What Barter Items are you keeping on hand?

Curious what others are doing. I think it comes down to what situation you are put in. Lets say you can stay in your home and have power and water. What would you barter with? Coffie beans, TP, chocolate, Tobacco, gold, a service like fixing cars? Of corse I dont mean letting others in your home to see what you have nor letting anyone know where you live.

What service could I learn for barter?

Then lets go to if you have to leave, what could you take to barter with?

On foot?

By car?

Thanks for any suggestions.

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reply to post by saralee


I can barter not killing you as I am in the military and the most of you think I would shoot first and consult the bill of rights second which is not the case by the way. That is a useful commodity right?

No but for real small gold trinkets would work well I can provide many a skill gun smiting lock smiting distilling and the like.

reply to post by saralee


Well; I suppose it depends on what you are in need of, and what you are preparing to barter with. I for one, am happy with what I have got, so I doubt I will be trading anything in, any time soon.

I think anything of entertainment value is a plus.

TALENT is a surety. If you can make others have a reasonably good time considering the situation, you are going to be paid to do it suppose the currency is bottle caps!

Toilet Paper won't be quite as important as people say. There's lots of ways to clean mud off the shoe if you know what I mean! Eventually the supply would dry up regardless. It will be one of the first things improvised.

Technical items that are usable, services in energy conversion and retrofitting.
Millwrights, mechanics, carpenters etc will always store value in their learned skill.

I guess the best things to have are what people can't get or whatever can get them away from the situation at hand for a while. Thinks like booze tobacco cannabis. Anythings to let the"get away" for awhile. Because depression will be very high for a lot of people.
And my tattoo equipment is a must , I've always been able to barter things I want/need with tattoos so hopefully I still can in a sitx. Like I said "hopefully" I guess ill see soon enough

I don't know if I believe that any such bartering will be needed but I never give up my gold.

reply to post by SPC_D

I bought a used reloader but it needs parts. Do you know a good place to order ?

Salt, matches, .22 rounds, lard, and honey.

All cheap and plentiful right now . . .

Cigarettes. I have 6 cartons. Also 10 boxes of raman noodles, and batteries.

reply to post by saralee


I sure do I get all my stuff from here cabelas put a dot com at the end of it and check it out decent prices to!
oh and this place to just add a dot com midwayusa

[edit on 7-7-2009 by SPC_D]

reply to post by LeTan


I got tobacco and other such things to which I can’t talk about due to T&C and I have an indoor garden hydroponics the tomatoes are huge and I can most likely use them and the tobacco like product as well to barter with.

Originally posted by SPC_D
reply to post by saralee

 

I can barter not killing you as I am in the military and the most of you think I would shoot first and consult the bill of rights second which is not the case by the way. That is a useful commodity right?

No but for real small gold trinkets would work well I can provide many a skill gun smiting lock smiting distilling and the like.

That's the thing I don't get. Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Cops are some of the greatest Patriots. They are not mindless killing zombies that would turn on the country they love and give their lives for.

I have never met a uniformed service member that would turn their gun on their countrymen even if ordered.

Good post!

reply to post by SPC_D


Let me guess. Green tomatoes?

I think 'skills' will be effective bartering tools.

As a paramedic and software engineer I can see some of those skills coming in handy during the disaster and then during the rebuilding phase.

I think a HUGE bartering tool would be someone who can filter large amounts of water. Clean water is critical.

Antibiotics, medications, liquor, cigarettes, fresh vegetables would be good.

I think an important point is to not advertise your preparations. If your neighbors know you have a giant fresh water tank and generator they are not going to hesitate to take what you have after a disaster when people are in survival mode.

All those fancy iPhones, flat screens and tennis shoes the looters are going to grab aren't going to be worth jack when the SHTF.

Originally posted by saralee
reply to post by SPC_D

 

I bought a used reloader but it needs parts. Do you know a good place to order ?

Dillon or

Midway USA

reply to post by saralee


1) Ammo will be a big commodity since it is not replenishable. If industry is screeched to a halt, it'll be hard to make primers and gunpowder by yourself. So when all primers and gunpowder are used up, ammo will be a huge bartered item.

2) I also have a lot of wine bottles and intend to expand with whiskey and vodka. But alcohol is a low priority. During rough times, you'll see moonshines spring up every where.

3) We don't have that much jewelry. Never needed it. For use as bartering, the prices will be so inflated you'd be lucky to get much out of them. Eventually, people would care less about shiny metals

4) We do have a lot of spices stored. That is something people would love to trade with. With people foraging food locally, the only thing that will break the monotony of their daily food are spices. I suggest Indian spices. You use very little in cooking and they're very potent. You can make a jar last for years. BTW, salt and sugar falls into this category. They are essential to living, especially salt.

5) Paper is another item you might want to stock up on -- from cardboard to newspapers to notepads. You'd be surprised how much a community relies on paper.

6) Books, books and more books. If power is scarce, what good would that DVD player be? Books will be a big source of entertainment. Collect as much as you can. Collect novels, DIY, cookbooks, encyclopedias, dictionaries, etc.

7) Medicine & vitamins. No need to explain why and how valuable they would be.

At my house, we've been stocking up on ammo, spices, paper, books and vitamins. Any one of those can be used to barter. Also, it wouldn't hurt to get an extra air pump, generator, tire tubes, gasoline, and more.

Depending on which sit X we find ourselves in, various items and skills can either make you a commodity or a target.

Whiskey and cigarettes occupy a few shelves in my basement at this time. Items that people think they need will be valuable for longer period of time than items they actually need.

reply to post by guppy


That is a great point - salt.

Salt was so valuable that some cultures used it as currency.

Through out history, wars have been fought over food, salt, and watering holes. You've got to have them to live. When the SHTF for real, what is now ordinary, and mundane, will soon be a top of the line requirement.

Only a dumbass would bust open a window , and risk injury for a pair of Nike's, but very soon,no one will think twice about raiding the grocery store for those last items left on the shelf. People do crazy things for food. We have had countless demonstrations of this behavior in the past.

In America, we have soup kitchens, but no food riots yet. Just wait a little while. Soon we will have third world conditions, and food riots will be common. Don't think it's possible??? So did many other cultures throughout history.