Let's face it. Some of us are born to shop and others of us loathe shopping. I've always counted myself as a member of the second group. Seriously, I'd really rather go to the dentist than to the mall. It's not that I look down on people who love to shop; in fact, there are times when I envy them. They seem to get into the holiday spirit long before I do (perhaps because the Christmas decorations go up before Halloween), and they always seem to be up on the latest fashion, leather goods, jewelry, and other accessories. Plus, some of my friends frequent the local flea market and find the most amazing items - at wholesale prices.

As for me, I prefer to let my mouse do the clicking. I consider myself an expert in online shopping, having purchased everything from toys and electronics to household appliances and automotive parts. Who would have though you could buy a radar detector and a car alarm online? At any rate, I can say that, when it comes to shopping online, I'm the envy of my friends. My secret? Finding a virtual shopping mall.

While there's no Cinnabon - or food court, for that matter - I've discovered that a good virtual shopping mall has everything I could ever want - either for myself and my family or to give as gifts. In fact, the crisp fall mornings have barely arrived, and I've already done over half of my holiday shopping.

When it comes to a virtual shopping mall, I look for two things: the variety of the products they carry and their method of shipping. If I'm going to shop, I want to choose from among hundreds of thousands of products - literally. And, I'm not the type of person who likes to wait, so my preference is to find an online source that will dropship. This means that my purchases are shipped directly from the distributor, and don't have to go through a middleman. The result? Faster deliveries and cheaper prices.

The bargains that can be found online are amazing. Because there's much less overhead, online outlets can pass along the savings to the customer. When you think about it, this makes sense. After all, they don't have to pay to store inventory, they don't have to pay for retail space, and they don't have to pay for shipping materials. They're basically a conduit between their distributors and me. It's a winning proposition for everyone involved.

Just this week, I placed an order with my favorite virtual shopping mall. I ordered a handbag as a birthday gift for my sister, a DVD player for my son, some supplies for my pets, and a new telephone for myself. I know that, within a week or so, they'll arrive at my doorstep - without me ever leaving the house.

The other advantage of shopping online? While my friends are filling their gas tanks with what these days amounts to liquid gold, I can use the money that I'd spend on gas to go to the mall toward my online purchases. You can't beat the value of finding a great virtual mall!