SHOPPING ONLINE ISN'T AS simple as finding the lowest price. You also need to consider sales tax and shipping.

Of the two, it's shipping fees that can pack the biggest punch. Buy a heavy or bulky item, and your shipping charges could easily negate any savings over the price you'd find at the mall. Even on smaller items the shipping can be pricey if you want quick delivery.

The good news: With a little bit of searching, you can skip those shipping costs. Many online retailers will waive this cost during certain promotional periods or if you spend a certain amount of money on their site.

Finding the Freebies
Avoid sites like FreeShipping.com that ask you to pay a membership fee in exchange for access to a list of companies that will give you free shipping. You can easily find such information yourself with minimal effort.

Start by looking at our list (below) of some major retailers that regularly offer free shipping. You an also plug the name of the item you're buying into a shopping search engine such as Shopping.com or Yahoo! Shopping. You'll pull up a list of online retailers with the price, sales tax and shipping fees they charge.

It's also worth your time to take a glance at coupon code sites to see which companies are offering free shipping as part of a web-only promotion. CleverMoms Coupons and Deals, Savester and Shopping Bargains all have links on their home pages that lead you to free shipping offers. For more on this, click here.

Here's where to find free shipping.

• 1-800-Contacts. Every web order.

• Abebooks.com

  . Every order.

• Amazon.com

  . When you spend $25 or more on eligible items.

• Barnes & Noble

  . When you spend $25 or more on eligible items and opt to ship them together.

• Blue Nile

  . Every order.

• Buy.com

  . Two options for free shipping. Buy an item that has a yellow truck icon in its listing, and get free shipping for that item, regardless of price. Or buy items with a red truck icon in the listing for free shipping when your order passes a set total. Red-truck items in the game store ship free with orders of $75 or more; red-truck items in other stores ship free with order totals of $25 or more.

• Circuit City

  . Orders of $25 or more.

• CompUSA

  . Orders of $150 or more.

• Drugstore.com

  . On non-prescription orders of $25 or more.

• eBags.com

  . Every order.

• Office Depot

  . On orders of $50 or more. You must be located in a "local trading area" (near one of the company's warehouses). Call 1-800-GO-DEPOT to see if you qualify.

• Sephora.com

  . Orders of $75 or more.

• Shoes.com

  . Every order.

• Tower Records

  . Two options for free shipping. Get free delivery via USPS on orders of $20 or more (music, movies and accessories only), or free FedEx second-day delivery on orders of $100 or more.

• Zappos.com

  . Every order.

Regular Promotions
These retailers offer free shipping on a regular basis, but change the items eligible for it.

• Best Buy

  . Check the home page for a link to the retailer's latest "free shipping events."

• PetsMart

  . Check out the "Free Shipping Shop" for items that are always delivered for free.

• Target.com

  . Check the home page for current promotions.

Low-Cost Shipping
If you can't get it for free, maybe you can get it for cheap. There are a few companies that charge minimal shipping fees.

• Overstock.com

  . You'll pay a flat rate of $2.95 per order, whether you're buying a single book or a king-size bed frame and mattress.

• Half.com

  . If you're buying books, music, movies or games, the items will be sent via USPS media mail a low-rate method that takes between seven and 14 days. Some sellers give you the option of expedited shipping, but you should generally expect to pay $2.79 in shipping costs for a paperback book, and $3.25 for a hardcover. Others rates are $2.49 for one music, DVD or game item, and $2.79 for an audio book or VHS movie.