Well, my thought on the whole stocking up thing, is stock for yourself first. Once you have _everything_ you could ever possiblt imagine needing and then some then you can think about stockpiling for bartering.

Now once you do stock other items, what are you going to do when the poor single mother is standing at your doorstep with her 2 kids in soiled diapers with nothing to barter, are you going to turn hew away or hand her a pac of diapers. I can see being faced with the same situation no matter what you stock for bateriing, the person on the other end is going to be asking for handouts. Are you going to be able to turn whomever away? what if they outumber you?

Bartering came about in history when society was on an increse, i.e. we moved from the hunter/gathers to a more agricultural society and people started to specialize and were able to make an excess in the area they specialized. If TSHTF your doing to be in a decrease of society where your going to need everything you have. Once your into a post SHTF society long enough to where society can be on an increase then is when you think about bartering. Your not going to have bartertown the day after TSHTF because your going to have lawlessness and peiple are going to just take whatever you have at that point. Look at disasters that have heppened in recent history, the majority wants a handout not a trade.

I wouldn't call it silly but your looking at very long term preps. Bartering comes after your completely self sustainable on your farm, compound, bug out land, whatever.


Edited by Eugene (07/28/08 05:15 PM)