As we approach the holiday season, many people will turn to the Internet for online shopping. The Internet is a great resource for gathering product information, reading product reviews, and comparison shopping.

There are also many good sites for purchasing products. But as with stores in the "real world", some online retailers are better than others.

PC World offers an article on their web site, How to Avoid the Biggest Web Shopping Annoyances, that has some great tips on things to watch out for before, during, and after your purchase.

Covering topics such as phony reviews, shipping delays, live assistance, and money-back guarantees, the article discusses a variety of things that can go wrong with an online purchase, and how to avoid these problems, as well as proper recourse when things do go badly.