Barter Items & Skill Sets To Trade – Jerry D. Young

Barter Items & Skill Sets To Trade is the fourth part of a series. You can read Part 1 HERE, and Part 2 HERE, and Part 3 HERE.

To stock goods for barter and trade or not?

Personally, I do not stock goods to trade for other goods very much at all. What I stock, and the reason I stock, is to trade for services, skills, and knowledge. No matter how skilled and knowledgeable one is, no matter how good a library one has, no one knows everything or can do everything.

People will need the services, skills, and knowledge that someone else has, and will need some way to pay for it. And in many cases, mine especially, additional labor is likely to be required at times.

That is why I stock a few things. Because those people with what I need are quite likely to not have the things they need in the PAW and will be desperate to get whatever it is they need in return for their special skill, knowledge, or service. Or labor. be needing in the future. Stock those items first. Now, if your plan is to have a PAW store, that is one thing, but an individual that just wants a few.

Do I stock goods just to trade?

Personally, I do not stock goods to trade for other goods very much at all. What I stock, and the reason I stock, is to trade for services, skills, and knowledge. No matter how skilled and knowledgeable one is, no matter how good a library one has, no one knows everything or can do everything. People will need the services, skills, and knowledge that someone else has, and will need some way to pay for it. And in many cases, mine especially, additional labor is likely to be required at times.

That is why I stock a few things. Because those people with what I need are quite likely to not have the things they need in the PAW and will be desperate to get whatever it is they need in return for their special skill, knowledge, or service. Or labor.

I do not suggest you stock up trade goods with the intention of getting items you know you will need to get something he either failed to think of, or wasn’t available to the person before the event, is another. Better to have several of a few key items than one each of many. But those key items could be very different in different areas of the country.

A special note on water

I only recently added bottled water to the list of items to have for barter. I did not list pre-packaged water by itself before, for a couple of reasons. Water is a critical element for life. In the initial phases of a disaster, I simply cannot bring myself to withhold water from someone that needs it in circumstances like that. I either give it away, or I just keep it and do not admit to having any. (Out of sight.)

Trading water just is not something I could do under those circumstances. I have water as part of my humanitarian supplies, to give away. And I have more for strictly my own use. That is a personal quirk, and I am not saying people should not trade water.

I do intend to charge for purification services and transport of water in the PAW. Just not the water itself. Semantics, I know. But it soothes my conscious. A little. Another thought was that it just would not go very far. Water is a high volume item. A little does not go a long way. People need a lot of water.

Just think about how much you have to store for yourself. Becoming known as a water source could turn dangerous very quickly. Food is one thing, later on. People are going to try and get it by any means. But water, they are going to want right now. And water is FREE everywhere now.

That concept is not going to change very quickly. People are not going to be happy about being charged for water in an emergency. They might have been paying for bottled water by choice, but they knew they could get water for free.

A quick way to make enemies you don’t need

Charging for it in a disaster is going to make a lot of enemies. And bottled water is expensive. I do not think it is a very good use of limited barter funds. I prefer to have the purification means. $150 can get me a purifier (Go Berkery) that will purify 3,000+ gallons of water. $150 will only get me about ~100 – 300 gallons or so of bottled water.

Of course, if there is no water to purify, and the only water available is what is stored, which is the case out where I am in some places, then it does make sense to have water to trade.

But I look at that on a different level. That the lack of water is already a given. Where people have to buy water on a regular basis anyway, that changes the dynamics. Bartering water then does make sense.

If I was going to barter bottled water in a ‘normal situation’ event, it would only be for, ‘Here you go. No charge. But I might need a hand in the future. You know with a garden or something.’ type return. I did add bottled water to the list, just because it does make sense as an option, and a reminder to people about just how important it is.

Decide ahead of time

Decide what will work for your area and situation, and then concentrate on a few of the items. Much better to have more preps than tie up too much in trade goods. Some is good, but unless you do plan to have a PAW store, stick with a limited amount. In a related vein, one thing comes up regularly (along with several others, of course) and that is the opinion to not stock anything you do not have a need for yourself. In a similar vein, the opinion that one should not have to barter in the future at all, if they are prepared properly.

I agree to the first to a degree, but disagree with the second. I just do not believe every need can be anticipated, plus the facts that things can change, even for the most well equipped prepper, and situations arrive that have not been prepared for adequately, if at all, are almost a certainty. And while a person or group can have an extremely wide variety of skills, and a library of training information, it is always possible a situation will come up that will be beyond the kin of everyone available.

Skills

So specialized skills, services, and equipment could be required by someone very well prepared. There is also the distinct possibility for the need for extra labor than what an individual or group can provide. Again due to unforeseen circumstances, including injury to one or more people.

You cannot store up labor, and you cannot store up services. You will probably need someone at some point to provide you with one or more. It is for this reason, along with the others, that I have trade goods, including things that I will not likely use myself. Other people will have different needs, and certainly wants, than I do.

The basics

Of course the basics are always needed. But there are doctors that are well prepared, and will not need a dozen eggs or pound of bacon. And they might not want PMs, if there are people around that do have things the doctor wants but will not take the PMs.

So the doctor might very well want something you do not need or want, but that someone else does, that has what the doctor wants. So, in order to pay for the doctor’s treatment, you might just need something you have no use for in your trade goods stocks to be able to make the necessary trade to get what you want.

Yes, it can get a bit complicated. And I do not suggest buying up bunches of stuff that just might be useful in the future without putting a great deal of thought into it. What I am saying, is do not limit your choices to just things that you will eventually use. A few carefully selected items that are likely to be needed/wanted by others could be the difference between getting what you desperately need and not getting it.

An additional disclaimer:

I have found in reaction to my lists and to my fiction, where quite a few items are listed, or the protagonist has quite a bit of money, they get anything from slightly annoyed to totally incensed. Thus this disclaimer. It is much easier for me to include things in lists to give options, and have some (and only some) of my characters have money, than not.

What I have found with one-on-one communication with many of the people that read the lists and the fiction inform me that they came up with a much cheaper way, or way to do something with less, because of their background, than what I have listed or the ‘rich’ guy simply bought top of the line.

The majority of my readers have proven themselves quite capable of taking the information I provide and adapting it to their needs, and to their budgets. With some really creative thinking that, without their experiences, I have no way of having.

So for those that think the list is too long, too involved, or too expensive, or too ‘trade post-ty, then that is the way it is. I will let the others glean what they can from it, and be happy if I have made it easier for someone.

EDITOR’s NOTE: The full list of some items that Jerry is acquiring and think might be useful for barter or trade during and after a major disaster will appear in the final article of this series. 

About the author:

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!”