1st time I saw this mentioned in the thread, a very good suggestion. I remember learning in school that nails were so valuble on the frontier that folks would burn down the house for them when they moved on.
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In a total SHTF/TEOTWAWKI situation, what will be some valuable barter items?
- Thread starter NO F-Bdy Bs
- Start date
1st time I saw this mentioned in the thread, a very good suggestion. I remember learning in school that nails were so valuble on the frontier that folks would burn down the house for them when they moved on.
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- Sep 7, 2006
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- 6,193
Have any of you read The Road by Cormac McCarthy?
Its set in a post-nuclear world, about a father and son trying to survive on a planet where everything is basically dead.
Not exactly a barrel of laughs but its a really gripping read.
Its set in a post-nuclear world, about a father and son trying to survive on a planet where everything is basically dead.
Not exactly a barrel of laughs but its a really gripping read.
- Joined
- Oct 8, 2006
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- 2,097
The desertification of the Sahara resulted in a migration of hunter-gatherer people into the Nile valley. They got together with the established residents of the area in a cultural mix that resulted in the creation of the Egyptian civilization. The enduring culture of Egypt, the Gift of the Nile, the pyramids and Ramses and King Tuts tomb, were a direct consequence of that shift in the polar axis, and the resulting North African climate change.
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- May 27, 2007
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iPod. 
The only problem is that the frantic sheeple of today would freak out the second the light switch doesn't work and the phone lines (more like cell phones) don't work. Then they will run rampant while all of us who have gear will be picking them off like a zombie movie as they run at us for all of our things!!! A little dramatic, but you get my point.
I don't know if the people of today are any more sheep-like than in the past. During the black death the vast majority of people where illiterate and superstitious, even more than today! They thought that the plaque was God's judgement and that the end-times were coming. Except for the upheaval of the Feudal system and laws tying peasant to the land they were born on, things continued on about the same as they did before. Just like they did when the Barbarian hordes brought down the Roman Empire in Europe.
People are more resilient than most people give them credit for. Remember the last blackout in New York. People didn't run wild through the streets looting and pillaging, they helped each other out.
Chad
A few things.
A list does not make preparedness, it makes a book for you to read, a website for you to look at, and it's a government pretending to help you prepare.
People will surprise you, they will do good when you expect bad, and vice versa. That is why you prepare for the worst, hope for the best.
Your brain will go alot farther than anything else. Most people don't realize that what they have in their house will get them by for quite a while. Take simple steps, find the simplest ways to prepare, and most importantly don't panic or freak out - now or if/when it happens.
A list does not make preparedness, it makes a book for you to read, a website for you to look at, and it's a government pretending to help you prepare.
People will surprise you, they will do good when you expect bad, and vice versa. That is why you prepare for the worst, hope for the best.
Your brain will go alot farther than anything else. Most people don't realize that what they have in their house will get them by for quite a while. Take simple steps, find the simplest ways to prepare, and most importantly don't panic or freak out - now or if/when it happens.
- Joined
- Jan 29, 2005
- Messages
- 6,768
I've suggested this before on this forum to much snoozing and non-interest but I'll try again.
A little OT but not really , if you like survival fiction , especially survival fiction that is a instructional manual in disguise then you really need to buy and read Patriots by James Wesley Rawles.
There is no beter survival fiction out there , period. The other books cannot begin to compare to the quality of the story and the information.
A must have for every survival hound.
That said, there are mentioned items one might consider stockpiling , gold is not one of them.
"junk silver" is your best bet if you want to add some precious metals to your stockpile , junk silver is U.S. coins minted before 1964 , I started buying them about ten years back and have a nice little sack full of different denominations , you cannot go wrong buying these because they will always be worth something.
Diversify... Keep it simple.
Everyday things can hold tremendous value. Not many of us have the room or cash to buy things like generators or big bulky items , plus you need a castle to keep it all in , then you need to defend your castle.
Your bartering items should pertain to you and what your situation is.
I live in an apartment , I harbor few illusions about riding out SHTF in an apartment so my barter items are mobile to some extent.
Somehave mentioned ammo , ammo is great for barter , that aside if you are serious about SHTF then you should have several hundred ( at least ) rounds on hand for every caliber you own.
Anything you have to barter can get you killed , you best be prepared to defend what you have.
Batteries are ok , rechargable batteries are much better, even better still a solar charging base would hold immense barter value.
Barter is really common sense, in a way... What do people use every day ?
Sustinence and a means of communication. Clothing is a must , footwear is even more of a must since clothing can be made/salvaged , ever try to make a pair of boots ?
I would gather that salt and sugar would be very sought after , vitamins , medicine ! I cant believe I forgot medicine.
