SPUG: Minimal Perl for $17.46

[Paul Cook]

I just purchased Tim's new book online for $17.46 (it lists for $44.95!),
with no sales tax, and free shipping.

I used a price comparison site to do this, and I'm not sure how much that
had to do with me getting that price.  At the risk of giving you a
"cargo-cult" narrative, I'll give the exact steps that I took.  YMMV.

1. I was logged into Gmail, and had cookies enabled.

2. In another browser window, I used the price comparison site
http://www.bcybookloft.com/ .

3. I pasted the ISBN for Tim's book into the "Search For" field, and clicked
"Search".

4. It came back with one result, for $27.46, and I clicked on the Compare 1
Price button.

5. Next page had a confusing reference to "Manufacturer: Wizards of the
Coast", but an image of Minimal Perl.  At this point I'm hoping that
"Minimal Perl" isn't also the name of some RPG character.

6. I noticed that the Wizards of the Coast part number is the same as the
ISBN, 1932394508.

7. At the bottom of the page it says "Lowest Price by Buy.com", and I enter
my zip code and click Calculate Shipping.

8. It comes back with a total of $27.46, and I click More Info.

9. I click Add to Cart, and on the next page appears a bunch of other
offers, and on the right a button that says, "Google Checkout: $10 off for
new users only".

10. I clicked Google Checkout, and was shown my gmail address, and asked to
supply my gmail password, which I did, then Google asked for my credit card
number, which I entered.

11. Next page shows a total of $21.46, and I notice that shipping is about
$4, but there is a dropdown to select shipping options.

12. I select the $0.00 shipping option, and before clicking purchase on a
total of $17.46, I reassure myself by checking the image to make sure
"Minimal Perl" isn't referring to some RPG action figure from Wizards of the
Coast.  There is a picture of the book, and it says *Minimal Perl: For UNIX
and Linux People by Tim Maher.*

I bought it, and it says I will have the book real soon.  I'll try to
remember to let everyone know what actually shows up at my maildrop (or if
any unexpected charges show up on my credit card!).

I am not making this up.
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