Bartering/Trading in a Post-Apocalyptic World

RemadERemadE Global Moderator
edited November 2011 in Life
As some of you may have seen, I am writing a Post-Apocalyptic story (that can be found here). I am currently on Chapter 12 and soon enough I will need to barter for items to further the plot.
I was wondering, though, about how bartering and trading in a Post-Apocalyptic world would work. Yes, I put this thread in this forum as it's still a form of currency, albeit non conventional.

If, for example, I wanted to trade items for a pistol, what sort of items would I have to trade? I'm guessing it would be a mid-range price item in the "real world", between £150 and £300 (the pistol) so I would need the equivalent. Something to either offer a service for, or a (few) item(s) to trade for.

I was thinking that it could either be lots of low-value items (cigarettes, clothing, books and some form of communications device), a couple of mid-range items (fuel, alcohol or drugs) or an expensive item. This is in an early stage of Post-Apocalyptia, so things such as these are not that low in numbers or that desperately needed.

If anyone has any ideas, that'd be great. You'll benefit from it when I post the Chapter, but if people here have ever had experience trading items or the like, then I'd be grateful.

Comments

  • Darth BeaverDarth Beaver Meine Ehre heißt Treue
    edited November 2011
    firearms and ammunition would be worth much more than they are now in terms of trading for other goods and services. Due to two factors. 1st their would be a limited supply of both and second with the two of them you have the possibility of getting more of everything.
  • ArkansanArkansan Regular
    edited November 2011
    A few things I personally think would be highly valuable in any sort of post apocalyptic scenario are medicine, tools, and water. Hand powered tools would be very valuable in situations where the grid is down, also the fact that most people wouldn't have the skills nor means to replace them would drive their worth up. Medicine is a big one, people are always going to get sick and without a modern medicine even something like an infected cut can be a fatal situation. Water, to me this is the big one, most just don't realize the hell life can be without access to running water, clean water and the means to filter questionable water could be priceless depending on what the situation is. Another thing that would probably be bartered quite often are skills, you give me that gun and in exchange I fix your car type deals. Depending on what things are like someone with a reloading press and the materials needed to use it would have quite a valuable thing on their hands. These are the sorts of things I think would make the post apocalyptic economy turn, of course all of these depend on just how far post apocalypse we are talking.
  • RemadERemadE Global Moderator
    edited November 2011
    TDR, good point when you say you can get almost anything with a weapon ;) suppose it's about burning your bridges though. This instance is one where I can't afford to do that but I will certainly keep it in mind when venturing further into the plot.
    Ammunition can be remade, as people do in the Tribal regions of Afghan/Pakistan (especially in the gun markets near the Khyber Pass), so that could be a trade in itself. It just requires materials and time. then again self-protection items would be worth a lot more than now, especially as time goes on and materials become more scarce, and gangs become more organised/ruthless.

    Arkansan, cheers for your input. It's appreciated :) medical supplies are something I omitted to remember in my post here. They will be in short supply so certainly an item that will be in demand and worth trading. I've started my story in a relatively well-stocked City as it's under Martial Law, and so I go on Night Ops and break into places to acquire medication, food, and the like. I intend on stockpiling it for my escape and to trade if need be. There are also some high value items I come across that will either be used for my own use, or to trade. So a decision will have to be made at the time ;) another reason to keep reading.
    As time goes on, I will certainly incorporate scarcity into the story. It's going to happen anyway, and as I am basing it on a place I know very well and used to work just outside, I have places to visit, so will be incorporating them into the story as well - these include Hospitals, Barracks, Supermarkets and other places. Of course their respective difficulties will be taken into consideration.
    I do believe skills are something that will prove invaluable. There is no price on knowledge (something I always believe in, even in real life) and so anything I know of in my actual life will be put into the story as well. In times of shortages of materials on my part, I will trade skills for water etc if need be. I know how to make a simple water filter and where to acquire iodine/chlorine tablets so can also put that in.

    Before I get any further I need to make an inventory of things I have on me in the story, and then a final trade, before I leave. Cheers for the input, as it's helped clarify the potential value of things.
    I was thinking of some sort of currency being slowly introduced over time in Cities, Townships and Villages/Tribes over time as things settle, so we shall see where it takes me.
  • SlartibartfastSlartibartfast Global Moderator -__-
    edited November 2011
    Not exactly what you asked, but this is what i thought of:

    In the 60's and 70's when everyone was preparing for an apocalyptic end, a lot of people thought about how to go about building new economies. This is in part how communes came about.

    The PC was regarded as a revolutionary concept, a modular form of the earlier room sized computers. There were people who were seriously trying to work out how to repair PCs from old cans and other stuff from a post-apocalyptic world.
    http://www-sul.stanford.edu/mac/primary/docs/satori/index.html


    The Whole Earth Catalog was a publication influenced by this type of thinking. It was a book with a list of names and items for sale and barter. It was updated every couple of months and included all types of weird stuff. It also had detailed guides and reviews, in very much the spirit of totse.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whole_Earth_Catalog

    This book led to the creation of the of the oldest web forums today. The WELL (The Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link) which has lost its counterculture roots.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_WELL
  • RemadERemadE Global Moderator
    edited November 2011
    Cheers for that Slart :D:thumbsup: that looks fucking awesome as a general starting point for research. Thanks :)
  • fagfag Regular
    edited November 2011
    Guns, ammo, livestock, and water. Maybe also electricity and fuel. Possibly also entertainment.
  • boggleboggle Acolyte
    edited November 2011
    Perhaps some active carbon for filtering would be valuable in a post apocalyptic world where the tap runs dry
  • fagfag Regular
    edited November 2011
    boggle wrote: »
    Perhaps some active carbon for filtering would be valuable in a post apocalyptic world where the tap runs dry

    Water can be sterilized in a variety of ways. UV light, distillation, and even through the ground, given you have a way to retrieve it. Shit could really change..People would probably stop maintaining all the dams, levees, waterways, that kind of stuff. I think heavily populated areas like Los Angeles and Las Vegas that import all their water would be bone dry in a matter of days, and there would be mass migration to areas that did have fresh water. Knowledge of remote springs and water holes could very well save your ass.
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