The idea of shopping an London indie record store for the best punk, dance, and avant-garde music around may tickle a finicky music cat's whiskers, but it's a lot more romantic than practical. The price of ordering anything from Rough Trade after currency conversion and shipping is staggering, even for imports from Europe. While the site's simplicity is refreshing-even endearing-the thought of bouncing an unsecured credit card number to England is chilling. The site offers order by phone and fax and takes check or money order, but no return information is available. Look for stuff here only if it can't be found elsewhere. - Robert Capps
The merchandising is out there, as well as the truth and the people hunting you. The X-Store has enough lithographs, posters, mugs, scripts, videos, films cells, and T-shirts from the "X-Files" to shake the stripes off a war-torn, sci-fi convention veteran's TNG uniform. Of course, as is the case with any super-popular televised trend, prices are high. Product orders can be taken over the phone, by fax, by mail, or online via SSL. All purchases come with a 30-day guarantee and take somewhere from four to six weeks to ship. - Robert Capps
For the tremendous presence Playbill magazine's online venture carries, the selection of shows you can reserve there is surprising slim, including only a few Southern California gigs, 35 or so New York on- and off-Broadway events, and scattered London venues. The site lists shows in places as remote as Brazil or Denver, but getting tickets for these faraway places requires a phone call. To reserve tickets in represented theaters, enter dates to attend, number of people, and preferred seating areas. You can either pick up your tickets at the box office or have them shipped to you (for an extra charge). Online ordering carries a service charge of $5-$6. Payment can be made over the phone or with a secured CGI form and credit card. Absolutely no refunds are allowed. - Robert Capps
Swapping sports paraphernalia may be the backbone of the Tuff Stuff empire, but at true commerce, the company is still a rookie. Most of what the trading-card magazine sells here are subscriptions to its zines about overvalued three-by-fives. Some sports-related clothes, magazine back issues, and a Tuff Stuff club featuring special offers, prizes, and bimonthly card mailings round out the unsecured digital offerings. Tuff Stuff seems more comfortable with phone, fax, and mail orders, as more goods are available via these mechanisms. Don't expect to actually trade or buy cards here; Tuff Stuff's number one product/feature will have to be found elsewhere. - Robert Capps
People who broke from the shackles of AOL but still miss the lurid depravity of gender-ambiguous sex via keyboard, chat room, and member profile should get what they need at DateCentral. The site lets you create a profile, view others, search for a perfect mate, and even send insta-messages. Males can try the service out for 45 days free of charge, and females are free until the year 2000-a testament to the latter's presence here. After that, prices range from $9 per month to $50 per year. Expensive, yes, but just think back to those early AOL years when cyber-swinging fees were hourly. Service replies are almost instant, and the whole thing can be canceled (without refund) anytime. - Robert Capps