Credit card and online shopping

It's for the industry, instead of waiting for their 2-3 weeks. Watch out for theifed of your ID. Their is no such thing as a securied system.

You can also use a debit card, or a bank account, according to the vendor.

I do it all the time. I had a run in with PayPal and refused to use them. I simply told the merchant ( by e-mail/phone) and I arranged to pay by check. It takes a little longer but I feel more secure about Identity Theft as well.

When it comes to making a sale or not, 9 times out of ten, the merchant will gladly take a check.

NO you can use your debit card that is attached  to your checking account.  As long as it has a Visa or mastercard logo on it it should work to pay online.

There is a service called Bill Me Later that lets you make purchases online without entering your personal information. Some people love the service because they feel their personal information is secure. But a number of users have some serious complaints. You can find a bunch of reviews and an article by a NY Times journalist on FiLife's personal finance site: http://bit.ly/118dFf

The reason I do not buy online is the fact that I do not want to use my credit cards.  When the credit card company sees that you bought something frivolous they tack on a higher interest rate.  That, I cannot afford.

PAYPAL is the easiest.  Found it to be very safe and if the  vendor doesn't except I don't purchase.

Get a debit card from your bank that you use only for internet purchases; keep the minimum balance, if required, and when you get ready to make a purchase then transfer funds from your regular checking account (or make a deposit) to cover your purchase along with taxes/s&h. This way if you should have a problem you only have to deal with that amount and not worry about your regular checking account. Or, go to WalMart (doesn't everybody go there!) and get a prepaid card (I think with a minimum fee) and then re-load as needed.