What is Pennies To A Dream?
Pennies To A Dream (PTAD) is a social experiment started in September 2010. It began out of curiosity to see if something worthless could trade it's way up to something Bigger & Better. In other words, more valuable, just like it did for Kyle MacDonald and his One Red Paperclip journey that took him from a single red paperclip to a house in Kipling, SK in just 14 trades.
Because I've seen and heard of numerous copycat journeys that have failed, I felt that it would be better to be a bit different, so instead of posting 1 worthless item on Kijiji to trade up with, I put 3. This would increase the chance of having one of them "take off" and get to something really great.
What were the 3 worthless items posted to be traded up?
I wanted to start with something very small and not worth much, so I chose pennies. Penny #1 is "My Penny", which is a 1978 penny. This is the year of my birth, so I thought that it would be appropriate. Penny #2 is "Michelle's Penny". Michelle is my awesome wife. For her, I was able to find a 1982 penny, which is the year of her birth. Penny #3 is a 2010 penny. Nice, shiny, and new at the time, the 2010 penny is being traded as "Farrah's Penny". Farrah is my adorably funny daughter. Although she was only 8 months old when her penny made the first trade, she comes on most of my trading adventures and is one of the main reasons I started this journey.
What is The Penny "Trade-Up" Race?
The Penny Race is the battle between the 3 pennies posted on Kijiji. Their mission is to trade up to the Biggest & Best item possible. The penny that ends up selling for the highest value will be considered the "Winning Penny".
After the 10th trade in a pennies path, that item will then be considered the "final item" and will be posted for sale for a cash value. The "final item" that sells for the highest value will be considered the winning penny. The race will be officially over once all 3 pennies have made their way through the 10th trade and sold for cash.
Every trader will be receiving their earned percentages (see InCENTives To Trade). So, technically, every trader gets a "prize", but the value of the final items will be the biggest determining factor as to how much money each trader will receive. Other than that, any remaining "bonus ITT percentages" that haven't been given away may be used as a "jackpot" and a draw could be held at the end of the race for the traders involved in the "winning penny".
The ITT is exactly that....an incentive to have you make me an offer I can't refuse. For helping me out on this journey and offering me something Bigger & Better for an item that I have, you'll be earning a predetermined percentage. This earned percentage is how much of the profits you'll receive once the "final item" in your path is sold for a cash value. Not all traders will earn the same amount, as it's dependent on which number trader you are. This is the breakdown of how the profits for each penny's final item will be broken up:
Trader #1 - 10%
Trader #2 - 5%
Trader #3 - 2%
Trader #4 - 2%
Trader #5 - 1%
Trader #6 - 1%
Trader #7 - 2%
Trader #8 - 2%
Trader #9 - 5%
Trader #10 - 10%
----------------------
= 40% Given to Traders from each penny's profit when final item sells for cash
+ 25% (for Bonuses during the race)
-----------------------
= 65% (so far...but where is the other 35% going?)
+ 20% Winnipeg Harvest
-----------------------
= 85%
+ 15% Farrah's Savings (That's my daughter....)
-----------------------
= 100%
The real question is Why not? I would have to consider it a bit greedy if I expected people to just offer Bigger & Better things for the items I have. With the InCENTives To Trade (ITT), I'm attempting to return the favor for the generosity of strangers. I'll be keeping 15% of the profits from the sale of each final item to go into my daughter's savings account and 20% of each to go to Winnipeg Harvest to help them out too. Other than that, all remaining 65% profits will be given to the people I trade with.
I've made a trade with PTAD...when do I collect my earned percentage of the InCENTives To Trade?
I will pay each trader their earned percentage of the ITT once the "final item" is sold for a cash value. This will happen after the 10th trade in their penny's path. Traders won't have to wait for all 3 pennies to "cross the finish line" (aka...finish the 10th trade in their path) to receive their earnings. For example, if Penny #2 is the first to reach the 10th trade and sells for cash shortly after, each of the traders that are involved in Penny #2's path will receive their earnings once I have the money in hand....even though the other 2 pennies are still racing.
This is basically just an easy way to refer to the direction each penny has taken in their trading journey.
This is quite simple...Out of the 3 items in the race (Penny #1, Penny #2, and Penny #3), if you see something that you would like to have, all you have to do is send me an email with your offer. My email address is:
penniestoadream@gmail.com
Offers should be "Bigger & Better" than the item that I have. The more your offer helps to increase the value in that penny's path, the better the chance it will be accepted and that you'll claim your spot as a trader in The Penny Race.
Now, this doesn't always mean that offers need to be more valuable, but value does end up being a fairly big factor in the offers that I choose to accept. The point is to get to the Biggest & Best items possible so that they sell for a high price, so your generosity is appreciated.
I'm not affiliated with Winnipeg Harvest, but I completely believe in what they are doing, this is why they've been chosen as my charity of choice. People need to eat and even though a lot of us Winnipeggers are able to eat 3 meals a day, there is a large number of families that aren't as fortunate and are forced to suffer without food. I'm sure you've heard the saying that, "No child should have to go to bed hungry.".
NO! You'll never have to pay me a dime. Like I've said before, the only thing that I ask is that offers for items be Bigger & Better. As for recruiting others...there's no recruiting for anything. If you've made an offer and I accept and trade with you, you're in the race. If you choose to let your friends and family know about it, that's your decision. But, the more people that know about the race, the better the chances of reaching the 10th trade goal for each penny a little quicker.
