Top barter items for the first weeks of TEOTWAWKI
 

-Gasoline will be the first commodity to skyrocket, what is the best additive for storage? How long will it stay good? Would you store it in 5 gal plastic gas cans? Would you cache it underground?

-Prescription medicine?
-generators?
-water filters? (katadine, berkley?)
-ice?
-ammo?

list only what will skyrocket for the first month of when WTSHTF.


I don't think gold and silver would fit in this category.:bull-buddy-icon:

Re: Top barter items for the first weeks of TEOTWAWKI
 

http://www.priproducts.com/default.htm

Interesting, I guess you have to treat the fuel every 2 years.

Re: Top barter items for the first weeks of TEOTWAWKI
 

PRI products best I've found. Gasoline in 55gal drums I know from personal use, will last 4-5 years using PRI......"STABIL" is good for about a year or so.....not NEAR as good a product from my experience.

Rest of your list:

-Prescription medicine?
Maybe....insulin probably a biggie, but most of it has a fairly limited shelf life.....CIPRO would probably fetch more than gold in respiratory flu SHTF....but that's hard to plan on.....

-generators?
Depends on the lenght of the situation.....If it's a short term looking deal, like a storm, you could make out good with a couple....but long term, fuel becomes your problem, plus the light/noise signature ( beacon in dark world)

-water filters? (katadine, berkley?)
Definitely...very few folks set up with a secure water source, especially one not based on some kind of power to get it..... ( I am....gravity fed spring )

-ice?
Type of SHTF deal again.....short term storm ? You could clean up.....but ice is bulky and expensive to keep to stockpile much...personally, I don't keep any.

-ammo?
Sure....but I'd be dadgum careful WHO I bartered WHAT with.... .22LR could well be currency long before PMs in a long term SHTF situation.....things like .223 or .308 I'd want to be sure they didn't come back to haunt me. Reloading components and ability, long term, might make you a local "go to" guy......and that could be the case even a pre-SHTF deal if our weenie politicians keep on their present course.

Canned foods, tobbacco, alcohol, toilet paper would rank up high on my list of tradable items.

Re: Top barter items for the first weeks of TEOTWAWKI
 

toilet paper, matches, candles, booze, canned and dry foods, water, guns, ammo, cigarettes (to barter with those who smoke, order online to avoid taxes)

silver (barter), cash (barter),

nimh eneloop batteries, with a solar powered battery charger, if you think you need them. Regular alkaline AA batteries for barter perhaps, they can be had dirt cheap in the right places.

A thermos can be used to cook grain products and other foods once those foods are heated, as it retains heat for many hours... several of these can come in quite handy.

Re: Top barter items for the first weeks of TEOTWAWKI
 

-Bar having a spring, what brand name and model would you recommend for a distiller/purifier?

-I was thinking along the lines of an ice house, don't really know if it would be worth the effort though.

-Would you mess with BP firearms (flintlock) and home made BP, or would you just want to stock up on the modern stuff and worry about BP when you run out of the good stuff.(this would be for a long term outlook)

-What is the storage life of tobacco, does it vary from cigs to chaw?

-What type of drinks, Jack Daniels, B&B, Wine?

Re: Top barter items for the first weeks of TEOTWAWKI
 

I think lighters would be preferred over matches, imo?

I thought about candles, can't decide between beeswax and paraffin.

Thanks for the tip about buying cigs online to avoid the tax, never thought about that. (I don't smoke)

Re: Top barter items for the first weeks of TEOTWAWKI
 

cigarettes-coffee-booze-beer-etc

people are going to be looking for comfort items
items that will help people get over the shock

and as soon as people find out that you have anything of value
you had better trade everything that your willing to part with ASAP
and when you run out of trade items
expect mobs/mothers to confront you and " search your soul and share "

it all depends if you want to trade right away
or wait until 2 weeks after TSHTF before trading
and then,
will anyone have anything, that you want/need, to trade for ?

100 Items to Disappear First

Re: Top barter items for the first weeks of TEOTWAWKI
 

Good link, does anyone here make their own dog food?

What brand of work clothes are the most durable, carhart used to made in the USA but now they are made in mexico.

Re: Top barter items for the first weeks of TEOTWAWKI
 

Hmm, comfort items, well can't go past without mentioning Chocolate in there.

Re: Top barter items for the first weeks of TEOTWAWKI
 

..............................

