NORTH COUNTY -- For cash-poor shoppers wary of debt or unable to qualify for credit, buying an item on layaway can be an alternative.

Although it's not easy to find stores that offer layaway, there are a few options, old and new, including online layaway shopping.

With layaway, shoppers pay for goods in installments and take the item home when it's paid in full. Most stores charge a small fee for the service.

As credit cards became widespread in the 1990s, many stores eliminated their layaway plans.

Wal-Mart canceled layaway in 2006, saying it was expensive for the company to maintain.

In North County, as in much of the country, Kmart and Sears are the two major retailers offering layaway.

Kmart stores never canceled layaway, and in the fall, Sears, which Kmart bought in 2004, began offering layaway in hopes of appealing to shoppers who wanted to reserve hot holiday items but couldn't afford to pay for them right away, company spokeswoman Beth Pagano said.

After layaway proved popular at Christmas, Sears decided to keep the service for most items, Pagano said.

Oceanside Kmart manager Waldo DeCastroverde said that shoppers there use layaway frequently to reserve items at sale prices and to pay for full-price items.

"People spread the financial impact over eight weeks instead of taking the hit all at once," DeCastroverde said.

At Kmart, customers make payments over eight weeks for layaway items; payments are due every two weeks, DeCastroverde said.

There is a $10 fee for buying on layaway, which customers lose if they don't complete their payments.

The Ramona Kmart offers layaway on similar terms.

Consumer advocates say that layaway shoppers should make sure they read and understand all the terms of the agreement and keep careful receipts of each payment.

Layaway plans may sound old-fashioned, but the practice has migrated to the Internet with online layaway shopping portals.

Lay-away.com and elayaway.com are two major sites offering online plans.

At Lay-away.com, consumers pay for items over six months and are charged a $35 restocking fee if the purchase is not completed.

The product is mailed five to seven days after the last payment, according to the company's Web site. Lay-away.com charges no fee for the service.

At elayaway.com, customers can buy items on layaway from more than 1,000 merchants, according to the company's Web site.

The payments can be split over any period of time between three to 13 months, and the company charges a fee of 1.9 percent of the merchandise's price.

Shoppers are dinged $25 if they don't complete payments.

Contact staff writer Sarah Gordon at 760-740-3517.