Best barter items to stockpile... what do you guys and dolls think?

[Martini_Up]

Seriously. This is dead on.

I have a recommendation for anyone else who gets this one -- the old Encyclopedia Britannica 9th or 11th editions. Those volumes will literally tell you how to rebuild civilization from scratch and get you to an early 1900s level of technology. I have both the 9th and the 11th in hardback and they will be the last books I ever get rid of.

So checking the price of a full 9th or 11th edition runs about $200-$2000 each depending on condition. If you stockpile them then you have to have probably 30-80 sets to trade for bartering. Seems kind of a lot of money. Moreover, the 25-29 books in each set take up a lot of room.

 

[fireninja13]

Martini_Up, I think you misunderstood me -- the information in the books is what would be good to barter, not the books themselves. Being able to teach people how to refine and purify ingots of melted metal or how to create gunpowder from base elements or how to make antibiotics and pain killers would be worth quite a bit were civilization to collapse.

And, market theory tells me that if information is important, the more scarce it is the more valuable it is. Thus, the fewer copies of books which would allow you to rebuild civilization the more valuable the information contained therein becomes. Most modern people have no idea how the technology they depend on works, let alone how to fix or re-create it.

It isn't a big deal now because most information is pretty widely available on the internet -- hell, a lot of the source material for Wikipedia came from the old Britannicas 'cause their copyrights had expired and it was public domain. But if the internet is down, then having hard copies becomes very very useful.

Knowledge is power. Even being armed to the teeth isn't any good if you don't know how to put your rounds on the target or what part of the target to shoot at.

 

[cookie]

Drugs
booze
cash for hookers
May as well enjoy the down time.

 

[The Heretic]

Drugs
booze
cash for hookers
May as well enjoy the down time.

Laywers, guns and money

 

[Just Jim]

I am thinking copies of the constitution might sell well, now that it has been trampled into the dirt.

 

[MrNatural]

First off, it is valuable to keep in mind the first two rules of stockpiling:

Rule #1: Everything you stockpile must benefit your lifestyle even if no disaster/shortage ever occurs. i.e. don't stockpile cigarettes if you don't smoke.

Rule #2: If you don't use it yourself, stockpiled items must:
a. Be (very) cheap to acquire now
b. Be (much) more valuable in a shortage situation
c. Be easy to store
d. Have a LONG shelf life

That being said, a simple way to find out some things its important to have on hand:

Next time you're back in the hinterlands, stop in at independent convenience stores and look at what they stock. Not the big chain convenience stores - they stock by a corporate inventory model. An independent convenience store in a small community will carry what actually sells often to locals for everyday use. It can give you a really good idea of whats important and what will be in demand after SHTF.

And it costs nothing to look. Don't forget to check them out at different times of the year as what sells changes with the season.

Obvious lessons from my own observations: Beer, wine, cigarettes, candy, bread, snack foods, pet foods, diapers feminine hygiene products and soft drinks will be BIG trading items as people desperately try to cling to the illusion of "normalcy". Trouble is most of these are relatively short-term perishables. I haven't figured out a cheap (!), simple, long-term way to store them, and I don't much use them myself so keeping a rotating stock is not an option. But I'm aware of their potential value in a grid-down situation.

On the other hand, work gloves, long shelf-life OTC medicines (pepto, keopectate, exlax, metamucil, aspirin/tylenol/motrin, calamine, hydro-cortisone cream, triple antibiotic ointment, etc will be big), popular ready-to-eat canned foods, batteries, rope, charcoal, propane, plastic bags, paper towels and TP, etc are very good candidates for stockpiling and are all in compliance with Rule #1.

Also, although I don't use them - Rule #2:
a. In the after-halloween discount sales I filled several ammo cans with a variety of cheap hard penny candy.
b. I keep a few packs of generic (cheap!) feminine hygiene pads in storage. Dirt cheap now. Excellent substitute for bandages in a pinch, so they double as medical supplies.

One caveat - Convenience stores serving specialty locations, like one closest to a marina for instance, should be viewed with an eye to that. Life jackets and boat anchors probably won't be a high-priority barter item.

 

[NoFlinch]

...................... boat anchors probably won't be a high-priority barter item.

Obviously you don't expect your x-wife/girlfriend to show up asking for your help.......

 

[Stomper]

Obviously you don't expect your x-wife/girlfriend to show up asking for your help.......

I'm sure someone already mentioned body condoms.

 

[Oregonhunter5]

POT

BOOZE

CIGGS

CONDOMS

Somethings never go out of style

I only use one of these. And I won't quit. 4 kids is plenty.
I say Generators.

 

[Oregonhunter5]

Another.
Water filters, and small drinking containers that filter.
Chopsticks?

 

[belcher]

Here is a controversial one, yet important. Painkillers i.e. morphine, etc. Hard to get, poor shelf life, legal issues, etc. But there is an easy, inexpensive, legal way around all that. P.M. me for more info. Im not wanting to create any addicts or cause any problems. Still a good thing to have around in a doctor free enviroment.

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