A few smaller online shopping favorites

Are you an online shopper? Ooh, I sure am. I love it. In fact, I’ve little doubt that the massive antipathy I’ve built toward Wal-Mart, malls, and bricks-and-mortars in general is exacerbated by the ease of shopping online.

Amazon.com is my go-to. I’ve completed perhaps 300 transactions there over the past decade. On the rare occasion when something hasn’t gone smoothly, Amazon.com has always made it right quickly and satisfactorily. I remain impressed with their balance of size, scope, and service. I recommend Amazon Prime if you do a lot of business with them, by the way. It’s $79 annually for unlimited no-charge second-day shipping and $3.99 overnight.

As much as I love Amazon.com, I do enjoy some smaller online shops too. Here are some favorites. If I’m recommending them below, then I’ve done considerable business with them, and have never had anything less than an excellent experience:

• If you clothe yourself in mainstream brands, then go to Denim Express. They have extensive selections of jeans, slacks, shirts, underwear, and socks, and they’ve begun dabbling a bit in accessories. A $70 order gets you free shipping.
• Princeton Watches is a fine place for a new watch. They’re a good place for big brands like Seiko, Citizen, and Casio, and I’ve done business with them for several of those. But they’re also a great place for some of the smaller Swiss houses. I bought my Glycine Airman 2000 there. They’re not always the best at showing all of a manufacturer’s offerings on their site, so if you’re interested in something that you don’t see, call or email and ask for a quote.
• I love Thomas Distributing for rechargeable batteries and chargers. I don’t know how any parent or gadget freak does without rechargeables. (And sheesh, I’m both.) Once you get a good NiMH setup inserted into your routine, you’ll be amazed at what it does for your quality of life.
• RepairClinic.com is an outstanding site to keep your appliances running. Think you can’t fix your stuff when it breaks? Poke around this site and see if you don’t change your mind. Over the past several years, I’ve avoided repair bills on my washer, dryer, refrigerator, and stove, simply because I spent a little time with this site.

Those are some of my (perhaps) off-the-beaten-path favorites. What are yours?

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