Lets Make a List of Barter Items

[manny]

Hi,Ulli you made me smile,more and more people are showing their true selfs.

[Marianne]

Thank you Ulli! I posted my first thread.

[enrique]

fishing tackle( hooks, line,etc)
books
flints


offers to carry mail to the next town over...

lets hope we never need any of this... but great thread.

thanks

[7 of 9]

I think that there are skills that can be bartered as well, such as bread-making, gardening, and sewing(tailoring).

[nottelling]

Posted by 7 of 9 (here)
I think that there are skills that can be bartered as well, such as bread-making, gardening, and sewing(tailoring).

10 out of 10, 7 of 9! I've been waiting for about 10 years to have an opportunity to say that - star trek voyager - ahem... never mind...

And speaking of skills, I'd like to add one big one to 7's post.

Someone in an earlier post mentioned the elderly. Well, I can't think of anyone better to look after children and teach them - not sure how the elderly would feel about being babysitters lol but logistically it makes sense for the parents to be out and about being trained, working and networking. Would also help build community - unlike today where some children see their elderly parents as a pain in the backside or a drain on resources (yeah, I know right) the elderly would become elders in the truest sense of the word and would be valued by the whole community for passing on their hard-earned wisdom and experience to the youngsters. Just a thought.

[meeradas]

Posted by nottelling (here)
Someone in an earlier post mentioned the elderly. Well, I can't think of anyone better to look after children and teach them - not sure how the elderly would feel about being babysitters lol but logistically it makes sense for the parents to be out and about being trained, working and networking. Would also help build community - unlike today where some children see their elderly parents as a pain in the backside or a drain on resources (yeah, I know right) the elderly would become elders in the truest sense of the word and would be valued by the whole community for passing on their hard-earned wisdom and experience to the youngsters. Just a thought.

I have the feeling this will be a key feature [again], in the coming world.

[Anchor]

Posted by Arrowwind (here)
duct tape <----------------------------------

Essential stuff! After all most of the universe is held together by Duct tape in its root reduced quantum form.

Also some Tarps.

[Nasu]

Posted by Lazlo (here)
Silver
Ammunition (especially .22 and 12 gauge)
Hand tools
Backpacking style water filter or Iodine
Books
Mechanical, Electrical, and Carpentry skills
Salt

Skills, skills, skills.... DIY Books, seeds, medicine and ammo. .22 is good and plentiful now, but is not re-loadable, so a poor choice over time, in my opinion. My choices would be, in any order; 12 gauge, 7.62, 223. 30/6, 308 and for handguns 9mm, 38 special, 380 acp, 45 cal. I think these are the most used calibers in the US, more likely to find and resupply. In the UK I would consider stockpiling 12 gauge, 223 and 9mm, farmers, soldiers and police.

I think overall, the most portable and trade-able items will be ammo and medicine. Any caliber and any cure will be real commodities.... N

[Ivanhoe]

Knives
Canning Bottles
Corks
Steel and flints
Alcohol (Isopropal and grain/fruit based lol)
needles
Hammer and chisels
axes
HOW TO BOOKS
Iodine
Still (for water purification and alcohol)
charcoal (again, for water purification)
sling and/or bow and arrows or slingshot
fishing gear and casting net
bleach

[Arrowwind]

Canning bottles are great but since I have quite a few around I am realizing that they break.. have lots of canning bottles and spare lids.
there is a site that sells reusable canning lids and seals. I have a bunch. Generally mason lids are only good for one canning then they dont seal anymore.

I am also realizing that people will be short on all kinds of things to store things in... you know, plain old storage containers... And if electicity is still around a freezer will be highly coveted an well as containers to freeze things in as well as freezer wrap or freezer paper,, even if no electricity what food gathering is done in the fall may be frozen outside.

You may make a trade for some cheese or some flour or some berries, but you can be sure that the person trading will not want to give up the container... better have some of your own,,, quite a few actually.

[Arrowwind]

Posted by Nasu (here)

Posted by Lazlo (here)
Silver
Ammunition (especially .22 and 12 gauge)
Hand tools
Backpacking style water filter or Iodine
Books
Mechanical, Electrical, and Carpentry skills
Salt

Skills, skills, skills.... DIY Books, seeds, medicine and ammo. .22 is good and plentiful now, but is not re-loadable, so a poor choice over time, in my opinion. My choices would be, in any order; 12 gauge, 7.62, 223. 30/6, 308 and for handguns 9mm, 38 special, 380 acp, 45 cal. I think these are the most used calibers in the US, more likely to find and resupply. In the UK I would consider stockpiling 12 gauge, 223 and 9mm, farmers, soldiers and police.

