I’m embarking on a swap project. Did you hear the story of the lady who started with a bobby pin and kept trading it for bigger and better items until she ended up with a home? It took Demi Skipper 28 trades and 18 months for her to get from bobby pin to house. (She was inspired by a Canadian man who started with a red paperclip and 14 trades later had a house.) Skipper also gained 5 million TikTok followers along the way. Here’s a recap of her journey and a look at her final trade:
@trademeproject The Final Trade 🥺🏠 #trademeproject #letsgetthishouse ♬ Inspiring and spectacular emotional epics(869013) – Minette
Starting the Swap Project with Chickfila Nuggets
I decided to give it a shot in 2022. I didn’t want to start with a bobby pin or a paperclip. But I wanted to start with something I didn’t have to spend money on. And since I host the world’s only Chickfila fan podcast I thought I’d start with something awesome. I used some of my ample stash of rewards points from my Chickfila app to swap a 30-count nugget platter. As you can imagine, I got a lot of offers for the nugget platter. One person even wanted to give me their dog in exchange for the food!
My First Completed Swap
After much deliberation I decided on a very gently used SHAQ Indoor Smokeless Grill. Brand new the grill was over $100, but since you can’t really buy it any more I figured the value was around $40. I posted the grill on Facebook Marketplace and started working towards making my second swap.
My Second Completed Swap
I got offers of costume jewelry, a softball bat, and an outdoor chair. But ultimately I landed on a nice looking faux-marble desk with gold hair pin legs. I drove about 20 minutes to pick up the desk and at first I was bummed because it didn’t seem to be in very good shape. Turns out it was just really dirty and needed some new screws. I cleaned it up and took some nice photos of it. Then I posted it on Facebook Marketplace.
High Trade Demand for the Desk
I woke up to hundreds of messages from people interested in the desk. I received some great offers! Baby gear, furniture, and a skincare mini fridge were among the contenders. I really wanted to swap it for a nice dining set, but when I realized I’d have to drive an hour each way to get it, I instead decided to swap the desk for a double jogger stroller. It’s in great condition and brand new sells for $249.99.
January Recap
Trade #1: Chickfila Nuggets to Shaq Indoor Smokeless Grill
Trade #2: Shaq Indoor Smokeless Grill to Faux-Marble Desk
Trade #3: Faux-Marble Desk to Baby Trend Navigator Double Jogger Stroller
