Online shoppers, beware: The bill for buying or selling a product online is ballooning, due to a new wave of shipping surcharges. Carriers' fuel surcharges have already doubled since last year. And now, both UPS and FedEx have additional in mind for home deliveries. FedEx rates will jump by almost 7 percent in January, while shipping via UPS Ground will go up by about 6 percent. (Hint: Check out for some ways to make up the difference.)

2. 3G Fees

Everyone's excited about the new "low-cost" 3G phones--but the devices aren't quite as economical as they seem. Take the : T-Mobile has spent plenty of time touting the handset's bargain $180 base price, but it has been a lot less vocal about the activation fees that raise the price to $215. On top of that, users must pay a minimum of $25 more per month for data access than they would for a regular voice-only cell phone, which subtracts $600 more from your pocket over the course of the two-year required contract.

T-Mobile is not alone. AT&T pulled a similar trick with its new iPhone 3G, playing up its lower sticker price (compared with the first-generation iPhone), but soft-pedaling its higher monthly service fee: "They raised the price of their subscription and lowered the price of the gadget," Sullivan points out. "Ultimately, after a year, your price would be higher."

Marketing brilliance? Maybe. But 3G fans may not share a publicist's admiration for the tactic.