Becoming a trading center

[CommsNBombs]

Just give me a 8 digit grid coord youre going to be at - Im too poor to stockpile so Ill guard your stuff and flense unsultry hookers for the glory of your post apocalyptic empire


...in exchange for booze. Lots of booze

Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk

[monkeylizard]

Add to my list above:

• fishing line
• fish hooks
• duck tape
• booze - I said it earlier, but left it off "the list". High alcohol content is best. Skip the Bailey's and go straight for the whiskey, rum, and vodka. Doesn't have to be Woodford Reserve. Canadian Mist will do in the apocalypse.

Edited December 8, 2015 by monkeylizard

[Tedro2022]

Add to my list above:

• fishing line
• fish hooks
• duck tape
• booze - I said it earlier, but left it off "the list". High alcohol content is best. Skip the Bailey's and go straight for the whiskey, rum, and vodka. Doesn't have to be Woodford Reserve. Canadian Mist will do in the apocalypse.

This is how I talked the wife into letting me have a liquor cabinet in the new house. Just told her that it was for kitchen "prep" items. Lots of whiskey, rum and vodka up there which we don't drink much of.
She rolled her eyes like she typically does when I talk about being prepared and having things on hand. But she can't reach this particular cabinet so I didn't get too much push back.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Caster]

For alcohol, go for Everclear or Golden Grain. 190 proof. Much more versitile. You can always cut it to make it more drinkable.

[Moped]

 

Add to my list above:

• fishing line
• fish hooks
• duck tape
• booze - I said it earlier, but left it off "the list". High alcohol content is best. Skip the Bailey's and go straight for the whiskey, rum, and vodka. Doesn't have to be Woodford Reserve. Canadian Mist will do in the apocalypse.

 

 

Other items to add:

• soap
• shampoo
• cleaning supplies
• tampons/sanitary napkins
• cotton balls
• razors
• toothpaste and tooth brushes
• laundry detergent
• silver
• .177 and .22 cal pellets
• needles and thread
• scissors
• thumbles
• baking soda
• salt and pepper
• bouillon cubes
• instant coffee
• water flavor packets

Edited December 8, 2015 by Moped

[quickbiscuit]

Consider this: you are talking about building a business in a time of chaos by offering only low-value items of which you will have a limited stock. What items will you need in exchange? Let's presume that you will need food (meat) since you aren't a hunter or farmer. Now assign a value to what you have versus what you need. Using figures proportional to what we see in stores today, your bar of soap has a value of 1 where a pound of meat has a value of 8 or more. So...are you prepared stockpile at least 8 bars of soap to exchange for 1 pound of meat that you and your family will probably eat in one day? If so, you will need a HELLUVA LOT OF SOAP.

The point is, if you only have low value items to trade you will only get low value items in return. No one is going to need 8 bars of soap at a time. If you're going to make that idea work, you need a huge variety of items and a lot of it. Time might be better spent trying to figure out how to take control of the nearest Colgate-Palmolive warehouse!

[monkeylizard]

Oh....I don't know. A guy managed to trade a paper clip for a house.

 

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=2192233&page=1

 

You have to take a long-term approach to this, especially since it's really only useful in a long-term collapse. Maybe the guy with venison doesn't need 8 bars of soap, but maybe you can trade a couple of bars of soap for a bottle of doe scent with a different person, then trade that to the hunter for some meat. It's all about beads on a string. Normally a pound of meat <> a bar of soap, but if you've got 100 lbs of meat and no good way to preserve it, you trade what you can as fast as you can. Or maybe that hunter has a kid with a birthday coming up and he wants to do something for his little girl. Now maybe a box of 8 basic crayons = a turkey or some rabbits.

[nightrunner]

Oh....I don't know. A guy managed to trade a paper clip for a house.

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=2192233&page=1

You have to take a long-term approach to this, especially since it's really only useful in a long-term collapse. Maybe the guy with venison doesn't need 8 bars of soap, but maybe you can trade a couple of bars of soap for a bottle of doe scent with a different person, then trade that to the hunter for some meat. It's all about beads on a string. Normally a pound of meat <> a bar of soap, but if you've got 100 lbs of meat and no good way to preserve it, you trade what you can as fast as you can. Or maybe that hunter has a kid with a birthday coming up and he wants to do something for his little girl. Now maybe a box of 8 basic crayons = a turkey or some rabbits.

Exactly.

A certain items value will not be the same after a long term collapse.

