As for your question regarding buying with Bitcoins vs Paypal I don't think anyone is making the case one is better then the other
Umm, this forum is full of threads declaring the superiority of bitcoin over every other transaction method. In truth, it's only theoretically superior and only in a few ways.
just the fact we can have a decentralized system for making payments. I mean look at wikileaks and how they have come to a complete halt due to Visa/MasterCard/ Paypal and everyone else cutting off their access to funds.
But if that's the scope of distribution for bitcoin, the price will surely be back under a penny before too long. Very very few people here care about it's viability as a currency: they just want to get rich quick. Hence all the desperate calls to spread the idea of bitcoin without providing valuable bitcoin services or goods. And no, a person who buys you a prepaid VISA card for 20% markup is not a valuable bitcoin service.