Medicine seems dangerous to me
 

I wouldn't want to stockpile any medicines for the purposes of bartering. If you are bartering and it is known that you have medicine, i would think that's a great way to get shot, as there will be people that, no matter how reasonable the cost, would see you as gouging them for something they think they have a RIGHT to. If they couldn't afford it (lost everything) then they might come back with their 12-gauge wallet and lead currency. Even if you gave it away to those that couldn't afford it, or gave it away to everyone in any manner you saw fit, you would be seen by somebody as inequitably doling out life and death. anyways....i'd just keep the medicine for me and my own...

Re: Medicine seems dangerous to me
 

Good point. Thanks

Re: Medicine seems dangerous to me
 

Same could be said of anything, really.

There is such a prevailing attitude of "I am, therefore, I am entitled to my share of anything", thanks to the welfare state mentality fostered since the 30's that you'd better be prepared to defend anything you have.

"From those with ability to those with need"......Karl Marx

Re: Top barter items for the first weeks of TEOTWAWKI
 

What do you guys think about keeping some veterinary antibiotics stocked for SHTF? I've been debating ordering some. Opinions?

Re: Top barter items for the first weeks of TEOTWAWKI
 

You don't need to order them.....simply go to Mize Farm and Garden or Washington Co Farmers Co-op, (local to TA, any good farm store for anyone else ) and look in the refrigerated cases for Procaine Penicillin ( Pint bottle is cheap ), or Teramyacin in powder form, and so on.....you can even buy the syringes there, though you might have a hard time finding the smaller size needles....OUCH......we keep it around.

You can walk in, pay cash, and walk out.

Another thing to do is develop a good relationship with a like minded doc.....mine gave me a script for ampicillin, ( good all round ) kefflex, ( good one for cuts, punctures, GSWs) and cipro ( respiratory related infections )....then seal-a-meal them and store in the freezer.

Also, keep your tetnus up to date.

Re: Top barter items for the first weeks of TEOTWAWKI
 

Cipro (generic: ciprofloxacin) is the #1 antibiotic to store for a TSHTF situation. Why?

1. Generic = now cheap to buy
2. Quinolones (Levaquin, Tequin, Avelox, etc..) are probably the lowest bacterial resistance rate of any antibiotic class (although growing resistance like all the rest).
3. It readily penetrates all tissues of the body in high concentrations making it ideal to treat infections of all different tissues from skin (wounds, cuts), UTI's, blood infections and lung infections .... whatever, wherever
4. One of two drugs to treat that pesky Antrax (doxycycline being the other)
5. Long storage life (expiration date). I think the Army stores it for like 30 years.
*EXCEPTION: NOT A GOOD CHOICE for kids under 12 years old unless advantages outweigh the disadvantages of it's use.

Re: Top barter items for the first weeks of TEOTWAWKI
 

Baby formula, diapers, AA batteries--the usual hurricane stock list.

Comfort foods, for the first few weeks--because very very few folks can comprehend that it could possibly go any longer.

Re: Top barter items for the first weeks of TEOTWAWKI
 

I always have it on hand. Have not had to use it, but will be ordering more.

Re: Top barter items for the first weeks of TEOTWAWKI
 

Ding Dongs

Re: Top barter items for the first weeks of TEOTWAWKI
 

My guess is that coffee and cigarettes would be top barter items post-TEOTWAWKI. I've seriously considered adding a significant amount of both as barter preps.

Re: Medicine seems dangerous to me
 

excellent synopsis..

and painfull true as others have spoken about ...this sort of mentality has been encouraged by the gubbermint. That is why the backlash is going to be so severe when the first disruptions start to occur.......


I am buying a button needle and thread for my lips....


T

Re: Top barter items for the first weeks of TEOTWAWKI
 

Yeah I would spend good money buying cartons of cigs and hard liquor and also lots and lots of condoms!! people are going to have a chitload of time on there hands ......just those alone you would make a killing.


also that is great avatar!! I forget which metal gear that is from ...guns of the patriots?


T

Re: Top barter items for the first weeks of TEOTWAWKI
 

Thanks. It's from the cover of MGS3: Subsistence. Guns of the Patriots doesn't come out for another few months. :wink:

Re: Top barter items for the first weeks of TEOTWAWKI
 

As we inch closer to the possibilty of everything falling apart, my wife and I have been spending more time discussing preps. I have come to the following conclusions about my neighbors (and I would imagine that this would apply evenly across the country, and the severity would be exponentially related to the population per square mile.)


