Computer magazine Maximum PC posts up a helpful guide to finding deals on electronic gifts this shopping season without getting taken advantage of—either by con artists or the retailers themselves. In particular, the magazine recommends staying away entirely from too-good-to-be-true digital camera deals from independent retailers. That's because after you place your order:Months later, you still haven't received your camera. You call the vendor, and you're given a song and dance about it being back-ordered because of X excuse, (but) would you like to buy the camera bundle with some accessories for $1,700? ... If you fall for the up-sell ... you'll notice that your package bundle includes (only) the battery and charger (which are normally included with the camera for MSRP). If you give up and cancel the order, you've wasted a ton of time, you don't have a camera, and the company has had your $600 for three months.Also worth checking out before making those major gift purchases are Whether you've been happily buying stuff on the web for years or you're just getting started, this list of online commerce tips from Tech-Recipes will help you fine-tune your purchasing power.
For instance, if a deal seems too good to be true, for the most part, it probably is. You can also double-check killer deals that you find on sites such as eBay on other techie bargain sites, get a virtual credit card number that is good for only one purchase, and use the web to find forums that are discussing either that product or store you're thinking of purchasing an item from.
Credit scores and how they work should be standard knowledge for anyone who wants to stay on top of their financial situation. HowStuffWorks has a good six-part article on how credit scores are calculated, how you can improve your score, what your score affects, etc.
Credit scores are starting to be factored into more and more of life, unfortunately: insurance quotes, even job interviews, so knowing about your credit score is pretty important. If you've got tips on improving your credit score - legit tips - please share them in the comments.

How many of us have found out the hard way about those nasty hidden fees when renting a car? Financial blog Sound Money Tips aims to end these surprises with a few tips on avoiding these unnecessary tolls.

A few things to watch out for: check out if your car insurance covers car rental fees before ponying up the dough for the agency's insurance, don't rent at the airport if you can help it, and make sure you are clear on any charges you might incur for dropping the vehicle off in a different place than where you rented it. Got any other good car rental fee avoidance tips? Let's hear 'em in the comments.

Get information on the latest recalls from a variety of industries with Recalls.gov, a collaboration of six different government regulatory agencies. You can also use this site to report a possibly recall-worthy product.

A quick glance at the site gave me information on the latest consumer products recalls (cooking torches), foods (dried sweet potato? Wha?), car seats, pesticides, meats, boats, etc. This is a really good place to get recall updates, as well as specific instructions as to what you should do with a recalled product.

Got a company you'd like to investigate a bit further? Try LearnWebSkills's simple yet extensive tutorial on how to locate business information online.

Learn how to research financial info, review public opinion, locate professional organizations related to the industry, and more. An excellent resource for your stalking investigating needs.

Warranties can be somewhat mysterious, but the Federal Trade Commission has written up a practical fact sheet on exactly what to look out for. A few things:

• Read the warranty before you buy. When online, look for hyperlinks to the full warranty or to an address where you can write to get a free copy.
• Save your receipt and file it with the warranty.
• Consider the reputation of the company offering the warranty. Look for an address to write to or a phone number to call if you have questions or problems.

Good to know, since I'm sure we've all experienced various warranty horror stories. — Wendy Boswell

You can save a lot of money by going for the usually cheaper knockoff purchases: store-brand food, for example. However, there are items out there that deserve the brand name option. AskMen has written up a good article that breaks this down by category:

• Milk: The USDA regulates the homogenizing process necessary to bottle and sell milk, so there is no reason why you shouldn't save a few bucks by opting for the store brand.
• Athletic Shoes: This is a category in which you should really spring for a reliable brand name. Whether you exercise occasionally or run marathons on a regular basis, injury prevention is key.
• Knives: You only need one or two versatile, high-quality pieces, such as a Henckels Santoku, rather than an entire set of cheap plastic ones you will have to replace every few months.

How about you - what are the items that you consistently buy because of the brand name? Or, are there purchases that you feel are better made by opting for the knockoff? Let us know in the comments. — Wendy Boswell