DO NOT PUBLISH until Monday, December 24

Title: Seven Things You Should Never Buy at a Store

Millions of consumers plan to do some last-minute holiday shopping this weekend. Some of them would be smart to stay at home instead. While there are many reasons to shop in person, there are some items that should never be purchased at brick-and-mortar retail stores.

This is something consumers should

buy, regardless of the location. Best Buy

may attempt to paint a nice picture, arguing that your HDTV's picture might not be so nice in two years. Truthfully, however, high-def TVs rarely die young. They are sturdy items that will remain on the same dusty shelving unit for at least five years. As Benzinga's Sam Mattera points out, "You could buy that same TV in five years for the price of one extended warranty." He is right.

Sony

has produced some of the thickest and most reliable HDMI cables available. The company sells them for less than $30 at Walmart

. That is a fair price. The $90 that Monster charges for its cables, however, is not.

This is a no-brainer. With higher prices and fewer selections, consumers are better off buying new music from Apple's

iTunes service. If you prefer CDs, check Amazon or BestBuy.com.

Why spend $20 or more for an iPhone case you could find online for $10?

When movies and TV boxed sets are first released, Target

and Best Buy often fight for the best price available. After those sales end, however, consumers are typically better off shopping online. Otherwise they will have to wait for another sale to come around at the nearest big-box store.

You walk into a store. You see a copy of Game X sitting on the shelf and a download card sitting next to it. Which do you choose? Seriously, which one? If you have to ask, you might as well have stayed at home and downloaded the game. After all, it is not as if that card holds any value -- you will still have to go through the trouble of downloading the item. The exception to this rule would be Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network points. Xbox Live subscriptions are usually cheaper on Amazon, however.

Brick-and-mortar bookstores want to beat Amazon so badly that they are willing to fill their stores with zillions of books that nobody wants -- including some with scratches running up and down the cover!