List of bartering goods

[ljonsey2005]

I didn't see this anywhere, so here is my little barter list. You can get alot of this at Family Dollar, Dollar General, Big Lots and just store it away....Hope this helps
Health:
• Alcohol (isopropyl/rubbing)
• Bandaids (all sizes)
• Disposable gloves
• Super glue (clear bandage)
• OTC medicines
• Hydrogen peroxide
• First aid kits
Farming:
• Goats
• Chickens
• Garden tools
• Horses
• Cattle
• Rabbits
• Pigs
Beauty:
• Combs
• Toothbrush
• Toothpaste
• Feminine products
• Nail clippers
• Scissors
• Tweezers
• Razors
• Soap
• Lotion
• Lip balm Clothing:
• Cloth diapers
• Baby clothes
• Flip-flops
• Needles (cloth/leather/canvas)
• Yarn and thread
• Knitting needles/crochet hooks
• Shoes and laces
• Socks and underwear
• Winter coats and rain gear
• Boots
• Gloves (work/garden/winter)
Food Barter Goods:
• Candy
• Canned and Dried Food
• Canning jars, lids, wax
• Coffee filters (for water filters)
• Coffee or tea
• Cooking Oil
• Drink flavors
• Eating & Cooking utensils
• Salt, spices
• Sugar
• Vegetable seeds (heirloom)
Books/Learning:
• Novels (entertainment)
• Food prep and storage
• Gardening
• Building
• Candle-making
• Soap making
• Edible and medicinal wild plants
• First aid
• Basket-weaving
• Leather making
• Homeschooling books/lessons
Hunting/Food Gathering:
• Guns
• Ammunition (esp. 22lr and 12g)
• Bows and arrows
• Bug repellent
• Animal traps
• Fishing line, hooks
• Hunting Knives
• Snare wire
• Fillet Knives
• Hatchets/axes
• Canteens
• Binoculars/scopes
Miscellaneous:
• Magnifying glasses
• Mirrors
• Nails and screws
• Non-electric hand-tools
• Pencils and sharpeners
• Paper
• Playing cards or dice for games
• Pocket-sized New Testaments
• Liquor
• Simple water filters
• Toilet paper
• Eye glass repair kits
• Gold and silver
Household Items:
• Aluminum foil
• Batteries (rechargeable)
• Solar battery chargers
• Bleach
• Candles
• Rope, string, cordage
• Duct tape
• Glue (all kinds)
• Rubberbands
• Safety Pins
• Scissors
• Silicon spray
• Soap
• Storage buckets w/lids
• Tarps/plastic sheeting
• Utility knives
• Windup radio
• Windup (cranking) flashlights
• Small metal pots or bowls
• Matches
• Flint & steel
• Zip lock baggies
• Clothes pins (single-piece)
.

[matthiasj]

Great list! Having items to barter is an important part of your preparedness plan.

[KYPATRIOT]

Nice list, i keep a few goods for barter but not many as I try to put most of my money into things my family and or group will use, One thing I am not sure of is ammo, as there are pro and cons to it. If somthing very bad happens there will be lots of things laying around for free if you dont mind stepping over the dead bodies and you can stand the smell. Most looters or brigands or outlaws arent going to carry empty mason jars, or shovels, or splitting mauls etc. They dont plan to use them items they just plan on takeing what ever they need. Gardening canning wood cutting and splitting would be too much work when they can just take the finished product. Only thing i would give to zombies like that is my ammo--- one round at a time

[andrew]

I'm telling you guys, if you can produce alcohol reasonably quickly, you will have followers that will help protect the production for consumption and trading.

I don’t drink, so, what I could produce would be all “profit.” It just has no value to me now .How do you make moonshine, anyway? Can you make it from popcorn?

[KYPATRIOT]

Hmmmmmmmm, alchol would be an excellent barter good.

[veggieboy]

Hmmmmmmmm, alchol would be an excellent barter good.

