So You Think You Will Want To Barter...When S.H.T.F.

[Surveyor1]

A number of “organized MAGS” I’ve known over the years put in minimum requirements for what each member would need to have prepped and stored onsite.  Not really a bad idea as it puts everyone rowing in the same direction so to speak.  The makeup of every MAG will be different.  It will be up to the “leadership” to decide the parameters for inclusion and basic preps.  Ask yourself how well you know the people that will be coming and if they are trustworthy of OPSEC.  If your not familiar with someone that is going to be coming, do you know that they won’t bring their own group with them?  In other words a tremendous amount of potential issues to contemplate and work through…

[coastiemike]

I hear what y’all are saying.  A few clarifications.  We aren’t doing 100% preps for them.  We are setting aside extra to help fill any gaps.

Could they show up with their own group and just take all of our stuff?  Sure they could.  But at some point, you have to trust people you know and have known for years. Anyone who we’ve invited we’ve known for years.  We’ve been there for them and by their side when we watched them lay their brothers to rest. We’ve watched them grow from teens to adults.  Anyone we don’t 100% trust to do the right thing, we wouldn’t even have started a discussion with.  A world where we can’t trust anyone is not a place we want to live in anyways.  If one of them decides to betray us, then so be it.  But, anyone who thinks they can live in isolation because they can trust no one is likely in for a rude awakening.

[RWS]

Once you find yourself in an SHTF situation, you need to be concerned about the prospect of your neighbors considering stealing your supplies to feed their families.

Unfortunately, it is not easy to determine which of your neighbors has the potential to use a disaster as an excuse to loot your hard-earned supplies.

https://www.askaprepper.com/6-signs-your-neighbor-will-become-a-looter-as-soon-as-shtf/

[bountyhunter]

It starts with OPSEC and COMSEC before that even happens.

[nj_m715]

thieving neighbors taste like chicken

[Abigayle]

Very sick

[Surveyor1]

Very sick

😂😂😂😂😂😂

[HogJowlHomestead]

I don't know how we ended up here but that is the first time iv seen that video 😅😂🤣🤣🤣

[John Galt 1]

A twist on this thread.      Things that are cheap now but super valuable and long lasting trade items if the stores are closed.     Unlike the OP I'd hope to do a bit of Bartering outside my "Group".

25 lb bag of salt that cost $5
BIC lighters
small solar setups from 10 watts to larger setups.
Fish antibiotics
Antibiotic cream
Extra egg laying birds
Rechargeabe batteries       
Knowledge about how to do "XYZ".

just my 2 cents

[Abigayle]

John, I like your idea for anti-biotic cream. Lots of people will have small surface wounds, trying to get around.
Lighters are always good.
Fish anti-biotics are expensive now and have a short shelf life, I would divide them up into smaller containers.  They are cracking down on their sales. 
Have you thought about making colloidal silver and selling it by the quart?  You would have to store distilled water ahead to make it, but it keeps.  If you made two quarts you could have one ready for your family as well.
Are you going to barter the battery charger with the  batteries or just sell some you have used and recharged?  Little solar systems are an interesting thought.  My worry would be that whoever you bartered with would be very excited to tell people you had extra solar to part with... just a thought.
I have been looking up the different shortages during WWII.  Sugar was rationed until after the war, in 1947.  Cooking oils may be hard to get, as soon as this year, but who knows...  I thought about flour and yeast, but how many know what to do with it.  Maybe those little lanterns you pull up?  They come to about five bucks a piece, but light would be valuable, esp. by people on the road.  I don't think I will ever solve this issue in my head, in terms of what would work.  At best it serves to help us think on our feet.  Tarps could be good, for water trapment.
So which S.H.T.F circumstance hits us first...There are several in line...

[nj_m715]

I guess cheap is relative
between office visit and prescription fees, I spent 125$ for a dose of doxy for a deer tick bite
later I bought 80 doses for my fish for 50$


pills last almost forever, read up on the shelf life extension program SLEP if you haven't heard of it

https://www.health.mil/Military-Health-Topics/Health-Readiness/Medical-Logistics/Shelf-Life-Extension-Program

"Medical authorities state that expired medicine is safe to take, even those that expired years ago. It's true the effectiveness of a drug may decrease over time, but much of the original potency still remains even a decade after the expiration date. Excluding nitroglycerin, insulin, and liquid antibiotics, most medications are as long-lasting as the ones tested by the military. Placing a medication in a cool place, such as a refrigerator, will help a drug remain potent for many years.

Solid dosage forms, such as tablets and capsules, appear to be most stable past their expiration date. Drugs that exist in solution or as a reconstituted suspension, and that require refrigeration (such as amoxicillin suspension), may not have the required potency if used when outdated. Loss of potency can be a major health concern, especially when treating an infection with an antibiotic. In addition, antibiotic resistance may occur with sub-potent medications. Drugs that exist in solution, especially injectable drugs, should be discarded if the product forms a precipitant or looks cloudy or discolored."


I'm not sure if fish penicillin is getting restricted, I know injections for utters are
I ordered more last week just to be safe

my fish will be well taken care of
shelf life etension program antibotics
get yourself a nurses drug hand book too
new updates come out every year, so old books are cheap on amazon

dont get the pocket size book, you'll need a microscope to see the text

[Abigayle]

N.J. Good to know.  I threw mine out when it was expired for six months.  I got it at Tractor Supply a couple of years ago.  It was 35.00 for a small packet, at that time.  You're Doxy....how did the dosage compare to the fish amoxicillin?
Where did you purchase your fish amoxicillin? 
You are right about the liquid forms going out of date much more quickly, but it you make it at home, it doesn't take long and it is cheap, once you have the silver rods and generator.  The two together are several hundered dollars.

[Abigayle]

Another factor I find interesting is trying to predict what people will actually have to barter.  Many of the items we may want could well be what others are wanting to keep.  Of course food and water will be number #1.  Stores will sell out of any source of bottled water, or it will be taken by looters in very short order.
If you have a well, and empty plastic containers, this would be a cheap barter.
Where you store all this stuff....I do not know.
If neighbors know you have a well and they don't, they will be at your door with an empty milk jug, or bucket.  Might want to be thinking how you will handle that.
If you allow one person to get their own, you will have a line, and things will start disappearing.  It also may be unsafe, during certain periods to go in and out of the house to fetch water for people.  This whole thing is crazy, when you look at the reality of how things could go down.

[nj_m715]

animal meds roll off the same assembly lines as human versions
they are the exact same pills in the same dosage

lots of places sell it, including walmart
https://www.walmartpetrx.com/c-148-fish-bird-antibiotics.aspx

I usually shop fromo cal vet supply
good prices, especially in bulk or on sale
and "free" shipping
they have other stuff like dermabond
https://www.calvetsupply.com/capsules-and-tablets-fish-aid-antibiotics.html

[John Galt 1]

Ok ,    This was listed as a barter threat but immediately turned into a security thread; especially about people sneaking onto your property.
For additional security you may want to consider something like a wireless driveway alarm.      The units I have work well 200+ yds from the house as long as there isn't a large hill between the sensor and the base unit.       The sensor lasts 2 months on 4 AA rechargeable batteries and the base unit works fine on a 12v car battery solar charged or 120v.a

Up to 8 sensors with each using a different alarm chime to help you know which sensor got twigged.      But deer set the damn alarms off so much that we pulled them back.

We would put a large bell at the end of the driveway with a sign saying    Do not come on property.    Ring bell and wait.     This is to facilitate neighbors who may want to trade a cup of onions for a cup of honey.