Hi CorgiMom,
I do the overwhelming majority of my shopping online - Amazon, REI, Eddie Bauer, and oh yes, Ebay.

I think I mentioned it in the other hobbies thread, but I am a huge sports nut, and one of the things I enjoy doing is collecting baseball memorabila, especially from the old-time players. No better source for that than Ebay. Since 1999, I have been burned exactly twice by unscrupulous people (people who had hijacked other peoples Ebay IDs' - do not respond to those spoof emails!!!) Both times, I'd made the purchases using Paypal, and, after investigating the transaction, they refunded my money. So I feel it's a very safe way to shop.
-Debi