Top tips for bartering in a disaster scenario

When the world goes bad and paper money becomes worthless, the new currency will become the random items that we take for granted every day, but that will also be extremely valuable for our survival.

When you’re running low of a particular item, they only way you’ll be able to get more of it is if you make a trade with someone who has it, but that means you’ll have to give up something valuable you have as well.

To ensure that you get the best deal possible when negotiating and trading with other people in a disaster scenario, here are the top five tips for bartering:

Having something valuable to barter with

First things first, you better have something valuable to actually trade. This means focusing your efforts on stockpiling items that will be in high demand during a disaster scenario.

Examples of valuable items you can barter with include the following: alcohol, food, water, spices, coffee, medical items, bandages, ammunition, soap, shampoo, baking soda, card games, fire starters, flashlights, duct tape, silver, gold, flour, gasoline, propane, and toilet paper to name a few things.

Learn as much about the opposing party as you can

Always attempt to learn as much about the opposing party as you possibly can before the barter is to take place. This is simply to give you any openings or advantages that you can find so you’ll have the edge in the barter.

For example, if you learn that the opposing party is desperate for a specific item, then it’s likely that they’ll be willing to give up more of something to you in exchange for that item. You can exploit this weakness and control the flow of the negotiations rather than allow them to control it.

Never appear desperate

If you appear desperate at the bartering table, the other party will take advantage of this to swing the negotiations in their favor by forcing you to give up more while they give up less. You must ensure that the barter is completely fair to you in all circumstances.

So if you are desperate, hide it! Appear confident and relaxed. Act as if you do not need what you are asking for in the barter, and act as if you don’t care if you fail to get it. This is easily the best thing you can do to hide any kind of desperation you have.

Start with your lowest possible offer

Always begin the barter with the lowest offer you can do. If you start out with your highest offer, then the opposing party will attempt to raise what you have to offer during the negotiations.

Instead, determine what the lowest acceptable offer is for you (the minimum as to what you are willing to give up) and begin with that when you first head to the bartering table. Chances are you’ll have to concede giving up a little more during the negotiations, so by starting with your lowest figure you’ll still concede a figure that is acceptable to you.

Be prepared to walk away

Finally, be prepared to walk away from the bartering table. If you aren’t prepared to walk away, the other party will sense this. They’ll sense that you’re desperate and that you absolutely have to have what they are offering. If so, they’ll swing the negotiations so they concede little while you concede much.

Remember that being prepared to walk away doesn’t mean that you do walk away the moment the negotiations are not going your way. If the other party has made an offer that is not acceptable to you, simply reply with, “I’m sorry, but that offer does not work for me. However, if you would like to continue negotiating to a deal that is acceptable to the both of us, I would be more than willing to.”

If the opposing party still refuses to budge after you make that statement, then the time has come to walk away from the bartering table. Remember that there are many other people out there to barter with, so you aren’t losing anything by walking away.

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