Your Guide To Shopping Online

CLEVELAND -- The malls can be crazy during the holiday season with long checkout lines and little parking. But cyberspace is great spot to start your shopping.

According to NewsChannel5, more than ever, people are doing their shopping over the Internet. Many consumers are going online to avoid crowds and parking.

If you're interested in becoming one of the billions of people Web shopping, here's a primer to help get you on your merry way.

3 Simple Steps Everyone Should Take:

1. Use your credit card. (Under the Fair Credit Billing Act, your credit card company covers you for all but $50).

2. Check the seller's privacy policy, payment options, shipping costs and insurance and return policies.

3. Print out and save your online invoices or e-mail order confirmations. These can serve as your insurance policy if you receive the wrong order (or never receive your order).

How To Tell If Your Net Connection Is Secure?

Most online merchants use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) to encrypt your data, so no third party can view it. If a site's address begins with https, instead of http, the site is using this type of security technology. Another type of security is Secure Electronic Transaction (SET) technology. Sites with SET software will show a locked padlock at the bottom of your screen in Netscape Navigator, or on the status bar in Internet Explorer.

Also, look for the VeriSign seal on a site. This signifies that that business has agreed to comply with the security terms of VeriSign Security Compliance Internet Trust Services -- the leaders in the technology needed to conduct trusted and secure electronic commerce and communications. A site bearing the VeriSign seal assures visitors that the site is secure and that your data will be encrypted. The VeriSign seal also assures that a site is real, the company name and Web site address have been verified and that a background check has been done to confirm that the company has the right to use a specific company name.

How To Find Out If A Store Is Legitimate

To determine if is Web site store is legitimate, check out Internic or Whois.net. Do a search for the site's address. If it's in use, you will see who has registered the domain name and the company's physical address. Often times, you will also see a contact name and phone number.

How To Protect Your Privacy

The TRUSTe online seal program -- with the motto "making the Internet a community that consumers trust and believe in" -- addresses consumers anxiety over sharing personal information on a site.

The TRUSTe privacy seal, or "trustmark," takes you directly to a site's privacy statement. The trustmark is a seal awarded by TRUSTe to Web sites that adhere to established privacy principles and agree to comply with their consumer resolution process. A displayed trustmark signifies to users that the Web site will openly share, at a minimum, what personal information is being gathered, how it will be used, with whom it will be shared, who is gathering the information, what options the user has, what security procedures are in place to prevent misuse or loss and how users can correct information to control its dissemination.

The Better Business Bureau offers a comprehensive guide to online shopping safety. It also has two special programs that rate sites for privacy and reliability.

The Privacy Seal shows that BBBOnLine has verified that business' commitment to privacy. The BBB Reliability Seal shows that site is an online business that has met criteria to be a consumer-friendly site and will stand behind its goods and services.

Other Helpful Consumer Sites:

SafeShopping.org says it is the place to stop before you shop. This site was created by the American Bar Association to help consumers shop smarter and order safely online.

Fraud.org: The National Fraud Information Center & Internet Fraud Watch. The National Consumers League, the oldest nonprofit consumer organization in the United States, started the NFIC in 1992. The NFIC is the only nationwide toll-free hotline for consumers to get advice about telephone solicitations and report possible telemarketing fraud to law enforcement agencies. In 1996, the Internet Fraud Watch was created, enabling the NFIC to offer consumers advice about Internet promotions and send reports of suspected online fraud to the appropriate government agencies. Internet fraud can include promotions found on Web sites, in chat rooms, newsgroups, bulletin boards or via e-mail. Consumers can report suspected telemarketing or Internet fraud through the NFIC hotline or Web site.

ScamBusters call themselves "The #1 Publication on Internet Fraud."

Goodhousekeeping has numerous free online buying guides.

ConsumerReports.com offers non-paying members access to some of their online reports. The magazine is famous for its graphic system of rating and comparing products, as well as its lack of advertising.

ConsumerSearch.com -- For several product categories, ConsumerSearch offers reviews. They list the top-rated products, according to the experts, look for the best reviews on and off the Internet, and then rank them. Consumer Search say its purpose is to report the truth about what the experts are really saying, and that its editors are not influenced by advertising or other commercial considerations. This site can be used as a search engine to find product reviews and information.

Consumer World is a public service, non-commercial guide cataloging over 2000 of the most useful consumer resources.

If you experience a problem with a vendor, you can report the issue to the Federal Trade using an online form. Here are some safeguards: ·Pay by credit card. And if you don't get the merchandise, you can challenge the charge. Most likely will only be responsible for $50 of the expense. ·Don't give your credit card number unless the sight is secure. ·Check your statements for unauthorized purchases and print out the offer. ·Know who you are dealing with. If you can't find an address and phone number on the Web page, skip the sale.

