Barter supplies

Hi Muskrat,

wouldn't it be better to spend your money on something you could use yourself instead of buying items with the intention to barter?

That way you are more self reliant and nobody would be the wiser of the fact that you have a stash of food and other goodies....
Going out to barter might attract unwanted attention to you and your family.

And what would you trade your toothpaste for?
Food? Water? Better to buy that now yourself, in case of an pandemic prices only go up, never down!


Marjo

(Who is sure she is forgetting something for her stash... but what????
Will probably come to me when it is too late..... )

I think the thing I would be trading for most and being very crefull when I do it..would be firewood....althou I have some wood..I will not be able to store enough to cook and since I have plenty prepped I would trade meals and such for someone to brave collecting me some...

I am working on this, but I am still wondering this year or next year..

Don't forget the old vices such as alcohol and cigarettes.

I have those individual size alcohol bottles, cigarettes, chocolate, shotgun ammo., and of course personal hygiene supplies. I'm trying to think of other items so this is a good thread to have!

muskrat,

imo, the best trade goods you can get are food, food and more food.

with the exception of water, that will be the first thing that gets hard to get for the unprepped,

plus you can always eat it yourself if needed.

the other most useful trade goods (imo) are tobacco and booze

 

omega,

good tip.

and to be honest, who will care if it goes on the loo holder, lol

its better than large leaves

i read somewhere the first two things that people panic buy are sugar and tp

My guesses would be:

Fats, meats, spices, candles(batteries or forms of light), OTC meds and anti-biotics.

Pioneer...done -kevin

Many of the posts I read on many of these forums, there is mention, again & again, repetitively, that many posters are running out of space.

Perhaps you still have a large amount of room to store preps. Many here apparently do not.

I was offerring a way to reduce the size of one bulky item, for storage purposes; however, like I mentioned -- I don't want a HUGE stash of TP that is not usable on toilet paper holders.

Your mileage may vary.

So be it.

I'll have to try that, myself - I'm glad your experiment worked, it seems to me that it MIGHT (?) last quite a bit longer, individually squished into a small ziplock freezer bag, could be stored in the basement for long periods of time with no worry about mold.

See, the attic is NOT a good place for any paper items, the heat & dryness of most attics over the summer are perfect conditions for DRY ROT.

One of the "basic elements"  is fire.  For 6 or 7 bucks you can buy 100 butane lighters at Sam's Club.  They have Bic for slightly more but hey who cares?  If you have no other form of fire other than 2 sticks a full disposable lighter will go a long way.  And its something most people don't think about and its CHEAP.

pioneer wrote: its better than large leaves

 

  Amen.

salt, yeast, flour (regular or self rising), coffee (especially instant, as we won't have coffee makers anymore, just the old fashioned coffee percs), alcohol, tobacco/cigs, aspirin, fem products, condoms/birth control, sugar, baking soda

I can't afford to buy things to POSSIBLY barter, but my mom said a few days ago that if she was looking to buy barter items it would be $5.00 metal folding camping stoves and the chafing pot fuel (5 hours for $1.00) that fits in them.

I spent quite a bit of time trying to cook with the fuel today. It will boil water, but cannot keep 4 cups of water and 1 cup of dried food hot enough to cook into soup. I tried to make soup and to bake a biscuit in the top half of a double broiler, but it just didn't get quite hot enough.

I'll play a bit more to find out the exact capabilities of these sets. Maybe 2 cups of soup :-0 Maybe I need a specific type of pan :-0 I'm working on it :-)

Tried and tested cooking sets, even if it's just a set to make coffee with all the fixing...or a ramen noodle soup set. A complete set of thermos to keep it warm, food and stove and fuel and pan (if a special type is needed) would be a good barter I think.

JaxMax wrote: When a hurricane comes, Wal-mart's number one sales item is not food, water or ice.   It is beer.   I do not drink alcohol, but I can assure you that if you want to barter, beer, cigarettes, real chocolate, coffee,ice and ammunition are fine choices.   Barter can be dangerous. It is a short step from barter to robbery.

    
I agree about the danger, it can also be dangerous because presumably at the time we're using the preps, we'll be under quarantines, and not supposed to leave our homes under any circumstances, for anything.

I'm not positive how a quarantine will play out in real life, but I seriously doubt, for instance, that neighborhood children will come knocking at the doors looking for handouts....

I just don't know about the whole barter thing, it seems like it's not only dangerous for encouraging crime, but also for potentially exposing oneself to the H2H H5N1 virus.....

It's vey confusing to figure out, not knowing how a quarantine will play out with such a lethal virus.

The desire for alcohol, drugs, cigarettes and coffee will FAR outweigh fear of a virus for MANY people.

[/QUOTE]  Consider the "Diva Cup".  My daughter's not sure about it, but it's the backup if the feminine products run out.[/QUOTE]

    
In terms of absolute value, I think an N95mask or something superior, would have the greatest barter potential, followed by food & drugs. It's not an item I intend to barter, since I have no idea how long I'll need them, or how long I need to make my supply last. Everyday we learn a little more.