There are two ways in which it would all come down: Either there is a major cataclysmic event, which wiped out massive swaths of the human population within days; OR it came on slowly, and hardly noticable until it was too late. Or, it may end up being a combination of both. Either way, the first year will be the most difficult. This is where the have-nots, and the ill-prepared start freaking out. DO NOT TRADE WITH ANYONE DURING THE FIRST YEAR!!! Wait until these people have done all of their freaking out, and have either developed their own program, or allowed themselves to be naturally selected for extinction.

Once the public clamour has "died-down" considerably, take some time to get to know your remaining neighbors. Don't show ANY of your cards. Just get to know them. Feel them out. Look for that "hunger" in their eyes. After a year of survival, there will be MANY stories of loss, pain, and suffering. Anyone who obviously shouldn't still be around, probably excercised the law of survival to be able to stand and talk with you. Don't discuss bartering with anyone that you don't feel you would be able to fend off, nor anyone you felt could not handle the amount of trust it takes to establish a deal.

Avoid any community groups, until all of the hungry eyes have been delt with. The hungry eyes have a tendancy to dominate public forums, and can make life difficult for those that knew better from the start.


Get a topographical map of your area, laminate it, and use grease pencils to keep track of your neighborhood. It's important to know who your neighbors are, and what they are doing. You'll also want to mark off places of significance - like storage facilities, warehouses, water sources, public utilities, etc... When the time comes to start working with your neighbors, you may find that you have the right minds to bring some functions of your community back to life...


Finally, don't let your neighbors think that you are too well-off. They will insist on invading your life. The greater the popilation per square-mile, the harder this will be.


Comments and opinions welcome!

Re: Top barter items for the first weeks of TEOTWAWKI
 

I hold those who invest in alcohol and cigarettes for purposes of profiteering in contempt. Not much different than being a bootlegger, is it? Are you holding "illegal drugs" too? Not like alcohol and nicotine aren't drugs, is it? "Making a killing" appeals to you, huh?

Profiteering from your neighbors weaknesses will earn you a well-deserved bad reputation. Some poor bastard trades you some real assets his family is relying upon to bring home something of substance, and you give the moron alcohol and cigarettes!

Nothing like the "entrepreneur spirit" to profit from their fellow man's misery. You will reap what you sow, but in 10x the quantity. Profiteering bums are not an asset in anyway, shape, or form to their neighbors or neighborhood. Gonna have bums coming around looking for your crap? Store this stuff for yourself or for your friends if you don't think much of them.

Anybody planning to barter anything in the early months is simply ill-prepared or stupid. You are going to do no one any good by stockpiling cigarettes or alcohol.

Re: Top barter items for the first weeks of TEOTWAWKI
 

I agree with the profiteering aspect.

However, if cities are blockaded with checkpoints, smokes and booze are good for bribing guards or others in power.

At least that is what happens in the movies!!

Re: Top barter items for the first weeks of TEOTWAWKI
 

wives, daughters

Re: Top barter items for the first weeks of TEOTWAWKI
 

I poured a half dozen bottles of whiskey, vodka etc down the drain the other night. I figured it's better to do that, than drink it....

Re: Top barter items for the first weeks of TEOTWAWKI
 

LOL! I doubt that I would sell/trade enough booze, coffee, and/or cigarettes to consider myself a "profiteering bum.":D

My guess is that a sizable majority of people are ill-prepared or stupid, and will be forced to barter in the early months. Personally, I don't see any problem with holding a modest amount of alternative commodities that could very easily become the defacto currency of the black market.

Re: Top barter items for the first weeks of TEOTWAWKI
 

If youre really worried about dogfood, which is a prority for me since if the S did HTF, I would want my dog to help me as I would help him. Simple solution, if you shoot an animal just give your dog some, bones too! Only raw bones though.

http://www.workingpitbull.com/Nutrition.html

I feed mine Timberwolf and a BARF diet also (Timberwolf and raw meat, bones). I stay away from the veggies since the Timberwolf has all the necessities anyway. He is in prime condition, but if those options are out, raw animal it is.

BARF Diets:

http://www.pitbullforum.com/viewforum.php?f=5

Go to BARF 101, its a sticky.

