It's unlikely that you will develop every possible skill that might be needed. But you might be able to lay in some extra supplies to barter for those skills. Conversely, say you do have a skill others might value. You could barter to use those skills for someone willing to give you some extra supplies.

I think bartering will start the next day after SHTF.

Bartering is good. Without some means of trade it's very hard to improve one's standard of living. It also builds trust. And is part of human nature. It's what allows us to have different skills, wants, and needs thus binds us into a community thru interdependancy.

 

Got a doctor or dentist in your group? If not and you need medical or dental care that your group can't provide, with what will you pay? There are always going to be things or services we discover that we need or could use.

I'm trying to cover my bases as well as possible, specifically so that I don't have to barter for anything. But that doesn't mean it won't happen.

If all goes according to my plans (and how often does that happen?) then I won't be bartering at all during the crisis itself. In which case, my barter goods and skills will be used to start up a business afterwards when it's safer to do so and an economy is beginning to be reestablished.

 

I think maybe you're looking at it wrong (or maybe I'm just to dumb to understand your question). Up until fairly recently in history barter was much more common than currency. I live in a rural farming/ranching community and barter between neighbors is still fairly common.

No, I'm not saying anybody goes out and buys $400,000 combine by bartering some cows and a few bushels of wheat.

But in TEOTWAWKI there are to many variables to know. Yes we can prep for the most likely scenarios for our area but part of prep is the unknown. What if I need to expand a building and don't have enough building materials. Or need some labor help getting a crop in, things like that you can't plan on.

Just a few years ago the neighbor lady was having trouble shooting her new revolver. I gave her shooting lessons and in return she gave me free haircuts for the year. We both were happy with the outcome (yes I know that's not commodity barter).

 

If you were to go from garage to garage and pantry to pantry across the U.S. and Canada you not find two with exactly the same things in them. That is really the essence of bartering. Lots of people collect one certain thing because they know about it and know its worth. A guy who has an old trator junkyard will have parts to barter for say food. Silver and Gold used as currency when paper is worthless. Eggs for fish, veggies for meat, fruit for potatoes etc. I see barter towns set up all over. Much like the old Jericho series where they had a central place where people from all over came to trade for things they didn't have. An old alternator for making 12 volts, batteries, tools, Imagine giant flea markets where people meet and greet, share news and trade. The lone wolves will hide in the shadows and horde w3hat they have. Others will seek out trade and company. Some small towns will bar the gate and only trade with other towns or traveling merchants. Of course raiders will have goods they stole for trade or sale. Bartering of things like alcohol,tobacco and sex will be huge for a short time. So yes , bartering is already happening all over the world. It is the need for trade that drives it. If governments fall people will still seek out trade. KF

 

I don't see why people WOULDN'T want to barter. With that being said, I'm not to the point where I am buying things "just" for barter. Humans have been bartering for a very long time. And will continue to do so. People even do it NOW.

 

I understand bartering but I dont understand stocking things planning to trade. Unless of course you have alot of funds and already have all your bases more than covered.

And then there is the question of what are your needs covered? One year? five years? etc.

With unlimited funds I would definitely stock barter items.

 

Without a functioning system to give paper money worth, all that's left is Barter/Trade.. even if gold and silver has recognized worth.

Anyone who chooses to neglect prepping for barter better have every supply and service covered for 4 potential seasons of on-your-own, otherwise you might be sacrificing one necessity to get another, which means you're falling behind in survival. And even though food will be the most desired item, I doubt anyone will be safely independent. Murphy's Law.

I noticed this book the other day. Too expensive for 44 pages, but I could use some insight. Anyone read it?

 

In these threads I'm usually in the minority, feeling that the expectations surrounding the whole barter experience are unrealistic, if not vastly over-blown.
First, the whole concept ( as it's often discussed here) seems to be dependant on there being some sort of complete and total collapse of everything :banking, commerce, media, police,etc., which I think borders on being impossible.
But, assuming something like this does occur, after a month of no food shipping to stores, the vast majority of people will be starving and desperate, and won't HAVE anything to barter with.
And who's going to walk down the road in search of people that have something you need, and that are willing and able do a reasonable buisness, rather than ambushing you?
This isn't the 1800's, where you might be surrounded by decent,hardworking people that grow food, raise chickens, know how to hunt, fish, make soap and clothes, etc.
We are now largely surrounded by inept idiots that, for the most part, have NOTHING of value in a post-SHTF environment, and would be nothing more than frightened,dangerous mouths to feed.
I'm not saying there won't be any bartering at all, but I think this thriving "Barter Town" idea that so many envision is just nonsense found on bad movies from the Sci-Fi channel, rather than what we can realistically expect.

 

MIL-DOT that has to be the best & most realistic description of the situation I've ever seen! I've always thought the same things & wondering what the majority would have to trade. I'm glad we are well stocked & far from the have-nots when the day arrives.

