Despite this bounty of benefits, you might still be hesitant to dive into Internet shopping. Don't be embarrassed. You have good reason to take your time and weigh your choices. According to U.S. Federal Trade Commission, Internet fraud tops list of thousands of fraud cases that happen every year. In some ways, WWW could stand for Wild West Web, in that anything goes. Vendors can be villains in disguise, and there aren't any online Wyatt Earps to protect you from these bad guys. You're on your own.

But give yourself some credit. You have common sense it takes to survive WWW. It is same commonsense that helps you make most of your money on your standard shopping trips. Become familiar and comfortable with an online vendor before jumping into a purchase. Ask questions and do a bit of research.

After doing your research, you'll feel more confident in searching for your online booty. To refine your findings and whittle your list to only exceptional sites, look for these additional qualities:

•A focus on local shopping, so you can feel more confident buying from neighbors. •Free education and advice on safe purchasing. •No-cost and easy browsing through available merchandise. •Search tools that let you prioritize items by category, location, and distance. •A straightforward pricing system that avoids haggling and risk of auction bidding. •Quick price comparisons among different vendors.

Unbelievably, a few trustworthy, practical, and exciting Web sites exist that have all of these features. To find these websites, simply browse through Yahoo's directory under classifieds category. The best of online classified sites offer these services free to buyers such as you. Some of these sites can link you at no charge to your neighbor selling antique lamp that you've been hunting for or that retiree looking to unload an incredible piece of real estate-or cowboy looking to sell his big-screen television.

If you want to process your own payments, you will need to hook your shopping cart software up to a payment gateway and authorization processor. Unless you're using an all-in-one service, or are very familiar with web site technology, you will likely need to hire technical assistance for this.

As an alternative, even for some merchants with larger volumes, there are third party services who will process credit card and e-check payments for you. These firms typically charge a much higher percentage of sale, plus a per-transaction charge, for their service. However, for beginning marketers, it often makes sense to process payments through one of these firms. They are especially good during a testing and business-building phase, when sales volumes and product longevity are unknown.

Some firms, such as Clickbank, process payments only for products that are delivered digitally. Others process for only physically shipped goods, and others not only process payments for both, but offer recurring subscription payment processing as well. The most well known of these firms is Paypal, which is owned by, and heavily linked to, eBay. You can also consider 2CheckOut.com, Propay.com, Ibill.com, CCNow.com, and Payloadz.com, depending on your product.

John Calder is the owner/editor of The Ezine Dot Net. Subscribe Today and get real information YOU can use to help build your online business today! http://www.TheEzine.Net

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