Once money is worthless, what is the best thing to stock up on for trading?

reply to post by Zanti Misfit


Which kind of reminds me.... maybe tobacco plant seeds? Then after the SHTF you have a local monopoly and source of trade...

Underwear !

In this world you can't wipe your butt without money. Lots of dant ta das !

So, sorry if its been posted before, I have a couple of points.

1 - Tobacco is an awesome crop to farm, but its takes years and years to perfect it to the point of what we know today as cigarettes. By the time you get a yield that tastes good, its likely to smokers will have quit the habit. Its great to stock up, but from personal experience, cigs only keep for so long. Nobody likes a stale cigarette, trust me.

2 - Everything else aside. SPICES! The selection of modern spices in a grocery store is so vast, that its easy to forget how valuable they actually are. The spice trade was basically the reason for exploration back in the day. You might laugh at the thought of stocking up on pepper, but think about 5 years after the SHTF scenario. People are gonna pay big bucks to get back the few luxuries that they miss.

I can think of others, but TL/DR. Im sure they've been posted already. These were the 2 points I figured were worth repeating.

when the shtf, the only thing people will trading with each other is lead

Doubt any of this will make much difference tbh. The only people who will survive apart from the PTB and ex soldiers and maybe survivalists with decades of experience; will be the violent , nasty criminals who would slash your throat without even a second thought. We don't see people like this very often because the majority of them mix in different social circles to normal people. It's like it's said by numerous others on this board most people have been conditioned to be passive and subservient towards TPTH and each other, and tend not to have ever had to rely on their more primal instincts like hardcore criminals do.
It's unlikely that there would be fallout style communes and trading would go right out the window, with no laws to stop these types of people they will rise to the top, murdering pillaging and raping. Compared to the average man it's people with their unique skill sets that are going to survive.

Ammo.

Seriously, but I'm not going to be trading with it.

Originally posted by ahoote
Doubt any of this will make much difference tbh. The only people who will survive apart from the PTB and ex soldiers and maybe survivalists with decades of experience; will be the violent , nasty criminals who would slash your throat without even a second thought. We don't see people like this very often because the majority of them mix in different social circles to normal people. It's like it's said by numerous others on this board most people have been conditioned to be passive and subservient towards TPTH and each other, and tend not to have ever had to rely on their more primal instincts like hardcore criminals do.
It's unlikely that there would be fallout style communes and trading would go right out the window, with no laws to stop these types of people they will rise to the top, murdering pillaging and raping. Compared to the average man it's people with their unique skill sets that are going to survive.

Wow...disaster does not mean "end of the world", ya know? You cannot prepare for "end of the world", except in a spiritual manner. But, you can prepare for a disaster. Drop the drama and p r e p a r e

Sorry if already posted.
I red through most post and everyone seems to have it covered.
But has anyone mentioned,
Womens hygeine products for trade.( Pads and meds)

Originally posted by Jedite
Bottlecaps

sorry had to make a joke about it. Hmm cache's to store your food.

Bottlecaps is a winner I hope more survivalists test Fallout3 at least once to get an idea of a post disaster world (this isn't just to check out the raider girls either, it's for educational purposes lol). It does actually provide some useful info to some things you might of missed during your initial thoughts of a post disaster world, it did for me anyway.

Ammo and drugs.

Second line.

I found a great article awhile back on what currency could be. Silver and gold is great if the people are already stocked well, and civilization is in the near future. Otherwise, check out this:
www.survivalblog.com...

You have to think about common everyday items that we normally take for granted

water filters/purification
white gas
propane cylinders both large and small(people will shoot for sources of fuel)
thermal underwear
hygiene products
feminine products
common baby care supplies
first aid supplies
duct tape/ glues/adhesives
tarps
cordage
paper plates and eating utensils
can openers

The list can go on but you get the idea. Having plenty makes you a target and also a friend to those who wish to barter.

Your plan of action should also depend on your location...How rich and abundant is your location? Can people live off the land quite easily or do you depend on your water supply and food from other states or locations far from yours?
It just so happens I'm pretty familiar with what's edible around this part of the US, I've been on a number of foraging trips, although I probably need to get better at hunting, (even though at this time I do not consume meat products)....I also would not object to hunting humans for food if need be and there will be plenty of those in sight.
I really don't think there will be any major form of trade when ppl are trying to survive, unless you happen to have a huge surplus of something in particular. In many places I'm certain people will just end up killing each other over supplies because when it's about survival, you can bet 90% (or more) of people's ethics/morals/lawfulness will be thrown right out the window.

There will never be a time when "All money" is worthless."

Someone will come along with a new currency, with more trustworthy backing / underwriting, and the old currency will simply be replaced.

Been going on for 3000 years.

reply to post by Elieser




Anything that could be of use to a majority of people. Ciggarettes or any tobbacco product, Coffee (I cant go 1 day without at least 1 cup), Food, Soap/Shampoo, Toilet Paper. Just about anything could become a form of currency as long as it has value to the person your trading with but ciggarettes would be about the most common high value trade items.

Buy land, they've stopped making it
- Mark Twain

along with food and water - medicine will also be needed.

You could always trade sex.

Originally posted by thorazineshuffle
You could always trade sex.

Um....not always.

Especially if you happen to be burdened with a Y-chromosome.

reply to post by Elieser


Toilet Paper
Porn
Alcohol
Medicaments
Drugs
Condoms
Tampons
Cigarettes
Coffee
Chocolate*
Peanuts*
Tabletop games
Bullets
Specialized tools (water filters, survival knifes, etc)
Seeds

*Personal preference, can't live without them.

I suggest everyone this web:
www.zombiesurvivalwiki.com
I know its a zombie apocalypse page, but most of its members use zombies as a metaphor for a real catastrophe.