I was inspired last year by the story of the guy in Canada who traded a paperclip on Craigslist and in 14 trades had a house. Several people I knew said I should try it, but I kept saying "What would be the odds of that happening again?" "Lightening doesn't strike twice" and all that.
But, I did have this little urge just to try trading something for the fun of it. One trade. Just for the hell of it, right? Well, I still had my crappy old telephone from my old home before I moved in with my fiance. I thought, "Just for the fun of it, let's see what interesting bit of junk I can get for this." So, I posed a Barter ad on Craigslist. Within a few hours, it was "Flagged" down. I didn't understand why, so I posted again. After a few more tries, I realized that there was a group of people out there who find their only joy in life by holding others back. I got accused of being a "Red Paperclip copycat" and all that. Well, they created their own worst nightmare. Before, I was just going to do ONE trade....for fun, and that was going to be it. But, now? Now it was personal. I started to take poems and old songs and change some of the words to have it be about my little black phone. I did Poes "The Raven", and "The Bells". I also did a rousing rendition of "Banana Phone"! After several weeks of this, a guy in Hawaii who's been doing a trading project as well (here's a link to his site http://terrorsuspect.com/ ) felt sorry for me, and offered me a trade for $20 worth of books from his online bookstore for the phone. So.... I shipped my phone to him for the certificate. YES. I actually MAILED my phone to Hawaii!!!!
In the year since then, I've traded for a CD of an Aleister Crowley recording (& subsequently made a VERY good friend in Canada), a rice cooker, a painting on rice paper, services of a Medical Intuitive, a Dynamic Facilitator, and a Psychic, and then did another trade with the guy from Hawaii for 2 little rubies!
Now....I have a Snapper riding lawnmower and a pair of Kenwood speakers. The mower is in good working condition, and comes with a spare transmission in case you ever need it. I'll accept a trade offer for either the lawnmower, or the lawnmower and the speakers. (if you are just interested in the speakers, we can work something out there, too)
I never ever thought I'd be doing this. It was just a game, but, as they say.... Life Is a Game.
Wanna play??
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