Department Stores

You'll find all of your traditional brick-and-mortar department stores online as well. Macy's, Bloomingdales, Nordstroms, Sears, J.C. Penney and more all have a dot-com presence on the Web. The only difference is that they often have close-outs/overstocks sections or online-only offers and coupons.

Discount Retailers

Target, (Kmart Bluelight.com), and Wal-Mart will all be competing for your online holiday shopping dollars.

Discount Electronic Retailers

BestBuy.com, CircuitCity.com and 800.Com all have a plethora of electronic deals for you to choose from.

Cleveland Retailers

Boston Mills/Brandywine Ski Resort gift cards are the flexible way to give a unique gift to those on your holiday list. They are good for Beginner Intro Packages, Snow Tubing, Lift Tickets, and food and beverage at either Boston Mills or Brandywine.

Shop at Holcomb's KnowPlace where learning is more fun than you can imagine. For over 130 years parents have been shopping where the teachers shop for educational toys and games. Teachers also love to receive Holcomb's KnowPlace gift certificates.

Let the timeless aromas, warmth and beauty of premium, high quality Root Candles light your way through the holiday season.

Direct Mail Catalogs

Spiegel, Fingerhut, Harriet Carter, Lillian Vernon, and most all of the popular mail-order catalogs have found it an easy leap to go cyber. If you still prefer to mail-order your merchandise, you can always order their catalogs from their sites. However, odds are you will find a better quantity and selection of products on their Web sites. You can also find over 400 of your favorite catalogs online, including Hammacher Schlemmer, Fisher Price Toys and hundreds more, plus more than 400,000 products at Catalogcity.com.

Also, new this year is GiftCatalog.com, from Rivertown Trading Company, owned by Target Corporation. This site combines the "Signals," "Wireless," "Seasons" and "I Love A Deal" catalogs online for a wide range of gifts for everyone from the consummate intellectual to young children.

Retail Stores/Catalog Hybrids

L.L. Bean, Eddie Bauer, Orvis,Cabelas, Lands' End, Coldwater Creek, JCrew, Banana Republic and REI are all online with well-designed, user-friendly Web sites for all your recreational and sporting clothing needs.

TV Shopping Sites

Even TV shopping has gone cyber. Check out Shop at Home Network, Home Shopping Network online and QVC. There's even a site for all of those "necessary" products you see advertised on TV. Visit AsSeenOnTV.com for everything from the AbTronic Exerciser and the Hollywood Celebrity Diet, to the Ultra Bubble Spa and the Zip Wrench.

Toy Sites

Here's a list of direct site addresses of the most popular online toy shopping sites: eToys.com, SmarterKids.com, FAOSchwarz.com, KBkids.com (on Amazon.com),ToysRus.com, WalMart.com, J.C. Penney and Target.

Malls/Traditional Stores & Boutiques

There are a multitude of online "shopping malls." These sites are your best bets for finding both traditional mall stores that you'd find in your local mall as well as specialty stores and boutiques.

Mall.com offers mall stores such as Barnes & Noble, Victoria's Secret, SharperImage, Gap and many more.

Shop4.com says they have 500,000 of the best products available on their site at 10 percent to 60 percent off of manufacturer's suggested retail prices.

24Hour-Mall.com states that they were designed to make shopping easier on the Internet. They carefully select only family friendly quality stores to be included in their mall. Among many others, they have stores like FTD, Staples, Avon, eToys, and Hickory Farms.

2001Stores.com has an impressive listing of popular name brand stores. Mall-Internet.com has a large listings of stores and a special Holiday Shopping Gift Guide. SavvyDeals.com offers both coupons and deals, plus a huge directory of online shops. Finally, Buyer's Index may just be the largest online shopping search. This site allows you to search 20,000 Web shopping sites and mail order catalogs with over 300 million products.

Search Engine Shopping Sites

Yahoo, AltaVista, Excite, and Lycos all have their own shopping sites. Yahoo's is probably the biggest and best of its kind. AltaVista lets you comparison shop over 700 stores across the Web. Both Excite and Lycos have large category listings and product reviews.

MSN offers it's E-Shop. And, of course, service provider AOL has their own shopping site.

Bargain Sites

SmartBragains.com, Fingerhut, Fingerhut, Heartland America, Service Merchandise, Overstock.com and GraveYard Mall all offer a multitude of products at economical prices. Buy.com specializes in computers, CDs, DVDs and books "at guaranteed everyday low prices." For extra great deals on closeouts, visit their clearance section. Spiegel offers its clearance items through UltimateOutlet.com.

BargainShopping.org offers discounts, coupons and bargain updates, DealCatcher.com is the place for deals, while FrugalRewards.com offers "savings and incentives for the savvy shopper," and Esmarts claims they are the community for bargain shoppers and will save you time and money shopping online.

