Any trepidation you may have about shopping online might fall by the wayside when you start investigating the markdowns and discounts that are already being offered online -- over a month before Christmas arrives. You might want to check out:
K-Mart -- which started taking 40-50% off its electronics prices as of November 2nd with free shipping when the purchase is $49 or more;
Wal-Mart -- always low prices are getting lower, and there's a lot being offered online that is not in the stores, with a "ship to store" option at the website - their clearance page offers 3312 items as of this posting, with free shipping site to your local store for pickup;
JC Penney -- their online "outlet store" even has a section for "$9.99 or less," with lots of nice things in all departments; and
Toys-R-Us -- which has a nice selection of clearance items that ship free (for example, Up! Up! Elmo sells for $9.98 with no shipping costs) and otherwise offers free shipping on any purchase totalling $50 or more.
