I have seen dozens of articles in the last six months all saying the same thing: if you are going to survive the apocalypse or nuclear war or what-ever-other-cataclysm-we-can-think-of, you need to develop your bartering skills. And while I agree with them, that barter is a skill and that in the event that currency disappears or becomes completely worthless through inflation or economic collapse you must know how to barter, I disagree with them all in one respect: in any community, all exchanges can be facilitated by a common medium of exchange, and barter doesn’t have to be a quid pro quo when the world ends. Communities can always create a community currency, a barter professional can always set up shop, and there can always be a somewhat liquid way to do business. That being said, here’s what they survivalists are saying:
I’ve heard a lot of suggestions about bartering. Some of them are good ideas, while others might be dangerous. Bartering is just trading, either goods for goods, goods for services, or services for services.
First of all, we need to ask why we are bartering at all. If we need to barter, it is probably because we need (or just want) something we don’t have, and someone else needs or wants something that we have. If something isn’t exchanged by both parties, then it’s essentially a begging or charity situation.
Generally, you should probably not barter your own firearms and ammunition for other goods. First of all, if you’re trading your firearms away, it must mean you didn’t store enough of something else. Extra guns and ammo can be expensive. Use some of that money to get more food and other supplies so you are less likely to need to barter in the first place. And, the price of a gun can buy an awful lot of the other bartering items I mentioned. My second thought would be concern that the gun or ammo would be used against you or your family. If you’re willing to trade a gun to someone, it should be someone you would trust with your gun at any time. I might barter a gun in exchange for a service, or barter to someone who already has a gun. If you trade it to the wrong person, you might truly be at the loosing end of the deal.
Don’t get me wrong. You need plenty of guns and ammo for yourself, your family, and maybe some spares. My plans, generally, don’t include using them for barter. You definitely don’t want to be in a position of having to barter to get a gun.
Get the rest of the story at http://www.survivalblog.com/2010/04/better_barter_preparedness_by.html
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