Cyber Shopping, how do I love thee....

Let me count the ways! No crowds. I'm more than a little demophobic (crowd-phobic) in many ways. I hate feeling like a sheep being herded by money-grubbing retailers for pocket fleecing. Online shopping allows me to preserve the illusion that I am not, in fact one of those mindless consumer-driven sheep driving to a mall/store, endlessly circling for an open parking space (gas-sucking the entire time)then getting in line to spend my hard earned money buying useless, cheap crap to offer to the Gods of Capitalism. Online shopping lets me be a lot more selective in where my cash is going, and I an price-check without wasting a half a day and full tank of gas driving across town to do so.

Besides, nobody gets trampled racing to get a good deal at Amazon.com.

In that light, here are some new cyber stores I've found that are on my internet hit list. I'll add more in the coming days...

If you love Etsy, you'll love ArtFire.comSpeaking of Etsy, they're raking in the venture capital in this down economy. Just goes to prove that capitalism with a conscious can work. ArtFire is the new kid on the handmade/ crafting block and they're just coming out of 2 years of beta testing, so give them some love.

And another plug for Foodzie - the place for all the foodies on your list! What I really like about Foodzie is the ability to search for handcrafted, local artisans by region.

There's Ebay's social and eco-conscious spinoff: World Of Good.