Cyber Monday's the day for crowd-hating shoppers like me

Although Consumer Reports expects one in every four consumers to be out bargain-hunting on Black Friday, I'm not fond of crowds, so I'll be taking a walk in the woods and watching football. I do most of my shopping online, and Cyber Monday, the first Monday after Black Friday, as been anointed as the day that online merchants roll out some of their best deals of the season. In 2007, online merchants raked in $730 million in sales that day.

The National Retail Federation's site Cybermonday.com, serves as a portal to 550 companies offering special online deals on Cyber Monday. While I suspect many of the deals duplicate those offered to flesh-and-blood shoppers of merchants which have both virtual and brick-and-mortar stores, such as Target and Best Buy, CyberMonday.com promises special hourly deals that day. We'll see.

When shopping on that Monday, I'd suggest using the comparison shopper on CyberMonday.com, then accessing the site directly to compare. Also check the print ads from your Thanksgiving Day newspaper. Don't forget to check for refurbished items on sites such as Apple's, too. You could score a deal there.

Best of all: on Cyber Monday, there's no need to get up at 4:00 a.m. and wear shin guards, elbow pads and your most comfortable shoes. A warm pair of jammies would work just fine.