After the dust settles in a post-crisis world, the traditional concept of money and traditional currency will be thrown out the window. When financial systems break down and resources become scarce, bartering will become the new way to peacefully acquire the items you need.
While most preppers stock up on the obvious barter items like canned food, ammunition, and fuel, true preparedness means thinking outside the box. When supply chains end, there are lots of little weird items that will have big bartering value.
Lice Combs
As ugly as it might sound, lice are going to be a serious concern in a world where personal hygiene is lacking. A durable, fine-toothed metal lice comb may not seem valuable today. Yet when crowded shelters and communal living lead to rampant lice outbreaks, these combs will be a hot bartering commodity.
Lice combs don’t require chemicals or power, making them perfect for off-grid grooming. Offering one could earn you serious trade value for parents or anyone desperately dealing with an infestation.
Dental Treatment Kits
In a post-crisis world, poor oral hygiene will be commonplace. Not only can this lead to cavities and chipped teeth, but it can also cause fillings and other dental work to fail prematurely.
In times like these, tooth pain can quickly become debilitating, and who knows if you’ll be able to find a dentist. Temporary dental filling kits, dental cement, toothache cream, and even tooth extraction forceps will be in high demand. Someone who needs treatment will be willing to barter at a high value for a dental care kit.
Best of all, they’re small, lightweight, relatively inexpensive, and often overlooked. It’s easy to stock up on a dozen of them now, knowing they’ll command a high value later.
What About Prevention?
Another thing is that when the power’s out and you’re down to your last tube of toothpaste, most folks will scramble for makeshift fixes or just skip brushing altogether. Big mistake. Your mouth’s got its own delicate balance, like your gut. And if it goes haywire, you’re risking gum disease, infections, and a real blow to your health.
Picture this: you whip up a natural mouthwash packed with minerals and herbal oils that keep your mouth’s ecosystem in check. It’s not just about dodging cavities, but also about preventing pain and serious infections that can take you down.
In a SHTF scenario, a healthy mouth is a must. With dentists nowhere to be found, something like a homemade mouthwash could be as valuable as silver for trading.
Dr. Nicole Apelian’s The Forgotten Home Apothecary shows you how to make this kind of natural dental remedy, plus over 250 other survival-ready solutions, many of which could be prime barter goods when things go south.
Reading Glasses
People lose their glasses, break their glasses, or even discover that their eyesight has gotten increasingly worse over time. Today, many people rely on cheap reading glasses to function day-to-day, yet they rarely consider stocking extras.
In a post-crisis world, being able to see clearly is essential for everyday tasks like reading maps, sewing, or doing technical work. A stash of discount-store reading glasses in various strengths (1.0 to 3.0+) takes up little space. Yet they will carry great barter value to the right person.
Menstrual Cups
Feminine hygiene products will be in high demand in a post-crisis world, and disposable tampons and pads will eventually run out. In a time like this, menstrual cups become increasingly valuable. They’re washable, reusable, and durable. They’re also relatively inexpensive and take up very little space in your stockpile. Yet they can have immense bartering value as times of crisis persist.
Board Games and Card Decks
When doom-scrolling on their phone dies, people will need entertainment. Especially when they realize that boredom can become a real morale killer.
A few well-preserved games with replay value, like chess, cards, or even old-school Monopoly, can help ease tension and bring people together. In group shelters or isolated communities, entertainment becomes therapeutic, and people will happily barter excess essentials for some much-needed distraction.
Simple Musical Instruments
Music is another form of entertainment that will have increasing value in a post-crisis world. Simple musical instruments like a harmonica, ukulele, or concertina that require minimal maintenance will have high barter value. These smaller instruments are also easy to store and take up little space, compared to a guitar or a piano.
Sewing Machine Belts and Needles
Many preppers wisely stock thread and needles, but few think about the parts needed to keep hand-crank or treadle sewing machines running. Belts, bobbins, and specialty needles (like leather or denim) could become priceless for those making or repairing clothes. People with functional sewing equipment will gladly trade for the parts to keep them operating.
Pro Tip: I would also stock up on heavy-duty microfiber fishing line for sewing purposes. 20-to-40-pound microfiber lines are often sold in sporting goods store clearance bins in the fall. It has a similar thickness to normal sewing thread but is 10 times stronger. It’s great for times when you need to sew a heavy-duty patch or stitch on a pants button!
Rennet Tablets
Rennet is the sort of “Secret Ingredient” of cheese making, and cheese is something that will quickly be in short supply. Yet with rennet tablets, you can make your own cheese, which has barter value, or barter extra rennet tablets to other people who have their own dairy cows or milk goats.
Rennet tablets can keep up to 5 years or more with proper storage. They take up very little space, and you can buy them online in bulk if need be.
Simple Survival Cheese (with Rennet Tablets)
Ingredients:
- 1 gallon fresh milk (cow or goat)
- 1/4 rennet tablet, crushed and dissolved in 1/4 cup cool, non-chlorinated water
- 1-2 tsp salt (to taste)
- (Optional) 1/4 cup vinegar or lemon juice to help curdle
Instructions:
- Heat the milk to about 85°F (29°C).
