Consumer Center - With the economy slowing, knowing the best places to shop online takes some smarts. Consumer Reports screened dozens of sites to find ones you can count on for great deals.

Wendy Camerik does 95 percent of her shopping on her computer. She bought all her patio furniture online, including the cushions and the umbrella. And in her kitchen?

"I got my paper towel holder online, both of my coffee makers, my TV I got online, (and) my teapot," said Wendy.

People are buying more stuff than ever online, but you don't always get a great deal. There's one big reason for that.

"Shipping charges," said Amanda Walker of Consumer Reports. "They can be huge. That's the number one reason online shoppers abandon a purchase, according to PayPal."

Consumer Reports says one way to avoid shipping shock is to go to FreeShipping.org. It lists loads of sites with free shipping, and to keep you up to date on free-shipping offers, you can subscribe to "free shipping alerts."

"We also checked out price-comparison sites," said Walker. "And we liked Pricegrabber.com, because it includes shipping and taxes so you can compare the total cost."

Pricegrabber can really save you. Take a Samsung TV, for instance. Why pay $3,000 when you can get it for $2,100 including shipping?

And heck, what if you don't want to pay anything at all? Consumer Reports recommends HeyItsFree.net.

"It scours the Web for deals and comes up with all kinds of free stuff," said Walker - everything from free Colgate toothpaste to free inkjet refills.

Consumer Reports says another great money-saving Web site is MyGroceryDeals.com. It keeps tabs on prices at local supermarkets so you can plan your shopping trips to take advantage of the sales.

(Note: This report is based on an article in the October/November issue of Consumer Reports ShopSmart.)