Item #4 - Xbox 360 Pro Bundle

*PLEASE PASS THIS PAGE ALONG TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS! MAKE THIS EXPERIMENT A SUCCESS! HELP A BROTHA OUT! :) Also, my Craigslist posting is below. Copy, paste and enjoy.

http://portland.craigslist.org/clc/bar/1186999723.html

It's been about a month since my last trade. And no, it didn't take me that long to trade because I wasn't trying... This last round was really frickin hard compared to the last couple! I have a feeling that as the items get larger and larger, my audience is going to dwindle, thus making things a bit more challenging. But, alas, I have made my third trade! I traded the sweet Fender guitar for something that I think will open me up to a much broader audience... An Xbox 360 Pro bundle that includes a 60GB HD and the games Lego Indiana Jones, Kung Fu Panda, Sonic the Hedgehog and Xbox Arcade.

I myself am an avid gamer. Admittedly, I haven't played much lately as life has been, well, life. It's very time consuming at points and a lot of things are a higher priority then games. With that said, I felt that a trade for the 360 would still be good. It opens me up to kids, teenagers, middle aged people and last but not least, parents who have kids. It's a multi-billion dollar industry that has surpassed even the film industry. It has some appeal... Just a little. ;)

I think this trade will be the trade that leads to something with wheels. I'm looking to get my hands on some sort of transportation. Whether it be scooter, motorcycle, atv, car or truck. I feel that a somewhat reliable recreational vehicle or car will be key to my success towards my ultimate goal. Please, if you're still reading at this point, I can't help but stress this. Pass this page along to all your friends! The more attention this gets, the more likely my experiment will become a success! I can be reached at AresInspired@gmail.com. If you're a friend or a friend of a friend and might be interested, e-mail me for further contact info. Thank you!

Item # 3 - A Fender Guitar

So, here's the deal. My tattoo gift certificate was about to expire. It expired on April 5th. That really lit a fire underneath my butt to get me motivated. It also renewed my quest to change free into $$$$$$. At first, I was treating this as a little game. I just wanted to see how far I could take this. But, after this recent trade, I'm really beginning to believe that I could take this as far as I want for the most part. I realized that it's not as much about what an item is valued at as much as what a person wants. "Offer a man in a desert dying of thirst a million dollars or a drink of water, which do you think he'll take?" The only thing that will hold me back is myself. I have some pretty good motivation now and I'm looking to the future with high hopes. Without further ado, my most recent trade...

A REALLY good condition $300 Squier Fender guitar that has $125 worth of work done to it in the way of new Duncan Design pickups and a professional tuning. It also came with the original pickups and a carrying protective bag. That brings me to a grand total of $425 for a very nice beginner's guitar! The pictures I have shown below aren't great, but I don't have a camera with me right now, so the cell phone shots will have to do. ;)




I AM NOW OPEN TO ALL TRADES! I'M MAINLY LOOKING FOR TOYS SUCH AS DIRT BIKES, QUADS, CLASSIC RESTO CARS, OR A GOOD RUNNING VEHICLE WITH TITLE. YOU'RE LOOKING FOR A GUITAR, I'M LOOKING FOR YOUR UNUSED GARAGE ORNAMENT. I can be reached at AresInspired@gmail.com. Thanks,

Trevor

Item #2 - Tattoo Gift Certificate

Trade number one in the Craigslist Experiment turned out to be an overwhelming success! I contacted a lady who was offering tattoo service in exchange for items. One of the items that she needed/wanted was a printer! I sent her the link to my printer on Craigslist and about 3 days later she replied. In the e-mail, she offered an hour's free worth of work. My understanding was that she charged $75/hr for her services. So, I thought it was a great deal!

The next day, I headed down to the tattoo joint after I got off of work. I entered the place and it looked way cool in there. Definitely a respectable shop. All my worries vanished. It wasn't a trailer bus with an old Betty in the back tatting up ex-cons. It was nice... So, eventually when the lady I was trading with got a moment, she headed over and introduced herself.

Now folks, this is where things take a twist for the better. We made small talk for a little bit, I told her about the printer, and where to get the software for it. She looked at me, looked down at the printer and asked, "how much did I tell you I'd give you for this???". I said, "In your e-mail you said an hour's free work which was an equivalent of $75." She kind of looked at me with a confused face. "How about $150? That's an hour and a half of work." I was stoked. I could barely contain myself. I said, sure. That's awesome! Not only was it a half an hour more of work, it was twice as much money! I was that confused one! I didn't know that they charged a $100/hr. Needless to say, I'm a happy camper... Or, barterer.

Item #1 - HP Officejet 7210 All-in-One

I have acquired an HP Officejet 7210 All-in-One printer for free off of Craigslist! It was complete with the power cable and a 10’ USB cable. It came from an orthodontic’s office located only 5 minutes from my house. It’s in great condition and works perfectly. The only unfortunate part about the printer is that it didn’t come with the software. It’s not a huge problem since HP offers all of its software on its website. I was pretty lucky to obtain this bad boy. I rolled up literally 30 seconds before another guy did! I think he was a tad ticked, but, I was on top of my game and got there first… Here’s a picture and link to the hardware.

Welcome to the Experiment

Ever since the economy took a turn south, I’ve been seeing people become more and more thrifty. People are scavenging for deals and free items. I am one of those people. Money is tight and I’m looking out for the screaming deal I want. Places like Goodwill and Value Village are thriving. While local stores are slashing prices, I’ve been looking on Craigslist. Craigslist is a great place to find things from all over your area at deep discounted prices. Even free…

My “Craigslist Experiment” is to pick up an object off of Craigslist’s Free section. Once I have acquired said item, I will use the Barter section of Craigslist to see what I can trade for. One man’s junk is another man’s treasure. I’m going to rely on that principle and see what happens. I hope that the Barter section treats me well!

If you have interest in my experiment, I will keep frequent tabs on my Craigslist objects received and objects up for barter. You’ll be able to find links next to each object listed from here on out. Enjoy.