- Add vinegar/lemon juice (optional) and stir briefly.
- Add rennet solution, stir gently for 30 seconds, then let it sit covered for 1 hour until firm.
- Cut the curd into cubes, let rest 5–10 minutes.
- Slowly heat to 105°F (40°C), stirring gently for about 20 minutes.
- Drain in a cheesecloth-lined colander, hang for a few hours.
- Add salt, shape, and press lightly if you want it firmer.
That’s it! A simple, barter-ready cheese you can make anytime, as long as you’ve got those long-lasting rennet tablets on hand. I recommend you have a look at Joel Lambert’s A Navy SEAL’s Bug-In Guide, where you can find a list of survival foods that are cheap now, but would cost a fortune post-SHTF.
Manual Coffee Grinder & French Press
Coffee drinkers will need their caffeine fix, even in a post-crisis world. Whole beans store longer than ground coffee, but most people won’t have a way to prepare them without electricity.
A manual coffee grinder becomes not just a convenience but a luxury. Pair it with some whole beans and a cheap French press, and you’ll become a post-apocalyptic coffee drinker’s favorite barter partner.
Beekeeping Equipment & Hive Tools
Beekeeping will make a comeback in a post-crisis world. Especially since the end of neonicotinoids and other pesticides will cease, allowing the natural honeybee population to bounce back.
Other people will quickly realize not just the caloric value and sugar component of honeybees. Their wax can be used for medicinal purposes and for making candles. As subsistence farming increases, more and more new farmers will also realize the pollination value of keeping bees.
This means that even simple things like beekeeping veils, smokers, and other hive tools will be in high demand. The barter value of these things will only go up as the crisis goes on, and people become more self-reliant.
I’ll be 100% honest with you. My inspiration for this came from watching the Amish community up close. These off-grid masters live far from modern society’s rules, showing real grit and know-how. For them, beekeeping is a cornerstone of self-reliance.
Honey’s their homegrown sweetener, ditching the need for store-bought junk. Plus, beeswax and crop pollination? Pure gold. In places like Ohio, Indiana, and Pennsylvania, Amish beekeepers are busy tending hives, producing honey, wax, and even running small outfits like Hilty’s Bee Yard in Missouri or Perry Bontrager in Shipshewana, Indiana.
They sell honey, jams, and beeswax goods, and craft top-notch beehives sold through spots like Lehman’s or Forest Hill Woodworking. This is smart, sustainable, and a barter-ready lifeline for when SHTF.
In The Amish Ways Book, Eddie Swartzentruber breaks down how the Amish master honey and turn bartering into an art form. If you want a no-nonsense guide to thriving off-grid, even without modern comforts, this book’s a must.
👨🌾 Click Here to Get One of The Last Books Available!
Bonus Item: Water
When you think about a crisis and water, your first instinct is probably to focus on securing enough for yourself. But water can also be used as a powerful barter item. Truth is that, when the world goes sideways, clean water beats gold every time. You can last weeks without food, but a few days without water? You’re done.
That’s why it’s the ultimate barter item in a collapse. Water is so essential to people that it can be traded for almost anything you want. If you have water during a crisis when those around you don’t have enough, you’ll be able to trade it for food, clothes, power sources, and much more. Basically anything you can think of!
But before you even think about trading, you’ve got to nail down how to store it right.
Always check your water and make sure to keep it safe and ready. Quantity’s only half the game. Quality’s just as critical. Use sturdy, food-grade containers, keep them out of sunlight and away from junk that could taint them. Rotate your stash regularly, because stale or funky water’s a health hazard, not an asset. You need enough clean water to keep you and your family alive and kicking before you can even consider bartering the extra.
Dirty water’s not just worthless; it’ll make you sick and tank your cred as a trader. The problem is, storing and moving enough water to survive, let alone trade, is a pain in the neck.
The good news? There’s this ingenious DIY water generator that pulls up to 40 gallons of fresh water a day straight from the air. With this, you’ll never run dry, and you’ll be holding a barter item that’s pure power in a post-collapse world.
🚰 Check it out here and make sure to get it locked in before crisis strikes!
Final Thoughts on Weird Items That’ll Have Practical Barter Value
The items that will matter most in a post-crisis barter economy aren’t always what you find in a tactical catalog. Think about everyday needs that disappear when supply chains break.
Consider small tools, convenience items, and the things we take for granted in our convenient modern world. By stocking up on weird but practical barter items, you set yourself up to be able to successfully trade for what you need.
A lot of the oddball stuff you might barter with after SHTF could get totally fried by an EMP. That’s why I’d say grab at least one (or more, depending on your setup) EMP Cloth. It can shield your car, bank cards, phone, or even your generator from getting zapped!
You may also like:
10 Most Sought-After Bartering Items in Venezuela
DIY Backyard Pharmacy That Can Make You Rich Post-SHTF (Video)
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Bury These 8 Items Before The Next Crisis
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