Grid down, a tv or DVD player would be near worthless, where as a good fixed blade knife would be invaluable, as would a box of .30-06

[quickbiscuit]

Food and water are of the highest priority. You can survive without soap, and it can also be made at home. If I had to operate a store/trading post, I would rather have a supply of canning lids (jars and rings can be reused) or other items for preserving food. Then you would be a valuable person to know, but you would still have a finite supply to work with. If you are really serious about being "important" in a post-apocalyptic world, I would focus on something sustainable. Learn to grow fruit/vegetables and how to preserve the seed from one year to the next. Now you've got something that everyone needs, and you can do it year after year. Then you can trade a basket of beans for someone else's Irish Spring! I think the idea of operating a trading post is going about it backwards.

[monkeylizard]

Learn to make 'shine.

[Moped]

Never under estimate the importance of hygiene.  Yes water, food and shelter are extremely important, but all it takes is a small cut getting infected and within a week, you could be dead.  Soap is very important.  Yes you can make it, but how many people know how?  I'm betting it's like one in several thousand or more.

 

Also how long are you going to keep meat if the power is out? Better have a generator in order to run that freezer if you want to keep meat. So you better have a good supply of gasoline.  Otherwise, that meat is gone with 48 hours of lights going out. 

 

You all read this article about survival during the Bosnian War.  No sure if it's true or not, but there are lots to think about here.  The man that wrote the article talks about the importance of hygienic items.

 

http://www.naturalnews.com/040249_Bosnia_preppers_survival_strategies.html

 

BTW, just got back from the grocery store and came up with some more items that would be good to stock up on for trading a trading post.

• Spaghetti / macaroni noodles
• dry goods like rice, flour, oats and beans
• packages of dried fruit
• canned foods (any and all)
• glue
• nails and screws
• different sized hinges and latches
• wire
• trash bags
• plastic sheeting
• cordage
• cheap polyurethane tarps like those sold at harbor freight.
• aspirin/painkillers
• vitamins
• inner tubes (lots of uses for bicycle inter tubes)

Edited December 8, 2015 by Moped

[Jamie Jackson]

Great ideas folks.

 

Have any of you read any Mel Tappan?

 

He was, for lack of a better term, a "Survival Guru" back in the late 70's early 80's. I read his book "Tappan On Survival" back in the 80's.

He has a lot of good suggestions such as we are seeing here. He really focused on the concept of a small community. It's truly worth your time imho.

 

PDF: http://www.giltweasel.com/stuff/Tappan%20on%20Survival.pdf

 

the book: http://www.amazon.com/Tappan-Survival-Mel/dp/1581605099/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1449623865&sr=1-1&keywords=tappan+on+survival

[ReeferMac]

This is not to be confused with a skill like carpentry, etc, ehere you can trade your work for goods. I am simply referring to the idea of stocking cheaper/smaller physical items specifically for trade.

 

I read an interesting fiction book that had that sort of thing in the background, was an interesting read, too, I'd recommend it:

 

A World Made by Hand, by James Howard Kuntsler

 

While not a central focus of the story, it figured into the storyline repeatedly, and indicated such supplies could prove useful in some situations.

[ReeferMac]

Gunna look into the pool shock! Never thought of that. And the pencils are a great idea, too. Great list, thanks!

 

Careful there... It looses effectiveness over time and frequently is manufactured with contaminants, e.g. not quite up for human consumption. I've read some stuff that gets deep into the chemistry, but long story short, it's not the cheap panacea it would seem. While effective, there are risks, and it's not a long-term storage option. Replace annually, or look into other options.

[JPS]

Learn to make 'shine.

 

I'm saving for at $99 copper still on E-bay.

[broox]

Kroger has little tubes of athletes foot medicine for 2$. I have bought a few extra of those.

[Hunter444]

" Also how long are you going to keep meat if the power is out? Better have a generator in order to run that freezer if you want to keep meat. So you better have a good supply of gasoline. Otherwise, that meat is gone with 48 hours of lights going out. "

You could dry meat, like they did before we had refrigeration. Use pepper to keep the flys off and slice thin. Sun jerky.
Pepper, sharp knife and maybe some para cord or string to hang it.
And/ or use a smoker.

[jgradyc]

Survival books with DIY stuff would be worth their weight in gold. I have over a dozen in pdf/epub, a tablet, and a solar charger. Unfortunately, without a solar charger and ereader, they'd be worthless as trade.