Simple things we take for granted like aspirin , ibuprofen could be worth a kings ransom , kotex or tampons , TP as previously mentioned.
Gas would be nice but how are you going to store it and keep it stable , unless you have that castle to keep it safe ?
What is humorous to me is the things that people covet and buy now will be worthless then , like home theatre systems, etc.
ttyl , Todd
A little OT but not really , if you like survival fiction , especially survival fiction that is a instructional manual in disguise then you really need to buy and read Patriots by James Wesley Rawles.
There is no beter survival fiction out there , period. The other books cannot begin to compare to the quality of the story and the information.
A must have for every survival hound.
That said, there are mentioned items one might consider stockpiling , gold is not one of them.
"junk silver" is your best bet if you want to add some precious metals to your stockpile , junk silver is U.S. coins minted before 1964 , I started buying them about ten years back and have a nice little sack full of different denominations , you cannot go wrong buying these because they will always be worth something.
Diversify... Keep it simple.
Everyday things can hold tremendous value. Not many of us have the room or cash to buy things like generators or big bulky items , plus you need a castle to keep it all in , then you need to defend your castle.
Your bartering items should pertain to you and what your situation is.
I live in an apartment , I harbor few illusions about riding out SHTF in an apartment so my barter items are mobile to some extent.
Somehave mentioned ammo , ammo is great for barter , that aside if you are serious about SHTF then you should have several hundred ( at least ) rounds on hand for every caliber you own.
Anything you have to barter can get you killed , you best be prepared to defend what you have.
Batteries are ok , rechargable batteries are much better, even better still a solar charging base would hold immense barter value.
Barter is really common sense, in a way... What do people use every day ?
Sustinence and a means of communication. Clothing is a must , footwear is even more of a must since clothing can be made/salvaged , ever try to make a pair of boots ?
I would gather that salt and sugar would be very sought after , vitamins , medicine ! I cant believe I forgot medicine.
Simple things we take for granted like aspirin , ibuprofen could be worth a kings ransom , kotex or tampons , TP as previously mentioned.
Gas would be nice but how are you going to store it and keep it stable , unless you have that castle to keep it safe ?
What is humorous to me is the things that people covet and buy now will be worthless then , like home theatre systems, etc.
ttyl , Todd
Spices and seasonings. These are light, have a long shelf life, and would liven up bland, bare sustinance-type foods. Think of the trouble that Medieval Europe went to for the sake of spices from the East. Pepper was worth it's weight in gold then.
Another good, simple barter item is information. People would be starved for it. In ancient Greece, the custom was for travelers to exchange information about where they've been for a meal and a bed for the night.
Another good, simple barter item is information. People would be starved for it. In ancient Greece, the custom was for travelers to exchange information about where they've been for a meal and a bed for the night.
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So, powdered pool bleach.
I guess you forgot Katrina. If NY was without power for a month it would be anarchy, to think otherwise is foolish, we are half a step up the ladder from animals and barely that.
Skam
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I was talking about this subject with the wife and she was of the opinion to just bunker up with what you have then go out on recon for what you don't. Seems simple and to the point. I would say moral ambiguity would serve as a strength unless your trying to pilot through the waste with young ones.
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I think civilization is often a too-thin layer covering the hunter-gatherer beneath. However, one might consider that NOLA was the most impoverished city and had the highest violent crime rate in the U.S. Also, the corruption of its PD was legendary; hundreds bailed out. It is not wild-eyed optimism to think that other cities might do better in a crisis - say a major earthquake in San Francisco.
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Do the "customers" bring their own containers?
I am sure they would do better, but for how long and under what kind of disaster limiting what kind of essentials? Hurricaine Andrew was no picknick and that was mild compared to the disaster potential scale. I am no alarmist but have seen the worst of people under the best of circumstances considering. It gives me little hope for sanity if there truly was a large massive scale disaster of some flavor.
Hope for the best plan for the worst.
Skam
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Not saying you always want to drink rain water, but here's something to consider as part of your business plan. One inch of rain puts 1246 gallons of water on my roof. We get 44 inches a year, liquid equiv. Thats over 50,000 gallons (1 gal. = 231 cu. in.) a year -- not evenly spread to be sure. One might do better selling containers -- or rolls of plastic -- or hoses that fit downspouts.
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- Sep 29, 2002
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Toilet paper...go a couple of months without it, see how valuable it becomes
COUPLE OF MONTHS !??!!!!!
If you live with a woman, this span is measured in hours, day or so at the most.
If you REALLY think about it, toilet paper HAS to be in the top 5. well top 10 at least.
Rob
I read The Road a few months ago...gripping to say the least. Everyone here should read it. You will prey it never happens.