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This came up again elsewhere, with the idea of having a "barter box" of stuff. Here are some of my thoughts-
Wrote an article for the old American Survival Guide back in 96 regarding bartering for survival, it challenged some of the common thoughts.
You got to start at the beginning- who is your market? Who would you WANT to barter with and who would you NOT want to barter with?
That's your first part.
Unfortunately most "preppers" don't get past the fantasy of "I have gold, everyone will want it and I can name my price" which is utter BS.
Anyone who is remotely thinking they will barter needs to spend some time in a pawn shop, that's probably the best place for someone who doesn't sell for a living to learn to negotiate and make deals. If your serious about learning these skills, getting hosed on a few things you sell at the pawn shop should just be considered part of education expenses, LOL.
In a bad situation, you would almost be better to selectively "gift" people things versus attempting to barter with some that perhaps don't have anything of value. Think about it, your average suburban dweller, what is he going to have that a well prepared survivalist is going to need? 48 inch flat screen? Mommy Bus sized SUV with no gas? His granite countertop?
What about "gifting" them something they may need? Notice I bolded the word "selectively" above- you can't do this en mass and you can't do it without really knowing the person. But done effectively it can be beneficial to you as well. Is it "charity?" Yes to a degree. Are there risks? Your damn right there are.
Things I personally wouldn't consider bartering-
Guns- if they don't have any already, they don't need mine. Exception would be close friend/well known neighbor maybe their placed burned down, run out by looters, etc.
Ammo- Same as above. Likely to get shot by your own ammo. Same exceptions as above.
DAC- drugs, alcohol, cigs- people seeking these out post SHTF are most likely going to be people addicted to these things. Addicts are unpredictable people. "Word" will get out that you barter with these things. Might as well start a shady azz post apoc convenience store as you will have all the dirtbags hanging around. And some of these things certain people will do whatever to get. What could possibly go wrong?
Save the alcohol and cigs for on the down low "gifts" to certain people, maybe as thank you gifts, showing respect, etc.
Honestly, the biggest problems most preppers will have with "bartering" is their ultimate lack of experience in this type of situation. Most of us are law abiding, nice folks. Do you know how to finesse your way through a tough situation? Or are you that standard Amerikan consumer that thinks you can just yell, get pushy, make demands and threats? Here's a clue- without WROL you'll get shot in the face acting like that.
Will you be o.k. going into every "bartering" opportunity with the thought that the wrong person can kill you for that item? Let's start with an easy scenario-
"But I know Suzy Q, she's helped organize our HOA and we had a BBQ last year and..." That was Suzy pre-collapse. That was everything is more or less o.k. Suzy acting under SOCIAL NORMS which at the time say "put on this mask (facade) when you are with these people, put on that mask (facade) when your around this group."
This is Suzy Q. a month into the PAW, her Paxil and lithium (or whatever the hell) is all gone and she's having withdrawals, she's had to physically work a little bit for the first time in her life, her AC which she lives in at 68 degrees year round has been out, she drank some rain water the other day that is making her poop a lot, she's been pooping in a bucket, her spoiled kids are freaking out constantly because the frozen chicken nuggets (the only thing they eat) are gone and their video game isn't working. Suzy used to smoke, but gave it up due to peer pressure and advertising. Now she heard you have some cigs to barter. She asks you for some and you mistakenly say "what kind are you looking for?" She tells you and you produce them without any thought or hesitation. You ask her what she has in trade.
"Trade?" Suzy's first thought is why aren't you GIVING them to her, her 2nd thought is your a selfish asshole, she'll remember this. She then tells you she will write you a check since the card machines stopped working, I know I have some checks, I'll be right back." You tell her no checks, what else do you have. She's getting frustrated. Seeing there is no "manager" around, she asks if your wife is here. Your wife comes out (hopefully she was at least covering Suzy). Suzy changes masks (facades) quickly and starts talking to your wife making small talk going on about how they are suffering, things are bad. Your wife is smiling, Suzy is buttering her up- "your such great people, we miss you, once this is over we need to have another BBQ." blah blah blah.
"Well, I got to go, we are trying to catch some rainwater" (Suzy is one of those POS people from your HOA that "outlawed" rain catchment in your subdivision to begin with). She looks at your wife with puppy dog eyes and asks can she just owe you for it? She smiles and leaves with them.
BTW, Suzy is back the next day and she brought some stupid crystal figurine for your wife, it's absolutely useless to you but your wife takes it from her (social norms) Suzy has also been running her mouth to everyone else so you have had two more smokers come by, also wanting credit. When you told them no boy they were pissed, but left your garage easy enough.
That's likely the BEST scenario of that kind you could encounter.
Can you count how many ways "Jim the Prepper" eff'ed up the situation? And again, this one was pretty simple, no violence (yet).