I think overall, the most portable and trade-able items will be ammo and medicine. Any caliber and any cure will be real commodities.... N

We have 9mm, a 22 and i have literally stored 2,000 rounds, a rifle, don't know what type and enough ammo for 30 years, especially since you rarely fire it except when you plan to kill.. suitable for deer and elk. We also have a pellet gun for small game and pellets can often be reused. lots of fishing stuff and gear for ice fishing which can be abundant around here and if you have no freezer there is always the great out of doors. Neighbors have a smoke house.

[Simonm]

Posted by Ammit (here)
Bleach. People will need safe water........

Why bleach. plain boiling of the water is more than sufficient!

[Anchor]

Boiling water is a good plan if you have a lot of energy to spare.

A lot of this is going to depend on how much forethought and planning has gone on.

Initially you will need to to a lot of things in a short amount of time - so expediency may count first, then things adapt over time.

[Taurean]

Well I'm gonna need a corkscrew !

[rmauersr]

From the Survival Blog, consider these items for barter:

"The List." I have scratched my head for years to come up with this. No one has a monopoly on good ideas, though--Feel free to add to the list and disregard whatever you do not agree with--

1. Alcohol. Let's get the sin out of the way first. As a regular "Gentleman Jack" aficionado, I have a case (plus) in stock for personal use. Yeah, I know. They say a man's taste in whiskey, cigars, and women gets more expensive as a function of age. Big bottles take up too much space and they will be too expensive for regular commerce, so I think a case or two of miniatures (like you see on the airlines) makes more sense. If we can get these into circulation, I think some will use them as money. Pick your poison. My local liquor store was willing to sell me a case of regular Jack Daniels minis for $138 and a case of Absolut brand vodka (I think the ladies would probably prefer that over the Jack) for a few dollars less.

2. Coffee. Yeah, I know. The sooner I stop drinking coffee, the better (even if there are multiple, medically peer-reviewed studies illustrating clearly that drinking coffee in moderation is actually good for you. Whatever). I'll stop drinking coffee when I can't get any more, so my basic stock is a case of beans. Coffee has to be one of mankind's ultimate comfort foods and will be in high demand WTSHTF, whether it is addictive or not. You might want to put away a case or two of instant in small jars for sale/barter/trade, but I think some single service packages (the little pouches that will make one cup) make more sense. I've seen these in the warehouse stores--200 Maxwell House instant one-cup pouches per case for about $30. Get a couple of cases, at least. Sales price--three pouches/cups for a silver dime.

3. Tobacco products. I thought about leaving this off the list (because of the stigma and the general nastiness) but reconsidered after I recalled something from graduate school. This came from an MBA econ course: Do you know what the hottest, most in demand trading item in WWII prisoner of war camps was? It was cigarettes. Not chocolate, not canned food, not coffee. True, times have changed, but there are still plenty of smokers who will want their nicotine fix as long as they can get it. And, they will pay for their smokes. In the big cities, cigarettes are already being sold one or two at a time--This is the model I see post-TEOTWAWKI. A carton or two will be enough for you to stock. Sell two or three cigarettes for a silver dime. (You can store them in plastic bags in the freezer to keep them fresh if you want, but my sense of this is that stale or fresh won't make much difference to dedicated smokers.)

4. Ammunition. There is so much content concerning ammunition already on SurvivalBlog, anything I might add would be redundant or under-whelming, with one exception. We are loaded up with squirrels in my neighborhood--We jokingly refer to it as "Southeastern U.S. Squirrel Headquarters." (Hickory, oak, pecan, pine, and an invasive species the locals call "popcorn" trees--you should see those little suckers shuck the pinecones and the mess that makes when they go for the seed kernels--support a huge population). I have killed several hundred with my trusty single-shot air rifle--Good for making me feel better after I see them stripping the baby grapefruit off the tree--but not dependable enough for the stew pot. They replenish themselves faster than I can pop them. When I was a kid, I had a bolt action Mossberg .22 I could load up nearly a full box of .22 [CB] "caps" or about half a box of "shorts." I wish I still had that little rifle. Caps and shorts would be great for squirrel hunting in the neighborhood--safer than "longs" or LRs, a lot less noise, and less expensive, too. Why not put away a couple of bricks of those for trade/squirrel hunting (and the rats that will be eating everyone's garbage)?

