Accumulating medical supplies for possible sale or trade is, at best, an extremely complex, elusive issue. It is compounded by the fact that our society does not trust its citizens with drug purchase decisions. Not only do we not know which medications might be in demand, we have trouble getting them within our current system.
Nevertheless, in spite of great resistance from the ruling elite medical profession, drugs can be accumulated for trade. Summarizing very briefly, these sources can be the following:
1. Sympathetic medical professionals who surreptitiously supply needed medications to be stockpiled by survivors.
2. The local livestock health counter, which offers veterinary medical supplies. These drugs, intended for animals, are safe, clean, and effective.
3. Counterfeit prescriptions—those authorizing pieces of paper which are easy to make on a home computer. Stay away from any narcotics to avoid attention.
4. Importation from foreign countries where laws are not so monopolistic. Do this either in person or by mail. Pioneered in the late 1980s by AIDS patients, this has become a major source of supply for many people.
5. Cross-use of more easily obtained, over-the-counter medical supplies. Potent hemorrhoid medication, for instance, containing high percentages of Lidocaine can be used as topical pain killers when sewing up wounds.
I have written two books on this complex subject. Those with a sense of understanding and interest in medical procedures and medications will do well to secure copies of Survivor’s Medicine Chest and Do-It-Yourself Medicine. Both are available from Paladin Press, and the information in them is not repeated here.
Luxuries
The durability of luxury goods as trade items always amazes and shocks me. There is something about consumption of this class of goods that touches a nerve, especially when trading with people in life-and-death circumstances. Often we see obviously poor people living on the brink of survival trading for expensive shoes, watches, makeup, jewelry, booze, and tobacco. There may be some hidden linkage, but it is often difficult to see how ownership of these goods adds to one’s chances for survival.
Often we see luxury goods traded for long-term durable goods such as a set of wrenches. a shovel, or my all-time favorite, ax or maul handles (which are completely, absolutely irreplaceable in any real survival circumstance). My old granddad wouldn’t even own a car. “Can’t make money with a car,” he claimed, so he always owned and drove a truck Cars can be used in business as well as trucks, but granddad had a point. The same philosophy seems to hold true for luxury goods. How one will create a better survival situation for himself and chose at the retreat with a box of cigars rather than a shovel is now beyond the scope of this book. So we drop the question. Preparing to profit from such human failing is also a question. Do we really lay in cases and cases of fine whiskey in the hope and belief we will be able to trade for vital goods? I suspect not.
Labor
Trading skilled labor for consumables or capital goods is frequently done in city survival situations. An electrician trading his skill to rebuild a generator for an extra tire for his trailer comes to mind as an example. Time is very much of a premium in all true survival situations, so this isn’t quite a matter of trading nothing for something. But almost.
People rapidly become experts at something in absolutely every survival situation. Even American Indians specialized. Survivors in Beirut, Berlin, Madrid, or wherever we look all specialized. It’s the nature and core of survival as those in the remaining society reestablish some sort of economic order. The reason survivors are so busy is because they often perform tasks they are not good at, using tools not specifically designed for the task.
The rule in cases where a survivor must engage outside specialized help is, as much as possible, to offer to trade their skilled labor for your skilled labor rather than giving up scarce ammunition-batteries-matches-type trade goods. This won’t work in the case of a need for a brain surgeon, but you certainly understand the concept.
BARGAINING
Bargaining in survival situations, either for money or for other goods, will be common. Most Americans have no clue how to bargain. Some consider the exercise to be tacky
Here is a brief summary of a nonthreatening method of bargaining that is usually effective and does not impinge on the desire of most Americans not to be confrontational. Americans really don’t like to come right out and tell the other guy his stuff is priced too high and that they will only offer so much. This is too rude and abrupt, even for city survivors who, in prior lives, may have been very rude and abrupt.
Begin by determining that the other guy really has something you need at the retreat. In survival situations, it is common for owners not to display valuable goods till the deal is fairly far along. If you have nothing he particularly wants, then assume the deal will have to be for cash. This original posture should be stretched out as long as possible. Part of any successful bargaining technique involves inducing the other party to invest time in the process.
Perhaps it is time spent listening to information about the quality of the item. Maybe it’s the item’s history or the owner’s history; his current survival problems, health of his wife and kids, the grandkids, weather, sources of supply, position of the enemy or whatever. Americans tend not to be listeners. But in this case you gotta spend at least 15 minutes earnestly BS-ing and listening.
When he finally gets around to setting his price, don’t react by saying it’s too high. Simply tell him that this item is exactly what you need and want, that :t is in the condition you hoped for, and that he has talked you into the item. You like the item so much you only wish you could afford it. Lay it on thick about wanting the item, but it is out of your reach financially. At times sellers will voluntarily lower their price, without a buyer’s counteroffer.
Make up some lame excuse why you can’t afford the item. “Just traded my last two flashlights for a generator belt,” says you. Also, be mentally prepared to simply walk away from the deal if the seller doesn’t respond.
Usually the seller will ask how much you can afford to pay. Don’t lowball him, which will expose the game. Simply say he could help out a bunch by selling it for X amount. At this point, it is incumbent upon you to find some reason for the fellow to help by lowering his price. Usually this reason originates in the initial conversation. Maybe it’s the offer of your help in your special area of expertise in the future.
The main goal is not to confront him harshly or be belligerent in any way, but to keep on talking in a manner that convinces the seller that he should help you and that it is now his problem to make the sale.
By not being confrontational when no deal is made, it is easily possible to come back the next day with another offer. You might claim, “I found another 5 gallons of gas in our storage area,” or whatever.
This is exactly the system used throughout the Orient, where saving face is of utmost importance. It also nicely fits most Americans’ personalities. After practice, count on at least a 75-percent success ratio.
Chances to trade for necessary and even unnecessary items are far greater in the city than they are in the country. More people and more goods lying about to trade for make this possible. Some survivors, who by luck or chance happen to store the correct trade goods, can make up for complete ignorance or lack of planning. Some will make a fortune. I wouldn’t want to play it this close, but the been there, done that crew claims it frequently happens.