I only ask for your information if a trade offer is accepted, so a swap can be made made. Any information given to me (ie. phone number/address/last name/email address) will be saved and kept confidential. Provided information will be used to contact you once the final item in the path that you're involved in has been sold for cash. If your contact information changes before that happens, please provide me with your new information, as this will ensure your ITT can be sent to you sooner.
Will more questions be posted here for me to learn about PTAD?
Please feel free to add any questions that you might have for me by commenting or emailing me and I will work at adding them to this FAQ page for others that might have the same inquiries.
When does The Penny Race end?
Will there be a prize for the traders involved in the winning Penny?
Every trader will be receiving their earned percentages (see InCENTives To Trade). So, technically, every trader gets a "prize", but the value of the final items will be the biggest determining factor as to how much money each trader will receive. Other than that, any remaining "bonus ITT percentages" that haven't been given away may be used as a "jackpot" and a draw could be held at the end of the race for the traders involved in the "winning penny".
What is the InCENTives To Trade (ITT)?
The ITT is exactly that....an incentive to have you make me an offer I can't refuse. For helping me out on this journey and offering me something Bigger & Better for an item that I have, you'll be earning a predetermined percentage. This earned percentage is how much of the profits you'll receive once the "final item" in your path is sold for a cash value. Not all traders will earn the same amount, as it's dependent on which number trader you are. This is the breakdown of how the profits for each penny's final item will be broken up:
Trader #1 - 10%
Trader #2 - 5%
Trader #3 - 2%
Trader #4 - 2%
Trader #5 - 1%
Trader #6 - 1%
Trader #7 - 2%
Trader #8 - 2%
Trader #9 - 5%
Trader #10 - 10%
----------------------
= 40% Given to Traders from each penny's profit when final item sells for cash
+ 25% (for Bonuses during the race)
-----------------------
= 65% (so far...but where is the other 35% going?)
+ 20% Winnipeg Harvest
-----------------------
= 85%
+ 15% Farrah's Savings (That's my daughter....)
-----------------------
= 100%
Why sell each final item and give most of the money away?
The real question is Why not? I would have to consider it a bit greedy if I expected people to just offer Bigger & Better things for the items I have. With the InCENTives To Trade (ITT), I'm attempting to return the favor for the generosity of strangers. I'll be keeping 15% of the profits from the sale of each final item to go into my daughter's savings account and 20% of each to go to Winnipeg Harvest to help them out too. Other than that, all remaining 65% profits will be given to the people I trade with.
I've made a trade with PTAD...when do I collect my earned percentage of the InCENTives To Trade?
I will pay each trader their earned percentage of the ITT once the "final item" is sold for a cash value. This will happen after the 10th trade in their penny's path. Traders won't have to wait for all 3 pennies to "cross the finish line" (aka...finish the 10th trade in their path) to receive their earnings. For example, if Penny #2 is the first to reach the 10th trade and sells for cash shortly after, each of the traders that are involved in Penny #2's path will receive their earnings once I have the money in hand....even though the other 2 pennies are still racing.
What is a penny's path?
This is basically just an easy way to refer to the direction each penny has taken in their trading journey.
How do I make an offer if I see that there is something I would like to trade for?
This is quite simple...Out of the 3 items in the race (Penny #1, Penny #2, and Penny #3), if you see something that you would like to have, all you have to do is send me an email with your offer. My email address is:
penniestoadream@gmail.com
Offers should be "Bigger & Better" than the item that I have. The more your offer helps to increase the value in that penny's path, the better the chance it will be accepted and that you'll claim your spot as a trader in The Penny Race.
Now, this doesn't always mean that offers need to be more valuable, but value does end up being a fairly big factor in the offers that I choose to accept. The point is to get to the Biggest & Best items possible so that they sell for a high price, so your generosity is appreciated.
Is PTAD affiliated with Winnipeg Harvest?
I'm not affiliated with Winnipeg Harvest, but I completely believe in what they are doing, this is why they've been chosen as my charity of choice. People need to eat and even though a lot of us Winnipeggers are able to eat 3 meals a day, there is a large number of families that aren't as fortunate and are forced to suffer without food. I'm sure you've heard the saying that, "No child should have to go to bed hungry.".
Do I need to pay any money or recruit other people?
NO! You'll never have to pay me a dime. Like I've said before, the only thing that I ask is that offers for items be Bigger & Better. As for recruiting others...there's no recruiting for anything. If you've made an offer and I accept and trade with you, you're in the race. If you choose to let your friends and family know about it, that's your decision. But, the more people that know about the race, the better the chances of reaching the 10th trade goal for each penny a little quicker.
What information is collected?
I only ask for your information if a trade offer is accepted, so a swap can be made made. Any information given to me (ie. phone number/address/last name/email address) will be saved and kept confidential. Provided information will be used to contact you once the final item in the path that you're involved in has been sold for cash. If your contact information changes before that happens, please provide me with your new information, as this will ensure your ITT can be sent to you sooner.
Will more questions be posted here for me to learn about PTAD?
Please feel free to add any questions that you might have for me by commenting or emailing me and I will work at adding them to this FAQ page for others that might have the same inquiries.
