Trading on TikTok: a new spin on an old trend

By Max Silverman
December 6, 2020

Trading schemes to trade up from a small object to a much larger one like a car or a house have been common since the dawn of the internet. Nowadays, some people are applying these tactics to social media. San Francisco native Demi Skipper, who goes by the name of @trademeproject on Instagram and TikTok, has recently gotten a lot of press coverage for her plan to trade up from a bobby pin to a house.

The bobby pin that started Skipper’s Journey. Photo taken by Max Silverman

According to Sarah Prager from Business insider, “Skipper was inspired by Kyle MacDonald, who decided in 2005 to attempt to barter for a house, starting off with just a paperclip.” In 2006, over a year later, he accomplished that goal. Skipper intends to accomplish this by the end of the year.

Skipper, who works as a manager for the app OpenTable, wanted a side project to undertake during the coronavirus lockdown. When she started, she had no idea how big this project would become. Her first trade was her bobby pin for a pair of earrings. Now, she has traded for a Mini Cooper and has over four million followers on social media, with a few million views for each video.

In order to find people willing to trade with her, she browsed websites such as Craigslist and eBay for barters. While it was hard to find people willing to trade with her at first, she is able to barter items relatively easily due to her massive online fanbase. Fans will send her potential trade offers that they found, and in some cases, barter offers for objects that they have.

Sometimes, however, Skipper struggled to find someone who will be willing to barter. One of these instances is when she was trying to trade the Dodge Caravan she got from a trade from an iPhone. The Dodge had an oil leak and other mechanical issues, but she was finally able to trade it for an electric skateboard.

Dr. Kathy Mantz, adjunct professor of business at Cabrini, said that successful marketing strategies (including Skipper’s trading project) must have a benefit for the consumer and seller. In the case of trademeproject, both Skipper and the person who she is trading with play both roles. Skipper is trying to trade up for an object that the consumer has.

Skipper doesn’t just have a good marketing plan for her project. She is very energetic and enthusiastic with her project, which can help secure trades. As mentioned before, she also has the support of her fans, who have helped her trade for less valuable objects and have helped her scout out people who would be willing to trade with her.

@trademeproject

TRADING A BOBBY PIN UNTIL I GET A HOUSE – TRADE 23 #fyp #trademeproject

♬ Triangle – Chris Alan Lee

Mantz also found it interesting how these trading projects are very popular on social media. She feels that these projects could inspire people to trade and barter more often.

While she may have a big following on social media, Skipper is unknown by many Cabrini students. Shane Chavez-Zottnick, a sophomore business major, said that while he hadn’t heard about trademeproject, he was aware of these types of trading schemes.

Demi Skipper’s trademeproject has received massive amounts of support on social media and press coverage. This project and others like it may even increase the popularity of bartering and trading over time. While Skipper and her project are surging in popularity in TikTok and Instagram, she seems to be relatively unknown by Cabrini students.

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Max Silverman

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