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Checking with the Better Business Bureau sooner might have saved Jehremy Foster some headaches, although in the end he did receive the camera that he had ordered from Family Photo and Video (a.k.a. Abe's of Maine). But Foster says his faith has been shaken. "I don't trust any of the online ratings systems anymore," he adds. "From now on, I'm going to either have a personal recommendation or stick with a known entity."

Lauren Gibbons Paul is a freelance writer based in Waban, Mass.

The Top Ratings and Comparison-Shopping Sites at a Glance

BBBOnLine
What it is
A service for certifying online merchants' reliability and security and for finding out about consumer complaints lodged against merchants.

How it works
Consumers can search the site for companies that have received the BBBOnLine Reliability and Privacy Seals. Consumers can also file a complaint against a vendor online.

How it makes money
Like regional BBBs, BBBOnline charges companies membership dues that range from $100 to $10,000 annually (depending on the member company's size).

What you may not know
BBBOnline doesn't yet offer complete merchant data from all its 130 member organizations, so link to the bureau's regional sites to investigate companies.

BizRate.com
What it is
An online comparison-shopping and merchant-ratings service based on consumer-survey information.

How it works
Consumers can search for particular products in a variety of categories and see the rankings of merchants that sell the products online. In the Store Rating section, users can search for a particular store name and read detailed profiles.

How it makes money
Merchants pay BizRate.com to advertise their promotions. BizRate.com collects referral fees from merchants that get business off its site. BizRate.com also sells companies detailed market research culled from user surveys.

What you may not know
Although BizRate.com sites are ranked on a scale of 1 to 10, consumers are unlikely to find any site with a rating lower than 5. The designation "Gold Store" on BizRate.com means only that the merchant has agreed to put BizRate.com's surveys on its site.

CNET
What it is
An online news, reviews, and comparison-shopping portal.

How it works
Consumers can search CNET for product reviews and price comparisons. Consumers can also view comments from other shoppers in unmonitored message boards regarding a particular product or vendor.

How it makes money
CNET sells banner ads and also receives a referral fee from vendors when users go to their sites. All merchants in CNET Networks' price listings pay to be listed. Some merchants pay a premium for order of placement or prominence on the list.

What you may not know
CNET makes no guarantees regarding the quality of merchants that are listed on the site but aren't "CNET certified," although it will investigate complaints about any listed vendor.

Gomez.com
What it is
An online merchant-ratings service based on expert analysis.

How it works
Users can view ratings of the top vendors for the quality of the online shopping experience in a number of categories.

How it makes money
Gomez.com receives fees when consumers purchase products from certified vendors. It also sells consulting and in-depth reports to vendors.

What you may not know
Gomez's ratings don't take into account the consumer's experience after an order has been placed. So the ratings don't reflect either order fulfillment or customer service.

MySimon.com
What it is
A comparison-shopping service.

How it works
MySimon.com allows consumers to compare prices on items offered by online vendors. It also lists Gomez.com's ratings information for some vendors.

How it makes money
MySimon.com sells advertising to vendors.

What you may not know
MySimon.com aims to list as many merchants as possible that offer a particular product, but it lets vendors pay for preferential placement on its lists.

PowerRankings of Forrester Research Inc.
What it is
An online merchant-ratings system based on consumer-survey data and expert analysis.

How it works
Visitors can view rankings of 10 merchants in 13 categories that include apparel, toys, banks, and electronics.

How it makes money
Forrester makes no revenues associated with its PowerRankings list. The company makes money through its primary business -- market research and consulting.

What you may not know
The PowerRankings list rates no more than 10 companies in any single category.

Please e-mail your comments to editors@inc.com.

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