Holiday shopping on the Internet

Got a lawyer on your list? Check out For Counsel, where you can electronically pick up a "Partridge in a Pear Tree" tie. Mystery fans can find "12 Drummers Drumming: A Novel of Suspense" at the author's home page. Not to mention a wide assortment of golden rings (and other sparkly baubles) at Tiffany & Co.

You also can gather enough goodies for an entire holiday feast, from soup (Creamy Butternut Squash at True Foods Market) to nuts (chocolate-covered from Chocolate Decadence).

Want to help someone else set the table for the holidays? Check out Second Harvest, the Red Cross or the Salvation Army.

Now that you've got some ideas on what to put under the tree (which, by the way, you can order from Artificial-Christmas-Tree.com with lights already strung), it's time to start buying. To make sure you don't waste time or money, here's some advice from online-shopping devotees.

Stick with names you know
"Most of the time I'm going to places I trust," says Chris Farrell, author of "Right on the Money!" "There are companies that have reputations for good service, and the online world is no different." Shop with those who've treated you well in the past, and you're likely to get the same good service again.

Use a credit card
"This is one of those times when you put it on the credit card," says Farrell. "And then pay it off."

If possible, use the same credit card for all your online buying. "That way, it's easy to track," says Hillary Mendelsohn, author of "thepurplebook: The Definitive Guide to Exceptional Online Shopping."

If your chosen card offers online discounts, all the better. Banks are teaming up with e-tailers on promotional deals. Check your credit card's Web site to see if it offers discounts at your favorite online stores. Look in "member benefits" or a similarly named section.

Practice safe shopping
Make sure you are buying from a secure site. The clues: the Internet address begins with "https" or your own browser displays a lock symbol. "If you're a Windows user, make sure you do all of the updates that Microsoft issues," says Barbara Kasser, author of "2005 Online Shopping Directory for Dummies."

Never give out any personal information other than your billing or shipping address. It's unlikely anyone will ask, but just so you know: No e-tailer needs your Social Security or bank account numbers, says Mendelsohn. If you ever get e-mail asking to confirm orders and requesting this information, it's bogus.

Even with a secured site, there are times that e-shopping can make you more vulnerable to spam, pop-ups and other computer unpleasantries. And when you visit a new site for the first time, the biggest danger is "that you'll end up with something that you have to clean off your computer," says Robert Krughoff, president of Consumers' Checkbook, a nonprofit consumer magazine.

If you plan to do a lot of online shopping at several sites, redirect any potential spam it might produce. Instead of using your regular e-mail address, Kasser suggests you set up a free e-mail account (at Yahoo, HotMail, etc.) for use only in shopping and corresponding with e-tailers. "Not every merchant is going to use your address and share your address, but some will."

Play e-tailers against retailers
Smart shoppers look at the prices of the same product online and in regular stores, says Mark Oleson, director of the University of Missouri Office for Financial Success. "Go to your favorite store and see what they are charging, then try to find the item online and compare prices." The winner: Whoever offers the best deal -- and you.

Look at purchase totals
"A lot of Web sites have a lower price to lure you in, but balance it out with higher shipping," says Michael Miller, author of the "Bargain Hunter's Secrets to Online Shopping." Make the prices you're comparing include everything you need.

And realize that the lowest price isn't always the best deal. "Things other than price matter," says Miller. Look at how quickly the e-tailer can deliver the product, the online merchant's reliability, what kind of return policy the Web store has and how easy the site makes the shopping experience.

Direct ship
Make things easy for yourself. If you let an e-tailer ship the gift directly to your loved one, it's OK if it doesn't have fancy gift wrapping, says The Dollar Stretcher's Foreman. "The fact that it comes in a brown box is all right."

The idea is to celebrate and enjoy the season, not run yourself ragged, he says. Consumers are using the convenience of the Internet, and if things are a little less formal, Foreman says, that's OK.

Look for a phone number
If a Web site doesn't list a phone number, leave. Mendelsohn says the omission means you can't easily call if you need help, either during the ordering process or after it's completed. Sites without contact numbers, she says, "don't really want to deliver good customer service."

Talk back, both during and after shopping
Ask for what you need. If the site doesn't offer something you want, such as free shipping or gift wrapping, e-mail or call to find out if you can get it. "The worst they can say is, 'We don't do that,'" says Mendelsohn. "But usually they'll accommodate you."

If you encounter problems, don't be afraid to complain. Kasser remembers buying some salmon from an online merchant; it was so good, she ordered some for her mother-in-law. But something went wrong with the dry ice during shipping and by the time it arrived, "It was awful," Kasser says. "Fortunately, I was able to call the merchant, and he sent another one."

Build a paper trail
Keep copies of the transaction information to document your purchase, from confirmation slips and receipts, to shipping information and even product descriptions, says Farrell.

Mendelsohn's tip: Print a copy of your order form before you hit the "buy" or "submit" button. That will give you the details of your purchase, complete with sizes, colors, specs, shipping methods, etc. "It's a great way of always having a record of what you've purchased," she says. Many times buyers simply get a confirmation number, "which won't have any pertinent information," she says.

Plan for many happy returns
Returning is part of shopping, regardless of whether you buy e-tail or retail, so choose online merchants who make it easy. Look for a site's return policies in its FAQs or with customer-service information, says Mendelsohn.

Beware of "restocking fees." They're arbitrary charges that basically punish consumers for returning things.

Give extra points to retailers who let you return online orders to their brick-and-mortar locations. Otherwise, says Farrell, "You get into this whole nightmare of mailing."

Dana Dratch is a freelance writer based in Atlanta.