Packages sent to military or Territorial addresses may be delayed by standard mail handling. Packages over 20 pounds may require additional shipping time.
Delivery times may be longer for items that require ground-only shipping. Items that require ground-only shipping cannot be delivered to APO/FPO addresses. For more information on our restricted items shipping policies,
go here.
¹Some items may not qualify for our Everyday Free Shipping program
Our Everyday Free Shipping program excludes certain items due to their size and weight. If you have one or more of these items in your cart, you will be asked to remove the item(s) at time of checkout if you wish to qualify for Everyday Free Shipping.
*3-day, 2-day or overnight order processing
- Orders received before 5 p.m. Eastern Time Monday through Friday will be processed the same day. Orders received after 5 p.m. Eastern Time will be processed the next day. Orders received after 5 p.m. Eastern Time Friday, Saturday, or on Sunday will be processed on the following business day.
- Our transportation partners do not process orders on the weekend. Therefore, if you place an order after 5 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday, you may experience a delay between your order shipped confirmation email and the actual shipment of your order.
Weekend delivery
Orders shipped via UPS (Overnight, 2-day, and 3-day) are delivered Monday through Friday only.
Alaska and Hawaii
Shipping to Alaska and Hawaii may require an additional one to two days.
Risk of Loss
All items purchased from drugstore.com are made pursuant to a shipment contract. This means that the risk of loss and title for such items pass to you upon our delivery to the carrier.
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Rates and policies for prescription orders
You may choose a Standard, 3-Day, 2-Day or Overnight shipping service for your prescription order at checkout. Refrigerated medicines require overnight shipping. We currently ship prescriptions to street addresses (all shipping service levels), P.O. boxes within the 50 United States (standard shipping only), and APO/FPO U.S. military addresses (standard shipping only; military mail handling may cause delays). We don't ship prescription orders internationally or to the U.S. territories.
As shown in the tables below, new prescriptions take longer to process and deliver than refills. Also, the total time to verify and ship your prescription may be longer than shown if:
- You're using insurance for the first time at drugstore.com (please allow one to two extra days).
- You're ordering a medicine that's considered a controlled substance.
- You're ordering a DOT-restricted item that requires ground shipping.
| New Prescriptions or Transfer Prescriptions |
| Standard Shipping
($1.49) | 3-Day
Shipping($5.95) | 2-Day
Shipping($8.95) | Overnight
Shipping**($16.95) |
How will you
get your prescriptionsto us? | Total time for you to
to receive your prescription* |
| Doctor to call or fax drugstore.com | 8-10 days | 5-7 days | 4-6 days | 3-5 days |
| Transfer from another pharmacy | 9-11 days | 6-8 days | 5-7 days | 4-6 days |
| Send by mail | 10-12 days | 7-9 days | 6-8 days | 5-7 days |
| Refill or Renewal prescriptions |
| Refill | 6-8 days | 4-5 days | 3-4 days | 2-3 days |
| Renewal | 9-11 days | 7-8 days | 6-7 days | 5-6 days |
* Total time = time to receive Rx + time to fill Rx + time to ship Rx.
These numbers are estimates based on the most common prescription.
Each step may be plus or minus a couple days. If using insurance, please add 2 days to the overall delivery time to allow us to verify insurance coverage.
** Refrigerated medicines must be delivered using Overnight shipping. Overnight shipping charges will be added to your order.
Weekend delivery
Saturday delivery is available for standard shipping only. Orders shipped via UPS (Overnight, 2-Day, and 3-Day) are delivered on weekdays only. Delivery is not available on Sundays.
Refrigerated medicines
Some prescription drugs must be kept refrigerated. To ensure quality and safety, we send refrigerated medicines using overnight shipping only. This is because standard shipping methods do not guarantee that the medicine will be kept at the proper temperature.
We will send you an e-mail message when we ship your order. Please be sure that someone will be available to accept your shipment at the shipping address the next business day. Open the package immediately and store the medicines as recommended. Be aware that some medicines can be damaged by refrigeration. If your order contains other medicines, don't place the entire package into the refrigerator.
To save on shipping charges, consider the following: request a larger quantity of medicine in each order, combine shipment of two or more refrigerated medicines, or use Rite Aid local pick-up for your future refills.
Alaska and Hawaii
Shipping to Alaska and Hawaii may require an additional one to two days.
Mixed orders
Mixed orders containing prescription and non-prescription items shipped via standard shipping will be charged the non-prescription shipping charge only. If you are shipping your mixed order via an expedited method (3-Day, 2-Day or Overnight), two separate shipping charges will apply.
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Items on order
Occasionally, you'll see phrases like "usually ships in 1-2 weeks" beside product displays on our site. This means we're temporarily waiting for the item to arrive from the supplier, and it's unavailable for immediate shipment. You can still order the item, and the message you see indicates our estimate for when we will be able to ship that item again.
