I love shopping online, especially when I can combine free shipping, with an item on sale AND a really sweet 10% off coupon… all while sitting at home in my jammies. Nope, you really can’t beat it. But still, there are a ton of frustrating things about shopping online. And John Dvorak’s recent column for PC Magazine (Online Shopping Frustrates Me) tackles a number of these issues, mostly dealing with outdated or just plain wonky shopping carts.

Nothing worse than typing in your full name, address, rank and serial number only to get an error and have all the forms cleared, so you get to start all over again. Thankfully, most browsers offer an AutoFill button that handles the bulk of that repetitive typing. (Though I’ll be quick to add that even so, there are tons of sites where I’ll use the AutoFill button and the fields are all messed up and my phone number is placed in the zipcode field, my email address is in the country, etc.) But one of the better ways to get around remember different usernames/passwords, credit card info, etc. is using Google Checkout. You just enter your personal info and credit card info once in your google account and then choose Google Checkout (if offered). So far I’ve had good success with it, although there are still a ton of online merchants who don’t offer Google Checkout yet. So again, not the perfect solution.

It’d be great if some organization came forward to set a standard for online shopping. Similar to how the World Wide Web Consortium sets standard for how programmers can and should use HTML to create web pages, an Online Shopping Consortium should be set up to create standards for how shopping carts should be set up, how user info should be collected. Okay, maybe that’s a little facist-like to an extreme, but in this day and age it’s beyond ludicrous that some sites have such ridiculously pitiful and counter-intuitive methods for buying products. Heck, there are plenty of times where I can’t even find the simple shopping cart icon or link at the top of the page to view my cart. Maybe I should take my own advice here and just start a simple list of style rules for online merchants to follow…

Looking for some new kicks? Need a good pair of high heels or sandals? Well, with summer approaching, the shoe sales are on. Here’s 2 good coupons from Shoes.com to take advantage:

$5 off orders of $50 or more at Shoes.com
Excludes Sale Items
Use coupon code ULTIMATECOUPNS.
Valid through: May 31, 2007
Excluded Brands: Allen-Edmonds, BRUNOMAGLI, Cole Haan, G Series, K-Swiss, Lucchese, Merrell, Royal Elastics, Ugg, Crocs, Diesel, Dansko, Heelys, LAMB, Stuart Weitzman, Ecco, Mephisto and MBT. Valid only on orders shipped to the U.S.

$10 off orders of $80 or more at Shoes.com
Excludes Sale Items
Use coupon code MAYTEN.
Valid through: June 6, 2007
Excluded Brands: Allen-Edmonds, BRUNOMAGLI, Cole Haan, G Series, K-Swiss, Lucchese, Merrell, Royal Elastics, Ugg, Crocs, Diesel, Dansko, Heelys, LAMB, Stuart Weitzman, Ecco, Mephisto and MBT. Valid only on orders shipped to the U.S.

UltimateCoupons.com just posted the Top 10 Gifts for Young Dads article, so if you’re looking for a unique gift to get that younger dad (or older dad with a younger heart, er, you know what I mean), give it a read. We tried to cover all price ranges from under $10 to over a few grand, so depending on how good your pop’s been, there’s something there for everyone.

Blogging Away Debt is running a Festival of Frugality, pointing out a number of excellent articles about saving money on a variety of topics. Some good stuff all around, with my favorite being the Free Summer Movies for Kids post from Raising4Boys.

Tricia did a great job organizing the event and presented 12 awards to the best of the bunch. Nicely done!

Looking to get in on the satellite radio insanity that’s going on lately? (Sirus and XM merging… Opie and Anthony getting suspended…) Well, if you’ve ever had an interest, now’s the time to buy. What with all the controversy, companies are running all sorts of sales, and you can really take advantage with these sweet coupon from Sirius:

Get 15% off at Sirius
Use coupon code UC at checkout.
Valid through: June 17, 2007

Yep, it’s good through Father’s Day. (Hint hint).

Memorial Day may be over, but the sale’s sure aren’t. If you’re a health nut or just love your vitamins (No, not the Flintsones chewables kind…), GNC is having a Memorial Day sale to save you a bit of dough:

Buy One, Get One 50% Off all GNC Brand Products
Sale ends: May 30, 2007

Dads rule. So express your gratitude by getting him something super ultra cool for Father’s Day. Something that he’ll actually use, rather than toss in the back of his closet. Something like, say…. Tivo! (And no, I’m not just writing this in the hopes that my wife is reading this…)

Tivo’s running a few good deals right now that you can jump on to get some savings. Check out Tivo’s Father’s Day Gift Center for some sweet savings including: the TiVo high-definition box for $599 + service, a $200 instant savings (or a 25% discount) on the price of the box.

Plus, all TiVo boxes are shipped for FREE!

I like Timberland. Not only do they put out some good quality shoes and boots (rugged and comfortable), but lately they’ve been showing their more sensitive side. First they really push an eco-friendly line of shoes and now they’re hitting another good cause: hunger. Their latest promotion gets you free food AND helps fight hunger, just for buying some nice shoes. Crazy, huh?

Spend $150 at Timberland.com and get a $25 dining certificate to a restaurant in your area.
Free ground shipping will also be applied to your order. Valid on all apparel, accessories and footwear styles. Valid through: June 20, 2007

Plus, they’ll make a donation to Share Our Strength, the nation’s leading anti-childhood hunger organization.

Sick of looking like a slob? (Well, no. Actually it’s quite comfy thank you very much.) But if you do actually go out into public and want to upgrade your wardrobe a bit, today’s the day to do it with some stylin’ new clothes at a great (and rare) discount.

20% off all non-sale items at ShopBop.com
Use coupon code MAKEUP
Valid through: May 25, 2007 at 11:59pm CST

Plus they always have Free Shipping available, so this really is a good deal if you’re looking for some new fashions to fill your closet (and hopefully be worn at some point).

Father’s Day is just a few weeks away, so start your shopping now if you haven’t already! Trust me, dear ol’ dad wants anything except that heinous yellow tie you’ll end up getting for him last minute at the closest men’s store to you the day before Father’s Day (or the day of, for you super procastinators)…

So in the coming weeks, I’ll be posting all sorts of fun, different, dad-related items, stores, coupons and whatnot in the fatherly spirit (uh, not in the religious sense that is).

Please feel free to post any suggestions you may have too!

And just to get the ball rolling, if dad’s a big golfer, then check out the big Memorial Day Weekend sale at Golfsmith this weekend:

$50 off online orders over $200 at Golfsmith
Valid through: May 28, 2007
See site for details and long list of exclusions.