Favorite non-bikey online shopping sites

[sgtiger]

It's that time of year again when most of us are looking for that "special gift" to give to someone. Or perhap you're perusing your favorite websites for your own wish list.

Well, that's just what I was doing a moment ago at Novica (http://www.novica.com/) - looking for some interesting coffee and tea cups. It's one of my all time favorite shopping sites. The products that they are offer there are beautiful and most of them are hand-crafted. There's usually a blurb about the artist and sometimes even a story about what inspired that piece. Occasionally I visit the sight just to look becuase I'm amazed by what can be produced by human hands (maybe because I'm artistcally deficient myself:o ). (I also love to visit local craft fairs and flea markets for this same reason.)

Here's some examples that I like:
http://tableware.novica.com/coffee-and-tea-service/coffee-and-tea-sets-teapots/ceramic-tea-set-peaceful-lily-set-for-2/64636/
http://sculpture.novica.com/wood-buddhism-hinduism-and-spirituality/ebony-statuette-buddha-on-lotus-blessing/59352/


Even though most of the products come from overseas, the shipping has usually been pretty quick - not more that a couple of weeks. But I have only ordered small items so far, so I don't know how long it would take for larger items. YMMV

Anyhow, what are some of your favorite shopping sites? And if you don't mind - why? Oh, and they can even be bike related too. :rolleyes: ;) :D

[roadie gal]

www.powells.com. It's a big independent book store. I'm a bookaholic. I like supporting the independents. The best thing is that they have a "wish list" that you make. I use it to remember books I want to buy. But you can also make it public so that people know what books to buy for you.:p

[BikeDutchess]

www.uncommongoods.com
They have some nice quirky items (even a few bike-related!). Their prices range from affordable to outrageous...

[snapdragen]

Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie are a couple of my favorite clothing sites. Alibris for hard to find books, Think Geek for weird stuff...I mean, everyone needs a nerf rocket launcher, right?:p

[Beane]

.. oh this is so cruel! as part of my "addiction" course we have to do a behavior change experiment and give up/cut back on something for 6 weeks.. and mine is that I can only shop online for 10 mins/day!

p.s. for me shopping = browsing, not necessarily buying

[surgtech1956]

Sorry, I don't have any cool site, I just love shopping at LL Bean.

[sundial]

For the dog fanciers--

www.orvis.com
www.ruffwear.com

And for the kitchen--

www.Williams-Sonoma.com

[Mama Beane]

new favorite - http://www.duluthtrading.com/

Stuff for men, women, dogs and toys. No bike stuff - other than that, it's perfect!

[Brandi]

Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie are a couple of my favorite clothing sites. Alibris for hard to find books, Think Geek for weird stuff...I mean, everyone needs a nerf rocket launcher, right?:p

Marshmallow launchers are cool too!

[emily_in_nc]

Ebay, of course! It's always the place I go to first when looking for something, bike-related or not. Just bought some new socks today, and I'm bidding on a nice platter for my mom for Christmas.

Emily

[DarcyInOregon]

What an awesome thread. Thank you for starting it.

Here is my site for whole grains. It is sold in limited quantities in grocery stores, but the full range is for sale on the site, and in larger quantities. Bob's Red Mill is an Oregon company, and everything is milled by them. Their Scottish oatmeal is incredible. If you do a lot of baking, this is a good site.

http://www.bobsredmill.com/

This site is local to the Northwest also. If you like olives and are sick of the mass produced stuff in bottles at the grocery store, and you can't get to a speciality store, check out this site. Warning, don't order the jalapeno olives unless you like your olives HOT. Remember, olives are heart healthy and help to reduce cholesterol, and these olives are really tasty. They also make a great gift.

http://garliclady.com/index.ihtml

Now the above two sites are all about being healthy. On the opposite end, here is a site for the chocolate lovers, also located in Oregon. This site is if you are really picky about your chocolate and you only want the best of the best from other countries. The company is located in Oregon, but their specialty is offerering the best of the international chocolates. My understanding is some of the stuff they get sells out real fast because the chocolate addicts look at this site almost daily.

http://www.chocosphere.com/

Here is another site local to Oregon. If you are into body lotions, soaps, bath products, fragances, and so on, this is the site for you. If you have a specialty lotion you purchased in the past and really liked, you can find it here. I recommend the Terra Nova products highly. If you hunt for it, this site also has a package of different lip balms that are really good for the cyclist, and it is what I use.

http://uncommonscents.com/

If you are a gardener and really like to grow the best tomatoes, or buy a large supply of Northwest wildflower seeds, here is another Oregon company.

http://www.territorial-seed.com/stores/1/index.cfm

Here is a site that I love because I've visited their store whenever possible. Their live site is a large log wood cabin structure filled with goodies for sale. This place makes their own jam out of local berries. The Oregon cranberry bogs are right there, so the cranberry jams are great. But so are the other berries that are local, like huckleberry and blackberry and elderberry. You can get a gift pack of jam and it makes a great present, especially if you need a gift for an elderly person because older people just love to put jam on their toast.

http://www.oregonjam.com/


Darcy