We won't waste fuel & risk trading our excess eggs, garden & orchard items
unless we needed medical,dental or vet services. We have no need for labor or skills anyone would trade for food. Our homestead/ranch work is done by us for years & it will stay that way SHTF or not. Security people in theory would also be nice but who can you trust when they are armed, know your layout & assets? We'll decline that high risk option.

I hope those thinking of trading BIC lighters, booze, smokes etc to the desperate hordes seriously consider the risk. In good times there is plenty of jealousy & anger toward those with more. When these people have nothing & you are eating well you will really find out how they react.

Red

 

With rare exceptions (like salt, for example, where $30 got me enough salt to last me, my extended family, and who knows how many else, an entire lifetime), I don't specifically stock things for the purpose of bartering. For me, I'd rather spend my money on more preps that I can use.

I would prefer not to barter at all during a crisis situation - I don't want anyone knowing that I might have more. But after it's over, and things have settled down, then bartering would probably be a very useful thing to do.

I also do not store items that I cannot use (unless of course I got them free or nearly free, and they might be useful). For example, as a single guy with limited funds, I don't store baby diapers for barter. But I do have plenty of toilet paper that I could barter with if needed. I have plenty of canning jars, though I would reluctant to barter those.

 

After any event, a market will form, formally or informally. People WILL have to buy things. That means there will always be a niche for it. There are starving people who barter all the time in foreign countries.

 

Yes, and it will be mainly the unprepared desperately trying to trade worthless junk.

 

I suppose if you're so prepared and planned out to have enough of EVERYTHING you can possibly need for the rest of your life, and your children's lives, and your grandchildren's lives, bartering isn't needed.

I'm not quite there yet.

 

We barter now but we don't call it that. If you have a job you trade your services for money. You take that money and trade with others for goods and services. Now, we call that working, shopping, and paying the bills. It's all just trade really.

Even in a SHTF situation it's unlikely that you'll be a jack-of-all-trades, and there's only so many years of [everything] that you can store. In time you will need something, so it would be smart to have something worth trading.

The best things for barter are going to be something you can manufacture, or an uncommon skill you have mastered. Many people plan to barter precious metals or other luxury items, but if those are stockpiled they could be stolen. You don't want all your eggs in one basket.

It's possible to scrape by with a subsistence lifestyle, but lurking in the shadows you would deprive yourself of the benefits others get from doing trade. The markets are where you will find news, socializing, and entertainment... along with whatever goods you might have to buy or sell.

 

When I was I kid we had a huge garden but never raised watermelons . We had a neighbor that raised lots of watermelons and we had an agreement he could get what he wanted out of our garden and we could do the same with his .

 

bartering will be the language of the land. sure there will be black markets full of dangerous shady people, but they will want to sell their wares, and they wont be take cash, check or credit cards.

not to be crude, but the most common form of bartering that will happen, is women selling their bodies for food and security. except they wont call it bartering, many would shack up with any one willing. many women get what they want in todays world with sex, it will be even more common after a collapse.

 

Hahaha... what a great plan that would be. Hookers mostly don't fare well these days, don't think it'll be any better post-SHTF.

 

Barter is the most basic of human trade interactions.

In any situation (even today), you can find barter mechanisms at play. Flea markets and yard sales are prime examples. So are electronic classifieds. So are professionals or tradesmen accepting anything other than federal reserve notes for their work or service. Any situation where both parties get to negotiate value and means of exchange.

Trade, like water, finds its own level. Where money is worthless or cash is in short supply, barter fills the gap.

Something I've noticed in several countries is that when times get tough (war, economic collapse or depression, hyper-inflation, disaster, etc.), corporate retail trade tends to collapse (to varying degrees) due to the inability of normal providers to maintain, deliver, or secure stock. If the local super grocer, mall, or department store is out of goods, out of payroll, customers have no money, or the money is useful only as toilet paper or fire tinder... marketplaces spring up.

Most places in the world already have these markets in place. The markets themselves are money producing engines and are generally owned, run, and secured for profit by somebody with power (both the electrical and armed force varieties).

Speaking of worthless money, currency exchange is actually a form of barter conducted in most third and second world market places. Trading one type of rapidly devaluing money for a more desirable currency.

The typical post apocalyptic tale has the protagonists roaming around cutting good deals with neighbors or the one guy who just happens to have a critical piece of gear to accomplish some task. Everyone is trading chickens, fuel, firewood, construction material, or armed protection for what the other guy has. And it could happen that way...to a point.

What is more common is that someone else (a third party) establishes a secure venue where customers can conduct trade in relative security. That someone takes a cut of all transactions in return for controlling the retail space and providing a modicum of armed security and dispute arbitration. The #1 rule is to not screw with the customers... or they will quit showing up. Criminal enterprise and trafficking in all manner of potentially illegal items may be discretely allowed. Armed robbery is not.

