A weight bench set for $125. A 1992 Nissan Stanza for $925. Two love birds and a cage for $75. These are a few of the random and sundry things put up for sale on 680 AM WRGC’s Tradio program.

The show — which aims to help listeners buy, sell, trade or give away their belongings — is a station hallmark, so much so that it warranted an article in the New York Times, lauding host Dennis “The Menance” Nelson for his voice “chain-smoker deep” with a “broadcasting cadence that tries to evoke folksy familiarity but somehow comes out sounding like God trying hard to just shoot the breeze.”

It’s a lofty description for a show that relies heavily on listeners looking for some free advertising and someone willing to trade a couple of power tools for an engine block. But it’s a show that works and helps bring the community together.

This past fall a Tradio listener tuned in on her way to lunch heard a call come in advertising a large dog lot in good condition for $100. Her daughter was looking for a dog lot to corral a young, over-zealous hound dog with a penchant for digging. She called her daughter who looked up the caller’s number on the Tradio Web site, which features the past four to five days worth of items for sale.

After a courteous phone call or two the woman’s daughter agreed to meet the fellow with the dog lot at his house to look it over. The directions sounded familiar, but it wasn’t until she pulled in the driveway that the two realized that in fact they already were friends.

Making such connections is what Nelson aims to achieve. He spent 30 years in radio — a career he began at age 16, working part-time after school — only to come out of retirement to take on a three-hour afternoon shift at WRGC.

So tune in from 12:45 to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday and you’ll hear Nelson’s signature phrase, “Hello, you’re on Tradio.”

The number to call is 586-9742 (WRGC).