One embodiment of the present invention provides a system that facilitates purchasing a memory upgrade for a computer system. This system operates by obtaining memory configuration information for the computer system, and then determining a memory upgrade option based upon the memory configuration information. Next, the system presents an option to purchase the memory upgrade option to a user of the computer system. If the user indicates that the user would like to purchase the memory upgrade option, the system automatically initiates a purchase transaction for the memory upgrade option. In one embodiment of the present invention, the system automatically initiates the purchase transaction through a web site that facilitates purchasing the memory upgrade option. In a variation on this embodiment, the system automatically transfers at least part of the memory configuration information to the web site so that the user does not have to reenter details of the memory configuration information into the web site.