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1,001 Deals and Steals: A Guide to Online Classifieds
...... into Internet shopping. Don't 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 fraud cases that happen every year. In some ways, WWW could stand for the 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 the common sense it takes to survive the WWW. It is the same commonsense that helps you make the 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 the 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 the 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 the classifieds category. The best of the 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 the antique lamp that you've been hunting for or that retiree looking to unload an incredible piece of real estate-or the cowboy looking to sell his big-screen television. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Donald Lee is the public relationship manager for Buysellcommunity.com. Buysellcommunity provides free classified listing services for individuals and businesses to market their products and services online. For global and localized classifieds, visit http://www.buysellcommunity.com
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