For the doglovers if you want to order Timberwolf, go here:

http://alpha-nutrition.stores.yahoo.net/

I get Southwest Chicken and Herb. Its more expensive, but I have bought 2 bags total last year and still have about 1/2 left of my second bag, you dont need as much. I go to the meat market and buy raw liver .59 a pound and there you have it. Hope this helps!

Re: Top barter items for the first weeks of TEOTWAWKI
 

If my wife was dying of an infection, and you wanted to trade an ounce of penecilin for two fifths of Jack Daniels, you'd have yourself a DEAL.


You can put your dead wife on that high horse of yours, and journey into the setting sun.

Re: Top barter items for the first weeks of TEOTWAWKI
 

Grog.

In the British Navy, a sailor had a right to his cup of grog at the end of thr day. It eased the ache of sore muscles and was a sleep aide. If in the first few weeks I divest myself of a few bottles of rum, am I a profiteer?*


*Tell ne if this doesn't make sense, I'm pre-coffee.

Re: Top barter items for the first weeks of TEOTWAWKI
 

In addition to getting a buzz there is a lot of fuel in alcohol. Alcohol is midway between carbohydrates and fat in calories per gram.

Re: Top barter items for the first weeks of TEOTWAWKI
 

I intend to be one of those folks.........what say you???


T

Re: Top barter items for the first weeks of TEOTWAWKI
 

Re: Top barter items for the first weeks of TEOTWAWKI
 

Seems to me, that an altruistic attitude is what has put the US in this predicament in the first place. After every population thinning episode in human history, the ones that remained, have always had it better

Re: Top barter items for the first weeks of TEOTWAWKI
 

I guess someone has never lived in an Army Barracks, refugee camp or prison.

People will do anything if they are desperate enough and when they do, they generally perceive kindness as weakness.

Put your faith and trust in your dog and your family (and your gold and guns).

Re: Top barter items for the first weeks of TEOTWAWKI
 

+1 Bingo!!


T

Re: Top barter items for the first weeks of TEOTWAWKI
 

In times of economic upheaval, real wealth is always transferred. You have to pick which side of that transaction you want to be on.

Those with the foresight to stockpile may end up owning entire townships. Joseph bought Egypt with food.

Re: Top barter items for the first weeks of TEOTWAWKI
 

In times of turmoil real wealth is measured in your family and friends that are willing to pitch in and help each other.

I'll make a nod toward Dogfarm's comments. The greater the stress the smaller the circle of family and friends becomes. Groups grow increasingly "clannish," and strangers/outsiders/unwashed heathens are held in suspicion/contempt/outright hostility.

Re: Top barter items for the first weeks of TEOTWAWKI
 

I look forward to the day when 3 silver eagles will buy me a block of tract homes.


Its coming.........surley as night follows day


T

Re: Top barter items for the first weeks of TEOTWAWKI
 

[quote=Tn...Andy;960403]-ammo?
Sure....but I'd be dadgum careful WHO I bartered WHAT with.... .22LR could well be currency long before PMs in a long term SHTF situation.....things like .223 or .308 I'd want to be sure they didn't come back to haunt me. Reloading components and ability, long term, might make you a local "go to" guy......and that could be the case even a pre-SHTF deal if our weenie politicians keep on their present course.

quote]

The mantra I have heard repeated for 23 years has been "NEVER trade away guns or ammo; it will be used against you and/or one day you may need it".

Re: Top barter items for the first weeks of TEOTWAWKI
 

Well, lighters (bic style) do not last forever. After a few years most lose thier seal integrity and the gas seeps out. (I am a former smoker). So why not bunches of different types of matches, like Strike Anywhere style... and just vacu pack them. WHen the S really HTF, then maybe go out and buy a case of bics.
Beeswax or parafin? Buy BOTH! Hedge your bet of course. Maybe get some emergency candles that last 60 hours or whatever.
Careful buying cigs online; the whole tax free thing is ending at the speed of light. I would suggest that as the TSHTF, go and buy 10 cartons of cheapies. Vacupack them and put them in cool storage if possible. A Camel will trade the same as a GPC once ciggies are all gone. Trust me. Been there; done that.

Re: Top barter items for the first weeks of TEOTWAWKI
 

Recall that some items can do triple barter duty for you... Like Everclear. It barters as booze, fuel alcohol, AND antiseptic.

