Every lead-in to the Christmas holiday we are inundated with claim after claim that this year will be the year that online shopping with trump the good old brick and mortar purchases, and of course this year was no different.

Then following the last leg of turkey being devoured and Christmas lights turned off we start to get the inevitable bragging about who were the big winners and the big losers when it comes to the consumer dollar.

This year is no different in this aspect either as we now have a fancy Christmas color themed infographic to break all the info down into nice and easy to digest nuggets of useless information.

So without any further ado, and with thanks to the team at FastUpFront, here is your winners and losers for the 2011 Christmas buying season.

via VentureBeat

The 2011 holiday season buying spree – the winners and losers [Infographic] is a post from: The Inquisitr

If you need something to give you a nudge towards Origin, EA has snuck out a deal on the digital distribution service that just might win you over. From now until Sunday, a selection of titles, including expansions and DLC, are $4.99 on Origin.

Perhaps the most appealing of the bunch is Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Vietnam, both of which are on sale individually.

If shooters aren’t your cup of tea, there’s also Mirror’s Edge, Spore, Burnout: Paradise The Ultimate Box and a hefty list of The Sims content.

That’s not all, though. To see the extent of EA’s sale, head over to this link and get to browsing. Just don’t blame me if you start to take a liking to Origin.

EA quietly throws a $4.99 sale on Origin is a post from: The Inquisitr

If the onslaught of deals over the past month hasn’t already drained you of every last dime to your name, THQ is kicking off a sale of their own starting today with some pretty enticing offers.

It’s not as big as most of the previous sales we’ve been seeing, granted, but there’s still some good stuff to be had. If you never picked up Costume Quest or Stacking, for example, now’s a good time to do so.

The sale kicks off today, July 26, and ends on August 1. There’s several full games up for grabs along with a DLC discount for several of THQ’s more recent titles. If you’d like to see what all is marked down, see the list below.

Games:

DLC:

You only have less than a week to pick any of these up on the cheap so, if any if this catches your eye, boot up your PlayStation 3 and get to shopping.

THQ kicks off a 50% off sale on PlayStation Network is a post from: The Inquisitr

The change, of course, positions the site right in line with straight-forward Web retailers ranging from Amazon to Barnes and Noble or Borders. And it’s no surprise: eBay’s auction sales have been underperforming compared to the fixed-price alternative, The Times reports, meaning the auction boom of eBay’s early days may be reaching its end.

The specific changes will include lower upfront fees to encourage sellers to put their stuff online for a fixed price. Such a sale will only cost $0.35 for a month-long listing as of next month — a huge drop, almost 70 percent, from the current fee.

eBay Moving Away From Auctions is a post from: The Inquisitr

The net retailer is being investigated in Texas because even though its headquarters are in Seattle, it operates a distribution center in the city of Irving.

The whole thing comes down to a 1992 Supreme Court ruling that gives states the power to collect taxes from businesses with any type of “physical presence.” That can include anything as small as a store or delivery center. Texas has said it’s lost as much as $541 million in unpaid taxes from internet- and mail-based sales in past years.

Amazon told the Dallas Morning News it’s done nothing wrong and is in “full compliance” with state regulations. A representative cited the fact that the Irving distribution center is owned by a subsidiary, Amazon.com.kydc, not by the main company. Yet, the Morning News discovered government records showing Amazon.com as the center’s owner in 2006 and 2007.

The fight is all too familiar for Amazon. The company just recently sued the state of New York over a similar dispute.

It’s a tricky line, and lawmakers know it. Right now, Congress is looking at redefining internet sales taxes. They may end up creating a set of standardized rules across the entire U.S. They’re also looking at building in exemptions for smaller net-based businesses.

Online Sales Stir Up Tax Debate is a post from: The Inquisitr