50 Inexpensive Barter Items for SHTF

Sometimes we forget to remember that we might one day face a world in which money means a lot less than it does now. In a desperate society, inexpensive barter items could be worth more than gold if you happen to have what others need.

While it’s more important to stock up for yourself, once you have your basics covered, it’s a great idea to add some things to your stash for trade purposes.

The Rules of Barter

The most important thing to remember when bartering is SAFETY. You should always be very careful when making trades because others may see you as a target if they believe you have lots of supplies. A few simple rules can help you stay safe when conducting business.

• Don’t barter from your home. It’s advisable not to invite strangers into your home when the SHTF. An observant person can glean a lot of information, such as how your home is secured, what kind of supplies are visible, how well-fed and clean your family appears, and what defenses you have in place.
• Don’t barter at someone else’s home. At the same time, going to someone else’s home puts you in a weak position. They can easily set up an ambush to kill you and take your supplies instead of trading. Don’t give them the home-court advantage.
• Choose a neutral site. The best option is to choose a site in which neither party is giving away too much information or providing an opportunity to steal from one another. It’s a good idea to scout the area ahead of time – your situational awareness could really pay off in keeping you safe.
• Never appear too eager to acquire an item. Unless you want the price of whatever you are trading for to go up astronomically, never appear too anxious to make the trade. In hard times, people can easily sense desperation and take advantage.
• Be fair in your trading practices. At the same time, it’s important to be fair yourself, particularly if you hope to trade in the future. While you should certainly get a fair trade for your goods, don’t take advantage of the desperation of others. This can cause people to mistrust you and to be comfortable treating you badly during future trades.
• Be careful what you trade. Never barter an item that can be promptly turned against you unless you know and trust the person with whom you are trading. That means no guns, no ammo, no knives, and no other weapons unless you are confident this is safe.

Be careful and be safe when you engage in trade after the SHTF, even with inexpensive barter items.

50 Inexpensive Barter Items

Here are a few ideas for inexpensive barter items you can buy now.

1. Lighters
2. Water containers (bonus points if they can also be used to boil water in)
3. Toothbrushes, toothpaste, and dental floss
4. Soap
5. Salt
6. Shoelaces
7. Sugar
8. Instant coffee
9. Tea bags
10. Batteries
11. Hardware (nails, screws, nuts, bolts, etc.)
12. Playing cards or board games
13. Duct tape
14. Lotion/vaseline
15. Rubbing alcohol/peroxide
16. Can openers (the small military kind can be bought in bulk)
17. Gloves (work gloves and warmth gloves)
18. Solar lights (the cheap dollar store kind for the garden will work)
19. Socks
20. Tobacco (cigarettes or loose tobacco)
21. Candy
22. Water purification tablets (these can be sold a few at a time)
23. Condoms
24. Matches
25. Reading glasses (the dollar store kind are great)
26. Fish antibiotics (separated into 1-week supplies)
27. Bleach/pool shock
28. Feminine hygiene supplies
29. Shampoo (save the little bottles from hotels when you travel)
30. Pain relief like Tylenol or Motrin
31. Candles
32. Sewing kits
33. Bandages
34. Food (inexpensive items like canned goods, rice, dried beans, and Ramen)
35. Safety pins
36. Liquor (the mini bottles are good for barter)
37. Laundry soap
38. Vinegar
39. Sunscreen
40. Seeds
41. Paper and pens
42. Flashlights
43. Disposable razors
44. Baking soda
45. Condiment packets (save the ones from fast food restaurants and takeout)
46. Trash bags
47. Cleaning products
48. Deodorant
49. Infant supplies (wipes, diapers, formula)
50. Books (you can often buy huge boxes of them at the end of the day at yard sales)

Containers for Inexpensive Barter Items

Some of the inexpensive barter items mentioned above need to be separated out for different transactions, such as tobacco or antibiotics. It’s a great idea to have a way to package these up for your trading partner. Some ideas for repackaging are:

• Paper envelopes
• Small craft baggies
• Sandwich bags

With these you have the benefit of not having to show your entire stash to the person with whom you’re trading, and it also gives them a handy way to transport what they got from you.

Many of the items on this list can be divvied up into multiple pieces of barter inventory, which dramatically increases the number of trades you can make.

Skills Are the Ultimate Inexpensive Barter Item

No article on barter would be complete without a mention of skills. The great thing about using skills for barter is that nobody can kill you and take the rest of your skills – you must be alive to make the trade. As well, this is a constant resource that never requires restocking. If you are able to sew, heal, preserve, or repair, just to name a few skills, then you have a never-ending source of barter currency.

What Are You Storing for Barter?

Do you have some supplies earmarked for future barters? Do you have things not mentioned in this article? Let us know!

Additional Resources:

• Start Developing a Barter Mindset Right Now
• How to Build Your Preparedness Community
• How to Fortify Your Home Against an SHTF Event
• Prepping is NOT Just Beans, Bullets, and Barter Items