PCWorld.com Editors' Guide to Shopping Sites

Befuddled by the barrage of holiday buying opportunities? Try some of our favorites.

Anne B. McDonald, PCWorld.com

Are you a confirmed procrastinator on this year-end gift-giving thing? Find out with our little test:

• Are you starting from scratch on holiday shopping in these last few days before Hanukkah and Christmas?
• Is your blood freezing at the thought of your to-do list, even though you're safe and warm indoors staring into your PC?
• Have you already wandered online but been completely befuddled by the barrage of buying opportunities?

If you say yes to any or all of the above, PCWorld.com is here to rescue you. We polled our editors for a list of great Web sites that meet our exacting standards for quality in goods, services, and delivery. While we can't promise that each site will deliver for you until the very last minutes, we can tell you that all have worked well for us in the past. Here is our road map to last-minute present-giving paradise.

First, some tips: Check for what the site promises about delivery dates. Look for free shipping specials, and shop sites that don't charge sales tax to your state. (For other tips--and warnings--see " Vanishing PlayStation Sites: the Latest Seasonal Swindle?")

By the way, we're in good company with our online shopping carts. Early projections from PC Data show the earliest holiday e-tail sales are up 169 percent from last year--and we're still shopping.

Now, let's go!

Quirky and Catchy Options

Need a fun gift for a beloved brainiac or a quirky art lover? The Unemployed Philosophers Guild has you covered. Shop here for a pair of Freudian Slippers, which feature a googly-eyed, bearded therapist staring up from the floor. The Mona Lisa pillow giggles when you squeeze it, and the Starry Night Pillow lights up when you press its moon. (The site calls it an improvement on the original at less than $70 million.) Also available: The Disappearing Ear Van Gogh Mug, the Drink With the Great Drinkers Shot Glasses, the Nietzsche Eternal Return Watch, and Kama Sutra Pillowcases. A guarantee: You won't find these items anywhere else.

How about nostalgia buffs? One editor loved Atari games as a child. Now that it's fashionable to wear T-shirts sporting the logo of her favorite childhood pastime, she had to have one. She stumbled across a site called Tees.com. Its shirts range from club cool to geek ultrachic. Check the long pulldown menu on the home page to be whisked to another page that clearly shows the product, sizes, and price. Other choices: Hello Kitty, Hello Satan (hmmmm), and Boys Suck, among many others.

Is a chef on your list? Cooking.com is like having Williams-Sonoma and Sur la Table rolled into one. Tremendous values here on truly top-notch supplies for the kitchen, from pots and pans to electrics to bubba forks. We think it has a very good checkout system, speedy shipping, and extremely helpful customer service. The only drawback: You'll end up on its snail-mail catalog list.

For Outdoor and Indoor Sports

Or how about outdoorsy types? An editor confesses his addiction to REI.com, where he gets camp stoves, vests, and other gear. He also recommends its discount buddy, REI-Outlet.com, which recently offered a great deal on hand-warmer packets for 33 cents each (great for those skier/snowboarder/winter hiker pals). Both sites are easy to navigate, have fairly comprehensive descriptions, and make it easy to compare products.

Another outfitter site that earned undying customer loyalty for great service is Cabela's. Our editor ordered a heavy-duty locking storage cabinet, which was dropped by the shipper on delivery. Despite information that delivery damage would be attributable only to the shipper, Cabela's worked out a quick and easy settlement for our editor, who now sings its praises every chance he gets. One Cabela's gift suggestion: a propane boot dryer to keep your camper's tootsies comfortable.

Get Sexy. Two editors recommend Victoria's Secret. One says buying there earns brownie points from significant others. And they agree it's a lot less embarrassing to browse through lingerie online than in person. Bonus: Packages come stamped with a discreet VSC return address (for Victoria's Secret Catalog), so you or your giftee won't take a lot of razzing.

PCWorld.com Editors Advise: Eat Here

Let's eat. A strong recommendation goes to Mrs. Beasley's, also known as Miss Grace, a Los Angeles-area purveyor of cakes, cookies, and other sweets. Our editor discovered Mrs. Beasley's when a friend sent him a lemon cake (the company's specialty). He says the site is simple to use and gets the job done.

