It's that time of year again. Although it may seem that the fear of a major y2k disaster was only yesterday, the holiday season is upon us once again.

During the holiday season last year, online sales went through the roof for many online megastores such as Amazon, ToysRus and Buy.com. Although many things have changed in the past year, one thing remains the same.

Shopping online is the way to go.

Sure you've heard about some people's horrible experiences with etailers, but what about all the success stories? Some of the deals out there are just too good to pass up.

Last week I decided to get a jump on my online holiday shopping. I usually like to browse the shelves of real stores before I venture out to the net and make my purchases. So earlier this week, while on my lunch break, I headed over to the mall to get a little taste of the holiday spirit.

Sure I got a taste of the holiday cheer. It's hard not to when you have to weave through a line of strollers, that are waiting to see a poor representation of old St. Nick ( I know, because I have met the real Mr. Claus), just to get to your favorite toy store. I also got a huge dose of the holiday hustle. When it comes time for the holidays, and everyone is in a hurry. Warning #1: If you are standing still on the escalator, you may be run over. Warning #2: If you decide to write out a check after reaching the front of a line that was over a mile long, other customer may verbally abuse you.

I used to ask myself, why? Why do I continue to put myself through this.

Then I started shopping online. The just reassured my previous questions. Why did I bother shopping offline?

I guess it was probably due to the fact that I still feared that my hard earned cash would fall into the wrong hands or that my credit card info would be snagged by some hacker. Although there is still an extremely remote possibility that it could happen, if you're careful it won't.

You won't see me wandering through the malls or department stores anymore this season. I plan on doing most of my holiday shopping on all of just three web sites this season.

Number one is Amazon.com. Do I really need to give you a reason? The selection is amazing. There are usually a handful of comments left by other users on items you might not be too sure about. They have great product wizards that help you find the perfect gift. You tell them what's most important (i.e. price vs. features) and they'll guide you towards the best product based on the facts you give them. Amazon is a reputable online store known worldwide for many reasons, one of which is their customer service. The only problem I have ever had with Amazon is when they sent me the wrong X-Files video game. I emailed them and a day later I got a response telling me they were sorry about the mix-up and the correct game was on it's way. They included a postage paid package to send back the incorrect game at my convenience. One of theses days I'll get around to it.

Another site that I plan on checking everyday is Buy.com. Buy.com has one of my favorite features called Deal of the Day. Each day they feature a product on their homepage at a great price. I was lost for ideas of what to purchase my father this Christmas. That was until I ran across a great Deal of the Day a few weeks ago at Buy.com. My father can now ditch his little 15" monitor because Buy.com had a 17" on sale at a killer price.

The third site that I'll use comes with a little more risk. I'll only use it for those items that you just can't find in stores. I'm talking about eBay of course! Now, if you plan on doing any holiday shopping at eBay, you better do so quick. You may run across someone who is not very motivated and might take his/her time sending out your product. I'd advise that you finish up your eBay shopping by December 8th. That will give the winning bidder (you) and the seller just over two weeks to complete the transaction. If you're sending a check, remember this. It's going to take 2-3 days for your check to get there, and 5-7 days to clear. Then it's going to take another 2-5 days for you to receive your product once it's actually shipped (depending on the size). I highly suggest only dealing with people who will accept your credit card directly or people that will let you send them money via online payment services such as PayPal. That way you're cutting out the 2-3 days of waiting for your check to get there, and the 5-7 days it can take to clear.

One other thing you should keep in mind about buying on eBay. Know who you are dealing with. Only bid on items if the seller has an outstanding feedback rating. Most of all, don't be afraid to ask questions about the product. You want to make sure you know what you're bidding on.

Before any purchases are made on the sites mentioned above, it would be in your best interest to check SlickDeals.net. There you will find coupons to all the major and minor shopping sites. It has a great summary of the specials that each web site is running. You will definitely save more than a few bucks if you visit it first.

If you arm yourself with the web sites mentioned above, you should be able to take care of a large portion of your holiday shopping online. I know I will. Be sure to swing by the Sign of the Times Assembly and let us know how things went.