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online shopping isn't new, but it continues to grow. An increasing number of people are letting their fingers do the clicking rather than head out to the mall or to a specialty store. Moreover, online shoppers are choosing boutique one-stop shopping sites over the Web's traditional e-commerce giants. Why? Because, in doing so, they can support entrepreneurs while taking advantage of wholesale prices and dropship bargains.

What can you find at these one-stop shopping online stores? just about everything. These sites typically have everything from jewelry, electronics, and leather goods to automotive parts, supplies for pets, and toys. And, just like the mega sites, they have brand names in virtually every category imaginable.

You might, for example, find a Magnavox widescreen LCD TV with an integrated dvd player as well as Britney Spears' latest fragrance. You could find novelty items from your favorite sports team along with Olympus digital cameras. Or, you could shop for the latest Xbox 360 game along with a gorgeous pair of designer earrings.

online Buying Tips

How do you choose which online store to patronize? When I'm looking for a site, I first look for selection and brand names. Unless I'm looking for a rare item, I always go for the online store that has at least 5,000 items in stock. Next, I look for organization. I like to shop at sites that organize their items by easy-to-find categories. I don't want pet supplies to pop up when I'm looking for jewelry, or to search for personal electronics and have outdoor furniture appear in my search results.

I'm also a big fan of sites that dropship. When my items come directly from the manufacturer, I find that they arrive faster and in better condition. Plus, since the site doesn't have to worry about stocking inventory, the owners tend to pay more attention to customer service.

Since I'm somewhat of a privacy nut, I prefer to shop on sites that don't sell or disclose my personal information to third parties (other than the shipper) without first giving me the opportunity to prevent my information from being shared.

Security is also extremely important to me, especially since I'm sharing sensitive information like my credit card number. So, before I click, I always make sure the site uses a secure server with encryption technology. If a site accepts PayPal, that's even better.

If you've been stuck in the online mega-store rut, I encourage you to give the smaller one-stop shopping sites a try. You'll likely receive better service, and have an overall better shopping experience.

I feel compelled to write something regarding a football club which I have supported, albeit mainly from a distance, since I was a boy. The last disgraceful episode in the history of Aston Villa Fc was the 3-0 defeat at Doncaster in the league cup. I can take nothing away from Doncaster, who played like lions on the night. They were full of running and pressurised us from the word go. However the point here is that a team of Aston Villa's obvious size, standing and sometimes glorious past should have been far too much for even the bravest of lower division teams. This was not a one off; sadly it was indicative of the general malaise which seems to have set in at the club over the last two years.

Here is a good example. our 9million pound club record signing, Juan Pablo Angel strolled round the park (when he did actually move) looking like he did not want to be there. For the most part he loped towards the opposition penalty area when we got forward and then stood around waiting for something to happen. I am no expert in the art of striking, but from many hours watching some of the best strikers in the world even I can tell that a good striker will make something happen, not wait for it to fall into his lap. The fact that he has only managed to score this season against lowly Wickham Wanderers, in an earlier round of the cup, I think says it all.

Liam Ridgewell had a nightmare against Doncaster, giving away a penalty and being lucky not to concede another only a few minutes earlier, however, the fact that he was so noticeably bad at least confirmed some effort on his part. Thomas Sorenson played well throughout and the 3-0 score line will look badly on his record, but was mainly down to shambolic defending. Gareth Barry also had a good game, frequently getting down the left on Doncasters wide pitch. However whenever he did so the moves were broken up by the fact that no one was making the runs into the centre for him and our static strikers were being easily marked by defenders they should have been running rings round.

Perhaps the only other player I cannot fault for effort was Milan Barros, who unfortunately looked like he did not relish the cold and his touch on the ball was often well short of what we know he is capable of. I think the game perhaps turned on the penalty claim which TV replays show was an abject penalty when Milan Barros was chopped down in the box. Villa seemed to give up after the penalty was turned down. That aside Doncaster should have had another one when Liam Ridgewell very deliberately shoulder barged one of their players off the ball.

Considering that the league cup was our only realistic chance of success this season, you would have thought that we could have expected a little bit more from the players. It seems to me that the hunger has gone from the side and we have accepted the mid-table mediocrity that is so often the result of a long hard season. And indeed, the league position suggests that they think that even that will be handed to them on a plate. Quite simply it is not good enough. These players are earning - a very loose definition of the word - thousands of pounds per week, and much of that comes out of the ordinary supporters pockets.

I know for a fact that Aston Villa have some of the most fiercely loyal supporters in the land, which perhaps explains why they continue to spend money on substandard products rather than shop elsewhere. However you cannot help thinking that in years to come, unless things change radically, this will not be the case. In todays society where more and more people are moving away from their towns of birth for employment and social reasons, clubs cannot rely on regional association to maintain their fan base and success, however infrequent, is the only thing which will keep the fans returning.

Aston Villa has always been considered the bigger of the two Birmingham clubs and indeed Birmingham is the second largest city in england. To not have a football team in the top half of the table challenging for honours is unacceptable, or at the very least, surreal.

I have been reading recently that Doug Ellis has finally decided to relinquish control of the club. Doug has done very well for Aston Villa over the years (I am not one of those who blames him for our demise) and has managed to keep the business in a very strong position financially when so many other clubs are in deep financial trouble. Unfortunately the world of football has moved on from when Doug started and it is time for a fresh injection of cash and some new faces to try and revive the club. I sincerely believe it is time for a wholesale change in personnel at the club, players and manager alike.

Irish property developers the Comer Brothers and Michael Neville who are looking to purchase Villa for around 64million will certainly inject some cash to be spent on players, but my cynical side tells me giving it to a manager who fails to inspire his team will merely lead to a squandering of a golden opportunity. Dont get me wrong, I have nothing against david O'Leary as a manager and I think in the right circumstances he is very capable. I am suggesting, however, that he has become associated with the failures of Villa over the past couple of years and retaining him for much longer will keep that link to the bad days, when the club needs much more positive input. Likewise Juan Pablo Angel. He is simply another in the long line of expensive strikers who have moved to Villa and failed to live up to their potential. He is a very talented individual and I think perhaps he would benefit from a change of clubs. It is time to cut our losses.

For the Villa fans, we can only hope that the new year brings a new attitude at the club and that things will improve - lets face it, they cant get much worse after a 3-0 defeat at Doncaster!