Trade Goods

Discussion in 'General Survival and Preparedness' started by QuietOne, Sep 26, 2008.


  1. QuietOne

    QuietOne Monkey++

    Reading the "so what did you put away this week" thread got me thinking. After you've prepped for yourself, family and friends what else could be useful? I thought about the kinds of things that many folks would want and would be willing to trade for. Things that are fairly cheap now, won't be available after the SHTF, last a long time and wouldn't take up too much space. My list for now is:
    cigarettes
    coffee
    chocolate
    toilet paper
    common caliber ammo
    Any other ideas?
     
  2. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    Batteries
    razor blades
    paper towels (better than old sears catalogs for many purposes)
    Propane bottles
    Lighters and matches (now that the majority of people don't smoke, and likely don't keep extras around.)
    Fire wood
    Ice (might not last without sawdust sheds like in wayback times)
    Salt
    Pepper

    Do not under estimate the value of condiments. If things go on a "long time" a bit of flavor will go a long way for good morale.
     
  3. Seacowboys

    Seacowboys Senior Member Founding Member

    Opium, Marijuana seeds, nails, chickens, crushed glass, carbon steel, refractory equipment, cement, lumber, surgical rubber tubing, condoms, ball-bearings, scissors, needles, thread, thimbles, pots and pans, water bottles, cloth, guitar strings, feathers, alcohol, plastic buckets, wheels, gears, pulleys, rope, the list is endless as long as you stop around 1970.
     
  4. fritz_monroe

    fritz_monroe Guest

    I never really thought about the matches and lighters.

    toilet paper
    1# propane bottles
    water purification tablets
    cord (shoe laces, para cord, rope)
    extra wool blankets

    I'll say it before anyone else, are you sure you want to trade ammo with a desperate person? They may just try to use it on you.
     
  5. RightHand

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

    Goop. Thinks will also need a quick fix
     
  6. WestPointMAG

    WestPointMAG Monkey++

    Some of the things that would be good trading stock to have on hand when the SHTF may be.

    Any thing you know how to make that would be useful like black powder, drugs and weapons.
    Books on herb uses.
    Books on how to survive.
    Booze
    Canning jars and lids
    Cigarettes
    Chickens, Rooster and eggs
    Condoms.
    disposable diapers
    Female hygiene products
    Harmonicas and other small easy to carry musical things.
    Cheep knives
    Pet supplies, wormers, flea killer, and food.
    Porn
    Pure lead
    Seed for growing food Grain seeds. Wheat, barley, oats, rye, sunflower and corn. Herb seeds Culinary and medicinal.
    Services making candles, milling grain, sawing lumber, repairing tires, pilot, Ect.
    Tools for growing food and making shelters.
    Your knowledge
    Wrist rockets. Very cheap now. Very handy later.

    The big thing with trading stock is to have things on hand that you can live without and other can not.

    So lets look at the list so far and talk about what would and would not make the best trading stock.

    Brewing yeast and beer/wine making supplies- If you traded off your Brewing yeast and then others will be able to make there own beer and wine. You would be better off to make the beer and wine and trade it.

    Pet supplies, wormers, flea killer, and food.- Dogs and cats are live stock AKA FOOD.

    Bread yeast- see brewing yeast. It would be best to make the bread and trade it.

    Honey- only if you can replace what you trade off. In other words you have bee hives.

    Ammo- If trade ammo to others the you could run the risk some day it will be used to take what you have away from you. Trade to get ammo.

    Antibiotics. Antibacterial ointment. First aid supplies.- This is something that you may not be able to replace. Only trade it off if the person has something that you need and can not get an other way.

    Condoms-

    Herb seeds- Do not trade off the seeds trade off dried herbs that you have grown with the seed then you control the supply.

    Grain seeds- Do not trade off the seeds. Make bread and other foods from it and trade it off.

    Wrist rockets- How about making sling shots and using them for trade stock.

    Salt- only if you can replace it or trade it only for things you can not get any other way.

    Chickens & egg.- Trade off the eggs not the chickens. As the numbers of roster that you have starts to increase then you can trade the extras for things that you can not get any other way. But ONLY trade off the rosters that way you control the source of eggs.

    Candles. Oil for lanterns. Wick. Wax- Only if you can replace what you are trading off.

    Water purification tablets- See Candles

    Bleach. Laundry soap.- See Candles

    Shampoo.- See Candles

    Cigarettes, Booze, drugs & porn- Are all addictive and you can use that addiction to your advantage. This is something none of us need and we cane live without but there are some that would pass up food for a smoke.

    Female hygiene products- there are substitutes for this product that other may not know about. Use there ignorance against them to get a higher price. You could also make reusable products them and trade them off in our disposable society a lot of people will not understand the concept of reusable at least not a first. Here are some links for you all to look at http://www.naturallynhkids.com , http://urban-armor.org/urban-armor/products/index.html and http://lunapads.com/

    disposable diapers- You do not need disposable diapers for a baby for that matter you do need diapers at all. And here are some links to back up what I am saying, http://www.natural-wisdom.com/http://www.timl.com/ipt/ , http://www.white-boucke.com/books.html and http://groups.yahoo.com/group/eliminationcommunication/ Also see-Female hygiene products.

    Cheep knives- I have been buying cheep snap off to sharpen knives for .33c each and putting them back. I do not see them as a weapon that can be used against me to get what I have.

    Tools for growing food and making shelters- If you do not have a forge get or make one then you can make tools.

    Seed for growing food- only trade off seeds for things that you can not get any other way. and never trade off grain seeds. You would be better off to trade off the food you grow then you would the seeds to grow it.