5. Lantern mantles. I learned about this one the hard way from backpacking and canoeing trips--You cannot ever have enough of these (if you have propane lanterns) because they are so fragile after you "burn them in" they are always disintegrating when you move the lantern around. And, there's nothing so frustrating as a lantern, plenty of gas, and no mantle to make it work. I've probably used a hundred or more over the years and can detect absolutely no difference between the no-name cheapies and expensivo Colemans--They all work the same and they all break the same. Wal-Mart has cheapies for $.44/each. Get 50 or so, sell for a silver dime each in your store. (At the current rate of about 24:1, that's a good one for you). You might also want to stock a couple of dozen lamp wicks.

6. Miniature bottles (1/8 oz.) of Tabasco sauce. We are very likely going to be eating a little differently when TSHTF; Tabasco will make about anything that isn't sweet taste better (or at least cover up/camouflage the taste of raccoon or possum or whatever was in the trap). You could buy a case or two of the little bottles sold at the grocery store, but miniatures are a better choice. Here's a great example of how a little research can make a huge difference in the price of your inventory. Google "Tabasco miniatures" and you'll get over 100,000 hits, ranging from $1/bottle to case prices. I found my best price for the 200 piece case at www.foodservicedirect.com (no personal financial interest in this; I've bought from them several times--Good service; extremely competitive prices). You might also want to stock a case each of mustard, ketchup, and soy sauce individual packets--All available at the warehouse stores; cheap. Sell two/three for a silver dime.

7. Toothpaste and dental floss. The little "travel" tubes are perfect for sale/barter, but they're too expensive to buy that way. I asked my dentist buddy to get me a case of each.

8. Beano. I love beans--every way you can think of, but especially homemade soup (navy beans cooked with ham left on the ham bone)--but starting with the second day, I am deep into intestinal distress and paying the price. Big time. So, I generally stay away from beans--I even get double rice instead of the refried beans when we eat Mexican. When TSHTF, we (you, me, and everyone collectively) will be eating a lot more beans than usual; my guess is that there are plenty of folks who will suffer with the beans for a while, until their "systems" reset. Get at least a dozen bottles (and you might even split them up into smaller quantities).

9. Antacid tablets. My aging stomach needs a couple of antacid tabs before bed, or I risk a bout of acid reflux. On the bean/rice/squirrel/raccoon (etc.) diet, I'll be going through a lot of antacids and I'll bet your neighbors will, too. Load up on these--I suggest at least a dozen jumbo bottles of 200 or so per bottle. These are cheap; no need to go for the expensive Tums--the store brand is fine and costs much less. Repackage your tablets into 25 per baggie for a silver dime (three for a quarter). Yeah, you could go with a stock of Prilosec (now OTC), but these are a lot more expensive than store brand antacids.

10. Salt and pepper. Pepper we can live without (okay-we'll suffer, but we'll make it. Without salt--We die). Interesting observation here--Even those folks who think they live just fine without salting their food are getting plenty of it from processed foods. The cravings will get intense when we're all eating unsalted beans and rice. Recommendation here is to buy a case of the s&p picnic sets at the warehouse club store and a case of bulk packed (food service) salt. Tell your "customers" to bring their empties back for refill or just bring the household salt shakers.

11. Chapsticks. It's cold outside in the winter and everyone will be outside more. There is nothing more miserable than needing a chapstick and not having one. These sell for $10/dozen at Sam's Club. I think they would be worth a silver dime each post-TEOTWAWKI. Stick to the brand name on this one--I've tried substitutes, which have all managed to disappoint.

12. Rechargeable batteries. This is a good one. I remember this suggestion from Dr. Gary North's web site as we were prepping for Y2K (seems like yesterday): Buy enough rechargeable batteries for as many neighbors as you can afford (say four AAs and four AAAs each) AND a solar-powered charger for you. Here's the deal: Give away a basic set--charged up--to whoever wants one. You'll trade a freshly-charged set for a depleted set. That will keep your customers coming back and thinking about your "store."

