They say this might be the year that online Christmas sales in the U.S. actually live up to past promises of e-commerce's ascendancy. Hurrahs could be heard when it was reported that online transactions over Thanksgiving were up 10-fold (and groans could be heard as servers started overloading with the traffic). On the other, more sober hand, it's been pointed out that online vendors will get only 10 percent of the $185 billion retail pie. Still, it's a start.

If you read this column, there's a good chance that you'll be one of those pajama-clad online shoppers. (If you aren't, please, for the sake of starving geeks and would-be moguls, get over your e-commerce phobia soon.) I'm sure you will find more than enough pointers to the online bazaars on these pages and the Web. But let's throw out a ceremonial caveat emptor, not about security or privacy, but about choice. First-time online shoppers might not be prepared for all the choices: which site do you shop at, which product do you choose. Finding a sweater for Uncle Ed is simple, but what's the difference between Land's End, Eddie Bauer and REI? And what about the unexplored aisles of dot.com retailers such as Boo.com?

Coming to the aid of bewildered Net shoppers, Consumer Reports recently unveiled eRatings, benchmarks for online shopping. Although a little late to the game, Consumer Reports has the necessary lab-coat experience and name recognition (at least among U.S. consumers). Who else could ask for an online subscription fee and get away with it? Before handing out an eRating, Consumer Reports does a thorough job of dissecting sites -- from browsing appeal to privacy policies and security. It's a far cry from the "cool site" badges of the past.