Canadian man stuns people by acquiring a $50,000 property through trading an unlikely item

Land and property prices are soaring in today's market, and most people find themselves having to settle for renting houses rather than buying them. But one Canadian man made it to the headlines for acquiring a house by trading items. His incredible journey started by trading a mere paperclip. According to My Modern Met, blogger Kyle MacDonald was inspired by a childhood game called Bigger, Better where a person trades an item for something more valuable. It took him over a year to trade his way to the top.

In 2005, MacDonald was 26 years old when he aimed to get his own house because he was tired of paying expensive rent in Montreal. But MacDonald was unemployed at that point. So, he decided to try the old-school method of trading one thing for another. He set up a website where he offered to exchange a single red paperclip for something better. MacDonald also made a promise to visit the person who would make an offer to take his regular office supply and give him something a bit more valuable in return.

After an astonishing 14 successful trades, MacDonald was offered a $50,000 home in the small town of Kipling in Saskatchewan. “I knew it was possible,” he said on a BBC radio show. “You can do anything if you put your mind to it.” The first thing he got in exchange for his paperclip was a fish-shaped pen from a fellow in Vancouver. Then, he traded the pen for a hand-sculpted doorknob in Seattle. He then had to travel to Massachusetts America to trade the doorknob for a Coleman camping stove with fuel. A few months later, a sergeant at Camp Pendelton traded the stove for a 1000W Honda EX generator with MacDonald.

MacDonald found himself in a pickle when the New York Fire Department confiscated the generator from him but he was ultimately able to get it back. He then traded the generator for an "instant party" consisting of an empty keg, a neon Budweiser sign and an IOU to fill the keg with beer. He exchanged that with a comedian and radio personality from Quebec who offered his Ski-Doo snowmobile in return. The chain of events continued to work in the blogger's favor as he somehow acquired a box truck and a recording contract later on with a studio in Ontario. By the end of 2006, he traded the recording contract for one year's rent in Phoenix, Arizona, and further traded his way to get an afternoon with rockstar Alice Cooper.

A rock photographer who clicked Cooper with MacDonald, traded a rare motorized snow globe that was part of the metal band KISS's merchandise. People following MacDonald's journey weren't sure if he would find anything more valuable than the snow globe but MacDonald did not lose hope. Soon after, actor Corbin Bernsen, who was an avid collector of snowglobes, traded with MacDonald and gave him a speaking role in a film. After a point, MacDonald received a two-story farmhouse in return for the film role. With his successful chain of trades, MacDonald and his girlfriend could finally move into the house.

But MacDonald wasn't stopping there. He decided to trade the house to a restaurant owner. The house has been transformed into an eatery and is called the Paperclip Cottage Cafe which is located in Kipling. The restaurant also has a large paperclip sculpture on display to remind people of MacDonald's crazy trade adventure. He went on to write a book titled "One Red Paperclip: Or How an Ordinary Man Achieved His Dream with the Help of a Simple Office Supply" that detailed his fascinating trading journey. He also appeared in a TED Talk and shared how his clever trading skills helped him acquire a property.