diff --git a/app/controllers/shop_controller.rb b/app/controllers/shop_controller.rb
index 0f07c2125..d59a6428a 100644
--- a/app/controllers/shop_controller.rb
+++ b/app/controllers/shop_controller.rb
@@ -2,6 +2,22 @@ class ShopController < ApplicationController
   def index
     @products = Product.all
     @order_item = OrderItem.new
+
+    # this is (hopefully) part of a short-term hack to prevent people from
+    # ordering multiple subscriptions, which would be very confusing to deal
+    # with.  We check whether they have an order already in progress, and if
+    # so, point that out to them and encourage them to checkout, rather than
+    # letting them add more stuff to their order.
+
+    @order = nil
+    @most_recent_item = nil
+    if current_member
+      @order = current_member.current_order
+      if @order
+        @most_recent_item = @order.order_items.first
+      end
+    end
+
     respond_to do |format|
       format.html # index.html.haml
     end
diff --git a/app/models/product.rb b/app/models/product.rb
index 5ad15a2e8..88ee157b0 100644
--- a/app/models/product.rb
+++ b/app/models/product.rb
@@ -2,4 +2,7 @@ class Product < ActiveRecord::Base
   attr_accessible :description, :min_price, :name
   has_and_belongs_to_many :orders
 
+  def to_s
+    name
+  end
 end
diff --git a/app/views/shop/index.html.haml b/app/views/shop/index.html.haml
index 6c45b33f3..52a280571 100644
--- a/app/views/shop/index.html.haml
+++ b/app/views/shop/index.html.haml
@@ -13,36 +13,50 @@
   you want to pay.  Remember, your subscription supports an open source
   platform promoting sustainable lifestyles!
 
-- @products.each do |p|
-  %h2= p.name
+- if @order and @order.order_items.count > 0
+  %h2 Your current order
 
-  %div
-    :markdown
-      #{ strip_tags p.description }
+  %p 
+    You currently have the following item in your cart:
+    %strong
+      = @most_recent_item.product
+      @
+      = price_with_currency(@most_recent_item.price)
 
   %p
-    Pay what you want, starting at
-    =succeed "." do
-      =price_with_currency(p.min_price)
+    = link_to "View order and checkout", order_path(@order)
 
-  %div
-    - if can? :create, Order
+- else
+  - @products.each do |p|
+    %h2= p.name
 
-      = form_for @order_item do |f|
-        .field
-          = f.text_field :price, :value => price_in_dollars(p.min_price)
-        .field
-          = f.hidden_field :product_id, :value => p.id
-        .field
-          = f.hidden_field :quantity, :value => 1
-        .actions
-          = f.submit 'Buy', :class => 'btn btn-primary'
+    %div
+      :markdown
+        #{ strip_tags p.description }
 
-    - else
-      Please
-      =link_to "sign in", new_member_session_path
-      or
-      =link_to "sign up", new_member_registration_path
-      to purchase.
+    %p
+      Pay what you want, starting at
+      =succeed "." do
+        =price_with_currency(p.min_price)
+
+    %div
+      - if can? :create, Order
+
+        = form_for @order_item do |f|
+          .field
+            = f.text_field :price, :value => price_in_dollars(p.min_price)
+          .field
+            = f.hidden_field :product_id, :value => p.id
+          .field
+            = f.hidden_field :quantity, :value => 1
+          .actions
+            = f.submit 'Buy', :class => 'btn btn-primary'
+
+      - else
+        Please
+        =link_to "sign in", new_member_session_path
+        or
+        =link_to "sign up", new_member_registration_path
+        to purchase.
 
 
diff --git a/spec/controllers/shop_controller_spec.rb b/spec/controllers/shop_controller_spec.rb
index fad178cc6..2aaaa58ff 100644
--- a/spec/controllers/shop_controller_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/controllers/shop_controller_spec.rb
@@ -12,6 +12,25 @@ describe ShopController do
       get :index, {}
       assigns(:products).should eq([@product1, @product2])
     end
+
+    it "assigns a new @order_item to build forms" do
+      get :index, {}
+      assigns(:order_item).should be_an_instance_of OrderItem
+    end
+
+    it "assigns @order as nil if the user doesn't have one" do
+      get :index, {}
+      assigns(:order).should be_nil
+    end
+
+    it "assigns @order as current_order if there is one" do
+      @member = FactoryGirl.create(:member)
+      sign_in @member
+      @order = FactoryGirl.create(:order, :member => @member)
+      get :index, {}
+      assigns(:order).should eq @order
+    end
+
   end
 
 end
diff --git a/spec/models/product_spec.rb b/spec/models/product_spec.rb
index 88c9c9938..d8fc496a8 100644
--- a/spec/models/product_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/models/product_spec.rb
@@ -1,4 +1,9 @@
 require 'spec_helper'
 
 describe Product do
+
+  it "stringifies using the name" do
+    @product = FactoryGirl.create(:product)
+    @product.to_s.should eq @product.name
+  end
 end