If you prefer to avoid holiday crowds and shop from home, follow these tips from our e-Ratings:
Find out the estimated delivery time for standard shipping. Many sites and catalogs offer express shipping for an additional
charge.
Ask whether you can get free or low-cost gift cards and wrapping.
Check whether the recipient can return anything, for any reason, with a minimum of 45 days to do so. Some Web sites include
postage-paid envelopes or address labels with the order for easy returns. Ask whether you can return items to a brick-and-mortar
counterpart.
If you can't find the perfect gift, consider gift certificates, which come in all sizes and fit everyone. Many sites offer
certificates that can be used online or in a store. Make sure they're valid for at least six months, to give the recipient
time to find the right gift.
Among the sites we recommend for gift shopping:
Clothes: Bluefly.com; Gap.com; Landsend.com.
Small appliances: JandR.com; Walmart.com.
Books, music, movies: Amazon.com; Barnesandnoble.com; CDNOW.com.
Electronics: Circuitcity.com; JandR.com.
Housewares: Crateandbarrel.com; Thecompanystore.com
Toys: Kbtoys.com; Toysrus.com.
