A&E's Barter Kings

Have you watched it yet? I have...

Is it scripted or is this the real deal? I've watched a few episodes that have seemed to be pretty cheesy and scripted and I have seen others that seem like they are just going with the flow. 

My other thought is...Are they able to trade up because they are just that good, or is it because they have the show going for them and an established pawn type store that gives them the upper hand? I think it is probably a little of both. I have to hand it to these guys, they are pretty convincing. It takes a lot of skill to seal the deal on a trade. One wrong word can end a deal like that.

I have been on trades aside from my project where I have completely convinced the initial person that I have been in contact with to make this trade. And then the friend or spouse has to walk in and plant seeds of doubt in their mind. Many times the other person does not even know what they are talking about. All they see is the difference in cash value. When it comes to trading up, cash is not an option. Trading value is completely different than cash value. That's a whole other topic for another time.

As I was saying...My other issue is with the fact that they have the show and their store going for them. Of course anyone that has been to their store and found out about the show is going to want to make a trade with them just to be on TV. And what about their Craigslist ads? Are they plain and simple and just about the item they want to trade, or is there information regarding the show and who they are on there? That simple fact would make anyone want to make a trade with them in order to be on TV. 

The same was true with Kyle MacDonald of One Red Paperclip. He did not have a show to back him when he started in 2005, but he did have the media after just a few trades. Don't get me wrong, Kyle is a great guy and good at bartering, he pretty much revolutionized the whole Craigslist Trading Up concept. 

So what if you don't have the media on your side? There is a simple answer to that question...You just have to work your fanny off and not quit until you either have what you were aiming for, or you have completed the time frame that you set out to accomplish. 

Trading up is not easy. You're going to be told no a million times. You have to figure out how you can convince whoever you are wanting to make a trade with that they need whatever you have. You have to find their soft spots. You can ask them why they are wanting to make this trade or what makes you want to let go of what you have. Once you figure that out, then all you have to do is convince them that what you have is going to make their life better in whatever way (either by saving or making money, less stress, make more space, make your spouse happy that it is gone, etc...). 

I am by far nowhere close to being the best trader upper. I am just a normal guy that came up with a crazy idea and is not willing to quit. I may never make another trade again that has anything to do with this project, but at least I tried and gave it all I had. 

Feel free to comment on this topic and hit me up if you have any questions. For all of you that don't live in the middle of the USA, enjoy the nice cool weather. Last time I checked, it's supposed to hit 109 degrees fahrenheit here in Tulsa, Oklahoma today. 

Have a great weekend! 

----Matt

"You have to find someone that wants what you have and doesn't want what they have, 

then just make a trade."   ----Barter Kings----

Another One Bites The Dust

I don't think I will ever get that song out of my head. This Queen song was pretty popular when I was growing up. In fact it still is, but I will get to that here in a little bit. This was one of those songs that we used to listen to while "attempting" to get pumped up for a high school football game. From time to time we'd also play it after we romped an opposing team into the dirt. We'd also play Phil Collins "In the Air Tonight," but that is a totally different story that has nothing to do with this. Great song to listen to though.

Anyways, back to the song...I promise I am going somewhere with this. Just watch the videos below, it might come in handy sometime in your future. The first is Queen's "Another One Bites The Dust." and the second one is the Bee Gee's "Stayin' Alive." 

After watching these videos, there's no way you'd ever forget this beat. There is a very good reason for that too. 

The second reason why this song has been such a huge part in my life is because I was taught to use the beat of these songs for a very specific reason.

CPR! You know, that thing that saves peoples lives when you thud on their chest? Yeah, we were taught to use these beats as a way to keep rhythm when we did CPR at the ambulance service that I once upon a time worked for. If you pump to the beat, you will easily get in the compressions you need to do to keep the blood flowing in the cardiac arrest victim. 

Now that you have watched the above videos and gotten a feel for the beat, it's now time to see Ken Jeong and Vennie Jones put one of the songs into CPR action! I promise I have a point to this whole post, but you have to keep reading till the end :) 

The first one is for my United States readers, courtesy of the American Heart Association. The second one is for my British readers, courtesy of the British Heart Foundation. Never and I mean NEVER, joke around and do compressions on someone that is alive and well. You could seriously injure, if not kill them, and then you would actually have to do CPR for real.

Now to the real reason why I wrote this post: When I wrote the title, "Another One Bites the Dust," I completely went off on a tangent and came up with the idea to write this post. My original intent was to inform you that I did not get one of the big jobs I was hoping to get. If I had just written that, then the post would have not been as interesting :) 

I'm not upset because I know that God has a plan for us and he has yet to let us down. 

He will provide the right job in the right timing. Just this week we were not even able to pay our mortgage and several other bills that we were behind on. Pretty much all the stuff that I was going to post on here to sell, has sold. We have also been blessed unexpectedly by random people, as well as other miraculous ways. As I had said in the previous post, it is so easy to get down and not rely on God. He has yet to let us down, though it has been hard at times, God has never failed to provide. 

Thank you for taking the time to read this. Have a great weekend! 

Job?

Wow, life has been crazy! I'm hoping to nail down a job this week. I have been so busy the last few weeks with job searches and life in general. Anyway, we are selling a whole bunch of stuff to help pay bills, since I have not had a job. I will try and get some of the stuff posted on here for my Tulsa area readers to check out.

This month I would have to say has been the hardest since this past November. We are truly in a place of full reliance and trust in God. Within the last 3 days God has provided nearly $400. It's so easy to start feeling down and worry that things aren't going to be okay. We have to continue to remind ourselves that God has all this in His control and that he will pull us through. It's not always going to go how we expect things should go, it's going to be in Gods timing and ways, not ours.

The Trade Mobile: I have a little more work to do on it, but until I get this job stuff under control, I don't know that I will be finishing it up any time soon.

Trade 7, the Photo Booth Package: Not much to say about it, I have had a few leads that I am going to check out. I just gotta keep "flipping rocks," as my father-in-law says.

Okay, I'm heading to bed for much needed rest! Have a blessed week!