What would you barter with?

Discussion in 'Back to Basics' started by monkeyman, Sep 28, 2006.


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  1. monkeyman

    monkeyman Monkey+++ Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    Ok, it started to get a topic going in the thread of 'what did you put away this week' so I decided to see if could get into it more here.

    If SHTF then most of us here probably have at least the basics to get by but resupply will be needed eventualy and some things may be needed even from the start. So what do you plan to use to barter with? Goods or skills?

    I try to keep some extra tobacco on hand for barter if needed as well as planning to try to get some tobaco seed to replenish the commodity, figure I might be able to make some blades and such to trade with as well as bartering butchering skills and with a little work maybe even my (currently very) limited skills as a bow maker and tanning pelts/skins. If there is a need for construction of cabins useing older meathods then might also be able to use what skills I have learned on that.

    What are some of the things you have or are working on getting for barterable goods or skills?
     
  2. Blackjack

    Blackjack Monkey+++

    Extra Goods = Home canning supplies (mason jars,lids,paraffin).
    Lots of extra fishing gear (line,hooks,sinkers,bobbers).
    22LR rounds out the wazoo!
    I keep lots of aluminum foil, I figure it'll be worth something.
    I'm going to try and start stocking batteries. Big batteries, auto and deep cycle, buy'em and keep em dry without the acid solution yet.


    As far as skills, I have what will always be in demand post shtf.... the gear, ability, skills, and willingness to shoot the bad guys :)
     
  3. kckndrgn

    kckndrgn Monkey+++ Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    Well, I hope knowledge counts :)

    I have, in the past, exchanged my services to fix misc. items for something (almost never cash). I can work on small engines, electrical wireing (no, i'm not "certifed" but in a SHTF situation I don't think that will matter too much), I can do woodwork and much, much more.
    Many skills I learned from my dad growing up on a farm where (and when) it was cheaper to fix something rather than buy new and replace it.

    Ryan
     
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  4. melbo

    melbo Hunter Gatherer Administrator Founding Member

    Not much I'd part with in the beginning.
    I have water filters, food and cigarettes for trade later on.
     
  5. TailorMadeHell

    TailorMadeHell Lurking Shadow Creature

    Good idea, the foil that is. Gotta have the foil. [tinfoil101] Haha.

    Don't know what I would have though maybe some knowledge, thinking some kind of EMT or paramedic skill and anything extra that I have that I don't forsee me using. Canned food, filters, smokes or what have you. Will plan more in time. Gotta take care of important stuff first then trade goods.
     
  6. TnAndy

    TnAndy Senior Member Founding Member


    Where are you finding batteries without the acid in them already.....only thing I can find is the small ATV type that way ? Got an online source ??

    Thanks....
     
  7. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    Just about any battery store gets them dry, then wets a few for immediate needs and mechanics that call for them for customers. I do NOT know if you can find a guy that will sell them uncharged witout voiding any sort of warrantee.
     
  8. Northwoods

    Northwoods Monkey+++

    I'm with melbo..
    untill things shake out i'm not gonna do any bartering.
    after that i've all kinds of stuff.
    seeds
    tools
    nails(all different kinds)
    canning supplies
    matches(wooden matches,sealed in wax in small coffee cans)
    i'm not sure if i'll part with any ammo but i could.
    fishing stuff and ice fishing also.
    saws(two person tree cutting kind)
    axes.
    splitting mauls
    we have small "emergncy" packs filled with stuff people will need.( but these will be given away)
    TP...boy do we have TP...vac sealed.
    cloth diapers.
    rope(just cheap stuff)
    tabbaco.
    some booze(but this could come back to haunt a person)
    traps
     
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  9. Blackjack

    Blackjack Monkey+++

    Sorry, no dry battery source..... the key word in my post was "try" :)

    I don't think it would be too tough to find someone willing to deal.
     
  10. monkeyman

    monkeyman Monkey+++ Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    I figure that how much bartering I would do when would depend largely on what theother person wanted to barter at that time. If its early on or later and I have an abundance of canned food and someone wants to trade me firearms for a couple bags of canned goods then its likely to be a done deal any time and a lot of folks may be offering the best trades soon after while trying to adjust to situations they refused to prepair for. So at that point you could clean up even while heping out the other person in a lot of those trades that benifited you, kind of the deal that dimonds hold no value to a starveing man but food is priceless to him.

    Im not realy trying to sugest preying on folks needs but at the same time I dont see a problem with standard market rules of supply and demand holding true if you were the only one with foresight to lay in stocks of things someone wants.
     
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  11. phishi

    phishi Psy-Ops Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    I have more skills available for barter than goods. This is especially true if bugging out. Skills take up almost no room in a pack and are with you were ever you may be.

    What ever I have been able to stock is likely not to last very long. Therefore I am less likely to attempt a trade as a result.

    At some point I would like to reverse this trend.

    phishi
     
  12. yonder

    yonder No Despot's Servant

    I'll tell you this, the very first winter after major prolonged SHTF will see seasoned firewood as one of the most valuable goods around. A cord of dry seasoned wood is going to be worth a small fortune when families start getting cold.
     
  13. Blackjack

    Blackjack Monkey+++

    And for that matter, a person who buys and puts back a couple of extra wood burning stoves would have some pretty valuable stuff.
     
