Barter items for the Apocalypse...

[THE PILGRIM]

Jlrhiner- Wow!
That's a lot of stuff.
How did you use the truck inner tube?
A pound of yeast? That's a lot !
Are you a good baker?

 

[Cyrano]

Here in the desert the primary need is water. You have to have a lot of water: the recommendation is one gallon a day per person but perhaps for survival a little less would do. Without water you'll be soon dead and won't have any need for the rest of that stuff.

 

[Alpo]

Trading a gun and ammo isn't a real good plan. Buy a gun from Paladin, buy some ammo, load the gun, shoot Paladin, take anything he had.

I would not store anything as trade goods that I would not use myself. Store tobacco or booze and have no takers, and what do I do with it, since I don't drink or smoke.

But if you DID choose to store them, I have two thoughts.

If someone really really wanted a drink, he'd be willing to pay for cheap store-brand vodka. Don't need to stock 20-year-old single malts or Napoleon brandy.

Tobacco. Buying cans of Prince Albert or Bugler is going to be much cheaper, as pipe tobacco is not taxed as much as cigarettes.

 

[Whitwabit]

Bic Lighters a handful, compression fire starter and knowing how to use it
light weight rope and fishing line and some small bells .. a few tarps heavy and light weight ones .. line and bells can be a good perimeter alarm if set up right ..
solar panels and rechargeable batteries for electronics ..
Bacitracin instead of Neosporin its 10 X's better recommended by wife's cancer doctor for any kind of wound !!
Bar soap takes less room and can store more in same space .. can be used for washing cloths also .. antiseptic soap also useful .. septic pencil ..
oil lamps better the candles .. last much longer for same weight .. especially the lights that float on small amount of oil on water ..
water purifying straws for each person with extra ones for others ..
any prescription drugs you can get your hands on .. medicines last at least 2X's the expiration time .. if one year is stated good for 2 years but can have reduced effects toward the end of that period ..
salt and sugar is very important as can be coffee and tea plus all spices ..
tobacco less so .. and if barter .. it should be by the single cig rather then by the pack .. and never by the carton ..

but once you start bartering you open your self up to attack by others wanting what you have .. so would be much better to horde the things you have then barter ..

Many things you can learn for survival .. one I think that could be very important is to learn how to boil water in a plastic soda bottle over an open fire .. with out melting the bottle but purifying the water in it by boiling it .. could be a life saver !!

learn how to butcher an animal .. rabbit or squirrel .. learn what is edible and what is poisonous in the woods .. both plants and animals bugs/spiders/etc. ..

 

[PatriotX]

190 proof Everclear always goes with me camping, even though I don't drink.

It's a great camp fuel, disinfectant, solvent...and some do choose to consume the stuff.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

I don't get the tobacco. I don't use it, nobody in my family uses it.
I'm having trouble coming up with anybody that I know who uses it.
My Dad certainly used it and it killed him.
So I'm not going to 'stock up' on tobacco for trading.
I'll just hold items that my family and I can use.
Then maybe we'll barter some, maybe not.

 

[keith44spl]

I seriously doubt that trading whiskey for bacon & beans will be wide spread.

The have nots will attempt to prey on those that have.

If one is on any serious prescription meds.....it probably won't be much you'll be able to do along those lines.

I'd think that I would not offer any barter items....except maybe for meds.

If I were to lay back a quantity if anything....Garden seeds, salt(lots of salt), pepper, black & red, sugar, white & brown, flour, cornmeal, coffee,
tobacco seeds, both burley and dark, a root cellar full of canned goods and fishing line, hooks,
a supply of sear & roebuck catalogs, etc....

They even write songs along these lines, it's the town folks that will
be in the deep end of it all, if something were to happen.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cQNkIrg-Tk[/ame]



.

 

[Comrad]

 

[Old TexMex]

Before I consider bartering, I've got to first accept the possibility of a long term collapse. If long term societal collapse happens, I'm going to have my hands full with just having what I need to survive, and probably provide for a woman and child.

 

[jlrhiner]

Jlrhiner- Wow!
That's a lot of stuff.
How did you use the truck inner tube?
A pound of yeast? That's a lot !
Are you a good baker?

Remember now, that's not my list. The gentleman who authored it allows it to be copied and used. He decided one day to stop living the modern lifestyle and moved to Alaska on a homestead and run traplines. He started out with a 6 month list of supplies and over 19 or 20 years refined it to the list above.

 

[PALADIN85020]

Trading a gun and ammo isn't a real good plan. Buy a gun from Paladin, buy some ammo, load the gun, shoot Paladin, take anything he had.

You will note that I did NOT list guns as barter items! I may be a lot of things, but being stupid is not one of them. I may GIVE guns to close friends and relatives, but would never allow one to wind up in the hands of a stranger.

John

 

[Mule Packer]

How did you use the truck inner tube?

That one's pretty easy. Being an ol' snowshoer myself, I figure he'd be using the inner tube for repairs or replacements on snowshoe bindings. You can make a pretty nifty binding out of old inner tube. Foot slips in and stays snug without the hassle of buckles and ties. A heckuva lot easier than repairing or replacing a leather binding. Just a guess based on my experience.

 

[Grayfox]

The thing with a barter system is that there has to be at least some resemblance of civilization left. When you start trading goods, you expose the fact that you have enough extra to trade. You have to be able to trust those whom you trade with. Further, you have no control over who they might tell. You know how rumors and stories tend to grow. You trade one can of food or a few .22s and the next thing you know there's a story circulating that you're sitting on a huge stockpile. Then you become a target for both the unscrupulous and the desperate.

Unfortunately, there are many who believe that all they need to survive is a weapon.

 

[mtgianni]

I doubt addicts will last out the first month. Once someone goes a month without tobacco I sure can't see then starting for the small amount I would trade. Alcohol will be in large demand for anesthesia, cleansing and pain relief. If I were in charge of a small community the first thing I would do would be to confiscate all hard liquors and all recreational drugs for medicinal use only. Should cut crime down to nothing as well.
No one mentioned iron and steel. Shovels, axes, mauls, wedges, needles, thread, scissors, razors and strops, digging bars, pry bars, hammers, handles, as well as knives. Womens' Fou-Fou stuff would be marketable, anything to make them feel a little special.

 

[Whitwabit]

I have a 1968 model .. and found the larger model a couple of years ago .. have them on all of my key chains as does my wife ..

it a great little tool everyone should have !!

 

[Cigar]

Barter ~ Farter ... Yea right.. Just hit them in the head with a rock and take what they got..
I keep Food,water and ammo...

 

[Cigar]

The thing with a barter system is that there has to be at least some resemblance of civilization left. When you start trading goods, you expose the fact that you have enough extra to trade. You have to be able to trust those whom you trade with. Further, you have no control over who they might tell. You know how rumors and stories tend to grow. You trade one can of food or a few .22s and the next thing you know there's a story circulating that you're sitting on a huge stockpile. Then you become a target for both the unscrupulous and the desperate.

Unfortunately, there are many who believe that all they need to survive is a weapon.

Smart man right "tharr" boys....

 

[Ron M.]

You also have to consider two scenarios...staying in place or bugging out. If you are bugging out, you will experience limiting your goods to what you can transport. If staying in place, you have shelter and storage capability. We camp, so we know what we can take in two vehicles at one time. Maybe a couple months at best.

 

[susieqz]

com, whit, what is that tool?
do i need one?

 

[Muss Muggins]

com, whit, what is that tool?
do i need one?

That is a P-38 standard issue GI can opener, and everybody should have a dozen . . .

Edit: More properly known as OPENER, CAN, HAND, FOLDING, TYPE 1