31.   But to avoid the fate of other online stores, Hastings realized early on that he needed to keep his costs low.

32.   Catching the personal empowerment wave, Amazon.com has opened its online store readily to orders for DVD movies weeks before they are released.

33.   Childsake, an online store, offers a wide selection of nontoxic, environmentally responsible games, toys, puzzles and art supplies.

34.   CompareNet, a consumer guide site, lists online stores.

35.   Cooperation between the chain and the online store, he insisted, was coming along fine.

36.   Customers select prepared borders and greetings from the online store, and their snapshots become invitations, school reports and birthday cards.

37.   Each of these sites has multiple online stores from which the recipient can choose.

38.   Earlier this month the company made the unusual decision of closing down the online store entirely while it prepared a new version of the site.

39.   EBay itself does not show up on any rankings of online stores because its traffic, a mix of buyers and sellers, is too hard to analyze.

40.   During the last three years, however, sales at the online stores grew increasingly concentrated on hardcover best sellers.