For women; possible items for bartering

reply to post by fullmoonfairy


I can only see contraceptives and that-time-of-the-month products being barterable in Bartertown. That is all I would want/need.

Scented soaps and candles would be nice I would trade for that but it would depend on the price I'm cheap and practical. I would make do with what I got before trading too high on a luxury item.

By the way how many eggs is a bar of soap worth?

Oops misread the thread title, I thought it was for bartering women

I tried to part ex my wife for an earlier model but only got a lawn mower for her

This is easy to figure out.

People either have dry skins, normal skins or oily skins.

Normal/oily can get by with soap & water and a little moisturizer but those with dry skins really suffer - especially in winter time. Flaky chapped skin is not fun. People who do lots of gardening will get chapped/cracked hands. Also people with fair skins will get sunburn and people will probably be outside a lot (traveling/agriculture etc)

No one's going to care about hairstyles that much; if you have greasy hair you can wash it and tie it back, if you have dry hair though it's going to be more difficult to deal with. If you have dandruff it's going to be itchy and annoying.

I'm approaching this from the angle of say you have basic food/shelter/security etc requirements met and you're looking to barter something else that makes you feel like a civilized human again (say a treat after the weekly bath or something!)

Desirable products would be:

anti-dandruff shampoo
good quality hair conditioners including leave in conditioner/hair serum stuff.
tampons/ sanitary pads
toothpaste, toothbrushes, floss, mouthwash
good quality soap/shower gels
good quality face and body moisturizers
tweezers, nail clippers
deodorant/perfume
sunscreen
chap sticks/lip balm


Also thinking outside the box - not a luxury item but vital when it's needed - creams/tablets for yeast infections.

reply to post by Crispy_Chicken


If this is a survival situation, and those things could not be found or afforded, there's lots of other things you can use.

Baking soda for toothpaste.
Lard for skin creams.
cotton cloths for that time of the month
a good multipurpose soap, which I recommend Kirks castile
Vinegar for hair conditioning

I myself would not be too worried about finding one specific item. I'd try to use or make old time remedies. I think a lot of the suggestions on here are really luxury items. When your main objective is to find food/ shelter, some of those luxury items will take a backseat to the more important things.

Originally posted by Northern Raider
Oops misread the thread title, I thought it was for bartering women

I tried to part ex my wife for an earlier model but only got a lawn mower for her

To be fair it had me fooled for a while. I started thinking camels...

Joking aside, tampons. Even my good lady (who tolerates my behaviour) appreciates the survival qualities of such an item.

To the ladies about feminine sanitary items -
provided you expect that you will have access to water to be able to wash.

www.lunapads.com
www.divacup.com

There are other similar ones out there. Diva/Keeper/Lunette. For ones similar to lunapads, look up WAHM (work at home mom) pads.



As to luxury items - I would suggest that you're best bet is just what you'd find on the list of an agency that caters to helping homeless women. Nice shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, toothbrushes, good nice smelling soap and skin lotion. Skin lotion is huge, particularly in drier/winter climates. Pretty starts with not smelling like ass.

[edit on 2009/3/11 by Aeons]

[edit on 2009/3/11 by Aeons]

I don't really wear make-up. I don't need it. *grins*

As for perfums and other scented items. I don't need it. I smell good naturally. *grins*

ATS readers are probably a bit more aware and clued up about survival situations so you probably couldn't trade a lipstick for an orange with one of us, but the vast majority of the sheep out there, might be happy to do so.

So sure, have a few things handy for the vast majority who will still give a damn about having red lips or vanilla scented bath salts and make sure you keep the useful stuff for yourself.

Personally I dislike make up and most modern cosmetic items. I like the way I smell, and so does my man. I feel the most beautiful and desireable when I am completely natural.

Clean is much much much better than yucky with lipstick.

Originally posted by Nirgal

Originally posted by Northern Raider
Oops misread the thread title, I thought it was for bartering women

I tried to part ex my wife for an earlier model but only got a lawn mower for her

To be fair it had me fooled for a while. I started thinking camels...

Joking aside, tampons. Even my good lady (who tolerates my behaviour) appreciates the survival qualities of such an item.

Naaa two inch wide super adhesive duct tape is the answer to their femine needs

reply to post by virraszto


My point was that it was luxury items worth bartering. What you've mentioned just won't cut it for some people.

eg, lard - pig fat - relies on having pigs, being about to butcher and render the fat, then make something useable to put on your skin.

vinegar won't work as a hair conditioner ever. If you have really thick dry frizzy hair, vinegar will do squat.

