Navigating the shopping process

Never have we had so many choices at so many prices. If you are looking for the usual and the mass-market item, chances are you'll get to the best value fairly quickly. A rapid check at the internet should give you a good idea of what's available, where and at which price.

In fact, in America, the “where” is rapidly becoming meaningless and often, if it's far away, there will be tax savings available, freight will generally be free and the product will show up at your door before you know it. The difficulty resides with the unusual, not-everyday item that varies in specifications, finish, size and demands a more thorough search.

Of course, there's always the internet, but where to look? If you shop for appliances, for instance, you typically go to some specialty stores as well as to some “big-box” retailers and then you get on line. But you may forget manufacturers outlet stores (mostly virtual) and a host of specialized on line vendors.

The choice is immense but finding the stuff you need is much, much more difficult, but if you spend your time researching, you can save yourself a lot of money!