• Introduction
  • Shopping Online
  • Comparison Shopping
  • Travel Services
  • Banking and Online Trading
  • Auctions
  • Online Charitable Giving
  • Gift Certificates and Coupons
  • Spam
• Researching Products and Vendors
  • Check Manufacturers' Sites
  • Check Out the Used-Equipment Market
  • Comparison Shopping
  • Dynamic Pricing
  • Find Out What Others Are Saying
  • Check for Compliance with Industry Certification Programs
  • The Devil Is in the Details
  • Ask About Customer Support
• Paying Online
  • Using Your Credit Card Online
  • Pre-Paid Internet Shopping Cards
  • Using Debit Cards Instead of Credit Cards
  • Electronic Wallets
  • Escrow Accounts
  • Online Billing, Bill-Paying Services, and Account Managers
  • Online Purchases with Off-Line Payment Methods
  • Return or Exchange of Gifts
• Shipping and Delivery
  • The Law is On Your Side
• Marketing
  • Promotional versus Informational Content
  • Visitor Information Gathering
  • Express Your Preferences
  • Opt-In versus Opt-Out Approaches
  • Branding
  • Spam
• Marketing to Children
  • Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA)
  • What Parents Can Do
• Privacy and Security
  • How and Why to Protect Your Privacy
  • Profiling and the Digital You
  • Cookies
  • Keeping Track of Your Accounts and Transactions
  • How to Protect Your Privacy
  • Seals, Privacy Programs, and Other "Guardians"
  • Finding and Using Secure Sites
  • Secure Socket Layer
  • Public Key Encryption
• Protecting Yourself from Internet Fraud
  • FTC's "Operation Top Ten Dot Cons"
  • Travel Scams
  • Many Organizations and Laws Are On Your Side
• Check It Out!
  • Smart Online Buying Practices
  • Protecting Your Privacy

This guide is located at http://www.netaction.org/shoppers/ and is available in the following additional formats: a single HTML document, in MS Word 5.1, in ASCII text, as an Adobe PDF file, and in Rich Text Format (RTF) for import into most other word processors.