Re: Top barter items for the first weeks of TEOTWAWKI
 

QWAK,Hot COCOA in the foil packs will likely be very valued. The stuff keeps well and is packaged in 1 serving packs. Just good stuff to have around and good for stock piling as it will only cost more in the future. :wink:

You may also want to concider large military surpluss boxes with air tight seals for storing SUGAR! You can coun on it also going up in price and should it be hard to get like it was for our parents during WW2 when it was rationed SUGAR will always be valued and it NEVER goes bad!

the DUCK

Re: Top barter items for the first weeks of TEOTWAWKI
 

Everclear is some pretty damn expensive alcohol to burn. Maybe you might distill your own? At a cost of about $20 a liter are you really going to burn it?

Both Everclear and 100proof Vodka have medicinal potentials. If you know about herbs, you can make tinctures with the right ethyl alcohol strengths.

If you want alcohol to serve as a disinfectant, consider the anhydrous variety. (This is alcohol w/o water, MtnMan; don't want you feeling left out!). Called "denatured alcohol" at the hardware store this is also a stove fuel, like for buffet burners or bunsen burners, good for cleaning electric parts, guns, and as a mild finishing stripper. A bottle of cheap Isopropyl Rubbing Alcohol will also disinfect your hands and public items you use if concerned about infection/disease.

Alcohol is pretty low BTU stuff compared to gasoline, naptha, or diesel oils.
Kurt Saxon wrote about distilling cheap wine several times to make higher proof alcohols, of course, he was on the bum in SF in the ealy 60s, and drinking what he could get cheap. But no reason a 5qt box of wine bought for $12 on sale couldn't be distilled on your stove top into more potent stuff.


If you want a barter idea that is not akin to bootlegging, consider buying a bulk propane bottle adapter that will fill small Bernzomatic and Coleman bottles. These tiny bottles are refillable and not many people have 20 or 30 cannisters in storage. Each bottle holds about 3/4lb of gas, so you could fill about 30 from a 5gal bulk bottle. Northern used to sell these for $10. They do work.

Also consider having #1 diesel or kerosene for lamp oil. Get a few ounces of esential oil and you have scented lamp oil to barter. People pay $5 for a quart at the hardware store. 5 gals might cost you $15 for the oil. Essence oils vary in price. How much is a .750L of decent booze? About the same.

Strike Anywhere matches are a good barter item. Also Zippo lighters and fluid/flints, cheap refillable butane lighters and butane cyls for lighters. A 50lb sack of sea salt or table salt and seasonings are going to be excellent barter items. Costco sells honey in 35lb jugs, very cheap for the value. Maybe load up on canning lids & seals. Hit the resale shops for used canning jars at .10 or .25ea.

Crisco is good stuff for barter, also olive oil; makes soap. Add essence oils and have something really nice to trade. How many people have bread pans and dutch ovens, cast iron skillets?

Gonna load up on $50/carton cigarettes and $20 per liter booze or spend your money on serious stuff that has lasting value for people? WallyWorld sells Chicago Cutlery stuff that is a great buy for the money. Steak knives, paring knives and chef knives are super for any cutting job. Who isn't going to need sharpening stones, diamond hones for their cutlery?

You want the TOP BARTER item of all? Gunsmithing, reloading, and bullet casting parts/gear. Maybe you have a fletching jig for your archery hobby? Got lots of vanes and notch tips to rebuild aluminum arrows or a wood lathe to turn shafts?

Lots of cheap fishing hooks, lead weights and sinkers? Sell a man a trotline and he can feed his family. How about bags of potting soil for Wheat grass or other indoor food production? How about seeds and fertilizer.

5gal paint buckets, esp new lids & seals will have lots of uses. New or used icechests, plastic ones, can be burried in a shady spot and keep some foods cool enough to use, or keep them in a spring box.

Rechargeable batteries, small solar cell chargers will be worth more than a pack of smokes.

Anyone who is stockpiling cigs and booze to trade, over other items is really just a profiteering bootlegger at heart. No community has ever really wanted that element in their midst. In the aftermath, it may even be dangerous to have the rep as a "go to guy" for crap like booze and cigarettes.

Re: Top barter items for the first weeks of TEOTWAWKI
 

As always MM, a really insightful post with lots of great ideas. Thanks.

