Today is Free Shipping Day!

Dec. 17, 2010— -- Christmas gift-givers, grab your credit cards quickly and start adding items to your online shopping carts. Today is the third annual free shipping day.

Today more than 1,000 merchants are waiving those pesky shipping fees and allowing people to get those Christmas gifts sent to loved ones free of charge. Hey, every dollar counts. With those saved bucks you can splurge and get Uncle Eddie that authentic lawn gnome he's always wanted instead of the cheap knock-off from China.

Today 1,005 online stores -- from L.L. Bean to Shoes.com to The Body Shop -- are offering free shipping on all orders. Another 718 stores are offering free shipping with a minimum purchase. For instance, Macy's is offering free shipping on orders of $99 or more. And Toy R Us is waiving shipping on any purchase of $49 or more.

The savings can be substantial. For instance, we tried to order a book at Barnes and Noble where express shipping would have normally been $4.98. But today, the fee was waived.

Most vendors require a coupon or promotion code which can be found on the Free Shipping Day website.

Entrepreneur Luke Knowles came up with the idea three years ago as a way to extend the online holiday shopping season for merchants, and give procrastinating consumers one final chance to surf the Internet for holiday deals.

"This summer, we sent out an e-mail to merchants who were involved with Free Shipping Day last year and they were quick to sign up again," Knowles said. "Since this will be our third year, there is more recognition and familiarity among retailers. They have seen a favorable response from being involved in the previous two events."

Other merchants participating in this year's Free Shipping Day include Dell, Nine West, Cabela's, Overstock.com, Neiman Marcus, the Disney Store, Crate & Barrel, DSW and Sierra Trading Post.