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Cyber Monday" was invented in 2005 by Shop.org, part of the U.S. trade association National Retail Federation, which hosts CyberMonday.com. Cyber Monday is not actually the biggest online shopping day of the year; last year it was only ninth, with eight days in December yielding larger online sales.

Whatever. Start your engines. There's a Deals of the Hour promotion going on at CyberMonday (like Today's Deals on Amazon, featuring different stores):

Below that are some "special offers" from large participating online stores -- $10 off a purchase of $50 or more at Discovery, for instance; 25 percent off any one item at Dick's Sporting Goods; 50 percent off coats and designer suits at Lord & Taylor, and lots of free shipping. Many merchants are discounting a small selection of items. Here's a list of those participating, from big-box stores to "never heard of them."

Today only, at GameStop's CyberMonday page, you can get free shipping and $10 off the Shaun White Snowboarding game for Xbox or Wii, making them $49.95 and $39.95, respectively. ("Flying Tomato" White is an Olympic medalist and X-Games champion.) Shortly after this showed up at GameStop, Amazon dropped its price $10, too.

eCost offers the Nintendo Wii Fit and Balance Board for $129.95, perhaps the last one near that price. (Some places listed as having it in stock actually don't, and will bounce it out of your shopping cart if you try to buy it.)

Wii Fit is selling on eBay for more -- sometimes much more -- than that, and you do need this balance board to play the Wii snowboarding game. While I've been researching this, 10 have sold at prices ranging from $142 to $167.50. This is not the fuzzy mom-and-pop eBay you remember; be careful out there.

J&R is having a Blu-ray Blow Out sale today: The hi-def format's video discs start at $4.99. (You might want to check out Friday's blog post, Hot-selling Blu-ray video: What it is, if you're curious about the difference between Blu-ray and regular DVDs.)

Where to start? Besides cybermonday.com, check out the sites keeping track of the Cyber Monday deals that Mark Sullivan recommends in PC World's A 'Cyber Monday' Tech Shopping Primer. Some of them haven't updated as I write this, but probably will when the workday gets under way.

And just before you push the button to order, you might Google for coupons for the site you're on, if you see a form for a coupon or promotional code. What you find might just work.

But be careful. You can get caught up in the hunt, and end up spending a lot without intending to. At one point, as I waited for the strike of midnight, I was deep into a page of solar outdoor Christmas lights, ready to order, when my rational self dragged me away from that cool but unnecessary purchase. (Solar lights are generally tiny and very faint, and relatively expensive.)

Staying up hunting for deals is not fun for me, and not only because loud retail sites are hard on the eyes. But I ran into a reward at the gentle shopping blog Green Stew: An offer at Bedmo Vegetables for a free sample bottle of Sabatino Tartufi Black Truffle Gourmet Olive Oil.

Shipping is also free, you must be 18 and a U.S. resident. They ask how you found out about them.

If you've been waiting for a price drop on an item that's gone on sale today, you'll probably think Cyber Monday is worth all the hype.

But free is the very best.