Re: Top barter items for the first weeks of TEOTWAWKI
 

While sugar and salt are excellent items, and in our barter cans, the contemptuous remarks about booze assume other GIMmers are brain dead. For example we have 2 sets of friends who live on farms and one couple keeps horses in addition to a large garden and the other keeps ducks and a large garden, and has a friend and neighbor who keeps dairy goats and makes cheese. Both those couples like their booze and would be likely to be happy to trade us eggs, cheese, meat, or the service of horses for booze that was not bathtub. We don't drink much and would not feel deprived to make that trade. They drink daily and would not be likely to stockpile. Alcoholism is too close.

Re: Top barter items for the first weeks of TEOTWAWKI
 

Alcoholism is too close.

So your pal's don't keep a stockpile because they're afraid they'll drink it all down?

Lemme tell you, pal.... Nobody who is a serious farmer or rancher is a "drinker". People, like your pals will not be blessed or enhanced by your furnishing them alcohol. People who take time for drinking will not be long for survival.

I'll say that about the only people who will be interested/motivated to trade vital stuff for alcohol or cigarettes will be persons with addiction "issues".

The mountain boy, who looks like Lil' Abner's Pappy, always looks to stir the shit. Maybe one of his cousins has a still and makes shine? Be interesting to see the neighborhood reaction when somebody is drunk on guard duty, or got drunk and molests some women.

Just tell me, what good comes out of a liquor bottle or a pack of cigarettes?
Tell me what good comes out of a Partagas #10 box?

There will be a LOT of people who will be well served to escape from the shit that alcohol and tobacco does them. But you guys want to enable them?

Won't be any shortage of any of this crap in mid-America. No sweat to grow tobacco or make liquor.

Anybody who is stockpiling liquor and tobacco for SHTF trade items is an idiot and a moron, and also a degenerate with intentions to prey upon the weaknesses of his fellow man. Scum is what you are. Whitetrash is your way of thinking.

You want Good Neighbors? You better damn well be one.
A Good Neighbor doesn't put the monkey back on anybody's back.

Your only customers will be people who have a problem with this shit.
Anybody who's a legitimate healer will not ask you for Jack Daniels in payment giving your wife a regmen of pennicillin.

In fact, most likely, your gonna be facing antibiotic resistant staph and other infections anyway. All the excreted pharmacological substances in your water supply have wreaked havoc with your immune systems.

Drinking and smoking won't help your compromised immune systems one damn bit.

I think that scum who prey on the weak in their communities will just wind up "disappeared", eventually. Nobody aside from their addicted customer base is going to give a damn when they are never seen again. Scum that will supply anything to anybody are not going to prosper in the days ahead. Likely they will not see many days ahead of them at all. There are expressions like, "kill for a drink", "kill for a cigarette". Maybe not too far fetched.

That is a hard row to hoe for a little financial enterprise.

Re: Top barter items for the first weeks of TEOTWAWKI
 

"pal", it is hard to decide whether you excel more in rudeness or ignorance. People who like to drink, and know they like it marginally too much, abound in every profession. Many control their intake by not keeping too much on hand. The same way women watching their figures don't keep the fridge full of ice cream, or boxes of chocolates sitting around. They know that is only asking for trouble.

Their success on their land I have seen, and you have not. But you don't mind being rude and ignorant at the same time on any topic I have noticed.

Re: Top barter items for the first weeks of TEOTWAWKI
 

- For anthrax (just thought I'd throw this in): Doxycycline is readily available from veterinary outlets (or Amazon.com!). Store it in the fridge, and it should last 7 years or more (Cipro's shelf life in a fridge is 10-12 years). For anthrax, you'll need to store at least 120 of the 100 mg tablets per person. If you think you've been exposed to anthrax, start taking them immediately. If you wait until you're symptomatic, it's too late. Take 100 mg of doxy twice a day for 60 days (minimum; produces spores every 45 days). Don't stop taking them for at least 60 days! Don't take with ampicillin. Your gut will be in a very bad state after this, so be ready to treat for dehydration and store high-quality Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacteria supplements to recolonize the gut with good bacteria (the alternative is to recolonize the gut via an enema with someone else's healthy poop!).

-Cigarettes: Cigarettes get stale and nasty after a while. It's better to store cans of tobacco and some rolling papers.

