How I came to try to use Bitcoin was I had an internet service I wanted to pay for . . . I went to their page and just seen the guide saying I would need a wallet to get started . . .
Their page? Does that mean a guide page about bitcoin at the internet service? Or does it mean bitcoin.org, weusecoins.com, or some other page created by a bitcoin user?
. . . to go about buying a Bitcoin looked a bit like a stock exchange . . .
Well, with bitcoin being a currency, it probably looked more like a currency exchange, but I see your point.
I fell back to what I know EBAY.
I don't know what you paid, but bitcoins on Ebay can be a bit expensive at times. In the future you may want to look into localbitcoins.com. Depending on where you live, they may be able to help you find someone local who is willing to exchange bitcoins for local currency in person. You could also look into BitInstant.com although they are a bit limited as to which countries they operate in. You can look at the following page to get an idea for approximately what the current exchange rate is between bitcoin and your favorite currency:
http://bitcoincharts.com/markets/currencies/I have appreciated all the replies, especially with the fact that it all seems very technical to me and above my head.
Like with any public forum, you can encounter some pretty rude, and/or unhelpful people here, but you'll find that many of the people here sincerely want bitcoin to succeed on a global scale as a mainstream currency. Because of this, there are some very intelligent, and highly educated people here who are very willing to share their expertise and assist you in learning as much as you'd like to know about bitcoin.