Wrote an article for the old American Survival Guide back in 96 regarding bartering for survival, it challenged some of the common thoughts.
You got to start at the beginning- who is your market? Who would you WANT to barter with and who would you NOT want to barter with?
That's your first part.
Unfortunately most "preppers" don't get past the fantasy of "I have gold, everyone will want it and I can name my price" which is utter BS.
Anyone who is remotely thinking they will barter needs to spend some time in a pawn shop, that's probably the best place for someone who doesn't sell for a living to learn to negotiate and make deals. If your serious about learning these skills, getting hosed on a few things you sell at the pawn shop should just be considered part of education expenses, LOL.
In a bad situation, you would almost be better to selectively "gift" people things versus attempting to barter with some that perhaps don't have anything of value. Think about it, your average suburban dweller, what is he going to have that a well prepared survivalist is going to need? 48 inch flat screen? Mommy Bus sized SUV with no gas? His granite countertop?
What about "gifting" them something they may need? Notice I bolded the word "selectively" above- you can't do this en mass and you can't do it without really knowing the person. But done effectively it can be beneficial to you as well. Is it "charity?" Yes to a degree. Are there risks? Your damn right there are.
Things I personally wouldn't consider bartering-
Guns- if they don't have any already, they don't need mine. Exception would be close friend/well known neighbor maybe their placed burned down, run out by looters, etc.
Ammo- Same as above. Likely to get shot by your own ammo. Same exceptions as above.
DAC- drugs, alcohol, cigs- people seeking these out post SHTF are most likely going to be people addicted to these things. Addicts are unpredictable people. "Word" will get out that you barter with these things. Might as well start a shady azz post apoc convenience store as you will have all the dirtbags hanging around. And some of these things certain people will do whatever to get. What could possibly go wrong?
Save the alcohol and cigs for on the down low "gifts" to certain people, maybe as thank you gifts, showing respect, etc.
Honestly, the biggest problems most preppers will have with "bartering" is their ultimate lack of experience in this type of situation. Most of us are law abiding, nice folks. Do you know how to finesse your way through a tough situation? Or are you that standard Amerikan consumer that thinks you can just yell, get pushy, make demands and threats? Here's a clue- without WROL you'll get shot in the face acting like that.
Will you be o.k. going into every "bartering" opportunity with the thought that the wrong person can kill you for that item? Let's start with an easy scenario-
"But I know Suzy Q, she's helped organize our HOA and we had a BBQ last year and..." That was Suzy pre-collapse. That was everything is more or less o.k. Suzy acting under SOCIAL NORMS which at the time say "put on this mask (facade) when you are with these people, put on that mask (facade) when your around this group."
This is Suzy Q. a month into the PAW, her Paxil and lithium (or whatever the hell) is all gone and she's having withdrawals, she's had to physically work a little bit for the first time in her life, her AC which she lives in at 68 degrees year round has been out, she drank some rain water the other day that is making her poop a lot, she's been pooping in a bucket, her spoiled kids are freaking out constantly because the frozen chicken nuggets (the only thing they eat) are gone and their video game isn't working. Suzy used to smoke, but gave it up due to peer pressure and advertising. Now she heard you have some cigs to barter. She asks you for some and you mistakenly say "what kind are you looking for?" She tells you and you produce them without any thought or hesitation. You ask her what she has in trade.
"Trade?" Suzy's first thought is why aren't you GIVING them to her, her 2nd thought is your a selfish asshole, she'll remember this. She then tells you she will write you a check since the card machines stopped working, I know I have some checks, I'll be right back." You tell her no checks, what else do you have. She's getting frustrated. Seeing there is no "manager" around, she asks if your wife is here. Your wife comes out (hopefully she was at least covering Suzy). Suzy changes masks (facades) quickly and starts talking to your wife making small talk going on about how they are suffering, things are bad. Your wife is smiling, Suzy is buttering her up- "your such great people, we miss you, once this is over we need to have another BBQ." blah blah blah.
"Well, I got to go, we are trying to catch some rainwater" (Suzy is one of those POS people from your HOA that "outlawed" rain catchment in your subdivision to begin with). She looks at your wife with puppy dog eyes and asks can she just owe you for it? She smiles and leaves with them.
BTW, Suzy is back the next day and she brought some stupid crystal figurine for your wife, it's absolutely useless to you but your wife takes it from her (social norms) Suzy has also been running her mouth to everyone else so you have had two more smokers come by, also wanting credit. When you told them no boy they were pissed, but left your garage easy enough.
That's likely the BEST scenario of that kind you could encounter.
Can you count how many ways "Jim the Prepper" eff'ed up the situation? And again, this one was pretty simple, no violence (yet).
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