In a sustained grid-down survival situation, goods will be more valued than conventional money or digital currencies.
Besides guns and ammo, which deserve sections in their own right, the following items will hold value with other folks. Because of that they can be used for barter and trade.
Look for easy-to-store, often used items as things to barter with.
Coffee
It took some time to find the perfect coffee for storage but I finally did it. When I used to think of Folgers, lukewarm and burnt diner coffee came to mind, but they’ve obviously been working hard on their craft. I would put the taste for this medium blend up against Peets quite favorably. You can get these huge 43.5 oz, almost 3 lb jugs of ground coffee at Costco. They make up to 400 8 oz cups. So three of them will last a small family of coffee drinkers ostensibly a year. They’re also very affordable at $13 each! That’s a shockingly cheap 3 cents a cup.
At the time my local Costco was limiting the number you could buy.
Hard Alcohol
Unopened bottles of whisky and other high alcohol content drinks will last a lifetime if stored in decent condition. Wine and champagne on the other hand are much more sensitive to changes in humidity and temperature. So drink the latter first and use the former for barter. Like currencies, have a variety of sizes on hand from airplane bottles to pints and fifths (750 ml or wine bottle sized).
Trade you my airplane bottles of port for that rusting Porsche in the back.
Canned and Dried Food
Non-perishable food items, like canned goods and dried food will always be in high demand. You can get plenty of well-priced canned beans that last 2+ years at Costco. Sardines are an excellent source of protein and are usually fine to eat after many years. Honey lasts for an indefinite period, can be used in multiple ways, and is a real treat. That said, I would only consider bartering with food if I had an excess supply and that the end of the survival situation was in sight.
Fuel
Gasoline, propane, and other fuel sources for cooking, heating and power generation are a fundamental need. However, I would barter with these critical resources only if I had another energy source to rely on, like a solar power generator.
Medicine
You should have an excess of the basic medicines on hand such as:
- OTC painkillers: aspirin, acetaminophen, ibuprofen
- Imodium or other anti-diarrheal
- Antihistamines for allergies and reactions to stings
- Epipen for serious reactions
- Antacid
- Anti-bacterial ointment like Neosporin
- Sterile gauze pads
- Cold packs
- Disposable gloves
Aluminum Foil
Used for cooking, wrapping for food, building Faraday cages, aluminum foil is easy-to-store and valuable in many ways. Keep rolls in storage for your own use and to barter with.
Seeds
Seeds may not be in frequent barter demand as they require longer term planning to use, but they occupy little space and there’s no reason not to have a variety and plenty of them in storage. Clearly mark the type of seeds and other information like dates on the packets and store them in a cool and dry place. I like to store similar seeds in mason jars along with a silica desiccant pack to ensure that they stay dry.
Toilet paper
When it comes to personal hygiene, I don’t think you can do much better than Charmin Ultra. Forget about stocking the cheap hotel-grade tp that disintegrates in the presence of a wick of moisture. Charmin will last longer in storage too.
The downside is that toilet paper consumes plenty of storage space so barter with these last.