We've helped this man start his paper clip trading journey

While classified ads have moved from the back pages of a newspaper to online marketplaces, odd items and asks remain.

And the best place to find the obscure is often Facebook Marketplace - that’s part of the intrigue for Calvin Lechner.

“I’m obsessed with Facebook Marketplace. I spend all day on it,” he told Kelowna10. “I’m always looking for things and finding stuff around my house that I can sell and finding new things that I can buy.”

That obsession has manifested itself into an endeavour that Lechner is leaving up to the whims of the internet.

Several weeks ago, he posted a simple ad on Marketplace, looking to trade a “brand new shiny paper clip” for anything out there.

Enter Sarah and Ryan from 104.7 The Lizard.

Intrigued by the posting, they dug around in the dusty, dark, catacombs of the radio station to find an unsealed record dating all the way back to 2021 – Medicine at Midnight by the Foo Fighters.

The morning show team’s offer topped that of many others, and with the shake of a hand, the trade was made, launching Lechner on a journey to, well, anything, he said.

“I’m kind of leaving it open to the universe to kind of bring to me whatever is out there. I think it’s more fun that way to see what’s out there,” he laughed.

In 2005, blogger Kyle MacDonald traded a red paperclip all the way up to a home in Kipling, Sask., over the course of two years.

Want to trade with Lechner? Keep an eye on the Marketplace to see what he finds!