I am not what you would call a "smart shopper." I give in to impulse purchases more often than I would like to admit, and I usually rely on a particular brand's reputation rather than the quality of their products within a specific field. Sometimes this can get me into trouble. For example, I once purchased a mid-range Sony digital camera. I didn't research the performance features of the camera. Instead, I went with the Sony name because I have trusted that brand for electronics purchases for many years. That turned out to be a mistake, however, as I later discovered that the particular camera model I chose had several problems associated with it. If I had simply spent an hour or so scouring the Internet, I would have been able to read reviews from past customers.

Don't let this happen to you, especially when you are thinking about buying something big. These days, televisions can probably be considered major purchases. While you can still get a variety of TVs for less than $1000, plasma televisions, which are all the rage right now, easily cost $4000 or more. This is a significant amount of money for most people, so before purchasing a television, you should spend some time researching your options.

I personally don't like to go to the electronics store and ask the sales reps for advice about television purchases. For one thing, most of the employees that you find in national chain stores are not experts on the products in their departments. Don't get me wrong; I'm sure you can find employees that are the exception to this rule. But for the most part, you are likely going to be dealing with people who don't know any more about a particular product than you do. Plus, the sales staff of some stores work on commission. So they are more interested in telling you what you want to hear in order to close the deal than on giving you solid information.

The best way to research a television purchase is by checking a magazine such as Consumer Reports, or by visiting their website at www. consumerreports.com. The information in the magazine and on the website is gathered by an independent, nonprofit group called Consumer Union. They offer unbiased testing and reviews of thousands of products in 7 major categories. On the website, you can get lots of general information for free, but if you want detailed reports about specific products, you need to pay for a subscription.

Another way to check out a prospective television is to search for a particular model in a search engine like Google or Yahoo and include the words "reviews" and "rating". The search results will yield independent websites containing reviews from regular people like you and me who have actually purchased the TV. These reviews aren't going to be scientific like the reviews on Consumer Reports, but if many people complain about the same problems or rave about the same features, then you can get a general idea of what to expect from the television.

Whichever route you choose, just remember that the final decision is always yours. Spend your money wisely!