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Safe shopping tips

Run by the Better Business Bureau (BBB), the attractive, simple-to-use website BBBOnline contains a wealth of information that's useful to those who are a little wary about buying things over the Internet. Visitors should check under "Consumers" for helpful suggestions to protect their safety and privacy when shopping, but the site's most important feature is the Reliability Program database at http://www.bbbonline.org/database/search/psearch.htm . Here, shoppers can search for online merchants who have earned a BBB endorsement for trustworthiness. This search function works better by keyword (type in "flowers," say, and get a list of recommended Internet florists) than by company name (Amazon.com, for example, isn't listed). Still, this is a valuable site for consumer protection. Brenda Schmerl

Tue, 16 Nov 1999 13:35:03 -0800