NOMADman,

I know what my alternatives are, but the point of my post wasn't really about buying the book per se.

My complaint is about yet another website that forces me to jump through hoops rather than making online purchasing as quick, easy, and painless as possible.

There I was, every vendor's dream. An impulse buyer, credit card in hand, hot to trot. And what happens? At the last possible moment I learn that consummation is not to be.

Any number of surveys show that websites lose a huge percentage of sales because at some point the potential buyer finally says "screw this." Any of us who purchase online can offer myriad examples from personal experience.

Hell, I don't even need Child, Volume 1. I have a set of the Dover reprints that I bough 35 years ago at $2.75 apiece. I was just trying to encourage a laudable effort by voting with my wallet. I always try to buy from the source if possible to make sure that as much money as possible goes to the people who do the real work.