Thanks for the replies, guys. I appreciate it.

But I gotta admit, I am a bit frustrated at this point; not just with Coinbase, but with Bitcoin exchanges in general.

I looked up Kraken and Bitstamp (two exchanges that were recommended in the previous post), and most of the reviews are negative; many people telling stories about how they've been ripped off. Of course, these people could just simply be lying themselves. I have no idea, and I do not know whom to trust.

I have been reading various books, blogs, websites, message boards, etc... in an attempt to learn as much about Bitcoin as I can. And I have put in a lot of time and energy in just simply trying to BUY some, and have not been successful (though, the order I placed on Coinbase should go through in a couple of days, but at $100 worth, it's almost meaningless). So, I have to imagine that if the 'average joe' were to want to also dive into the Bitcoin world, that there is almost no way he would end up buying/using it, and would quickly give up. How can this currency possibly be expected to take off when it is so damn hard to get?