| Issue date: Jan 17, 1999
"e-TAILING": The
pros and cons
 nternet shopping has made a seasonal breakthrough.
Of the projected $7.8 billion in 1999 Internet merchandise sales,
almost half is expected to be spent during the holiday shopping
season, according to online market tracker Forrester Research.
The
lowdown:
|
THUMBS
UP
|
THUMBS
DOWN
|
Ease of use: "E-tailing"
offers features you can't get in catalogs. Online, you can
listen to CD clips before buying. Or at a site such as www.landsend.com,
you'll find tools to match your body type and climate surroundings
to the right kind of clothes.
Availability: Online auction sites often provide merchandise
not available in stores. Winebid.com
auctions off bottles of wine produced in small quantities,
including some Napa favorites from Colgin, Bryant Family and
Turley. And www.fromages.com
has unpasteurized French cheese shipped directly from the
continent to you. Want scarce Beanie Babies? Try www.ebay.com,
the largest person-to-person auction site on the Web. |
Price. Many manufacturers
won't let cyber-merchants undercut prices, and merchants with
both stores and an online presence don't like to. If you get
a discount, you often pay the difference in shipping costs.
(One advantage, however, is that online merchants may let
you know about sales via e-mail.) |
Go to top
Ensuring
travel plans with the right choices
 acationing
these days is pretty pricey, so do you need travel insurance? It
depends. You may find you already have what you need.
If plans fall apart: Trip cancellation
insurance covers you if the cruise line or tour operator folds
- or if you need to cancel because of a disaster, a death in the
family or an illness (say, a policy-listed ailment that would keep
you from hitting the ski slopes). Consider this insurance if you're
traveling with someone who might get sick or injured, or if you've
saved up for a lifetime and wouldn't be able to get a refund on
the trip after canceling.
If the conveyor belt eats your suitcase: Baggage
insurance covers you if your belongings are lost, stolen or
damaged during your trip. But you already may be covered through
your homeowner's or renter's insurance.
Got hives in the Himalayas? Emergency medical
assistance pays to fly you home, something you may want if you're
trekking in Tibet and get sick or injured. Make sure that any pre-existing
condition is covered and that your own platinum card doesn't already
provide this perk.
Find travel insurers through your travel agent or
insurance agent, or the National Insurance Consumer Helpline (on
weekdays, 1-800-942-4242).
|
