Laura orders shampoo at her convenience from her own room.

In the fall of 2000 it was estimated that one-half of all Americans had made purchases online. As college students, we are already pressed for time; why spend it making trips to Target and Borders when these stores are now available to us online, from the comfort of our home or campus? Whether you're shopping for textbooks, airline tickets, hairspray, or a new television, online shopping is the way to go.

Getting Started

Before just jumping on your computer and going wild with the credit card there are a few things that you should know to make your shopping trip a success. According to Laurent Belsie of the Christian Science Monitor, Internet shopping can be a success if you follow these simple guidelines:

• Deal with highly regarded companies. Look up the retailer and get some information before making a purchase from an unknown vendor.
• Become familiar with delivery procedures. Make sure that you understand shipping fees and dates. Also, know how the vendor will keep in touch with you.
• Check the privacy policies. Make sure that you know what will be done with your information.
• Look for deals. Internet vendors are more available to offer discounted prices when advertising expenditures are low. There may also be deals for those customers who recommend friends.

Colin Clark is excited about discovering Internet shopping.

For those of you who think that dealing with the Internet and the privacy issues is more hassle than it's worth, listen up. The most important and simple thing that you can do is to check out the privacy policy that is on the shopping site. If there is no policy, or if it sounds sketchy, log on to www.resellerratings.com for more information about specific vendors from their past customers.

Where to Shop and What to Buy

It seems as if every offline store now has its online counterpart. Target, Wal-Mart, Kmart, and Walgreens all have their own online shopping sites. Online prices are comparable to the in-store prices. Shipping and handling charges are generally applied based on the value of your order, and you can expect to receive your purchase 5-7 days after you've placed the order. When a trip to Wal-Mart for contact solution and notebooks with a stop at Walgreens for pain reliever just doesn't fit into your schedule, log on.

Along with the traditional discount stores, book and electronic stores are also online to fit your college appetite. I decided to check out Amazon.com and compare the prices of some books that I had recently purchased for classes at the bookstore on campus. Writing for Magazines: A Beginners Guide was available for $15.96 while I paid $19.95, a savings of 20%. Next, Media Planning was available for $47.96, a 20% savings from the $59.95 that I just forked out. The Journalist and the Murderer was also available at a 20% discount for $9.60, along with EVEolution, which was available for $19.96 compared to the $24.95 that I paid. Had I shopped online, I would have saved over $23.00 off of the cover prices of these books. Among other things, Amazon.com offers a wide variety of books, music, videos, and DVDs to meet your needs.

Colin eagerly bargain shops at auction sites.

If you are interested in trying to find the best possible prices for products that you can afford to wait for, try EBay or priceline.com. EBay is a well-established auction site that allows you to name your price, allowing you to trade with other consumers and retailers online. Like EBay, at Priceline.com you name your price and the competitors come to you. Stacie, a close friend and frequent online shopper, of Forrest Lake, Minnesota, often flies home to California to see her parents. She says, "Priceline.com is the only way to go when shopping for airline tickets. I specify the dates and destination and name my price and the rest is taken care of. I just don't have time to try and book my own flights, I wouldn't have it any other way."

Online Advantages

With shopping available at your fingertips, you also have the opportunity for price comparison. If you don't have the time to go looking through each site to compare prices on your own, there are sites like mySimon.com that do the price comparison for you, allowing for the most savings on your part. I typed in that I was searching for a DVD player. I was then given about eight different model options, and I chose the Sony S560D. Next, I received a list of over 15 stores and online shopping sites that carried my product, listing both prices and availability of my item, with prices ranging from $195 to $269. What could have taken me hours to do on my own took me only seconds using mySimon.com.

Still Not Convinced?

Because online retailers generally don't have much advertising cost, they are able to keep the prices lower than normal. There are also a large variety of shopping sites allowing the purchase of virtually any item imaginable, from computers to cars and socks to curling irons, it's perfect for the college student without a lot of time or money to spend.

Still not sure about credit card protection? Don't worry, you're not alone. Rest assured that the majority of mishaps concerning online shopping come to those that send a check in the mail rather than those who give their credit card number online. According to Reid Goldsborough of Consumers Research Magazine, most sites now use encryption for credit cards, which scrambles the credit cardholder's information, making it impossible for hackers to retain the information. Still not convinced? Just ask. Most shopping sites have privacy and security policies available online with telephone numbers to call if you need more information.

Lets face it, as much as we would like to think that we have the time to spend going to the malls and discount stores to buy our necessities, that just isn't always the case. This doesn't mean that we must go without. Instead, buck up and join the rest of us in the year 2001 where Super Targets and Wal-Marts may soon be a thing of the past.

You no longer have to leave the comfort of your own home. When you shop on the Internet, your purchases come to you!