Vintage Monopoly: A Bigger and Better Story

"Do not pass go, do not collect $200." How many times have you ran into that problem when playing Monopoly? I know I have on more than one occasion. As an adolescent I was eager to make money and save it, (more so hoard it) until I had enough to get what I wanted. When it came to Monopoly I used the same tactic. I'd just wait for the kill, and when the time was right I'd buy up as much as I could in order to control the the game.

When I ran out of money I did what any other kid would do: convince your buddy that more is better; for example, I have 4 houses and my best friend has one apartment complex (or hotel). Little did he know what I was conjuring up. I was going to convince him that 4 houses were better than his one apartment complex. My evil plan was to obtain his property without him knowing that he could have generated more income from the 1 property, rather than the 4 houses. In his mind he saw that he just had one measly little building. He saw the 4 houses and thought he was getting a great deal because more is better right? WRONG, not always...

My mind had grasped the concept that if you buy one decent property in an average part of town, with say 80 units at $550 a month, that I was going to be bringing in $44,000 a month! I was only 9 or 10 years old at the time! My friend jumped on the idea that he was going to be getting 4 properties rather than one, and just figured he would be making more money.

I had no idea that I had just "BARTERED" my way into a great deal. I had never heard the term, much less knew what it meant. This is sort of how "trading up" works. You start with something small, and sometimes many small things, then convince the other person that they need what you have and you need what they have. It is not always about sneakily trying to get the best deal without the other person knowing. It is about a reason. Each person has a reason why they need what you have. Maybe they no longer use what they have and there is no attachment to it. They use what they are not using to get what they want. That's bartering and trading up in a nutshell. You start with something small to get the thing you really want. Sometimes it takes a while, but because you are determined...YOU DON'T GIVE UP!

A little over a year and a half ago I received an email from this guy. His name: Curtis Smeltzer. He had found my project from surfing the web. He began to tell me about the trading up project he had started. His item of choice: A vintage Monopoly car from an old Monopoly game that was his Grandma's when he was a young kid. The game was missing pieces and couldn't be played anymore.

This was a very unique item to start with. Just like the Red Paperclip Guy started with..you guessed it, a  red paperclip. And Just like the Yellow Mustard Seed Guy started with...A Yellow Mustard Seed! I am the mustard seed guy if you did not catch that.

All joking aside, each one of these guys started with something very unique. Each initial item had a story behind it. Each guy had passion and a will to not give up. Each one of us took a risk of trying something new and uncomfortable. It was something that had never been done before, not how we were doing it at least. We created our own wheel in a way.

To this day I have never found anyone that has ever started with a "Yellow Spicily Mustard Seed" and tried to "trade their way out of debt in three years." Do you get what I am saying? Make it unique. Make it your own!

Anyone can start their own project and do what we have done, but not everyone will push on through all the discouragement that you will face while attempting a project like this. It's hard and it takes a lot of effort to make stuff like this happen. It's not as easy as the show "Barter Kings on A&E" makes it out to be.

Not everyone has the media coverage like Kyle MacDonald did (the guy from One Red Paperclip). He revolutionized the whole trading up concept back in 2005. He is the guy that really gave Craigslist Barter its popularity. I have had some media coverage so far, which has helped. My project has mostly been from word of mouth. You really have to work hard for stuff like this, it's not always given to you.

Just to throw it out there because we have had people ask...All 3 of our projects started long before the show Barter Kings ever came about. I actually nearly named my project "Barter Kings," but went with Trade Me Out of Debt instead. Your'e not going to forget it, a name like this is unique.

This takes dedication and passion, and a will not to quit. This is exactly what Curtis has done. This dude has made some cool trades. He of course started with the Monopoly car, and then traded that for 2 Psychcology books. He then traded the books for a freaking awesome antique camping stove. He then traded the stove for this awesome custom knife:

The knife then landed him an old boat and trailer, which in return he traded for over 5,000 incredible trading cards (some even signed that were high dollar). Just recently (as of August 2012) he traded the cards for this sweet snow board.

Trading up can be so much fun because you never know what you are going to end up with. When you make it into a "I have to make a trade situation," you're most likely going to give up because things don't always go the way you had planned. People stand you up, back out of trades, and tell you "no I don't want to make a trade" on more than one occasion.

 Just have fun! I promise you this: people will laugh at you and even call you names when you try to offer whatever it is you have for their item. Don't sweat it...Count on getting told no at least 20 times before you get a yes. If you look at it like that, then you are going to do fine!

Thank you so much for stopping by TMOOD (Trade Me Out of Debt) and for checking out Curtis Smeltzer's site. This guy is a trading machine! Email him at curtis@curtissmeltzer.com to ask him questions or make an offer. He is an awesome guy to get to know. If you are close to Milford, Indiana hit him up. I am sure he would not mind traveling if you or your company forked out the cost. 

There's a lot of great stuff coming soon that I am so excited to tell you all about! I am also really excited to have Allan Jones from Australia guest posting with us again this week. He has a great article on "things to consider when switching banks" that I really think you all are going to enjoy!