It would be more technical if you were buying and selling currency for example on a MetaTrader platform. with mining, you have a wallet and you buy a product that mines that particular currency then you just have to connect to a pool. I have placed my order with Bitmain and I should have it delivered by September, then I will let you know all the details if you are interested.
Just reply on a post so I get notified in case if I forget.