13. "Free lunch." This is another good one. Consider this your "loss leader" and a promotional strategy to attract customers. As you get your "store" started (the first week, maybe), offer customers a "free lunch"--a tasty bowl of chili beans or spicy noodles and a drink of "bug juice" (that's the red Kool-Aid)--for the first 25 customers or so as a promo strategy. After a few days, you can transition to a paid lunch--a dime or quarter in silver (recycling some of that silver change you put into circulation by buying from other merchants and from your customers).

14. The "bug juice" is another good idea. The water we filter/boil/purify may not taste so good and a sweet drink will be big, especially with the kids. I just priced these at the grocery store--packages (unsweetened) of cherry Kool-Aid are $.27/ea. and make two quarts. I bought 100 packages (compact; takes up very little space for the value). Your post-TEOTWAWKI sales price might be a silver dime for three or ten for a quarter.

15. Butane lighters. These are so cheap at the wholesale clubs and so profitable to sell (probably in high demand, too)--$7.95/100--get a couple bricks of a hundred/brick. Sell individual lighters for a dime each or three for a quarter. These are in the cigarette "cage" at Sam's Club. The clerk told me they are one of the favorite purchases of "C-store" owners, because they sell for $1 each at retail (we wish we could get that markup on everything, no?).

16. Books. After all these years, I remember a great line from a book--I think it was from Pat Frank's novel Alas, Babylon--"Any book same as cash." This will be a guaranteed money-maker and/or barter item; people will be desperate for
reading material and will come to your store again and again if you keep plenty of books in stock. Trade two-for-one. Sell paperbacks for a silver dime, hardbacks for a quarter. The absolute best way to build your stock now (other than saving your already read books) is by hitting garage sales. Get your best deal by offering to buy all the books at a site--You'll get the best price that way. This strategy will probably work for DVDs, too (if your "customers" were smart enough to figure out how to keep their laptops charged up).

17. Pool shock. This might very well be your major contribution to saving the human race. As you might be aware, more people have been killed by waterborne disease than all the wars of history. In a grid-down situation, we do not lose just water purification, we also lose sewage treatment (and your neighbors will be polluting everything). This combination will be deadly. You have many options for purifying water, but a "belt and suspenders" approach will be the best bet to stay healthy--Use multiple strategies to protect yourself. "Pool shock" is calcium hypochlorite, a dry powder, sold in one pound packages for swimming pool sanitation. This chemical is remarkably effective at sanitizing water. "Recipes" I have seen online state that a grain or two will sanitize a gallon and that a pound package will treat 65,000 gallons (I'm not sure about that part--My pool is about 12,000 gallons and I use one package of shock/week. Use a fifth of a bag, then drink from the pool? Maybe not). In any event, you can buy this stuff at about any Big Box or pool store or online. I think I would give it away rather than sell it--A one pound bag is about $5. My last case (24 bags) was about $50 at Sam's Club. A case would be a great investment to help out the neighborhood. If you wanted to, you could easily repackage smaller quantities for sale in baggies for a dime a bag. (If you want to do something cool now, type out some simple instructions now on how to use the shock to sanitize water--you could easily fit a dozen of these on one piece of paper--then, print out 25 copies. Store your instructions with your shock "stock." When the time comes and you are ready to repackage shock into baggies, cut up the pages and put one set of instructions in each baggie).

18. Hand sanitizer. Another potential life-saver. With certain clean water shortages, hand sanitation will be a big issue and an important way to prevent the spread of disease and infections. This is a two-step sale: Purchase a bulk package of small hand sanitizer bottles at one of the warehouse clubs. Sam's has these--25 2 oz. bottles for $19.95. Your cost is $.40/oz this way. Sell those for a silver dime each (or maybe three for a quarter). Also buy several large bottles--two liter dispensing bottles of their private-label version (same stuff--thickened ethyl alcohol--as the branded product)--for $7.95. Your cost works out to $.118/oz. Use the big squirt bottles to refill your customers' little ones at two or three for a silver dime. This will be a great deal for everyone. (As I learned on the SurvivalBlog web site, this stuff burns like sterno. Even though I have plenty of other fuels to heat/cook/boil water, you couldn't go wrong by putting away a dozen of the two-liter bottles).

