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Man Trades Red Paper Clip for Desert Abode
foxnews.com ^ | Tuesday, April 18, 2006 | Fox News

Posted on 04/19/2006 2:06:41 PM PDT by rawhide

Kyle MacDonald harnessed the power of the Internet to trade a red paper clip for something better, over and over again.

Since last July, he’s managed to turn a red paper clip into a year’s free rent on a house in the desert, the Associated Press reports.

"It's totally overwhelming; I'm not going to lie," he said by phone from Montreal, where he and his girlfriend, Dominique Dupuis, live with two roommates. "But I'm still trading for that house. It's this obsessive thing."

MacDonald’s obsession started with an ad he placed in the Craigslist.org barter section, saying he wanted something bigger and better for his red paper clip — just a trade, of course.

From there he was able to trade his paper clip for a fish-shaped pen.

He traded that for a doorknob, which he traded for a camping stove, which he traded for a generator, which he traded for a keg of beer and a neon party sign.

The trading — and his ever-increasing celebrity — escalated until he traded a studio recording contract in Toronto for a year’s stay at a singer’s duplex in Phoenix.

Where his trading takes him from Phoenix is anybody’s guess, but MacDonald says he’s had offers from Hollywood to turn his story into a movie.

"If you say you're going to do something and you start to do it, and people enjoy it or respect it or are entertained by it, people will step up and help you," he said.

(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Extended News; Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: abode; barter; craigslistdotorg; paperclip; phoenix; redpaperclip; trade
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To: Experiment 6-2-6

Further to your profile page...I live in La Quinta, and attest to all FReepers that I am NOT the one that offed your Porsche!


21 posted on 04/19/2006 2:30:26 PM PDT by ErnBatavia (Meep Meep)
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To: Experiment 6-2-6
Love the pic on your profile page!

I wanna visit!!! LOL!

22 posted on 04/19/2006 2:33:32 PM PDT by BossLady
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To: rawhide
Very cool. He should go to congress. He might be able to trade tax increases for spending cuts with the democRats.
23 posted on 04/19/2006 2:42:31 PM PDT by manwiththehands (I'm a single issue voter this year: illegal immigration.)
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To: rawhide

Kyle's website is great--thanks for giving me the link! That guy is amazing...


24 posted on 04/19/2006 2:47:24 PM PDT by American Quilter
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To: rawhide; aculeus; dighton; Lijahsbubbe; martin_fierro; Jeremiah Jr

In confusion there is profit.

25 posted on 04/19/2006 2:51:08 PM PDT by Thinkin' Gal (As it was in the days of NO...)
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To: PetroniusMaximus

He should keep trading. That particular neighborhood in Phoenix is still rough around the edges. Oh yeah, find out if the place has AC, too, otherwise summer will be brutal!


26 posted on 04/19/2006 3:53:32 PM PDT by Sabatier
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To: Republican Party Reptile

did you get the memo?


27 posted on 04/19/2006 3:57:49 PM PDT by petercooper (Cemeteries & the ignorant - comprising 2 of the largest Democrat voting blocs for the past 75 years.)
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To: rawhide
If he likes the Southwest, there's a
spread available in Pahrump, NV...
28 posted on 04/19/2006 4:40:48 PM PDT by mikrofon (Rings a Bell)
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To: ErnBatavia
Thanks for the input.

I'll take it into consideration...

SIGH

I miss my porsche...

29 posted on 04/19/2006 7:44:46 PM PDT by Experiment 6-2-6 (Admn Mods: tiny, malicious things that glare and gibber from dark corners.They have pins and dolls..)
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To: American Quilter
Thanks.

There's not much to do on an island in the South Pacific.

I just wish I had cooler pictures..

30 posted on 04/19/2006 7:50:08 PM PDT by Experiment 6-2-6 (Admn Mods: tiny, malicious things that glare and gibber from dark corners.They have pins and dolls..)
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To: BossLady
You are MORE than welcome to come visit my little island.

Bring lots of Scotch.

Preferably single malt.

Of a legal age (18 or older)

Though French Bubbly is nice on the beach, too...

'cause the sunsets are to die for, the stars absolutely twinkle at night, and champagne in the South Pacific is the nearest thing to paradise...

31 posted on 04/19/2006 7:56:53 PM PDT by Experiment 6-2-6 (Admn Mods: tiny, malicious things that glare and gibber from dark corners.They have pins and dolls..)
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