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A Once-In-Lifetime Up-Trading Journey: From Just Having A Paper Clip to Being A House Owner

Started with a Bobby Pin

In May 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic was at its peak and Demi was working from home and giving out advice on savings through her social media platform, she initiated the Trade Me Project through Craigslist, very much like Kyle. She enlisted a one-cent bobby pin on the website with the hope of up-trading it all the way up to a house for her and her husband.

Demi set out a couple of rules for her bartering journey. Firstly, she had decided never to accept cash in exchange for any of her products. The second rule was to never trade with anyone she already knew.

That One Red Paperclip

While Kyle was contemplating his up-trading project and how it could work out, his eyes landed on this red paperclip in front of him. He thought, what if he could trade it for something bigger and better until he could fulfill his plan? So that’s what he attempted to do; he tried his luck at Craigslist, a website that allows for buying and selling.

He put up the red paper clip he found at his house with a proposition to have someone trade it for anything they have got, with a clear mention of what he eventually hopes to achieve with this up-trading project: ownership of a house.

Already onto Bigger and Better

What he had hoped to achieve had actually materialized. In July 2005, Kyle was able to trade off his red paper clip with a fish pen, for which he traveled all the way to Vancouver as per his commitment to travel to wherever he would have to execute the trade.

The trade came about as a result of a pair of girls from Vancouver offering him their fished-shaped pen in exchange for his paper clip. They took a picture to mark the deal, and Kyle was now the owner of a fish pen, something definitely better and bigger than what he set out with.

It’s Not Stopping Anytime Soon

The media attention started pouring in as the knowledge of his project to own a house by way of up-trading spread. Kyle intended to go all out with the barter game and was not going to stop anytime soon from the likes of it.

He went ahead and put up the fish-shaped pen for exchange; and guess who got lucky again? Kyle managed to receive another barter trade offer. This time it was a girl named Annie, who lived all across the way from Seattle, Washington. She offered him a bizarre-looking door knob in exchange for his pen, and the trade was struck.

Door Knob to a Camp Stove

Kyle was not going to stop here. He was seeking to exchange the door knob he got from Annie for something better. He just had to find someone who could use the door knob and then extract something out of them which would be useful to him.

On July 25, 2005, he traveled all the way to Amherst, Massachusetts, to achieve this purpose. A certain Shaun, who resided there, had made him a decent deal. He offered Kyle a camp stove with spare fuel. This was already a much bigger thing, and this gave Kyle more confidence to keep going on with this project of his.

Value Creation at its Finest

Kyle realized early on in this series of barter trading that the key of the scheme was value creation—converting liabilities into assets. He could easily trade something he did not need for something he could make some use of, and so could his trade counterpart.

Anything lying around which he was certain would serve to be of no use to him, he could put it up for up trade and get hold of something with better payoff. This was a great scheme and would eventually help him get some huge things in return for his items. It could even get him the house he wanted!

Power of One Small Move

That one virtually negligible trade of that red paper clip took Kyle to California in around September 2005, where he was able to trade his camp stove with a 100W Honda generator from David J., a US marine Corp sergeant who had no use of it.

It turned out the California-based marine sergeant was looking for the exact camp stove mode, and while the generator was practically purposeless for the California-based marine sergeant, it was a dream come true for Kyle at that point in time. He was finally able to realize his teenage passion for power creation on his own.

Asset-liability Conversion Road also Faced a Few Bumps

Soon after getting his hands on the Generator, Kyle had this realization that during the era of the internet, blackouts are not a problem anymore, and the generator is no longer a fruitful find for him. At first, it was confiscated by the police; then, around mid of November 2005, he was successfully able to trade the generator with a man named Martin.

In exchange for the generator, he was offered an empty beer keg, an IOU for filling the keg with the bearer’s choice of beer, as well as an illuminated neon Budweiser sign for which Kyle undertook a journey to Maspeth, Queens.

