Online Shopping today? To be more exact - online clothes shopping today? Good idea - you can find clothes shops from all over the world that will deliver to your door step (but wait a minute - is it such a good idea)???

Well - in my opinion, clothes shopping is soooooo hard - I find it the most difficult thing to buy online. You can't feel the fabric, there are often small changes to colour, the sizing is awful (especially if you're talking about international sizing), and you can't see it on a normal person (generally you see it on a milky white, stick figure model - if you are "normal sized", and have asian colouring for instance - you're not going to tell if it's going to suit you).

So... what are you to do? No online shopping for clothes??? No - that's not what I'm saying. By all means you should shop online for clothes - there are some HUGE bargains to be had, and the range of different shops & clothing styles is amazing (especially if you come from a small country like New Zealand).

But - if you are shopping online, find the following in an online shop, or an online trader:

* A well known online shop (generally their sizes, colours etc. are more accurate)

* A well known brand (and I'm not talking about fakes here - the real thing. For example - Levis - you are always going to find the same "size" Levis, no matter where you shop)

* A trusted online shop (do a search on their name - if their sizes/colours don't match up, there is sure to be someone complaining on the internet somewhere...)

* An online shop recommended by other websites or friends (if a website is recommending a shop, generally this says good things, and as for your friends - if you can't trust them....)

* An online shop that gives you unconditional money back guarantees, and offers returns (if that skirt does look awful on you, you can always send it back - (don't get a guarantee for "only if broken" - if you don't like it, you should be able to return it).

* An online shop with a telephone number / complaints department (if there is something wrong, you want to be able to get hold of them).

* Make sure the trader has loads of feedback (good of course) - and don't just look at the feedback. People tend to only put good feedback (because they don't want bad feedback in return) - so (if the auction allows it) check out how many items they've sold as well. If they've sold 10,000 and only have 1000 good feedbacks, you should query this - once again - check out google - do a search on their trader name. If they are really bad, people are sure to talk - even if it's not on the actual auction site itself.

* Make sure the trader has loads of completed sales - if they have 100 sales that aren't completed in the last month - why - ask them in the auction questions BEFORE you bid. Remember it is a lot easier to get a refund from a shop than an online auction seller (generally)So what does this mean about online shopping?

Nothing... by all means - shop online. In fact I encourage online shopping (for all the reasons listed in the first place) - just do it with all of the "rules" in mind. That way - you should get what you're looking for, and not end up with a wardrobe full of "disgusting" clothes.vv