Quote:
Originally Posted by Kumabjorn
That you can't pay with cash seems like an illegality to me but IANAL, since cash is legal tender.
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Actually at least two ebookstores that I know of do accept cash...
...by mail. (Checks and money orders, really.)
(BAEN and Fictionwise.)
https://www.baenebooks.com/t-micropay.aspx
http://www.fictionwise.com/help/eBook_FAQ.htm
WalMart recently added a cash payment system for their online sales operation: you place the order and it stays on hold until you go to a Walmart store and pay there. (You can also order online for delivery at the Walmart store.) Sears allows ordering (and paying) in-store.
Convenience-wise it is simply easier to convert cash into either a gift card or pre-paid credit card, with the gifft card being the cheaper approach.
As you say, we *are* moving to a (somewhat) cashless world.
In the US there are the first suggestions of phasing out cash altogether and some thought is being given to how to implement it but I doubt cash will be abolished any time soon. Cash will endure; on privacy and personal security grounds, if nothing else.
Plus, politicians need a hard-to-trace vehicle for their "unofficial" income.
