Best of the Web

E-Commerce

Books & Music

Amazon.com vs. Bn.com Once upon a time, all Amazon.com did was sell books and music. Today, plumbing supplies and power tools intrude upon the simple pleasure of browsing its copious aisles. But Amazon is still the leader in customer service. When a product shows up damaged, Amazon doesn't blink before sending a replacement, along with a prepaid label for returning the defective item. Amazon shoppers post lots of helpful reader reviews; for some reason, such evaluations are far sparser at Bn.com, Barnes & Noble's online arm. Bn.com does beat Amazon for out-of-print books: It stocks them for instant delivery, while Amazon must search and get back to you.

Winner: Amazon.com

Car Buying

Autoweb.com vs. CarsDirect.com You still can't kick tires or take a test drive on the Web, but the Net is great for car research. While Autoweb.com is good, CarsDirect.com is better. You can spin cars 360 degrees to view them from every angle, and the site's helpful links explain features and costs. We also like the up-front way it tells you when a popular model--say that PT Cruiser you have your eye on--is likely to be on back order.

Winner: CarsDirect.com

Computer Goods

CDW.com vs. PC Connection When you're ready to buy computer stuff, why head for the Web instead of your local superstore? Two reasons: better selection and lower prices. Both CDW.com and PC Connection do well in those areas, and each provides a shopping experience that puts many competitors to shame. And both offer tech support for the products they sell. CDW.com's site is easier to navigate, but in the end, we slightly prefer PC Connection, mostly because of its low overnight shipping fees and superfast delivery: You can place an order at 2 a.m. ET and have it in your hands later that same day.

Winner: PC Connection

Electronics

Crutchfield.com vs. Outpost.com Crutchfield.com is one classy online electronics retailer. It offers free lifetime technical support, and if you send an item back for a refund, the company will foot the bill for return shipping. But here at PC World we're freebie fans. And Outpost has one of the hottest freebies around: free overnight delivery on consumer electronics products of all sorts. The flashing ads are annoying, but if you can ignore them, you'll find helpful information.

Winner: Outpost.com

Financial Services

Quicken.com vs. Charles Schwab Charles Schwab invented discount stockbroking, and his eponymous Web site is a standout, especially coupled with Schwab's national network of field offices. But in a close race, Quicken.com wins for the sheer array of financial services that it provides. You can get a loan, buy insurance, pay bills, and plan for retirement. And a cool utility called Quicken Shopper automatically scouts out deals while you shop online.

Winner: Quicken.com

Online Auctions

EBay vs. Yahoo Auctions How many sites can go head-to-head with a Yahoo offering and come out in front? EBay does. When we checked, the site claimed over 4.5 million items. Our editors say they've bought things they would not have found in years of searching offline--and sold stuff they wouldn't wish on the Salvation Army. And EBay's buyers and sellers are a mostly honorable lot. Yahoo Auctions is also well stocked, but it lacks EBay's lively community. The auction halls often seem dead, with pages of listings and no bids.

Winner: EBay

Shopping Agents

Evenbetter.com vs. MySimon If you're shopping for a book, CD, or movie, Evenbetter.com will quickly tell you which Web stores have it, at what prices. But MySimon takes the prize by covering far more ground. You can sniff out deals on everything from PCs to furniture. It's clear that merchants pay to pop up at the top of search results, but that's a minor inconvenience given the huge number of merchants MySimon sifts through. The fact that site mascot Simon looks like a character out of Toy Story in no way influenced our review.

Winner: MySimon

Travel Planning

Expedia.com vs. Trip.com Leave it to a Microsoft site to start strong and then adopt a rival's ideas to help make it the best of its kind. Expedia.com was great even before it offered name-your-price deals on plane tickets and hotel rooms, à la Priceline.com. Articles about cruises, golf vacations, and more are often fun and nearly always useful. Because the site has such clout, special deals seem to grow on trees. Trip.com is also full of excellent travel facts, and its IntelliTrip feature hunts down special fares at major airlines. In the end, Trip.com has less information and is a bit harder to use than Expedia.com. But its deals still provide a useful reality check.

Winner: Expedia.com