Yeah, it probably won't even have to be the "good stuff."

[A62Rambler]

Don't forget toilet paper. Laugh all you want but I dare you to try doing without it for 3 days.

[BusBoy]

I have to imagine that TP would become a very premium item, in relatively short order.

Perfume/cologne Smelly people will be interested in this (or their friends ) and it stores easily

Those ceramic filters from just4water One of them would be worth a "fortune" and cost @$20 today and stores forever.

Canning supplies, especially the lids. They are very inexpensive today but will be non-existent post-calamity.

[veggieboy]

ljonsey -- that's a really good list....

right off the top of my head i have a few additions:

Health:
tablets/OTC stuff (aspirin, ibuprofen, acetaminophen, antacids, anti-diarrhea)

Farming:
vegetable seeds

Hunting/Food Gathering:
Personally, i'm not so sure about bartering guns and ammo (especially the guns)

Books/Learning:
any DIY stuff...

[matthiasj]

Great list.

[twodogs]

One of several things we all have overlooked is Motor Oil. Of course if we have an EMP that wouldn't be much of an issue. Motor oil and auto parts. For the first few months there would be no demand for them but as time went on and things started to break down, you would have a gold mine. Even used parts of little value now would be handy later. For example common sizes of fan belts, automotive nuts and bolts, pully wheels, spark plugs, etc. Items that are common or that can be rigged to work on most vehicles.

To think of it, It's not a bad idea to stock up on these items for yourself as prepping items to keep your BOV in tip top shape.

Maybe someone with experience in this field could lend a hand in suggestions and how to come by these parts cheaply at a salvage yard. When I was younger and could still work on vehicles, I almost lived at a salvage yard getting replacement items such as headlights, bearings, axles, driveshafts, etc.

I'm no pro at speculation of oil prices but motor oil is already sky high and I don't expect it will go down. It's like a tax. Once it's there, it's there to stay. Although stocking up on these items would not be as easy as some things on your lists nor as easy to store but the fact still remains that these items will be needed either by you or others inside or outside your community.

[BusBoy]

Good point on having some spare items, including oil, around, for our vehicles. My goal is an older, tip top shape pickup, with a topper. Something simple. Put an extra distributor system in a faraday cage (maybe two) and it should be good to go for a while. Few other related items, belts, and such, would make a fine all purpose vehicle.

Tire repair plugs. And I just recently realized that the only way I have of getting air into a tire is with my electric air compressor. Now the compressor could be converted to run manually, with a pulley and bike, but a simple hand pump would be very handy.

Stocking parts for barter may be tough, but there is a fella in your community who is doing just that. The "junk yards" will be a gold mine, post-calamity. But, you will need to trade something with this fella for his parts. I wonder if a pound of rice and beans will be worth a water pump, post-calamity? Perhaps a dozen eggs for an intake manifold, or a pint of booze for a set of tires?

I kind of eye barter items in two basic categories. Necessities and desires.

Necessities are along the lines of food, water, shelter, medical goods, communication, transportation

Desires: clothes, some food, cleaning items, personal care items, alcohol etc.

Obviously items can cross back and forth in a hurry. Example, alcohol can become a necessity for medical treatment. Outside communication is not that critical for day to day living in a small community.

Most bang for the buck, easy, long term storage, recognized value....... sounds like booze to me

[twodogs]

Good points Busboy. Some I never thought of like the tire plugs. I could see where those would be in short supply. The humorous side to this in that down in the country settings there are no Auto Salvage Yards. When a vehicle stops running the folks just push it into the backyard. Instant Prepping.

[BusBoy]

The humorous side to this in that down in the country settings there are no Auto Salvage Yards. When a vehicle stops running the folks just push it into the backyard. Instant Prepping.

Darn Funny!!

[andrew]

Most bang for the buck, easy, long term storage, recognized value....... sounds like booze to me

Too bad they don't sell dehydrated booze. It would be a great prepper item!