Regarding barter items: One needn't be profiteering to benefit from having desirable items to trade or give away. Sometimes having something to share with someone might just be a good way to gather information or establish social contacts. I've heard adults who, as children survived WWII, talk warmly about the American GIs who gave them chocolate. The military knows chocolate is good PR! Sharing a drink with someone has been an acceptable way to establish a social (or business) bond throughout history. It's a well known bribe in times of trouble and reduced resources, too. The intimacy of the shared smoke is legendary. In a given place of employment, it's usually the smokers who know all the scuttlebutt about everything going on in every department, and information is exchanged far more freely in the casual intimacy of the smoking area, so you hear things that wouldn't be exchanged in normal work conversation. You want to know what's going on? Find the smokers.

Imagine that media has broken down or is controlled enough that you're only getting propaganda (a friend who lived in Czechoslovakia when the Russians took over described a media that went that way overnight). Ever try to just walk up and ask a stranger for information about what's going on in his neck of the woods? When things are bad, people are especially suspicious of strangers, and the person asking too many questions may be regarded with extreme suspicion. Having a cigarette or some chocolate or a drink to share might be the just the social lubricant to break the ice, establish a little trust, and get someone casually talking. Remember the scene in that weird French survival movie, Time of the Wolf? The woman and her kids were on the road after arriving at their bug-out location to find it taken over by a couple who promptly shot the woman's husband, stole their gear, and sent them off with only the coats on their backs. Clueless about what was going on or where to go, she and her kids wandered into a crowded depot full of panicked, short-tempered, distrustful, bickering strangers. No one is willing to talk to her or explain anything. She finally makes a friend by sharing her last cigarettes with a woman, and the woman proceeds to settle in and tell her everything she knows about the situation and the personalities of the others in the depot.

I definitely plan to bring cigarettes, booze, and chocolate to the Apocalypse!

Re: Top barter items for the first weeks of TEOTWAWKI
 

alcoholic beverages have been around for a very long time and have been used
for trade many many times before and will be again and then as now
there will be some people who abuse and overindulge but i believe the majority
of people who now drink responsibly will continue to drink responsibly and
will apreciate being able to aquire and readily trade in alcohol.

just look at history.

sorry back to the original question
water
food
fuel
tarps,rope,basic tools
luxurie items like booze and cigaretts

Just another thought on the booze as a trade I know that in RECENT years past beer and other alcohol
has been offered and accepted as payment for friendly and neighborly favors and jobs and is considered
polite at least where i am from, a trade between friends when cash is not exchanged or expected

Re: Top barter items for the first weeks of TEOTWAWKI
 

I have to ask..... "How do you really feel?"

Generally I don't think people should be stocking barter items. They should be stocking up on the things that they will need and or want. Need should always beat want.

Some will store alcohol, cigarettes, chocolate, ammo, water, food, drugs (legal and illegal}, antibiotics, cots, coins, currency, silver, gold, coffee, matches, batteries, lanterns, flashlights, Gasoline, Generators, Toilet paper, etc,etc..

People will trade at some point you or they will need something from the other. A deal will be struck and items will change hands. Does it really matter what it is if both people are happy with the trade.

I would advise avoiding trading with desperate people regardless of what is being traded even water could get you hurt in the wrong situation.

Re: Top barter items for the first weeks of TEOTWAWKI
 

Don't question MM, fellow GIMrs.

He is The One and Only Keeper of the Survivalist Flame of Truth.

:adore:

Plus he lives in Alasky, which automatically makes one an authority on Everything. I know - I used to live there.

:wink:

Re: Top barter items for the first weeks of TEOTWAWKI
 

Why don't you petty little bitches just keep the personalities out of it?

AM gets all excited whenever someone has a perspective different from his and presents it persuasively. Evidence of some inferiority complex. This conclusion is further strengthened by his sticking up for his boozer neighbors, who are undoubtedly the county's best agararians. No doubt their hard-drinking makes them ever so much more capable.

Funny to see how much Hive-Mentality there is on this board. So many congregate here to parade their ill-informed decisions and get high-fives from the other internet intelligentsia who do nothing but post on forums.

Very sad to see how minimally so many have weighed their decisions, and how needy they are for approval from others. Not exactly the kind of traits their ancestors must've had to make a go of it. Well, most won't make a go of it, they'll just be going, to put it nicely and inoffensively.


Anyone with any sense is going to be staying sober as a judge and chewing nicotine gum rather than smoking in the aftermath of Teotwawki. If you value your life, you won't be indulging. You'll want all your wits and not want the wafting odor of burning tobacco to be a beacon to unwanted visitors.