19. Mice/rat traps and poison. This one should be obvious--When the garbage piles up, the rodents will respond to the "stimulus," too. We fight a constant standoff with the critters in my neighborhood (can't seem to get to those that live in the woods--unlimited and undisturbed population)--and that's without the bags of garbage stacking up. We use a lot of the glue trays, but traps will last; the trays are single-use. Sales price--a dime for a mousetrap, a quarter for a rattrap. Poison is problematic--It will kill the rodents, for sure, but pets/kids, too, if they should get into it. I would leave poison to the professionals, to be safe.

20. Sunscreen. Again, everyone will be spending a lot more time outside. Around here, even leathery beach people need sunscreen. This is a great dollar store purchase. Several of our local dollar stores have SPF 15 and 30 in six and eight oz. bottles for a buck. Get a couple dozen bottles; sell for a silver dime each.

21. Bike tire repair kits. As soon as the gasoline supply chain fails, all sorts of old bikes will be dragged out of garages and basements. Many (most?) of these will have flat tires and few folks will have tube repair kits--but you will. Again, check the Big Box stores for kits--a couple of bucks each. You might want to get a dozen; sell for a silver half. Bring your tire pump to your micro-store and offer "complimentary" air.

22. Insect repellant. Living in near-jungle as I do, this one has special significance. I go through a number of Off spray cans every year working in the yard. With all the extra time we will be spending outside hauling water, gathering firewood, manning our Micro Store, and so forth, the bugs will be eating better than anyone. Check your local dollar store for deals on repellant. Price accordingly.

23. LED headlights (for your head, not your car). If you are any sort of camper and haven't yet discovered these, let me state for the record they are as cool as sliced bread. What an amazing supplement to the flashlight! Not only will they light the way around a dark, grid-down house, they also make great book lights. No flame, making them safe for everyone to use, anywhere. Here's the most interesting part-- most non-campers and non-preppers don't have any, for the most part. This makes them a great sale/barter item. I've seen discussions of different brands in this space, which mostly miss the point. They are now so cheap (check the dollar stores and buy a couple of dozen), you can throw them away when they break. I've got an expensive one and a bunch of Chicom cheapies; all work fine. The LEDs last forever (nothing is forever, but I've yet to lose even one to failure); the on-off switch looks like the first thing to break. I would stay away from the ones with "button" batteries and go for the ones that take AAs or AAAs. Depending on your cost, they would sell for about a silver quarter each or a quarter and a dime.

24. Sta-Bil or Pri-G. Consider this liquid plutonium. Get at least a dozen of the small bottles (treats five gallons of gasoline); sell for a [silver] quarter a bottle.

25. Hard candy. Another great promotion item--Get a couple of bulk jars at one of the warehouse clubs and give away candy to the kids (or to the parents to give to the kids) when they come to your store. These will bring everyone back sooner. A plastic jar of 200 "Atomic Fire Balls" was $6.95 at Sam's (the boys love these) and a similar size jar of Gummi Bears was $7.95.

Those are the most important items I can think of (remember our selection criteria and those things I think will move the best), but here are a few others. Seeds; you didn't need me to suggest that. 2 cycle oil (for the chainsaws). While you're at it, how about a fist full of files for chainsaw sharpening? Fishing gear. I didn't put that on my list, because just about everyone around here is already stocked for salt and fresh water, but it might be useful where you are--A little assortment of small hooks and such might be a good seller if you have some bodies of water around. Make up some little fishing kits in sandwich bags for a silver dime. Batteries. Candles. Condoms. Pain relievers (a big bottle each of store-brand aspirin, ibuprofen, and acetaminophen to dispense a few pills at a time as needed). Diarrhea tablets. Disposable razors. I thought about adding P38 can openers--www.sportsmansguide.com actually has a case (100) of these for twenty bucks (and there are plenty of other sources, too). Notice I have gone light on the med stuff (outside my expertise; there are plenty of good suggestions elsewhere on this site), ammo, and food (I'll let my fellow traders take care of those).

Wrapping up. For several hundred dollars, any prepper can assemble and stock a "micro-store" that will help everyone survive until (or if) civilization recovers. Do it now. May God Bless you and keep you. Good luck with your entrepreneurial endeavors.