FAIRHOPE, Ala.–Trading: It’s an exchange of goods and services that dates back to prehistoric times before currency existed. But what if you could trade something as simple as a container of white-out for something as large as a bicycle? Over the course of nine weeks, Justin Cometti’s honors economics students were challenged to do just that.
“Students had to start with some type of item that doesn’t have any value personally to them, then make a series of ten trades and document them to see what they can get,” Cometti said.
Cometti said a big part of this project is understanding the mutually beneficial trade agreements that happen in any type of market economy.
“We often just view the exchange of money for goods and services without thinking about trading essential goods as well,” Cometti said.
The Red Paperclip Project was named and inspired by Canadian blogger Kyle MacDonald, who traded his way from a single red paperclip to a house.
Many students took this challenge in stride, trading small, insignificant items for large commodities. Senior Carter Hlavin has been especially successful.
“It’s been interesting to trade with all of these different people and see what they have to offer,” Hlavin said. “I started with maybe a 50 cent thing of white-out, which was one of the hardest things to get off of but I’ve traded up to a bike and a lawn-mower…Both in very good condition.”
The project wasn’t all snappy trades and negotiations, however. For some, it took longer to get their trades off the ground. Senior Amelia Bates experienced a harder experience with her trades than others.
“I traded a highlighter for a planner which was kind of a rough trade because it was already partially used and nobody wanted to trade for it,” Bates said. “The difficulties in this project have taught me that trying to trade in class has been really hard and it would be impossible to do that in the real world for food, water, cars and everything we do in our lives.”
Cometti hopes his students will take away valuable business lessons from this project, such as understanding how the value of the item varies from one person to another. Students who are advancing into the world of economics will be especially impacted, especially those who hope to start a business one day.
“The project will help students get into an entrepreneurial mindset. Students possess a product and figure out a market and value, which is subjective at times. Finally, they have to actually go out and find individuals to purchase said good,” Cometti said. “That’s what small business owners and entrepreneurs do all the time, trying to create a good or a service that people will want to buy. To some extent, this project is forcing them to do that.”
Cometti also hopes that outside of the classroom, students will take lessons they’ve learned from this project into their lives after high school. He wants the project to stick with them and teach them to analyze their financial choices in the future.
“Economics is something that throughout your life, you have to make little decisions about. You must analyze risk, assess how one decision could impact yourself in the future, and that’s what economics really teaches you,” Cometti said.
Cometti’s goal is for students to learn how to better make decisions as they navigate life and any path, whether it’s just as a consumer or somebody that’s an entrepreneur and trying to start a business.
A red paperclip doesn’t have much value at first glance. However, it can quickly spark a series of trades and negotiations that result in a rewarding exchange. Cometti’s Project taught students how to analyze the value of items, negotiate a bargain with their peers, and carefully consider items in their possession.
