My QUEST for a Condo - Trading up, the Kyle MacDonald Way!

Kyle MacDonald is a Canadian Blogger who created a website called "One Red Paperclip".

What he did was barter and trade his 1 red paperclip for other items and by the end of the year had traded up to a two-story house (seen here on the right).

This is my new quest for this real estate blog. I am going to trade a number of small household items into larger items and eventually, hopefully, get myself a house here in Toronto.

If you've looked at the real estate prices here in Toronto (the average home is almost $500,000) then you can only conclude that people with little means have no chance of ever owning a home because they're stuck in the endless cycle of renting.

Plus my credit rating sucks, so I could never get a mortgage.

But if I can do what Kyle MacDonald did, then perhaps I could trade my way up to a condo. Sounds like a plan!

So how did Kyle MacDonald do it???

1. On July 14th 2005 Kyle traded the paperclip for a fish-shaped pen.
2. Kyle then traded the pen the same day for a hand-sculpted doorknob, which he nicknamed "Knob-T".
3. On July 25th 2005, Kyle traded the Knob-T for a Coleman camp stove (with fuel).
4. On September 24th 2005, Kyle traded the camp stove for a Honda generator.
5. On November 16th 2005, Kyle traded the generator for an "instant party": an empty keg, an IOU for filling the keg with the beer of the holder's choice, and a neon Budweiser sign.
6. On December 8th 2005, Kyle traded the "instant party" to Quebec comedian and radio personality Michel Barrette for one Ski-doo snowmobile.
7. Less than a week later Kyle traded the snowmobile for a two-person trip to Yahk, British Columbia.
8. On January 7th 2006, the second person on the trip to Yahk traded Kyle a cube van for the privilege.
9. On February 22nd 2006, Kyle traded the cube van for a recording contract with Metal Works in Toronto.
10. On April 11th 2006, Kyle traded the recording contract to Jody Gnant for a year's rent in Phoenix, Arizona.
11. On April 26th 2006, Kyle traded the one year's rent in Phoenix, Arizona, for one afternoon with Alice Cooper.
12. On May 26th 2006, Kyle traded the one afternoon with Alice Cooper for a KISS motorized snow globe.
13. On or about June 2nd 2006, he traded the KISS motorized snow globe to Corbin Bernsen for a role in the film Donna on Demand.
14. On or about July 5th 2006, he traded the movie role for a two-story farmhouse in Kipling, Saskatchewan.

So in 14 trades Kyle managed to trade up from a mere red paperclip to a house in Saskatchewan.

Certainly I have some household items that, given time, I could trade up and get a condo here in Toronto.

So I am looking around my apartment.

What could I trade away that would be pathetically small and yet worthy of trading?

And then I spotted it...

A Hot Wheels 2008 Dodge Challenger. Like the one shown here, except mine is out of the package. Approx. value is $2.

I am willing to trade my Hot Wheels 2008 Dodge Challenger for something of greater value that is "Easily Tradeable".

I will be tracking the dates of each trade I make, who I trade with and I will be throwing in a link to your website of choice (ie. a charity of your choice if you don't own a website).

Sincerely,
Charles Moffat
Toronto, Canada
February 27th 2012

IF YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO TRADE ME PLEASE CONTACT ME at charlesmoffat@charlesmoffat.com!

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