trading in Alaska
I like to barter on places like Craigslist. Would there be any special items I may want to buy from the lower 48 to barter or trade?
Forum Discussion
Take a look at the Craigslists in Alaska and think about whether or not you could supply any of the items for a better price. Keep in mind most of the listings will be from residents, folks that already have some place to store items, a local contact address/phone number etc. if you are not familiar with Anchorage, think of it as a smaller version of Seattle. What type items would you take to Seattle to barter?
As Bill has mentioned, freight costs are high on large bulky items. I have known people to bring up items such as used aircraft to use/resale at some point in time, one guy I knew had a construction company in Alaska and needed a new dump truck. Freight was costly, rail/barge out of Washington to Alaska for the truck. He flew to Seattle, bought the truck and then filled the dump bed with new plywood, He put the truck on a freight sea going barge and flew back to Alaska. Then picked up the rig in Whittier, drove to Anchorage, sold the plywood to several local lumber yards and then drove the truck on to the Fairbanks area. He felt he made enough profit on selling the plywood, to pay the freight cost of shipping the truck to Alaska.
Collector type items, coins, stamps, whatever, might be barter items for someone that is knowledgable in that field. Or some item you could sell at a state fair booth.
As Bill has mentioned, freight costs are high on large bulky items. I have known people to bring up items such as used aircraft to use/resale at some point in time, one guy I knew had a construction company in Alaska and needed a new dump truck. Freight was costly, rail/barge out of Washington to Alaska for the truck. He flew to Seattle, bought the truck and then filled the dump bed with new plywood, He put the truck on a freight sea going barge and flew back to Alaska. Then picked up the rig in Whittier, drove to Anchorage, sold the plywood to several local lumber yards and then drove the truck on to the Fairbanks area. He felt he made enough profit on selling the plywood, to pay the freight cost of shipping the truck to Alaska.
Collector type items, coins, stamps, whatever, might be barter items for someone that is knowledgable in that field. Or some item you could sell at a state fair booth.