This is precisely how places like Amsterdam's infamous red light district stay in business. Or any local market in rural Africa. The customers have to feel safe. The trade market is usually neutral ground for all parties. Even enemies will agree to an uneasy truce if they need continued access to trade. I have seen that in several places overseas. Usually both local criminal cartels and local government (including the police) are in on the deal. Everybody gets paid.

It's easier to barter your corn crop, litter of puppies, alcohol, tools, or battery stockpiles at a known and protected market place than to try and conduct trade from your front yard... or out on the open road.

Anyone who has never been to one should visit a local flea market. Shop, haggle, buy something. The experience is as old as humanity, but many modern Americans have lost awareness for the art of the deal. They aren't used to haggling while socializing. That useful skill might come in handy someday.

 

The barter economy already exists and it's in the billions of dollars.

At some point in time, there will be something you need that someone else has and you will have what someone else will take in trade for what you need.

Barter is a way of life in many areas.

 

I understand the op's confusion regarding someone's focus/obsession with barter. Seems like it should be something like:

Primary preps
Financial (extra cash and pms)
Secondary preps
Barter items

In other words, why consider barter items if you still have holes?

 

Why? Timing of sales where a specific item is available at a very good price so you buy in quantity.

 

Bartering should be a "skill" anyone who preps should have. I practice mine off the Barter section in CL. You can build bonds with others or destroy any chance to make them; and if you work the skills now you will be better prepared for the SHTF. It is also a way to get rid of stuff you don't need / recycle-upcycle and get stuff for your preps / use now.

 

I've mentioned in another thread that I stockpiled sewing machine needles with the intention of using them for barter. (Unconventional barter items)

I see barter happening all the time now.

Got Pregnant? Baby clothes get bartered over and over. Yes, the were given as a gift during your baby shower, but the social expectation is that you'll use them, clean them, store them, and pass them on. Bartered baby clothes. Same thing happens with kids clothes.

Got garden? We trade seeds in the winter while planning our garden. My wife negotiates with other local gardeners who's starting what plants, when, and in what quantity. The local garden center wants US$2-5 dollars for a tomato plant that she gets in barter for her basil or whatever.

Got garden? We trade labor for manure & bedding.

Got garden? We barter labor for future labor, or future produce

Don't got garden? We barter produce for social equity, past or future labor, etc.

Got building? We bartered labor for the knowledge of a retired contractor. He planned, designed, and supervised a garage with apartment. Other neighbors bartered labor for labor to help build it.

I helped a neighbor build a hops trellis. We get beer.

Small towns and rural areas are dependent on barter because cash can be scarce. It may be informal, but people keep pretty close track to ensure equity. Being known as the guy who doesn't trade honestly quickly means that nobody wants to work with you.

In many cities, there is a movement towards tiny free libraries people build along the sidewalk. Take a book, leave a book. That's informal barter.

I imagine that post-SHTF, people will continue bartering until a stable currency evolves and the whole cycle starts over.

 

I've mentioned in another thread that I stockpiled sewing machine needles with the intention of using them for barter. (Unconventional barter items)

I see barter happening all the time now.

I try to teach the same lesson with the zippo flints. They cost everyone $1.19. I get them at a store and pay .79 plus I get 20% off so .63. I buy everything they stock on the shelf, as well as all of the other fluid lighter products. Once per week I buy everything. I know no one else here is buying them, because there is a constant shortage lol. May be one day I sell them on ebay in sets once the price has trippled. Or just keep em and pass them on in wooden crates. Who knows? not me but whats done is done. No time in life to look backwards. Its a penny stock now.

 

And who's going to walk down the road in search of people that have something you need, and that are willing and able do a reasonable buisness, rather than ambushing you?

lets suppose a "village" hunts & prepares food daily... if a set amount of extra portions were prepared each day, & could be traded to those hungry enough, to go out & syphon gas / fuel oil, or scavenge LP bottles, or really anything that could make life easier for the "village" to trade for food daily, an extended community gets fed, & keeps the "village" safe within confines of it's defendable boarders, while acquiring things that they might not have had funds to purchase before hand...

for example, that tractor could be pretty cost prohibitive pre SHTF, but could be purchased for a couple weeks worth of food, & enough gold / silver to purchase food or other items later, for the person bringing in the tractor... pick anything... I'd love to have a bulldozer, but can't afford one now, but I may own one in the future, through barter...

 

If people aren't actively involved in bartering now, they are so far behind the 8 ball they will be seriously in trouble if it goes sideways. Deep trouble.

You will fall victim to every type of con and theft right when you need the deals to work.

