Trade 05, a Telescope to a Robotic Arm

Since it's been so long since my last trade, I was beginning to worry that I'd never be able to trade anything again. I was beginning to lose hope. True, most of Kyle Mac's trades took longer than mine have, but the whole exercise had started so fast that I had really got my hopes up. When I had a big gap, and after having gone on holiday to Tunisia, I was worrying that it was all over.

Well, those fears were unfounded: I completed trade 05 today! Here is a picture of said trade:



It's a robotic arm! Goodness me, is that exciting! It has so many different controls: for the wrist, the grabber hand thing, elbow, the shoulder... it goes on! Here is the control thingy:



And here's the final artifact itself! If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask me! That's what I'm here for. So, do you want a robotic arm? Do you know anyone who does? It's an essential deskpiece for any self-respecting geek, and useful for that 'stranger' effect, or even flipping toast or something. I don't know. Please trade with me - I'm hungry.

Trade 04, a Trivia Game to a Telescope

Trade 04 is up!



The other day, I went around school, telling everyone I could find that I had a tin I wanted to trade with them. Mostly, I was dismissed, but clearly I caught the eye of fellow student Aidan Grant, who knew that he had the perfect item for me.

So, the next day, in he brought this delicious specimen! This telescope, which I've already had a number of offers for. It's fantastic! The clarity of focus at immense distances is very impressive for its size. You can read signs at a few hundred feet, and the voyeurs among you will also find this an invaluable tool! So, there you are - here is my current prize, and let me know if you want to trade it for anything.



Here it is, sported by my good friend Steffan:



Because of how attached I am to it, I'm going to be sitting tight until I've properly weighed up my options for the next trade. Drop me a line if you're interested in this telescope (and believe me, you are)!

Paying Credit Where it's Due

Sorry, no more trades just yet - but here's some interesting trading blogs for the more demanding among you. I've found a number of sites with similar mission statements to mine, and I think we should all show them some support!

First, we have The Little Black Phone: watch a bashed old phone become so much more! Interestingly, at one point the blogger seems to have had far more valuable objects than are currently being offered, such as two rubies from Madagascar. Still, these projects are about relative - not material - wealth. I'm actually quite jealous that I didn't get that go-cart, because I remember my neighbour having a similar model when I was younger.

Next up, we have DaveTraders. The idea here has a different spin - the blogger began with a safety pin, and not a paperclip, which seems to have spiced things up, because, before he knew it, he'd traded his way up to a DVD Player, a work of art, and... some investigative services. Yikes. It'll be interesting to see where this goes next, perhaps as an omen of my own future success. Make sure you check this blog out if you have the time.

The greatest kudos, though, goes to Andrew Henderson, for his Trading Nothing website. Yes, you guessed it - his first trade was for 'nothing'. It's not as iconic as a paperclip, let me tell you. His trades have been incredibly successful - go see for yourself if you're interested. Henderson's ended up with all sorts of crap!

Good luck to all traders across the globe.

'One Silver Paperclip'

Today I started a Facebook group about my adventures on this blog. It's called 'One Silver Paperclip', and you can find it here.

Here's hoping that the increased publicity leads to my next trade!

Trade 03, a Voucher to a Trivia Game

Well, I've traded again - that's three trades in two days. Eat your heart out, Kyle Mac! I rule!

After updating last night, I spammed my friends with the news of my trading scams. There were people willing to be involved already, just waiting to trade with me! I chose what I thought would be a fair deal, and went to see Richard Thomas just an hour or so ago to swap my £1 Boots voucher for his The Simpsons Trivia Game tin. My glamorous assistant Lucia's father was kind enough to drive us to Richard's house and back home tonight. Let part of my glory be passed on to him (though not too much, mind). Here is the tin in question:



I'm so excited! I know it's a cliché to say this, but just yesterday all I had was a paperclip, which I found on the floor of my room. I suppose at this point I should work out where I want this to end up. I think the best thing that could happen would be a recording deal, or an inter-rail ticket for going around Europe.

Trades 01 and 02, a Paperclip to a Voucher

Inspired by Kyle MacDonald, the man who swapped a piece of stationery for a place to live, I have decided to begin a trading chain (starting from something worth even less than his famous red paperclip). This is more a fun project than anything else, and I don't expect to end up with anything as amazing as a house, but it's fun in and of itself, and, anyway, what harm could it do? Besides, after just an hour or so of trying, I had two trades under my belt. I now consider myself a veteran trader.

This morning, I found a paperclip in my room. It was like striking skinny, steel gold.



Trade 01 - a paperclip for a Christmas card
I showered, got dressed and went out into Guildford. The third person I asked (if I remember correctly) offered to give me an old card, which had actually been written in before. Probably because it was so much bigger, I assumed that it was obvious how much more than a paperclip it was worth. I eagerly snapped it up, and rubbed it in the face of my friend, who had poopooed the whole idea as a childish fantasy from the beginning. If it was so ridiculous, why was I being so successful?

Here is the card in question, and apologies for looking so miserable in the photograph. I was actually really excited.



A humble first trade, yes, but, if you remember, my Japanese folk-tale equivalent began with a blade of grass. Anyway, a card - who would want a used card? It soon became obvious that, as much as cards cost more than paperclips, there was no reason why someone would want this. On second thoughts what I should have done would be to find a hitchhiker who needed a board to write their destination on. As it happened, though, I was in the centre of town, and kept walking, looking for a potential trader.

Trade 02 - a Christmas card for a £1 Boots Voucher
Walking past an old building on Guildford High Street, my friend and I were invited to take part in a survey. We agreed to help the people running it out, if they agreed to help us in return. Their help would be to swap something for my useless used card. At first they couldn't find anything, though one lady thought a pen was suitable. I thought that this was a good idea, since my card was worth nothing used, paperclips must be less than a penny, and pens can be around 12p. In the end I didn't get a pen - I got a Boots voucher. I thought that the lady was going to give me a £20 note at first, and I would have had to refuse, because I think I'll turn down all financial offers. This is strictly a project in assessing relative wealth (which actually makes the voucher a bad idea, to be honest, but hopefully I won't have it for long). It's nice to have an item I can easily assess the value of, however.



One lady I offered the voucher to tried to give me a £1 coin, but I had to refuse. I don't think I'll be taking money. After this we went to Blockbuster to see if there was anyone there we could trade with, but it was empty. That's it for day one of trading. Hopefully I'll find something of value on this journey!