Battleangel

Yes, really, they do. And why? Because they are protected by rules and regulations that enable them to hold a monopoly on contact lenses. That is why you for instance can’t buy contacts in the grocery store.
Luckily you can buy them online these days. But even so there are a number of problems. The need for prescription is one of the more obvious. While some resellers don’t seem to give a shit, others demand a valid prescription. As long as you shop from abroad, however, Swedish rules and regulations cease to exist thankfully.

So, even if there are cheaper online retailers I would still recommend Eyepassion. No fuss. No prescriptions. Another reasonable reseller would be LensWay. They currently don’t seem to require a prescription.
If you really have a valid prescription on the other hand and are living in a scandinavian country I would recommend Lenses4Net. Without any doubt the cheapest alternative if you don’t mind sending them your prescription.

The only thing I would never do is consult an optician. There is really no point. And it would be aiding a medical monopoly.

Another thing I have been pondering is the recommended usage for monthly contacts. Is a fraud being perpetrated against the public in this matter? Should contacts really be discarded after just one months usage no matter what? Personally, I’m sceptical about this whole fixation on time. This last pair of Biomedics 55 (ordinary 30 day lenses that you remove over night) has been in use for 4-5 months now. What a feat, huh. Not really.
Obviously someone is making a lot of money on a product that you “have to” discard after just one month of usage. It sucks. And opticians of course sanction this practise without hesitation. I say all you need is common sense, good hygiene and to be smoke free. “No special physiology required - add only common sense”.
Oh, and about the contacts, I will probably go for a new batch of Biomedics 55. There is no reason to change a winning concept. Silicon lenses didn’t work out for some reason. I await more brands, models and configurations before I can try silicon again.