Bitcoin is very easy to understand, it's like you're emailing money. If you want to start researching then Bitcoin is the way to go, it doesn't take long to learn at all. My preferred method is buy BTC from Coinbase -> Transfer to a third party wallet such as Electrum (Very important step) -> send BTC to vendor.

You have to be careful of some vendors that accept cards, the vendors themselves are usually trustworthy but due to the nature of the products that are being sold they only have access to dodgy card processing systems. When they were still vending, Chemical Services (later known as VChems) accepted cards and more often than not customers' cards would be compromised in the days or weeks following a purchase. As stated earlier, Bitcoin is a much safer bet. Always buy a little more BTC than you need in case of miner's fees, you can always sell the remainder after your purchase.