Sure ppl can make basic cosmetics themselves out of natural ingredients like lotions, cleansers, scrubs and soaps but the bartering value of say a jar of Nivea face cream will be higher than a pot of smelly about to go rancid stuff made from pig fat.

As for liking how you smell - well BO after a few days is rank, no matter how sweet you think you might smell.....if you're stopped shaving armpits, then the amount of bacteria is going to multiply and the smell will be trapped in the hair and you're going to stink more. On a day to day basis doing farming type chores this doesn't matter, but I'm thinking of someone who wants a taste of what it feels like to be really clean once more.

As for feminine hygiene products, yes women will make their own, but the luxury of a convenience item is a big drawcard. It's the little reminders of what civilization used to be like that will place value on even the smallest of things.

Thinking in worst case scenarios here: for you young and pretty women, a good case of BO may be your best protection. If you look like the wreck of the Hesperus and smell like a herd of goats, your chance of being raped drops dramatically.

I'd like to think that an EOTWAWKI situation will be like an Amish community full of traders willing to barter goods among themselves but I suspect it will be more like a bunch of marauding cut-throats who will shoot first and rob next.

I suppose it would be a sort of vengeance if you got robbed/killed for your "stuff" and all you had on you was lipstick and dandruff shampoo. Unless you're wandering around, anyone you trade with is going to tell others that you've got "cool stuff" and then you'll have to either be in constant defensive mode or resign yourself to getting robbed.

I figure if I'm traveling by my wits with pockets fairly empty, stink to high heaven and look like the crazy cat lady, I'll be pretty safe.

Originally posted by Northern Raider

Originally posted by Nirgal

Originally posted by Northern Raider
Oops misread the thread title, I thought it was for bartering women

I tried to part ex my wife for an earlier model but only got a lawn mower for her

To be fair it had me fooled for a while. I started thinking camels...

Joking aside, tampons. Even my good lady (who tolerates my behaviour) appreciates the survival qualities of such an item.

Naaa two inch wide super adhesive duct tape is the answer to their femine needs

I have just received the dirtiest look ever from two women on the train after I nearly laughed my man-breasts off at that comment.

Thanks "pal".

reply to post by whitewave

Goat stink would make a great man/human repellent guaranteed.

Originally posted by whitewave
I figure if I'm traveling by my wits with pockets fairly empty, stink to high heaven and look like the crazy cat lady, I'll be pretty safe.

Hey we've already got a crazy dog lady and it seems to work for her.

If there's no food or water to speak of...NOBODY is going to want to trade for cosmetics.

You can live without lipstick on your lips, you can't live without putting food and water between them!

still say it would be better to learn to MAKE the cosmetics and the jewelry. herbal ointments for arthritis and such would do great I think! learn to sew, most of our clothes come from overseas now, and well, the clothing will always wear out, and I know people will barter for if you offer them a good deal if they are wearing rags. and well, I work in part of what's left in our textile industry, it's gonna take them some time to get that back up and running if the dollar tumbles and the nations of the world decide we just ain't messing with anymore!

learn to make candles....or some other thing that we will always need and are now mostly being supplied by overseas markets.

or heck, if you have a green thumb, just start growing seedlings, then sell or barter the baby plants to others who want to have gardens.

wonder how much value a warm quilt would have for someone out in the cold?

I understand the OP's premise and really am not trying to rain on anyone's parade but I think the more women get "femmed out" during sit x, the more THEY are going to become the barter item.

"She smells purty. I'll give ya sack a rice and a box of 12 gauge shells for her."

"Sold. Her mother's not so pretty but she can cook and make candles. Whatcha give me for her?"

You ladies might want to spend your extra dollars on karate class, membership at the gun club and getting in top physical shape at the gym.

Just saying....

A note of caution. The perfumes, scented soaps and candles, are all nice ideas and there probably will be those who will want them. BUT...be well advised that sweet odors attract insects, the biting and stinging sort mostly.

A simple semi-odorless deodorant would be a good thing to stock. You'd be surprised how easily body odor can be detected (not good if you are hunting/hiding). Cornstarch works fairly well and 1 box could last a long time.

I agree with the tampons and other feminine hygiene products, these will be on the top of the appreciation list for women.

Contraceptives, birth control pills are both useful.

If you really know your sht then start using herbal lore to make mandrake root into a (partially) effective ladies contraceptive.

If you want to get down to brass tacks then a woman could actually barter 'herself' for an amount of time for some essential items / things.
In post-war Germany it was widely reported by occupying soldiers that the young frauleins were accepting packs of cigarettes (luxury item) for 'quality' time.
If I was a woman and starving to death I'd certainly be opening negotiations for food for certain 'man friendly' activities in the privacy and safety of a room somewhere.