Storing up all the "quality" liquors and cigars might be an option if your survival retreat is outside Aspen or Vail. Maybe your neighbor will come next door and ask to borrow a cup of Johnny Walker Black (remember that ad?), but most people will not be trading you a box of Federal HydraShocks for a bottle of Glenfiddich or Courvoisier.

Those farmers aren't "robust drinkers" without a reason. When the shit hits the fan, drinkers will mostly just come undone. It is why they drink, to avoid confronting problems and life in general. Funny, but anyone afraid of becoming an alcoholic is one already, otherwise they stop drinking. AM's neighbors are a very weak link in any of his plans. Being "drinkers", you can bet he does not figure in their plans, at least not once his wine cellar is empty.


A real quality item for barter not mentioned yet as I recall are handsewing notions. Needles of various assortments, polyester thread, scissors, thimbles; most are not common in homes anylonger. Things will need repairng or alterations once the weight begins to come off.

Another item will be reference books. Handloading manuals, medical books like Merck and Grays, Cookbooks, Ball Canning Guide, Formularies, How-To books, blacksmithing, How-to magazines like early Mother Earth News and Rodales Organic Gardening. Schoolbooks & readers for homeschooling. Spare parts for common firearmrs.

Linens are a luxury item these days. How many people pay $50 for a good Martex or Fieldcrest towel? Cheap towels at WallyWorld will be a nice trade item, bedsheets too. Years ago people used two top sheets to make up a bed. You get more fabric for the same money and can swap out to get more wear. Rit die might be another item. People like their clothes to look decent.

Shoe goop. Modern shoes are glued together. The glues come apart. Got shoe goop? Epoxies, super glue tubes? All pretty nice to offer for barter.

Re: Top barter items for the first weeks of TEOTWAWKI
 

Any specific titles that really stand out?

Re: Top barter items for the first weeks of TEOTWAWKI
 

I suspect that there will be many people that YOU think drink to much that will all but quit drinking in any form as soon as it becomes hard to get.

There are many people that drink alcohol that are not alcoholics to think everyone that drinks any alcohol is an alcoholic is rather closeminded.

DYODD with anyone you trade anything with though....

Re: Top barter items for the first weeks of TEOTWAWKI
 

the best barter item is going to be the one that YOU can replace even after
tshtf A thing or a service that you can produce or provide with materials
that YOU will have avaialable to you.everything else you are going to want
to hold onto unless you have no other choice ie you have a desperate trade
for something you just have to have.

stockpiling anything you dont use just for trade purposes doesnt
make a whole lot of sense although it will happen and you will just pass on those
items when you get the chance right now i have some ammo for a gun
i dont own id be happy to pass that on. but getting me to part with
ammo for any gun i do own will be very difficult.Id have to realy realy need
what you are offering maybee parts to my water pump etc.


shortly after tshtf ammo will quickly go up in price and be highly sought
after making it a good trade item but i think it will not be readily traded at
first most everybody with half a brain will be holding on to it because it will
be hard to replace.

Re: Top barter items for the first weeks of TEOTWAWKI
 

bullets, primers, powder.....there are a LOT more reloaders around than you would suspect.

Heck, if nothing else, the stuff is a good inflation hedge......I was ordering some bullets from Midway Supply the other day, and the price of them has doubled since the 2006 catalog came out. I only use the catalog anymore for specs ( easier than hunting thru the online catalog ), and nostalgia...ahahahaa.....I go to the online catalog with the product number for current FRN pricing....

Re: Top barter items for the first weeks of TEOTWAWKI
 

"If you want alcohol to serve as a disinfectant, consider the anhydrous variety. (This is alcohol w/o water, MtnMan; don't want you feeling left out!)."

"The mountain boy, who looks like Lil' Abner's Pappy, always looks to stir the shit. Maybe one of his cousins has a still and makes shine?"

Hey Moderators! Just how many personal attacks must I endure before someone puts a halt to MoneyMatters attacks? Both of the above quotes come from this thread and were authored my MoneyMatters. Now a couple of weeks ago we were warned about personal attacks, I took the hint. It’s getting real hard to hold my tongue.

Re: Top barter items for the first weeks of TEOTWAWKI
 

You're right.....I asked you both to knock it off in one of the gun threads, and near as I can tell, you've acted civil, and mm has responsed with what he has.....two weeks in the penalty box to the offending party.