how much are contacts at the eye centers at walmart/sears?

Generally, roughly, around $50-$120. For single vision contacts less, for multifocal or toric (astigmatism) more.

The Walmart/Sears/Costco route can be more inexpensive for people (particularly the under 30 crowd) with simple single vision Rx’s. However if you are older, or have more severe astigmatism or presbyopia (multifocals), sometimes the OD’s in such centers are a little green and may not be the best choice for more complicated prescriptions.

I started off at Sears a couple of months ago for a simple eyeglass exam and Rx, and the young OD that saw me completely missed that I have lenticular astigmatism, giving me a high regular astigmatism cylinder reading, and he overshot my myopia (sphere) prescription as well. Though the glasses from his Rx work sorta, they are essentially a waste and combined with his exam I consider it all a $400 loss.

I am SO glad I spent the extra money going to a knowledgeable OD, with a long established office and client base, for my contact lens fitting. The contacts and eyeglasses from her prescriptions have been incredible. I have to admit that I believe when it comes to optometry, you really do get what you are paying for when you have even slightly off the norm eyes…