Paper-clip trader back in action

by julianw | June 18, 2008 at 01:13 pm
523 views | 39 Recommendations | 6 comments

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Two years ago, Kyle MacDonald traded a small red paper clip for a fish-shaped pen, swaped the fish-shaped pen for a doornob, and kept on trading until he had a house in a small Saskatchewan town. He kept a blog about his bartering escapades, and I became one of his biggest fans. I cheered when he traded one beer keg and a neon Budweisier sign (an ensemble he coined "the instant party") for a skidoo owned by Quebec radio personality Michel Barrette. I held my breath when he bravely traded away "an afternoon with Alice Cooper" for a Kiss snowglobe, and I shook my head in knowing admiration when he skillfully swapped the snowglobe for a role in a movie.

MacDonald is back on the market now, accepting bids for his Saskatchewan house, and I couldn't be happier. Lots of other people are happy too.

Just two years ago, Kyle MacDonald managed to barter a red paper clip into a two-storey home in a rural Saskatchewan town.

Now, the master trader is itching to move on, although he admits he has no idea what he can fetch for the three-bedroom, two-bathroom, fully furnished home on Main Street in Kipling, Sask. The web-savvy former Montrealer says it is a tough decision to move, but the right one for himself and his wife.

"I realized I didn't just want to stay somewhere, I wanted to keep moving and keep trading," MacDonald, 28, told The Canadian Press in an interview in Montreal on Tuesday


recommend This comment thread is now closed
1
Tomitheos

It's a  brilliant concept being that trading dates back to one of Canada's first traditions in our history.

Thanks for sharing this story ; )

michelle.sundvick
michelle.sundvick
flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 13:18 on June 18th, 2008

julianw, I like this story. It's good stuff.

haha I forgot about this guy! I'm so impressed with him

JeffHuang
JeffHuang
flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 13:19 on June 18th, 2008

julianw, I like this story. It's good stuff. i dont know anything about this. but sounds pretty crazy.

Heiky
Heiky
flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 13:27 on June 18th, 2008

julianw, I like this story. It's good stuff. I am a huge fan! It'll be nice to track his next move.

Jarrett Martineau
Jarrett Martineau
flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 14:07 on June 18th, 2008

Given his success to date, I swear he's going to end up trading in his Saskatchewan house for some Dubai hotel chain...and then trading that in for China's oil interest in Sudan...

Or not.

Crowdish
Crowdish
flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 16:12 on June 18th, 2008

good stuff.  


talk about a pioneer of web 2.0 and crowdsourcing

0
Jawa Lunk

Man...I thought this was one of the most unique ideas I had ever heard!

I watched a program about this, and was inspired...

But I have yet to have anyone interested in trading me for a working playstation 2 with 2 controllers, Barbie, Bob the Builder and Spyro video games...



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michelle.sundvick
First Flagged at 1:18 PM, Jun 18, 2008 by michelle.sundvick
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