Some companies, including Circuit City, have moved to a "drop shipping" arrangement, where wholesalers deliver goods right to the consumer without the retailer actually taking possession of them.

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Best Buy, whose Q3 results were, well, pretty bad with a 20% drop in profits, is offering free shipping this weekend along with all the other online retailers trolling for last minute shoppers. (Those same Q3 figures, by the way, showed that its online channel delivered a 20% increase in revenues compared to the same period a year earlier).

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When a product is sold, sellers can print out a shipping label, attach it to the package and drop it at the post office.

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Last quarter saw RIM shipping only 7.8 million smartphones, a precipitous drop of 40% y-o-y and 30% q-o-q.

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The other is a drop-ship website where products may come from various locations and arrive at your door with a shipping service like FedEx or UPS. Both may charge a fee for these services in addition to shipping and handling costs.

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