• Make Banks Compete for Your Deposits In MoneyAisle's real-time auctions, banks bid up rates on certificates of deposit and savings accounts.
• SmartyPig: Savings Site With Strings Attached SmartyPig automates transfers to a savings account to help you fund a big-ticket goal--and it might help you encourage pals to chip in.
• Preview Your Next Cell Phone--Virtually TryPhone's virtual handsets don't replace the real thing, but they could help you narrow down the list of candidates when you're shopping.
• Unlimited Voice Calls: I'm Not Impressed Four major U.S. cell carriers offer all-you-can-eat voice-call plans, but they're pricey--and the drawbacks abound.
• Tips and Strategies for Last-Minute Travel Planning Online Today's sophisticated Web-based travel-planning tools can help spur-of-the-moment travelers find great deals.
• For True High-Def Movies, Discs Are Best--for Now Services for downloading or streaming movies sound great, but not if you're looking for 1080p HDTV content.
• Top Sites for Bargain Hunters Bargain-finding sites cater to many preferences--and the best have reality checks in the form of user input.
• HDTV Delivery Services Vary Widely Some TV delivery services will deposit your big-screen set only on your doorstep, while others will even take care of installation--for a price.
• TrialPay--Free Stuff With Some Strings TrialPay lets you get some products for free by agreeing to try out others. But I'd rather pay for the stuff I want.
• Easy Product Returns -- at an Extra Cost? Worried about buyers' remorse? Some merchants will make it easy to return your purchase--if you pay extra.
• Same Name, Different Product It pays to know your specs: Product names don't always tell the whole story.
• Who's Behind That Web Site? Hard to Know Some self-described consumer sites are actually industry shills--and it's not always easy to tell.
• Are Tech Salespeople a Dying Breed? Good sales help is getting increasingly difficult to find--and the latest high-tech substitutes have me worried.
• New Sites Ease Travel Planning Services provide recommendations, companions--even a couch to crash on.
• How to Gripe (Effectively) Online Have a problem with a company or product? Complaining online could help.
• Amazon.com: One Item, Many Prices How to find the best deal when Amazon shows several offers for one product.
• Used Phones--The Deals and the Duds Buying a refurbished phone can sometimes be the smarter way to go.
• Are Mail-In Rebates Headed for Extinction? Though some sellers are abandoning rebates, these offers still have appeal.
• Spam Explodes, but You Can Fight Back Changing the way you handle e-mail could reduce your junk-mail intake.
• Say So Long to Shrink-Wrapped Software But take a few precautions when you download your software purchases.

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