Rebrand However to Make the Trade Work

While he got rid of the generator, Kyle now had the task of getting rid of the bear keg and the neon sign. He put some thought into it and rebranded the items together as an ‘instant party’ package. The package was put out for up trading and successfully caught the eye of a client.

During the last month of the year 2005, much to Kyle’s joy, Quebec TV and radio personality Michel Barrette, owner of several snowmobiles, showed interest in Kyle’s deal and offered one of his many snowmobiles, a Formula Ski-Doo, in exchange for Kyle’s recently acquired instant party kit.

A Good Bargain

The ownership of the snowmobile came into Kyle’s hands at the aptest time ever. It was the middle of winter, and the snow made commuting difficult, making the snowmobile a naturally sought-after product. It wasn’t long before Kyle made his new move with his newfound lust for barter trade.

Within a week of attaining the Ski-Doo snowmobile, Kyle received a call from a snowmobile magazine called ‘SnoRiders West’ who offered Kyle and his significant other a two-person trip to the Canadian Rockies in exchange for the snowmobile as they hoped to garner some publicity using it. Hence, the trade was executed.

From a Trip to the Truck

Following his last trade, Kyle played smart and, around the start of 2006, exchanged the second spot off Yahk trip meant for his girlfriend for a box truck instead. This up-trade was brought about as a result of Kyle’s twisted attempt to blackmail a national news channel to get his trip to the Rockies sold off.

One day Kyle showed up on TV dealing with this affair while wearing a logo on the shirt he was wearing, and Cintas, the uniform manufacturer’s owner, saw it as an opportunity. The owner sensed that he wanted to get out of the situation quickly.

A Deal is Struck

The owner of Cintas tried getting Kyle on board smoothly. Kyle made no fuss, and both the chaps decided to handle the matter civilly and so the head of Cintas made Kyle a deal to exchange his trip to the Rockies with a box truck which he gladly accepted.

While the truck may have had the worst fuel mileage, it offered an exponential value increase from the paper clip that Kyle had initially set off with. The truck offered much greater utility through its size and transportation capacity than the paper clip ever could, only bolstering Kyle further ahead in his up-trading journey.

It Does Not Stop Here

While the truck was a huge value addition in Kyle’s chain of up trading, he had much bigger plans than just stopping here. Around February 2006, he struck a recording contract with Brandon in Metalworks in Mississauga, Ontario, offering Kyle to become a recording artist by way of swapping his box truck against it.

So this allowed Kyle to get rid of the van. He could carry on his path of capitalizing on opportunities he could offer to folks using his trading offers. In this case, he could offer someone to start his music career, all the while keeping the reigns under his control and maneuvering the up-trading path to his benefit.

Another Step Closer

While the recording contract was of little to no value to Kyle, it presented a big opportunity to anyone landing it with singing talents and looking to be a recording artist. This meant another useful up-trade opportunity for Kyle, who was on the lookout for one with an eagle’s eye.

While multiple offers came to him to swap the recording contract with, it was around mid of April 2006 when Kyle found the right person to swap the contract with. It was Jody who owned half of a duplex in Arizona with half of the apartments unrented. He offered Kyle a year of unrented stay at them, which Kyle happily accepted.

More Pairs of Eyes on Rent-Free Apartments than One

The contract was signed in front of the white picket fence next to Jody’s apartment. It turned out Jody’s next-door neighbor, Lesley, was extremely keen on the rent-free apartment arrangement that Kyle had signed up for a year and attempted to strike a trade deal with him.

Around April 2006, Kyle’s luck shined further. Lesley offered him to spend an afternoon with her boss. Kyle was reluctant to take this offer up at first glance. He had no idea who Lesley’s boss was, and a meeting with a random person felt like a value downgrade. However, he soon learned what a favorable offer it was.

An Afternoon with Alice Cooper on the Cards

Lesley worked at Alice Cooper’s town in Phoenix as a manager at one of the restaurants boss was none other than the celebrity Alice Cooper. He was more than inclined to take up her offer to trade the year-long rent-free arrangement.

