A year ago, Kyle MacDonald, 26, set out on the road to home ownership with nothing more than a red paperclip and a willingness to trust in the internet. Tomorrow he’s due to pick up the keys to his two-storey house in Saskatchewan, Canada, after a series of 14 web-based trades.

Mr MacDonald began the process on July 12 last year, when he posted a notice on his website saying that he wanted to swap the paper clip for something a little more impressive.

"The idea was based on a child’s game called Bigger and Better," he said. "You start with something small and trade around the neighbourhood, knocking on doors. I think I may be the first to try it online.

"My girlfriend and I paid rent for an apartment in Montreal and I’d always wanted to own my own house and this is how I decided to go about it," he said.

Two women from Vancouver were the first to buy into his scheme, trading a wooden fish pen one of them had found while on a camping trip. This was snapped up by a sculptor in Seattle, who offered Mr MacDonald a hand-made ceramic doorknob in exchange, which in turn was traded for an outdoor camping stove.

Soon, a US marine sergeant in California offered him a 1,000-watt portable electric generator for the stove.

By this time, his quest had become a full-time obsession. "Something is only worth what you put into it," Mr MacDonald said. "It started as a hobby, but I realised I would have to put in more time if I was going to succeed."

However, the dream was nearly scuppered when MacDonald travelled to New York to make his next trade. There, the fire brigade confiscated the gas-powered generator from his motel room after guests complained of a suspicious odour.

Firefighters let him have the generator back in time to make a deal with a man from Queens, New York for a neon beer sign and a keg. He traded these for a snowmobile, then a ski vacation, a van, a recording contract, a rent-free Phoenix apartment for a year, an afternoon with rock star Alice Cooper, and a snow globe featuring the band KISS.

The snow globe deal immediately sparked an outcry. Followers posting comments on Mr MacDonald’s website said it was "crazy" and "the worst trade that I have ever heard of, bar none."

"I think a little piece of me just died inside," one fan wrote. "I’ve been following this for the past couple months. I was very impressed with everything you’ve done up to this point. ... Is this some kind of April fools joke in May?"

Luckily, the Hollywood director Corbin Bernsen turned out to be "one of the biggest snow globe collectors on the planet" and owns 6,500 of them according to Mr MacDonald. He traded the item for a role in next movie, Donna on Demand.

The final trade involved the town of Kipling in Saskatchewan, which decided that it wanted to auction the film role to promote the municipality. The mayor offered Mr MacDonald a renovated 1920s house on Main Street in return, and will hand over the keys tomorrow.

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