    Pure lead- Pure lead dose not make very good bullets unless they are for muzzleloaders. Also see- Cheep knives

    Your knowledge and Books on how to survive- If you can make paper you can write your own books to trade off. You could also teach classes for a price.

    Any thing you know how to make that would be useful like black powder, weapons and tools- This is why you need a forge.
     
  7. QuietOne

    QuietOne Monkey++

    Some of you folks are thinking really long term, like decades. I was thinking about a few months after the SHTF. The supply chain is down but most people are still using up the consumer goods they've had access to all their lives. Food, of course, that's a standard prep but you can only store so much. What other easy to obtain now, low volume goods would be very much in demand then? And any ideas on how much of what to put away?
     
  8. WestPointMAG

    WestPointMAG Monkey++

    I do not think of it as long term I think of it as forever.

    Prepare for the worst and thank God every day that it has not happened yet and he has seen fit to give you one more day to prepare. As to your question of “how much of what to put away?” Every thing you can and as much as you can, the day will come when there will be no more of anything made unless you or someone else makes it by hand.
     
  9. Tango3

    Tango3 Aimless wanderer

    considered some battery charging solar panels and offering 12v battery charging?(or swap charged ones for uncharged and boot) skimmed That' some where in "patriots"by rawles.Been starting tocollect nimh rechargeable AA' s too. Kerosene lamp wicks,and coleman lantern mantles,wally worlds got cheap chinese aa/led lanterns for$5.00. Sam's has condiment packs like ketchup/mayonaise...Bicycle tires and inner tubes
     
  10. Gnarly

    Gnarly Authority Questioner

    Aspirin,from headaches to heart attacks.
    Whetstones.
    Pencils.
    Reading glasses.
    Strike-Anywhere matches.
    Benadryl/Diphenhydramine- allergic reactions/bee sting/snakebite.
    Vaseline.
    Toothbrushes & Baking Soda.
    Small mirrors.
    Calamine lotion.
    Tweezers.
    Eye drops/Normal Saline.
    Sail needles-can be used for emergency suturing.
    Dental floss-can be used for suturing.
    Scalpels & replacement blades.


    <ALSO used.Ever. I?ve caper skinner best blades.The scalpel uses Knives,which Piranta Havalon Google:>[cow]

    Magnifying glasses.
    Gentian Violet.
    Rubbing alcohol.
    Gasoline stabilizer.
    Two-stroke oil.
    Canning lids.
    Silver solder.
    Files.

    Have really enjoyed this thread!
    ----Gnarly [troll]
     
  11. NWPilgrim

    NWPilgrim Monkey++

    The best trade goods would have certain characteristics:
    - Very useful in hard times, but relatively cheap to stock now
    - Not bulky
    - Shelf life of several years
    - Consummable

    I like the idea of the cheap box cutters and batteries. I would only trade .22LR ammo unless with a trusted friend or family.

    WestPoint brought up the idea of trading services instead of hard goods. For instance, offer knife sharpening service instead of trading away a whetstone. Or offer to shoot pests in trade instead of trading away ammo. Same with medical supplies. Be a neighborhood medic instead of trading away limited supplies.

    More ideas?
     
  12. monkeyman

    monkeyman Monkey+++ Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    I figure kegs of nails would be a good one. Depending on the catalist its likely that homes may be damaged or need rebuilt or modified. I know its told that Boone used to burn down his cabins to ash when he would move to a new area so he could salvage the nails because they were that hard to come by and that escential. They are pretty cheap now and most folks dont have enouph on hand for even a fairly small project but if there was lots of damaged homes and no contractors around nails would be worth their weight in gold or at least silver.

    Cheap $1 knives
    spices
    cloth diapers (can also be used as TP and feminen napkins)
    diaper saftey pins
    plastic pants
    needles
    thread
    and most other stuff mentioned

    Like others have said though the very BEST thing to trade is services. Learn to make clothes or shoes, be set up to cut large quantities of wood or sharpen tools/knives, learn to brew booze (fruit and water is pretty well the minimum, sugar and yeast help), learn to butcher and/or preserve meat. Basicly the less materials you use up the longer it can sustain you as a needed asset for your skill and unless or untill the others learn to do it and choose to do it for themselves they have to keep comeing back every time they need it done.
     
  13. RightHand

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

    Adding to what monkeyman said about services, the ability to sew without a pattern is an essential learned skill. I've been doing it for 20 years and it's not hard but you wouldn't believe the number of people I see buying patterns for tablecloths. Today I'm making a coat for one of my granddaughters. When I'm in a quandry about matching a particularly tricky area, I make a pattern from a brown paper bag.

    A good way to get started is to buy some cheam muslin and try something out. You could also buy some cheap cheap cheap drapery panels at a Salvation Army store and use that material for learning.
     
  14. sheen_estevez

    sheen_estevez Monkey+++

    Hmm wonder if that could be used to get you out of trouble for having them? "You see Your Honor, I'm stocking up for the total melt down of life as we know it, these are just for bartering when there is no law so I can feed my family.."
     
  15. monkeyman

    monkeyman Monkey+++ Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    Not SURE but the pot seeds MAY not be a problem. I know that they have hemp seeds in a lot of bird foods and while most are steril some of them will grow if they hit the ground.
     
  16. dragonfly

    dragonfly Monkey+++

    I can see having some cocaine....
    ( Now the explanation!)
    Not that I'd know how, but there is a way to use that drug to make other badly NEEDED drugs, such as: Lidocaine, Xylocaine, Novacaine, Benzocaine...
    Something that would be of GREAT VALUE, in a scenario where surgery or dental repair is required!
    Sure beats the heck out of: a slug of booze, or the old rubber mallet trick!
    (anyone know a pharmaceutical chemist?)
    Bill
     
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