Hawai'i shoppers sometimes find good deals, a large selection and save time when they buy things on the Web — while others end up frustrated by astronomical shipping fees that get tacked on by even companies that brag about free shipping.

Savvy online shoppers urge less-experienced newbies to read the shipping charges carefully especially during this holiday season. And if the company doesn't state a Hawai'i rate, experts say double-check the fine print, call the company or go through the initial order process to find out if additional charges apply to anyone living outside the 48 contiguous states.

Consider a Mainland promotion of a Free Shipping Day on Dec. 17 when participating companies offer to ship for free shortly before Christmas to spark a late boost in shopping for the mall-weary. This is the second year that www.FreeShipping.org founder Luke Knowles has organized the special shopping day.

Retailers like it because of the last-minute business and consumers appreciate the break from the long lines and parking hassles during the busiest part of the season for many brick-and-mortar stores.

But Knowles — who is based in Fort Collins, Colo. — said, "Unfortunately for people in Hawai'i and Alaska, Free Shipping Day is a shopping holiday for the lower 48 states. It's just too late, too close to Christmas to be able to meet the shipping guarantee."

Last year, 250 merchants participated in the first Free Shipping Day, Knowles said, and this year he expects well over 500 to participate.

After the Free Shipping Day debuted last year, Knowles said he started a dedicated Hawai'i page of companies that do offer free shipping, coupons or good deals to Hawai'i.

"We started the Hawai'i page just over a year ago," he said. "We received many e-mails from people in Hawai'i who felt like they were being left out of the free shipping fun." (See accompanying story for Web sites.)

Some sites do offer free shipping on all orders; many such as www.Amazon.com offer free or reduced-price shipping with a minimum purchase.

Attorney Lora Han already uses many of those sites, sometimes for items she can't find in Hawai'i. The Downtown Honolulu resident said she browses online every day, although she orders less frequently, buying mostly shoes and clothes for herself.

"I live within walking distance of the mall but I still shop online," Han said. "It's easier than looking for parking and you can go to all the stores in one place."

She said she still buys from www.Nordstrom.com even though there are now Nordstrom and Nordstrom Rack stores in Honolulu because she finds a broader selection.

Han, 35, also said that frequent shoppers sign up and receive special promotions, coupons and other price breaks. For Nordstrom, she learned that items ordered online could be returned to the local stores.

She admits that she pays attention because shopping is her hobby: "I do work full-time but I just love to shop."

For shoes, Endless.com offers free shipping and overnight delivery to Hawai'i, which makes it one of her favorites. www.Zappos.com, another Web favorite for shoes, also offers free shipping to Hawai'i.

When Han sees something she likes, she heads for the computer after work and checks it out, usually starting with a basic Google search.

If she doesn't think she'll shop at the site again she signs in as a guest because that helps avoid being on too many digital mailing lists "so they won't be sending me all this ridiculous spam."

Other savvy online shoppers recommend checking with companies to see if shipping considerations can be made. Sometimes, companies may allow packages to be sent by U.S. Postal Service, which is significantly cheaper than the Federal Express services that many companies use to ship to Hawai'i.

Others use shipping services that will accept a package and re-ship to Hawai'i at a savings.

Ship & Save is a company designed for Hawai'i and Alaska residents and small businesses to save on high shipping fees on most Internet-based orders. The small business is based in Missouri and now run by a retired minister who took it over from her daughter early this year.

Ship & Save offers to re-ship your packages via the U.S. Postal Service rather than pay for Federal Express' two-day rates.

Sharon Garretson retired after 15-plus years as a Methodist minister and wanted to do something from home that would help people.

She can offer substantial savings, although the order does take a little longer. For instance, a 1-pound package that could cost $26 via second-day air would drop to half that by using her company. Costs reflect the postal charge plus her flat-rate handling fee of $6.

Garretson said her business is small but she enjoys it and would like it to grow. She gets excited about the good deals that she finds. She said Honolulu accountant Aaron Masuoka was able to save nearly $20 through the service just this week.

Masuoka thanked her and said the savings allowed him to re-order at the price he would have had to pay for just one order of office supplies for his CPA firm if he didn't know about her help.

Garretson said there have been only a couple of orders from Alaska but she has at least 50 regular customers from Hawai'i. And even though she's a retired minister, she's still pleased that people put their faith and packages in her hands in these often-cynical times.

"I'm amazed that people trust me," she said.

Han has seen the trend over the last five years shift to more free and cheaper shipping. More sites are offering flat-rate shipping or free shipping as an incentive, free shipping for returns and exchanges.

Han prefers to shop in-person for gifts and things for the house "because it's hard to get a perception of how big or how little or how bright the color is."

Han said the worst shipping response to get is "No shipping to Hawai'i."

The eclectic Swedish furniture/housewares giant Ikea also doesn't ship to Hawai'i. "That happens a lot," Han said.