And that’s coming from someone who took two years to use an Amazon.com gift certificate from her brother.

That was my first and only Internet buying experience until this month. But after going online to do some Christmas shopping and then comparing the experience with a trip to a major mall and discount stores, I’m a Web retail convert.

Dollar for dollar, I didn’t find much difference in prices. Shipping costs were often offset by savings in sales taxes, which aren’t charged at many online stores. Some sites even offered free shipping. More discounts are possible online for those diligent enough to collect and use coupons.

And even though the Internet bubble has burst, the number of stores online still is limited only by your imagination. Type the name of any of your favorite stores, tack on ‘‘.com,’’ and there’s a good chance you’ll find an impressive Web site to shop on. Add in the Web-only retailers - such as Amazon.com, or for the truly sophisticated, Ebay - and there’s not much you can’t find online.

In my shopping venture, I compared brick-and-mortar stores to online stores on 10 different items that I plan to buy this Christmas: video games, a Disney Princess Doll, an enclosed 14-foot trampoline, a boy’s bicycle, a lead crystal vase, a DVD player, a man’s sweater, books, a pen and pencil set, and a paper shredder.

I started at a Sam’s Club (annual membership $35) less than a mile from my house that appeals to my sense of shopping discount retailers whenever possible.

Sam’s did not have all of the video games I was searching for, and its books and sweater selections were neither as varied nor as current as stores that specialize in those areas. I’d have to go to at least three other stores, 10 miles away, for those items.

Sam’s did have the enclosed Jumpking trampoline ($359.76), Mongoose trail riding bike ($109.97), Daewoo single disc DVD player ($79.83), 16-inch porcelain Disney Princess Doll of Snow White ($16.98), Royal Crescent paper shredder ($49.43), a Cross pen and pencil set ($21.82) and a 24-inch lead crystal vase by Mikasa ($24.87.) Those prices did not include Fort Worth’s 8.25 percent sales tax.

Next I hit The Parks at Arlington mall, which was recently expanded and is now the second-largest in Tarrant County.

I went on a Monday afternoon, so crowds and traffic were no problem, a situation not likely for anyone shopping there on weekends or in the evenings.

But despite my ease getting to the mall, I could not find any kind of paper shredder or the porcelain Disney Princess Doll. The items on my list that I did find tended to be higher-priced, specifically the trampoline, which was the same make and model but cost $140 more. Mikasa vases, Cross pen and pencil sets and trail-riding bikes were available, but, again, not at bargain prices. I did notice several signs that offered to match prices if you had the flyer or Internet printout in hand. Some stores carried video games, but not the latest titles I was looking for.

DVD players, on the other hand, were plentiful in all makes and models, some priced as low as $69.99. Men’s sweaters were also widely available in a range of prices, styles and labels. And it was nice to be able to touch the fabric and get a good look at the options.

The mall bookstore was sufficient for what I needed. The only problem: I had left the magazine article with the author’s name and book title in the car, which was parked on the other side of the mall. After searching a bit, hoping the book would magically pop up, I abandoned my cause.

Then I headed to my computer.

I relocated my lost magazine article, pulled up Barnes & Noble.com and found not just ‘‘The Golden Compass,’’ by Philip Pullman for $16, but his three-book series boxed together in paperback for $16.77. Exactly what I was looking for to fill the void for my voracious 10-year-old reader. The site said that with two items, I would get free shipping, so I searched for another book title and author I had read about but couldn’t remember. Searching with the word ‘‘geology,’’ I found it right away: ‘‘The Map That Changed the World’’ was available for $20.80. With no tax and no shipping, my total cost for all four books was $35.57. Now I had my father’s gift, too (or at least I would in three days).

That was fun. On to Mikasa.com. I couldn’t specifically find the crystal vase sold at Sam’s Club, but I did have the entire Mikasa inventory at my fingertips. I found a vase I liked much better for my sister-in-law in the same price range. Enter a few fields of information, my credit card number, click and for $19.99, plus $6.95 in shipping (no taxes), my third gift was on its way to me in a matter of minutes.

Like Mikasa, Cross.com put its entire inventory at my fingertips, from 18 karate gold pens for $105 to a chrome pen and pencil set for $47.95, including shipping (again, no tax). This was about double the price of the Sam’s club set, but it looked nicer.

On to the trampoline search. I figured this would be a stretch because of the shipping costs, and I was right. At WalMart.com, the 205-lb. trampoline and enclosure was $10 cheaper than at Sam’s, but the shipping would add $89.39 to the total cost. Taxes were waived, which Wal-Mart does in all but eight states for online shoppers, but with that added shipping, buying it online would cost considerably more than it would at Sam’s.

Because of their weight, the mountain bike and paper shredder had the same problem. Shipping costs made an online purchase much less economical than going to a store and picking them up myself. But the items were widely available for anyone willing to pay the extra cost.

Sweaters are plentiful in a wide range of prices on multiple Web sites. But there’s something lost when you can’t touch the fabric or see the true color. If you’re comfortable with the brand, however, the ease of pointing and clicking is attractive. Another interesting alternative that I found to a sweater for my husband is a Web site that specializes in designing your own university sweatshirt. At several sites, I could replace the threadbare University of Missouri sweatshirt he’s been dragging out each winter for 15 years.

Oddly enough, Disney.com did not have the porcelain Disney Princess Dolls but did have a plastic version for $24.14, including shipping and taxes. I could add a special Disney box for only $4.95. Definitely not as nice as the dolls at Sam’s Club.

Internet tax policy also seems to vary widely throughout the Web.

At Gamestop.com I was taxed, but that’s because I live in the state where its corporate headquarters is located. When I tried to ship the same games to my mother in Oklahoma, no taxes were added.

Gamestop.com had an extensive variety of games, of course, as well as those indispensable strategy guides that my boys use, listed below each game entry. That was an added gift that I hadn’t thought of. No cost breaks from what stores were charging and no shipping breaks, but the games are lightweight and the cost of shipping five games was just $7.49. All in all, getting the games you want (and preordering games I didn’t even know were coming), plus having them delivered to the door sounded pretty good to me.

That left the DVD player. Amazon.com has a consumer electronics site. Bestbuy.com and CircuitCity.com are also there to serve, with free shipping now, as well as the department stores. Prices and models varied widely, but shipping costs are still a consideration on many sites.

I was happy to see how far online shopping has come in just a few short years. You may not get everything you want online, but it’s worth taking a look around the Web when you start filling those wish lists.