Also, several editors recommend See's Candy Shops, where, besides the usual pretty boxes of calorific toothsome delights, you can order bags of gold coins (great for Hanukkah), boxes of chocolate cigars, and all sorts of antique reproduction toy trucks and motorcycles with candy attached.

One recent transplant to San Francisco has discovered the Web site of local legend Boudin Bakery. In addition to a clock listing the current Pacific Sourdough Time (PST), the site tells the company's 150-year sourdough history and offers an online catalog. A caveat: The site processes only a single order at a time. Instead of repeatedly reentering all your information, you can call the toll-free 24-hour bread hotline (which took about five minutes). Procrastinators beware: It takes up to three days to prepare your bread and another two days for shipping, so time is running out.

Technogifts Abound

For DVD movies, your first stop should be DVD Price Search. This tremendous site offers a searchable index of available and upcoming DVDs, and lets you compare prices across multiple stores--right down to shipping and tax. The site also aggregates coupon codes for different online stores so you can make the most of your purchase.

Our editor in the know says it is very easy to spend a lot of money unwisely on stereo gear. That's why he loves AudioAdvisor.com, a serious audio site that doesn't carry the mass market products offered at big consumer electronics stores. You'll find many interesting products priced less than $100, and impeccable and friendly service. Among the reasonably priced gifts for your audiophile is the Auric Illuminator CD Resolution Enhancement System, a physical treatment for CDs that improves their sound quality by reducing reflection and scattering of the player's laser light, and improves the sound quality of older (pre-1990) CDs. You'll also find Robert Harley's "The Complete Guide to High End Audio," for those who want a high-end system but lack limitless budgets; and MIT Terminator 2 Interconnect Cables, which make a small but noticeable sonic improvement on the cheapo wires that usually come out of the box.

Egghead.com is an old-school e-tailer, and despite the company's recent difficulties, bargains can be had in its clearance section. Our editor found ordering simple. Plus you can get frequent flyer miles. Egghead.com offers free shipping on selected items and a no-questions-asked return policy through the holiday season.

Catch-All Sites to Shop

Is Mom the challenge? Try an old retail buddy, now online: Macys.com. The store that hired Kris Kringle in Miracle on 34th Street has a very useful gift finder (use the Gifts link on the home page) that gives you suggestions. If you are a member of Macy's Presidents Club, you get free shipping.

Another place to try for Mom is Coldwater Creek. The site carries lots of interesting artisan-esque jewelry, curios, and clothes, and our shopper was very impressed overall with its customer service.

Seeking gifts for kids? Get 'em off the GameBoy with books. One editor spent a fruitless hour wandering miles of aisles at the neighborhood book barn for specific titles, then went home to try the Net. In less than five minutes on Barnesandnoble.com, she located and ordered all the titles she needed, complete with holiday gift wrap and various shipping options. The order arrived with a gift tag attached to each item.

With a slogan like "Save Time. Save Money. Save Your Sanity," Netmarket is a site worth seeing. Membership here gives you a better price, but nonmembers can buy, too. Or try Express.com, which promises a 60-second experience with a slogan of "Give Them What They Really Want... And Find It Fast." Also, editors suggest you check out DealCatcher.com--a site that aggregates coupon codes for various online stores to help you save money.

In Good Company

We are not alone in our picks. Research of more than 15,000 online shoppers by the Institute for Online Commerce names many of the sites favored by PCWorld.com editors.

Their top picks are based on ease of getting useful information and finding merchandise, as well as product quality and general satisfaction. Among the leaders are Cabela's, Disney Store, L.L. Bean, Lands' End, Nordstrom, Coldwater Creek, Victoria's Secret, Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com, Apple, Dell, McAfee.com, and, interestingly, EBay.

(See PCWorld.com's ongoing coverage of shopping online.)

(Contributors to this story include Yardena Arar, Kimberly Brinson, Tracey Capen, Lisa Cekan, Rex Farrance, Rebecca Freed, Alexandra Krasne, Tom Mainelli, Harry McCracken, Ramon G. McLeod, Matthew Newton, and Melissa J. Perenson.)