Alice’s tour manager reached out to Kyle and invited him to join them as they were on tour in Fargo, North Dakota. Alice requested him not to trade the afternoon with him for a night with KISS or a weekend with The Rolling Stones, and although Kyle agreed, the offer he received later was too irresistible.

Did He really make a Sensible Choice?

Kyle received an offer from Mark, an amateur photographer with a bulk of KISS memorabilia. While he offered Kyle items ranging from KISS posters to KISS Guitars, it was a KISS snow globe that could light up and change colors that Kyle agreed to trade the afternoon with Alice Cooper.

What Kyle deemed as a great trade and a priceless opportunity was mocked by lots around him. People around him saw it to be a dumb choice. The backlash on social media was huge when the video of the trade taking place went online because people saw no tangible value in this trade.

There was Value in the Trade after all

Kyle’s decision and motive for this trade did not make sense to the world but he knew what he was doing all along. So far every trade deal he struck was spontaneous and happened with a natural sense and no pre-planning. Something, however, was different this time.

Around two months after Kyle acquired the snow globe, he received an offer to work from Corbin Bernsen, a huge Hollywood actor. He offered Kyle a paid, speaking, credited role in a Hollywood film he was making which he accepted without hesitance and only later learned that Corbin has the world’s largest snow globe collection.

Where Will It All Lead to?

Corbin Bernsen, owner of 6,500 snow globes, upon learning of Kyle’s access to a KISS snow globe, was ecstatic and expressed a great desire to own one. The motivation for Kyle to acquire the snow globe from Mark sprung from this factor.

When he learned of Mark’s ownership of a snow globe, his mind immediately went to Corbin and what he had read about his snow globe collection on the internet. A series of picture exchanges of Mark’s snow globe with him, and he learns that Corbin wanted the globe at all costs. Regardless of what the world had to say, Kyle did justice to his mission of owning a house by executing this trade.

Almost There

Around June 2006, Kyle was able to trade his snow globe to Corbin Bernsen for a role in the movie he was making called “Donna on Demand.” Now, Kyle has a role in a film, but he had to do something with it to keep moving ahead in his barter up-trading scheme.

Kyle knew he was going to keep going with these trades, but the offer for a house had to come from somewhere. Call it sheer luck or strategy, but he did end up landing an offer for a house in Kipling in exchange for his Hollywood movie role.

He Now Owns a House!

One day Kyle received a call from Bert Roth, the economic development officer of the town of Kipling, located at a drive about two hours east of Regina, who was seeking to swap Kyle’s movie role in exchange for a farmhouse in the area.

The proposition came at the hand of the town management observing his barter project and wanting to hold a competition over the film role after offering him one of the many houses which were lying idle in the area. Needless to say, Kyle was delighted to finally have his dream opportunity in front of him so he accepted it.

It Really Happened

Bert from Kiplings not only offered Kyle a house but also a grand housewarming party, inviting folks from around the world to come to Kiplings and contest for the movie role calling the competition the ‘Kiplings idol’ with live auditions for the role. So the deal happened after town council approval was attained, and over 3,500 individuals came to the town of Kipling, which was a town of under 1,000 people.

A year and 14 trades later, starting all the way from that small red paperclip and a harmless idea, Kyle was now the owner of a two-story farmhouse in Kipling, Saskatchewan.

What Happens from Here?

While Kyle had successfully realized his dream of turning into a homeowner, his scheme opened up a pathway of collaboration and inspired others to do the same; to come together and build something together. Kyle’s idea was to capitalize on opportunities and see where they could lead you.

The contest held by Kipling resulted in a high school graduate, Nolan Hubbard, who was only making minimum wage at the Bottle Depot, winning the competition and getting to work with Corbin on a Hollywood movie in Los Angeles. Without the opportunity to do this film, his stack of talent would have gone unrecognized and been wasted.