Netmarket.com is an online Shopper's Club that offers members a 200 percent low price guarantee: If you find a competitor offering a lower price on a product you purchased from Netmarket, they will gladly refund you the difference in price plus 100%. You can also register as a guest to enjoy savings. Similarly, FreeShipping.com offer members access to over 1,200 online stores that you can order from with no shipping and handling fees.

Finally, Discount.com says thay can help you find just about anything on the Internet at a discount for free.

Comparison Shopping Sites

Comparison shopping Web sites have smart search engines that seek out many online stores to find the lowest prices on the products you want to buy. Some people call these sites shopping bots, because the technology they use works like a robot that goes out and finds just what you want. How they work varies. Some sites will have a keyword search; others will have you select the shopping category (e.g., toys) and then search within that category.

BizRate.com offers super find-it comparison shops at hundreds of stores, organizes the results for you and shows you special offers. BizRate is well-known for its non-biased consumer store ratings. Shop here, then rate your store experience!

Gomez.com helps you find the best e-commerce sites and rates online retailers as well as banks, insurance companies, pet stores and more. ActiveBuyersGuide.com call themselves "the ultimate consumer guide." They also provide comprehensive unbiased product recommendations with an automated decision guide to recommend the best products for you. MySimon.com says they are the largest comparison shopping site on the Web, with over 2,00 merchants in categories, such as computers, books, music, electronics, fashion, flowers, sporting goods, toys and more. DealTime.com has buying guides to help you learn what to buy and compares prices at thousands of stores. SmartShop.com enables you to "comparison shop 8,292,198 merchant offers for 1,560,875 products!" They rank products by the features you need, and then find you the lowest price. PricingCentral.com, PriceGrabber, Next Tag and ValueFind are also good price comparison shopping sites to take a look at.

Imandi.com, Respond.com and LiquidPrice.com offer a slightly different twist on the comparison shopping sites. You simply submit a product request with description and they send your request on to the appropriate sellers who compete for your business. The sellers will e-mail you with offers that you select from.

Rewards Programs: Shop And Earn At The Same Time

Rewards program sites are sites that offer you incentives for shopping with them. MyPoints.com lets you earn points for not only shopping online, but also for visiting Web sites. You can redeem your points for airline miles, dining, service and merchandise with partners like Barnes & Noble, Hilton Hotels, Macy's, Sprint and hundreds more.

CoolSavings.com offers electronic coupons, loyalty points, rebates, samples sales notices and much more. Cool Savings incentives can be redeemed at over 120 e-commerce or brick-and-mortar stores. WebMiles.com program is a free travel program that allows you to travel on any airline or flights with no blackout dates and no limited seating. You earn miles by shopping online with their retail partners, by using their Master Card, or by referring friends to the program. MileSource.com is a similar program, as is ClickMiles.com Click Rewards Program which also allows you to earn miles by shopping online with their extensive network of top sites, including CDNow, Barnes & Noble, Gap and Macy's. Click Miles are redeemable for miles on most major airlines, hotel stays or for merchandise from their online rewards catalog.

MilePoints.com allows members to use their frequent flyer miles and points at any MilePoint merchantes online site, including Amazon, ToysRUs and Skymall -- the in-flight shopping publication.

Shop And Give Back At The Same Time

GreaterGood.com is a shopping portal where you can shop at over 100 leading online merchants, including Amazon.com, Nordstrom, Land's End, Dell, Office Max 1-800 Flowers and more. Up to 15 percent of every purchase you make goes to the charity you select for free. Choose any charity from Big Brothers to World Wildlife Fund. GreaterGood makes it easy and convenient to not only give gifts to loved ones this holiday season, but to those in need as well. Their sister sites: The RainForest Site, The Hunger Site and The Breast Cancer Site allow you to donate at no cost to you just by clicking on their site, plus a percentage of everything you purchase from the many stores on their site will go toward the site's cause.

Gift Certificates

For those on your list that are hard to buy for, there's always gift certificates that let your recipient pick exactly what they want. Most all individual online retail sites offer gift certificates for sale on their sites. GiftCertificates.com lets you buy gift certificates to over 700 of the nation's most popular stores, such as Macy's, Gap, Sam Goody, Crate & Barrel, Marriott Hotels, AT&T, Museum Company, JCrew and many more. New this year are Super Certificates. Companies can purchase these as gifts or rewards for their employees and customers.

DirectCertificates.com offers gift certificates for just about anyone you can think of, including Orvis, Red Lobster, Wine.com, or if you're not sure what to pick, they offer a Direct Gift, which is a certificate to all of their merchants. WebCertificate.com is the only gift certificate that lets you shop anywhere online. These certificates are only for online shopping, not for physical stores, service or restaurants. You select the design, create the certificate and send it instantly.

Ticketmaster is also a good choice for treating someone to a special theater or concert.

If you haven't found what you're looking for in this article, you can always search for particular stores or products with any search engine. In fact, there are sites out there that allow you to search multiple search engines at the same time. For a list of these sites, visit here.