Tweet
Teenage wheeler-dealer transmogrifies cell phone into Porsche
by Steven Mostyn - Jul 22 2010, 09:44
While the recession has not yet relinquished its grip on consumer spending, a bartering teenager from California has managed to turn an old mobile phone into a Porsche while showing quite definitively that money doesn’t necessarily make the world go around.
It may have taken 17-year-old Steven Ortiz around two years to complete a total of 14 online trades via online classifieds service Craigslist, but his newly acquired 2000 Porsche Boxster S would certainly suggest it was time well spent as opposed to money.
According to a Pasadena Star-News report, the first of young Ortiz’s swaps resulted in him successfully passing off a cell phone for a dirt bike, at which point he decided to test how far the trading chain would take him.
Quickly gathering momentum, Ortiz was soon trading for a MacBook Pro notebook computer, a 1987 Toyota 4Runner, and eventually a highly collectible 1975 Ford Bronco – which was ultimately the acquisition that secured his German sports car.
Although Ortiz insists that anyone can replicate his successful streak of swapping as long as they do plenty of research, he recommends exercising extreme patience by resisting the temptation to pay any extra cash against a traded item.
In commenting on his son’s online trading skill, Ortiz’s father said it was likely connected to the struggling economy and that many people are more willing to trade goods in order to get something they need but cannot afford to purchase directly.
Despite looking suitably dapper in his Porsche Boxster S, it would appear Ortiz won’t be driving the sassy convertible for too long due to the financial pressures associated with owning a performance car.
Facing regular tune-up costs in the vicinity of $1,200 USD, the Craigslist swap specialist has said he hopes to trade the Porsche against a slightly more manageable luxury Cadillac Escalade SUV.
by Steven Mostyn - Jul 22 2010, 09:44
While the recession has not yet relinquished its grip on consumer spending, a bartering teenager from California has managed to turn an old mobile phone into a Porsche while showing quite definitively that money doesn’t necessarily make the world go around.
It may have taken 17-year-old Steven Ortiz around two years to complete a total of 14 online trades via online classifieds service Craigslist, but his newly acquired 2000 Porsche Boxster S would certainly suggest it was time well spent as opposed to money.
According to a Pasadena Star-News report, the first of young Ortiz’s swaps resulted in him successfully passing off a cell phone for a dirt bike, at which point he decided to test how far the trading chain would take him.
Quickly gathering momentum, Ortiz was soon trading for a MacBook Pro notebook computer, a 1987 Toyota 4Runner, and eventually a highly collectible 1975 Ford Bronco – which was ultimately the acquisition that secured his German sports car.
Although Ortiz insists that anyone can replicate his successful streak of swapping as long as they do plenty of research, he recommends exercising extreme patience by resisting the temptation to pay any extra cash against a traded item.
In commenting on his son’s online trading skill, Ortiz’s father said it was likely connected to the struggling economy and that many people are more willing to trade goods in order to get something they need but cannot afford to purchase directly.
Despite looking suitably dapper in his Porsche Boxster S, it would appear Ortiz won’t be driving the sassy convertible for too long due to the financial pressures associated with owning a performance car.
Facing regular tune-up costs in the vicinity of $1,200 USD, the Craigslist swap specialist has said he hopes to trade the Porsche against a slightly more manageable luxury Cadillac Escalade SUV.
Comment