FAQ

What is this website all about?

It's all about this challenge I have set myself:

to start with absolutely nothing...
and trade that absolutely nothing for something(s)...
and trade some or all of that something(s) for something(s) bigger/better...
and keep trading up...

...at least until I reach my target of either a Rolls Royce car or a Bentley car!

You get the idea...

And along the way I may trade one item for more than one at any time, making a tree of trades rather than a chain of trades possible (still counts as one trade on the counter though). I may also trade more than one item for one item.

And although I am based in the north west of England, I am prepared to travel anywhere on earth to make a trade if I think it makes sense.

And I think that's pretty much it!

Where did the idea for this challenge come from?

I recently heard about Kyle MacDonald in Canada who managed to start with a paperclip and trade it up to a house (nice one Kyle!). It took him a year with fourteen trades I think.

Well, I wondered to what extreme this idea could be taken, and soon set myself a challenge to start with absolutely nothing, and see how far I could trade it up. Simple as that.

What is your target?

For this challenge, I have set myself a target of... either a Rolls Royce car or a Bentley car, and I hope to get there some time in 2008.

I did start without a target right at the beginning, but I think having a target only adds interest and makes it more of a challenge and more fun.

Regardless of how close I get towards achieving the target, I have no doubt I'll some day look back on this as a well worthwhile and interesting experience for myself and others, and therefore a success. So, even if it ends up just helping pay a few bills... gr-r-r-reat!

If the target is ever reached, well I think I will just set a new bigger target and carry on trading...

A bigger target should be easier to hit anyway, right?

Who are you? Where are you?

I'm Andrew Henderson and I am based near Birmingham, somewhere in the middle of England. My day job is in engineering. I have also worked in Canada and Germany. I'm doing this in my spare time.

Why are you doing this?

I thought I should take up a hobby. I didn't fancy gardening or collecting stamps or any normal hobby. So I made one up, and this is it!

How far will you travel to make a trade?

I will travel to anywhere on planet earth to make a trade if I think it makes sense.

Well actually I've agreed to a few postal trades now, but I am very particular about doing those.

How long will this challenge last?

I have no idea!

I'll stop if I lose interest, but I don't see that happening.

Watch this space I guess.

Can I link to this website?

Yes, absolutely - please do!

You can even add this banner somewhere in your blog or site if you like. It even features the logo with working single pixel links - I hope the excitement's not too much for you!...

Here's the code you would need, and don't worry, the pixel links are updated automatically whenever I update the site logo links:

<img src=
"http://www.tradingnothing.com/images_pixels/logolinks_banner.gif"
width="468" height="60" border="0" usemap="#map_logolinks_banner"
alt="tradingnothing.com Logo Links banner">
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.tradingnothing.com/js/
jscript_logolinks_banner.js"></script>

Also don't forget to tell me if you link back to me, so I can link a pixel for you and include you in The Official tradingnothing.com Logo Links Table if I haven't done so already...

Is anyone else doing anything like this?

Yes, and here are some I like and keep an eye on...

DaveTraders - The Silver Safety Pin
The Adventures of Red Back (yes, Red Back was here!)
The Lincoln GrALE Quest (Pete traded up to his target VW Campervan!)
Money For Old Rope
one red paperclip (well OK, Kyle may have finished trading now he's got his house...)

What is an adopted item?

An adopted item is something that cost me nothing to add to the mix.

Tell me some trading nothing trivia!

Erm, OK, how about...

• So far, trades have happened in six different countries: Greece, England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, the Netherlands, USA (all in person, except I made an exception for the USA Trade 14, which was by post)
• The three metalworks Sean gave me in Trade 6 all went to Ireland - to three different women who were from three different countries (South Africa, England and Holland) and who were living in three different counties! (Galway, Cork and Waterford)
• The first adopted item was a ten year old unused Kodak 35mm camera film for slides. I rescued it from a rubbish bin, and Corina was well happy to take it in Trade 12!
• Trade 15 was the first time in my life I have made a deal with animals.
• I have never sat in a Rolls Royce or a Bentley car.
• Both the objects that were swapped in Trade 11 - Redback the bottle opener and the replica 1870 London Metropolitan Police whistle - were very nearly confiscated by airport security, though obviously not at the same time! (the bottle opener because it was pointy, and the whistle because it could make a noise!) (Jody please take note)

Links