Unless it is from J Crew, BR/Gap, Lands End, or LL Bean, I think of items I order online from US/International websites as NO RETURN items. That means being VERY sure of an item before clicking the "Buy" button, especially if it is at all pricey. As for shopping vacations, they can be fun, but if you add up the costs of travel and accommodations, those trips aren't really practical for many people unless a person lives close to the international border or is from a city that has inexpensive airline connections to a US city. Crazy though it might seem, in my case, it is often easier for me to travel to London or Paris than to many major US cities.
And, while I'm ranting and wailing, I have to mention how frustrated I feel when I read Angie's recommendations. Because so many of the pieces are from Nordstroms, I often feel like I've got my nose pressed against the window of a wonderful store that I can't enter, even though I see fabulous things inside. I love it when she recommends items from J Crew and BR/Gap because I can actually order and try those pieces. I'm sure Nordies is a wonderful shopping experience if you live in the US, but, for a Canadian, trying to buy online from them is just a big, expensive headache. I'm hoping that will change when Nordstroms' opens its Canadian stores, but I've heard rumors that the stores may be more like the Rack than the actual Nordstroms...