Internet shopping is bigger than ever. You can find anything and everything for sale online. Many times, you can find it cheaper online than elsewhere. Internet shopping offers so much more than a discounted price tag, though.
Imagine a shopping mall where there are no lines, where there are no jammed parking garages, and no pushy sales clerks. This is no country that belief. It is the Internet where you can discover unprecedented selection, convenience and opportunity. Online shopping gives you the luxury of browsing hundreds of stores from your living room, while saving time and frustration. It gives you the chance to compare prices to your hearts delight in a nearly unlimited selection of brands and models.
For even more 
benefits, try your hand at classifieds and auction sites. These sites are like yard sales and flea markets together in one. Unlike shopping malls locations offer:
Access to super secondary markets. Take your pick of used or brand new wholesale goods at heavily discounted prices. The vendors at classifieds sites can get away with it because they do not pay high rent for a storefront or a warehouse. And in many cases, you do not pay taxes.
Tools to find unique and rare collectibles. Imagine a classifieds site to be like a sunken pirate boat, laden with cultural artifacts, are hard to find heirlooms, and priceless antiques. The Internet is your ocean-going vessel, sonar, and oxygen tank in one.
Reach beyond your neighborhood. Search the inventory of a seller from your hometown, or if you do not find what you're looking for there, try that fellow in
Close relationships with suppliers. You deal with real people, not big, impersonal corporations, when you buy on classifieds sites. They can provide more information about the product which you can then use to negotiate a fair price.
Despite this bounty of benefits, you may still be reluctant to dive into Internet shopping. Do not be embarrassed. You have good reason to take your time and weigh your choices. According to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, Internet fraud tops the list of the thousands of cases of fraud happens every year. In some ways, WWW could stand for the Wild West Web, in that anything goes. Vendors may be villains in disguise, and there are not any online Wyatt Earp to protect yourself from these villains. You're on your own.
But give yourself some credit. You have the sense that it takes to survive WWW. It is the same common sense that helps you get the most out of your money on your standard shopping trips. Get familiar and comfortable with an online retailer before jumping into a purchase. Ask questions and do a little research.
Once you've done your research, you will feel more confident in searching for your online booty. To improve your results and carve your list only the exceptional sites, look for these additional qualities:
Focus on local shopping, so you can feel more confident buying from neighbors.
Free training and advice on safe shopping.
No-cost and easy to browse the available merchandise.
Search tools that allow you to prioritize issues by category, location and distance.
A single pricing system that avoids the haggling and risk of auction bids.
Quick price comparisons among different vendors.
Incredibly, few reliable, practical and exciting Web sites exist that have all these features. To find these sites, you just flip through Yahoo's directory under the classifieds category. The best of online classified sites offer these services free to buyers like you. Some of these sites can link you to free your neighbor sell antique lamp that you've been searching for, or as a pensioner wants to unload an incredible piece of property, or the cowboy looking to sell its big-screen television.