The Story Goes On

Kyle’s story inspired many others across the world who were amazed at his capacity to achieve something so big from a mere paper clip. For some, it was the greed for achieving, while for others, it was his ideology that set them on the same path as him. While some were able to achieve some success at it, others could not manage so much.

Demi Skipper is one such woman who got inspired by Kyle’s story of trading and decided to try her luck at trading herself to see if she could land herself an offer for a house too.

Kyle MacDonald – the Inspiration for it All

Now a global TikTok sensation, Demi Skipper was a 29-year-old technology product manager from San Francisco who came across Kyle’s story of upgrading one fine day and couldn’t resist wanting to try it herself.

While Demi was heavily inspired by Kyle’s journey and spirit, it was a tough choice for her to set on a similar journey. Self-doubts haunted her, and uncertainty nagged at her. She wanted to undergo it, but the idea that her efforts and this step would ever bring her any fruition worried her. Hence she never went for it till she was absolutely certain it was her calling.

Started with a Bobby Pin

In May 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic was at its peak and Demi was working from home and giving out advice on savings through her social media platform, she initiated the Trade Me Project through Craigslist, very much like Kyle. She enlisted a one-cent bobby pin on the website with the hope of up-trading it all the way up to a house for her and her husband.

Demi set out a couple of rules for her bartering journey. Firstly, she had decided never to accept cash in exchange for any of her products. The second rule was to never trade with anyone she already knew.

The Very First Trade

Demi’s initial trade was smooth. She traded her cheap bobby pin for another item: a pair of earrings; while she was at it, Demi decided to tag along views worldwide on her bartering journey and made an Instagram handle “trademeproject” to share her journey.

She did not rely on her product listing alone but also sent out hundreds of trade proposals as well alongside her social media publicity attempts to keep the trade going on successfully. A picture of Demi on a bicycle with a banner saying she is out there to sell her bobby pin so she can get to own a house circulated on social media.

So Far So Good

Demi’s bartering journey had set off. She was enjoying it so far and did not incur any difficulties in the first few trades either. Those were easy items. A bobby pin, a pair of earrings, margarita glasses, etc.—items that did not require a lot of hassle in transportation or tough decision-making when making a choice of trade.

A lot of thought went into the decision-making, which was always not easy, of course. Demi had a full-time job, and she spent all her free time besides that planning on the next trade: what are the possibilities, what will be her next trade proposal, how will the execution come about, and so on.

The Social Media Support Comes Pouring In

Demi garnered a huge following on her social media handles as she kept viewers around the world posted on her journey. Every single trade was thoroughly documented and kept the interests of her followers piqued who awaited the next trade.

A whole community was built around this concept and soon became Demi’s source of strength. On the days when her morals will falter, the positive comments would bring her some respite. The community she built also helped overcome some of the logistics hurdles. They helped transport and keep traded items safe for her, making the process somewhat easier than handling everything on her own.

Social Media is not always a Bed of Roses

As the journey progressed and the project amassed a growing number of followers, very soon, social media also showed its ugly side. Mean and snide comments also came in. Not everyone could make sense of Demi’s decisions over the trades. People easily declared certain trades stupid or senseless or called her out on her intentions.

The worst bit for her became people getting too personal and making mean remarks about her looks. The comments over physical appearance started to get to Demi’s head, taking to her to a point where she had no choice but to stop reading them altogether.

A Little Bump Here and There

Trading for Demi was not always so smooth and simple. While the smaller items were traded easily with little to no difficulty or hurdle, the journey with each passing trade got tougher.

This came about as a result of the value of items increasing, bringing with it tons of difficulties surrounding the logistics aspects of the trade, including the transport and delivery of items across the country. Some of the items were also of a unique nature, and deciding over trading them and trade execution was not a piece of cake; some of the items were just difficult to sell under ordinary circumstances, simply put.

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