If you place an order containing both in stock items and items that have later availability, we'll immediately process and ship the in stock items. We'll bill your account for these items, as well as for any applicable shipping charges.
We'll send the remaining items separately when they're available, using Standard shipping. We'll bill your account for these items when we ship them with no additional shipping cost to you*.
Occasionally an item's status will change after you place your order but before we process it. In this case, we will send the item as soon as we can at no additional shipping cost to you*.
If you decide that you no longer want to buy items that have not shipped yet, you can go to the Orders section of Your Account and cancel them. Here's how:
1. Click Your Account in the bar directly under the department tabs.
2. Click the Orders link.
3. Click the appropriate magnifying glass icon to see your order.
4. Click Cancel Back Order to cancel all of the on-order items.
If some of the items in your order have been shipped already, your account will have been billed for those items and the associated shipping costs. Once you click Cancel Back Order, the remaining items will not be shipped or billed to your account.
* This offer is subject to change and may expire at any time.
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U.S. Territories and APO/FPO U.S. Military addresses
We directly ship to APO/FPO U.S. military addresses and U.S. Territories.
We're sorry, but expedited shipping is unavailable for US Territories and APO/FPO Military addresses. We ship via standard shipping only to these locations. Packages sent to military or Territorial addresses may be delayed by standard mail handling. Items that require ground-only shipping cannot be delivered to APO/FPO addresses.
Please note: due to current world events impacting the United States and other countries, our delivery partners have informed us to expect packages to take up to 8 weeks for delivery to certain APO/FPO U.S. military addresses and U.S. Territories.
Please be advised shipping to a destination that requires a customs declaration will result in your packing slip identifying the package contents to be included on the customs label.
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International orders
drugstore.com, with help from our partner Comerxia, offers international shipping to more than 30 countries worldwide. For more information, click here.
Please be advised shipping to a destination that requires a customs declaration will result in your packing slip identifying the package contents to be included on the customs label.
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DOT restrictions on air shipping
Most of our packages are delivered by a combination of air and ground transport. But the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) prohibits air shipment of items that could contribute to an onboard fire or other mishap.
Restricted items include:
- Aerosol-type products or medications in pressurized spray cans, such as: hairspray, shaving cream, and inhalers.
- Products that contain flammable volatile, or corrosive chemicals, such as: fragrances, nail polish, bunion treatments, and nail polish remover.
We're committed to getting your order to you as quickly as possible, but we also want to do it safely and responsibly, in compliance with DOT rules. That's why we require ground-only delivery, at our Standard Shipping rate, for orders that contain DOT-restricted products.
**drugstore.com does not ship DOT-restricted items to Hawaii, Alaska, or APO/FPO addresses.
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Default shipping address
Your default shipping address is the one used on your most recent order. At Checkout, you can change your shipping address by clicking the "change" button located directly beneath the default address. This will allow you to choose another address, or enter a new address in the spaces provided.
You can change your shipping address at any time in the Shipping Addresses area of Your Account. You can add, delete, or edit any of your shipping addresses. Changes you make will not affect orders you have already placed.
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SynapseConnect, Inc. Shipping Information
All magazines are shipped via standard shipping only. Our partner, SynapseConnect, Inc does not provide expedited shipping.
Please allow 6-8 weeks for your first magazine to arrive. If you have questions regarding your magazine subscription order, please contact Synapse Customer Service directly, toll-free at 1-800-884-3350.
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Vision Direct Shipping Information
Vision Direct offers three shipping options: USPS Priority, UPS 3-Day Select, and UPS Next Business Day.
Shipping times are after dispatch and as advertised by USPS and UPS. UPS delivers Monday to Friday. USPS delivers Monday to Saturday. Over 90% of the lenses Vision Direct supplies are in stock and dispatched within 1 business day, and normally within 3 business days for non-standard lenses. Shipping is charged on a per-order basis, regardless of the number of lenses ordered.
Several products are made-to-order and as such are custom made to meet your prescription requirements. In such cases, every effort will be made to provide you with an accurate expected date of delivery shortly after placing your order.
UPS 3-Day Select is only available to the contiguous 48 states. UPS does NOT deliver to PO Boxes or to APO/FPO addresses.
For international orders, delivery times are usually 5-10 days from dispatch. To avoid unexpected customs fees or duties, Vision Direct strongly advises you to check with the customs department in your country about its importation policies. Vision Direct is not responsible for any sales taxes, customs duties or other taxes charged by your customs department.
For specific questions about shipping a contact lens order, please contact Vision Direct by phone at 1-800-VisionDirect (847-4663) or by e-mail at service@visiondirect.com.
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Our customer care specialists are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
If you have further questions, please contact drugstore.com.
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