  14. monkeyman

    monkeyman Monkey+++ Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    Or even the metal drums and hinges and such to make them, not to mention stove pipe. Thats one thing I need to stock up on more is stove pipe since it has to be replaced every year or 2 and I dont have a lot on hand. Folks who dont have a stove set up and in place or dont use it would eat up what was available quickly and the rest would go after the first year. I would like to do like my dad did and use 1/4" walled steel pipe to make a chimney for the stove so that dont have to do anything but clean it now and then and it will last a life time and then some.
     
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  15. poacher

    poacher Monkey+++ Founding Member

    I have since 1999 bought matches when I could find the strike anywhere matches. Truth be told I have somewhere in the nature of 150 boxes of those kitchen sized boxes of matches. I figured that in any situation the person that has fire has the upper hand. Lets face it fire gives warmth, morale, vision, cooking,.. you get the idea there is little more that people want on a cold stormy night than a warm fire.
    I do keep some butane lighters onhand but at some point those get used up or loose the butane. Come to think of it the lighters might be a good thing to keep on hand for barter as well. But the matches are main item.
    I had thought about gold or silver but my personal belief is that for the first quarter or two after everything goes south money of any type is going to be taboo mainly because of two points. First, you can't eat , cook, or grow money. Secondly, I feel that it's going to be money or the financial market that will be the catalyst for the collapse of everything. With those thoughts I don't think anyone will want to trade for money for a fair amount of time.

    Well thats my barter item,Fire. I won't trade for ammo because I refuse to give someone the ability to load a weapon and then use it on me. Guns I think will be very prevalent but those that are being traded will be odd or exocitc cals. Your 338/06 etc. If you don't have the dies it won't do a bit of good.

    Take care Be safe Poacher.
     
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  16. Seawolf1090

    Seawolf1090 Retired Curmudgeonly IT Monkey Founding Member

    One thing that will be sought after will be those little "pleasures" that folks get addicted to and take for granted.
    I'm thinking of stocking my cache with those vacuum-sealed bricks of coffee. How long will they keep if well-stored?
    Also, I buy the 'Natural Sugar' that comes sealed in thick, stout plastic wide-mouthed bottles. That should keep well too.
    Canned condensed and dry milk for creamer. Or, that non-dairy creamer would probably store for a good while.

    Since I only drink a couple cups each morning, I coud stock up quickly. Those bags of coffee, after SHTF, could buy plenty other things. People got to have a cuppa! ;)

    The matches idea is great too! Also, a stock of disposable lighters - stored outside the house (just in case).

    Rolls of fabric, and sewing supplies. The clothes we have won't last forever. And for those who bugged out and took only a few pair of each - they'll need repair and replacement before long.
    I'm no 'seamstress', but any ex-sailor can sew well enough for basic repairs. I'd concentrate on good heavy-duty, hard-wearing fabrics.

    Blankets - Many stores often have bargain bins of cheap blankets. Stock away a bunch - for the friends and family that descend on you after The Day.
     
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  17. RightHand

    RightHand Been There, Done That RIP 4/15/21 Moderator Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    Seawolf, check out the sticky on Shelf Life an Food Storage information to answer shelf life question
    http://www.survivalmonkey.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4123

    Don't forget second hand stores for blankets. That's where I get all my old blankets for ground cover when working under the truck, for the dogs, and for general extra emergency supplied.
     
  18. monkeyman

    monkeyman Monkey+++ Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    A couple other thoughts on things I have or have knowledge to make. I also buy a Zippos from time to time and a lot of the cheaper knock offs that you can get for anywhere from $1-5 then buy the cards of flints by the handful and buy naptha by the gallon. The zippo fluid is nothing more than naptha in a small bottle with a different lable and where a 6 oz bottle of Zippo fluid costs around $4-6 you can get the gallon of naptha at the hardware store or marked as Coleman fuel for under $10 a lot of the time and rarely much over $12 and it will fill lighters for a couple of years. I figure could trade off some of the Zippos or knock offs and flints (includeing ones from dead disposable lighters) and refills on fluid.

    Soap can also be made and once it becomes scarce then in most areas being able to make lye soap would be valuable. It likely wouldnt be AS benificial for trade around here since there are a lot of Amish folks that just live about 10-15 miles from us who most if not all know how to make their own and could trade it as well.

    I also have about 5-6 blades from an industrial band saw from a saw mill. While not overly heavy its good steel and makes very servicable blades pretty quickly and easily. Theres probably enouph there to make at least 50-75 knives and probably around twice that.
     
  19. Tango3

    Tango3 Aimless wanderer

    Kearney (life after doomsday warns" Never barter firearms or amunition that could be used against you". sage advice in my book though i could see the .22lr could become a common medium of exchange.
    Personnally I like the primitive skill idea above ( brain tanned skins, simple forging tools and blades). right off, I am collecting simple wine making info and information on distilling (common alcohol s for fuel only) today even owning a still is unlawful, but knowledgde could come in handy some day.Wines and spirits are ancient ways to utilize and store fruit harvests .Pure distiled water could have some value, though distilling wont remove all chemical toxins. Books are useful and not consumed while using them untril you need to swap them.

    EDIT: I FORGOT!!!! CURRENTLY 100/GALWINE/PERSON ( 200/COUPLE) IS LEGAL but you cannot sell or BARTER IT!!!!!!!!!Thankyou, ATF for protecting my tax revenue...sorry THAT WAS IMPORTANT
     
  20. monkeyman

    monkeyman Monkey+++ Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    Actualy you can legaly own a still now for makeing ethenol. I think you do have to have it registered and keep records though and they send you poison you have to put in the alcohol you produce to be sure it will kill anyone who dares try to drink untaxed alcohol so it can only be used in you car and still cant be sold.
     
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