Bartering

[storm.ridley]

hi,
i was wondering what kinds of things people are storing just for bartering?
i am storing pain killers, tobaco & papers, small bottles of alchol, wound dressings, various medical supplys, paper and pens, waxed matches (home made), chocolate, stuff that i can afford without effecting my own supply buying (moneys tight)
i want to include baby food and milk, batterys, oh nappies i guess.
what are peoples thoughts on bartering
stay safe
Storm

[preppingsu]

I'm sure this depends on what scenario you are prepping for.

I would think you need to include a bartering of skills as well. And this sis something you can be practising now. For example, we have a friend who is great with cars and has access to engineering equipment which helped us out no end when we had no money to put the car into the garage. In return my OH went and hung a door for him.

What about fresh stuff; eggs,veg and fruit too.

[pseudonym]

No specific barter items, just what I am storing, that'll have to do.

If the SHTF and I need to barter for items, then I haven't prepped for the correct stuff in the first place or done it quick enough. *









* Off to 24hr Tesco for some more TP

[icrcc]

Spices are cheap to buy and easy to divide up. If the SHTF they will be in sort supply. Buy large conatiners of you favourite spices and a box of small sealing plastic bags and you are good to go.

[Maddie_cat]

I think the big question has already been asked: what are you prepping for? Armageddon? Nuclear strike? Economic breakdown? Even in those three suggestions there will be different requirements for each situation.

Suggest the best thing to do is 'learn to barter'. I must admit to having felt embarassed at Car Boot Sales to bartering; then I went to Turkey..... Nuff said?

[icrcc]

MC wrote "I think the big question has already been asked: what are you prepping for? Armageddon? Nuclear strike? Economic breakdown? Even in those three suggestions there will be different requirements for each situation."

Actually as far as food supplies there would be little difference as the cause of TSHTF. Your stores may include detection equipment and a hazmat suite for a nuclear strike but your food and water needs would not vary much according to the cause. If you adopt an all hazards approach you will be ready for anything. At some point you will need to barter. If economic collapse was the cause of the collapse obviously money, no matter how much you have readily available, will be of little use. Any other event that causes the electrical grid to collapse will severely limit your ability to obtain cash. So as MC says, preparing to barter now is a sound approach. So back to the original question. What are you going to trade when the toilet paper runs out?

[jansman]

I barter now. My neighbour is a retired builder. He is also a Countryman like me. We swap plants, wild foods like watercress, mushrooms and rabbits. He does odd jobs( even though he is 80!) I give him hens eggs and he INSISTS I go to him for fixings and hardware if I need it. We have done this for 22 years. That is barter in action.

[Triple_sod]

I reckon trying to barter post event would be a very delicate business,

Let’s say Bob has painkillers and Bill's wife Sally next door has a bad tooth ache,

It’s quite possible that Bill would deeply resent his neighbours ‘selfishness’ and carry a lasting resentment even if he eventually coughed up some sort of payment. On the other hand Bill might be ititially willing to barter but have nothing on any value to offer Bob, again leading to a similar outcome.

Unless of course Bob concedes to take Bills ‘payment’ with a smile in order to maintain their friendship, which realistically may not be such a bad move in an hostile world...but where does it end? Bill comes back next week for another strip of Co-codamol, Bob tells him he's sorry but there’s none left......Bill knows he's lying.....

[jansman]

I think that stocking barter items per se, is a mistake. I may have lots of those painkillers. I may not need them immediately the world stops making them. So I barter them. Then a year up the line I need them, but I ain't got 'em now.
Ammunition is an oft cited barter item. Sure , it could hold value, but what if it is used against you?

Just a few thoughts...

[halight]

Other Good barter items may be,

Veg seeds
Jar and bottle for food storage
Nails for repair and building work
books on country and old style living and cooking
Book;s on old skills that are now lost