I have two cloth bags by the door. And over a half dozen traders I go and see. some things I produce and some things I trade to take to others. Some things they produce and i trade them to other traders. Now on the surface it appears to be crazy they would get the goods from me when they could go and drive over and get them themselves. But the reality is I trade them the quantity they want along with other goods that probably came from a couple other places.

In reality i'm saving them money because it comes to their door. They understand I need a cut for gas and a profit as well, so they pay the expenses to me they would have spent in the trade process. One makes stoneware and ceramics, another works stones and gems, a couple more have antique shops, one is a blacksmith, a couple second hand stores. you get the picture. All of them know vast networks of people they also trade their specialties to. By combining my stops among people who all trade and cater to customers with the same tastes, Im gathering at each place and casting it out across different networks of people.

Now its not as simple as all that. These are trusted people who earned that trust over years. I drill down to the nuts and bolts of how they are doing. Some are always going to be going through tough spots. I push them ahead so they have or can be one deal away from a cash buffer to get by. I had to do this with several people this year, due to one of the slowest springs to ever happen. By taking care of my people if I get in a spot they know they can cover me. Most often we dont have cash to stimulate this artificial economy we created. But across the board we are usually one deal away from being ok. At first they wont understand it. I tell them up front. Its an investment in you so your still here and not out of business the next time I come around. I expect full payment but if your short we do a long deal, but most important is we do a deal. Doing nothing helps no one.

When you take care of people like that then all the prices change. Something from the kiln that was 30 that you traded at 38, and you took 4 of. You can ask them how deep are you in to it and they tell you they are 16 and offer for 20. This is where the trust comes in. Most people would take them for 20. I say well I can take 6 if I can sell at 36. I'll give you 26 and we both take a gamble on moving more. If it doesn't work we leave it at 30. Everyone's gotta eat.

Being a successful trader isn't a skill everyone is going to have, even if they produce by trade or have huge trade stocks. It has to do with taking care of your people. In the same way if I come across a sick trader, and the family is sick, if they are open to it, and its something that can go away in an hour or two like a cold or the flu, i'll ask them if they want some plant juice. Then sit and trade and they will be fine by the time I leave. Might be they toss something in for the assist. I also always try to tell them the next couple stops. They may know things the other folks want or in the case of the shops things they looked at and wanted. I try to pick them up if they seem reasonable. Then show up with the things they wanted and be ready to trade.

Putting it simple when the first boats came to trade they had simple things. Skinning knives and cast iron and other utilitarian items. A trader walks up and gets a knife and gives 3 coon skins. Later a couple days away after the boat left he meets a man who picks up the knife and gives him four coon skins. Then gives him 4 fox 6 coon and 2 beaver for a blanket and lunch pot that cost 4+4+1.

Its not rocket surgery. Its going on today all around you. My fam has been doing it here since 1623.

Its a prepper skill you should be working on now. Not just waiting for something to happen that may never happen in your life.

 

We are already trading with our neighbors. My next door neighbor has great soil for potatoes. I trade him rabbits for potatoes. I trade my other neighbor eggs for corn. I just traded two rabbits for two bales of alfalfa hay. One thing a Stock a lot and it is for trade or to fend off starving people who want what we have is Raman noodles. They are cheap and keep forever. Great trade item along with two liter bottles of water. I have tons of both.

 

Thanks,Red, that was a pretty outstanding summation,as well. :thumb:

 

Shoot, since our Disorganizer in Chief gave us such a run on firearms and especially anything bullet specific, I've been having a ball!

When hunting seasons roll around everyone and their brother seems to suddenly notice they might only have 3 or 4 rounds of .300 mag, 270 win or 30-06. That is where my own bartering comes in!

I handloaded 12 boxes of 30-06 to a hunting buddy for a nearly new (still had the box) Ruger MKII.

I handloaded 15 boxes of .300 win mag to a farmer friend for a heifer that was pregnant and now I have a calf to raise for meat. And a milk cow now.

I handloaded 20 boxes of .270 Winchester for a fellow I grew up with and he swapped an 8 year old Morgan mare for them.

The nicest thing is, that was all done using THEIR brass. But it was also handy that they came to me with those deals in mind.

Oh, and I also swapped a brick of 500 .22LR for 3 doe New Zealand rabbits and one buck. Their cages came with them and we've been eating a lot of rabbit meat now for over a year:thumb:

 

One could find themselves in a scenario where being "holed up" is impossible. Perhaps you are traveling or an x factor situation happens and getting to your preps or BOL is impossible. Being able to barter a valuable skill or skill set to join a group (or to not be killed by a hungry gang) when you have limited or no material resources can literally save your life.

"Wait, don't leave me here. Let me join you. I can..."
"Don't kill us, we can ..."

All I know is that saying I am really good at Excel, can do your taxes for you, have my real estate license and I am a great regional sales manager probably won't cut it.