Thoughts On Trade & Barter Part 2

In part two of this multi-part series, Jerry D. Young shares more of his thoughts and advice on barter and trade.

Four Keys To Barter

Try to barter skills and knowledge rather than goods. They don’t run out.

Try to barter the information in books. Don’t let the books leave your control.

Try to barter the use of tools and equipment rather than trading them away.

Try to make trades in neutral areas or at a designated barter/trade meeting. Make sure you aren’t followed back home.

If both parties are happy with the trade, it is a good trade.

What is a good barter/trade between two people is not always a good trade for two other people. Everyone has different value systems, needs, wants, and resources.

While getting value for value is nearly an absolute, being extremely ‘stingy’ will get a person the reputation of being too difficult to deal with, and reduce that person’s ability to trade.

In the same vein, taking extreme advantage of someone that is essentially clueless, will usually come back to haunt one when that person learns they could/should/might have received rather more than they did for a given item.

That will turn a ‘both parties happy with the trade’ good trade into a grudge by the person that got taken advantage of against the person that took advantage. In addition it will get the undue advantage taker the reputation of one that cannot be trusted to do an honest trade.

Sometimes a direct trade simply is not possible when one of the traders simply does not have anything the other trader wants. Pushing for a trade by the one that does want what the other has is usually both useless, and counterproductive.

Sometimes three-way (or more way) trades are required if two people do not have what each other wants, but a third party has one of the items and is willing to participate in the trade, with each getting something they want.

Again, trying to force someone to trade is almost always counterproductive.

When using PMs (precious metals), having an agreement for any given barter/trade day on what specific PM coins are worth and posting it might be advantageous. Of course any two people making a barter/trade that includes PMs will apply their own value to the coins, having a standard value as a reference point for those not familiar with PMs might make it much easier for them.

While being ‘wealthy’ in trade goods is certainly not a bad thing, making excessive value barters/trades to get all the ‘good stuff’, will get one plenty of items, but will also get one the reputation of being a ‘rich person taking undue advantage of that wealth’. Just as it does now when someone tries to buy up everything they can of limited supply items in a crisis situation.

In the same vein, someone that constantly interferes in barters/trades between two other people and offers a bit more than what the one person can give, to get a given item without having to trade for it with the person that is trying to get it, gets the same reputation of abusing their wealth.

Once a person gets a bad reputation as a barterer/trader, that reputation will stay with them for a very long time, no matter how much they might try to reverse it.

The reputation of being a good, honest barter/trader is worth its weight in gold.

Cheap junk is still cheap junk in a barter/trade situation, just as it is in a regular money based economy.
The old adage that one person’s junk is another person’s treasure is an old adage for a reason. It can certainly be true. But it sure is not all the time. People can have very different value systems for different types of items.

Sometimes a ‘kicker’ is worth a lot more in good will than its actual value. And while it might not ‘make the deal’, that good will can often make a deal in the future possible that might not be otherwise. Especially if it is given after the deal is made.

Currently packaging is easily and cheaply available. But Zip-locks, and bottles and small paper sacks will quickly disappear. Reusing durable containers will be pretty much a necessity and way of life. If you are trading bulk items, encourage people to provide their own containers for anything that must be transferred from an original container or storage vessel.

There will be a need to have some on hand, at least initially, until people get into the habit of bringing their own, and so you can trade just the amount you or they want without having to try and get full value for the full container of the goods.

Make it clear that providing their own containers is required, and that any that you provide will have a high deposit value so to encourage their continued use rather than having to get a new container every time. This will also encourage the people to bring back the same container for repeat sales and conserve your stock of the containers.

Weights and measures in trade

Another consideration for trading bulk goods is a way to measure them. It is a very good idea to have your own measuring equipment. Best if it is easily recognized as standard items that can be compared to something people might have at home. No fancy specialty measuring spoons or cups, Scales with non-standard units of measure.

But do have a variety of the measuring devices, from 1/8 teaspoon to one gallon, various buckets with either marked capacity or that are recognizable such as a Homer bucket, Lowes bucket, or the various food storage buckets.

For weights, have several of varying capacity, at least suitable for what you plan to use in barter and trade. And having other ranges of capacity could be advantageous to check something you might take in trade, or someone else needs an accurate weight. Troy weight scale for precious metals, an up to 16 ounce scale; and 1#+, 10#+, 100#+, & 500#+ scales should be adequate for most things. Probably would not need the 500#+ scale, but you never know.

When doing trades for future production, especially food, do not promise too much, as things can have a way of changing. If you trade 10 people a day’s food for one person for an hour of labor, and your garden does not produce, then you could be in serious trouble.

Definitions and meanings

Be very careful about definitions and meanings. It is probably best to actually spell it out and document terms that can be interpreted in various ways by various people. For instance, what is a ‘day’s’ worth of food? Or a week’s worth? Just what kind of labor is being traded for? Is one rabbit a small just weaned one; or a tough old buck; or a sweet, large, ready to eat one.

If it is a one-on-one trade, it is fairly easy. But when you are trading with several people, or it is a trade for future delivery, then it really does need to be clarified so there are no problems later. If it is a community, it would not hurt to get several people’s input on what a day’s worth or week’s worth of food is.

This is especially important when you, as a supplier, seem to have so much, and the one you are trading with need it so badly, that their interpretation of just how much food is needed for a day or for a week.

So remind people that tend to want more than what is reasonable that the shoe could be on the other foot at some point, and they will be required to provide that same amount in exchange for something they want. That will usually bring them back down to reasonable expectations.

Stay tuned for Part 3, coming soon here at Beans, Bullets, Bandages and You!

About the author: Jerry D Young is an Author, Prepper, Consultant, Philosopher who resides in Nevada. He has written over 100 books, many of which are available at this link:

“I have been a prepper for more than 50 years. I believe that the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts have had it right for decades…”Be Prepared.” Unfortunately, we, as a country seem to have gotten away from that philosophy. There has been a disconnect from the “Old Ways so profound, some people don’t really understand where their food comes from. 

That’s not a problem until the “System” fails. Be it from a hurricane, earthquake, tornado, flood or even a closed road or train route. The system is designed to get JUST what is needed to the stores JUST when it’s needed. So if the “System” fails, then the things we need…the things we believe will be there aren’t. That’s when being a prepper makes sense. Being able to be self-sufficient for the the time needed until the “System” recovers…regardless of how long that takes. 

That’s why so many of my books incorporate the theme of “Being prepared.” Hope you enjoy them!”