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13,558 Posts
Looks like Millions of Americans are prepping.. HEY! we are fashionable
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must be some smart ones among us after all!
Just as guns and ammo are flying off the shelves, "prepping" is fast becoming the new gold rush for smart investors and startup entrepreneurs.
There will be shysters selling useless crap to the unprepared and ill informed but there is serious money to be made right now by someone with the knowledge and sales ability to provide high quality equipment and supplies of genuine value. If I had the bucks, I would open an internet Prepper supply store tomorrow!
This is not new! For those old enough to recall the Cold War and Cuban Missile Crisis, it was a hay day for the old Army/Navy Surplus stores when rotting gas masks and WWII leftovers were selling for premium prices as fast as they could restock the shelves!
Bunkers are not a new concept! I know of a few houses in town built during that era that had pretty fancy bunkers and extensive storage of food and supplies.
The only difference is, this time around we may actually need it!
There will be shysters selling useless crap to the unprepared and ill informed but there is serious money to be made right now by someone with the knowledge and sales ability to provide high quality equipment and supplies of genuine value. If I had the bucks, I would open an internet Prepper supply store tomorrow!
This is not new! For those old enough to recall the Cold War and Cuban Missile Crisis, it was a hay day for the old Army/Navy Surplus stores when rotting gas masks and WWII leftovers were selling for premium prices as fast as they could restock the shelves!
Bunkers are not a new concept! I know of a few houses in town built during that era that had pretty fancy bunkers and extensive storage of food and supplies.
The only difference is, this time around we may actually need it!
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13,558 Posts
db2044 write up a business plan and see if the SBA will front you some bucks..
I would think a consulting business would be easier to start up ...
I mean geeze .. if you have knowledge of gardening, alternative energy, wildcrafting and hunting , guns, gold, food preservation, storage and all that stuff you probably can do better just advising folks on how to proceed than having to worry about inventory and distribution.
I would think a consulting business would be easier to start up ...
I mean geeze .. if you have knowledge of gardening, alternative energy, wildcrafting and hunting , guns, gold, food preservation, storage and all that stuff you probably can do better just advising folks on how to proceed than having to worry about inventory and distribution.
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18,213 Posts
There is a possible downside to this, other than supply & demand changes effecting pricing & availability. The number of over supplied & under skilled that will be desperately trying to scale the sharp bit at the beginning of the learning curve just expanded exponentially.
That is going to make the first few weeks interesting if there is a sudden collapse as they all try to make the shiny new toys they never checked do their bidding in a real emergency. I'm seeing grass/brush-fires from those knocked over stoves/unattended fires & so on. Shooting skills drastically reduced to a 15~20 foot group at 7 1/2 yards with lots of wild shots whipping through the branches & so on.
That is going to make the first few weeks interesting if there is a sudden collapse as they all try to make the shiny new toys they never checked do their bidding in a real emergency. I'm seeing grass/brush-fires from those knocked over stoves/unattended fires & so on. Shooting skills drastically reduced to a 15~20 foot group at 7 1/2 yards with lots of wild shots whipping through the branches & so on.
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13,558 Posts
Plonker.. you worry to much.. I am sure California has a law against using candles and kerosene lamps during earthquakes.... besides, most these folks probably shop at Cabelas.. have a little faith.
Also recall the closing days of the 20th Century, with Y2K hysteria?
Then several years later there were "runs" with the public buying up stocks of duct tape and plastic sheeting from the hysteria of biological weapons from terrorists. People had in their heads that using such materials could save their lives with sealing up the insides of their homes in such dire emergency.
The above are extremes with preparedness.
But for everyone, having something on-hand is a good thing, especially so if a person lives in an earthquake region, or in any other area where harmful occurrences could happen.
One aspect that I've never figured out with people living in earthquake prone regions of California: While many do have home stores of preparedness supplies, those same people do not have a single item in their cars, or nothing at their workplaces.
Earthquakes happens at anytime. Whether it is 3:00 AM or 3:00 PM. And it puzzles me that when I lived in California many years ago, some people I knew had home preparedness for earthquakes, but carried no snacks, water, or even a decent pair of walking shoes if the earthquake should strike during a workday. Collapsed structures of highway overpasses and bridges could leave many people having a long walk home.
Then several years later there were "runs" with the public buying up stocks of duct tape and plastic sheeting from the hysteria of biological weapons from terrorists. People had in their heads that using such materials could save their lives with sealing up the insides of their homes in such dire emergency.
The above are extremes with preparedness.
But for everyone, having something on-hand is a good thing, especially so if a person lives in an earthquake region, or in any other area where harmful occurrences could happen.
One aspect that I've never figured out with people living in earthquake prone regions of California: While many do have home stores of preparedness supplies, those same people do not have a single item in their cars, or nothing at their workplaces.
Earthquakes happens at anytime. Whether it is 3:00 AM or 3:00 PM. And it puzzles me that when I lived in California many years ago, some people I knew had home preparedness for earthquakes, but carried no snacks, water, or even a decent pair of walking shoes if the earthquake should strike during a workday. Collapsed structures of highway overpasses and bridges could leave many people having a long walk home.
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10,388 Posts
I work on landfill so if it's that bad I'm sunk. Literally.
Not necessarily!
The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake that affected the San Francisco Bay Area region . . .
Foster City and Redwood Shores, both residential communities with some modest office buildings, were built on landfill, escaped unscathed from the earthquake.
High rise buildings in San Francisco and other surrounding communities stayed intact.
But, there was a section of the Bay Bridge that collapsed, as well as portions of the east bay freeway Cypress structure had collpased sections.
Even if everything stayed intact after an earthquake, there's the potential of eletrical grid disruption, where commuters low on fuel cannot refuel from electrical outtage . . . making for a long walk home.
Ah! But people may consider using cell-phones for contacting road service. Think again! Phones could be jammed, just like it was after Loma Prieta, and services could also be overwhelmed, too.
Makes me wonder how helpful those iPhones, with its "questions and answers" application . . . where the user vocally asks the iPhone a question, in which the phone application has an answer for the user . . . I really wonder how it will function under such a dire emergency? LOL
I agree FIVESHOT. I'm good for about a month and I think most folks are too for some weather related events and power outages. However, the ZOMBIE thing and protecting ourselves is another story. I'm good with protection to a point. I will have to protect in place if I have no warning.
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910 Posts
By the time that sheep start running, the wolf is already in the flock.
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Well yeah, I was in SF when it happened. My car got up and boogied. If anything more than one overpass and a section of one bridge went out; if we had an 8 or greater believe me I'd be hosed. Google "Seaport Drive, Redwood City, CA and try to pull up a satellite picture. It's worse than Foster City. It's a business park/yacht harbor. I see seals and bat rays on my lunch walks. Storm surge is enough to flood some of those walkways. If I survive I'll be swimming back to Redwood City proper.
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795 Posts
My name is pipefitter and I am a Prepper yes I am coming out of the closet or pantry in this case. At 70 years young I am not prepping for DOOMSDAY not looking to live off the land at my age but two to three mo. supply till things get sorted out or I go down like a Viking with my sword in my hand.
That's a strong possibility if an 8.0 or greater magnitude . One thing that don't get mentioned much about earthquakes: For every single number increase on the Richter scale, the intensity of the quake is raised by a factor of 10, and not one.
I'm familiar with the Bay Area . . . and since you reside in that region, then I'm sure you are puzzled, just like me, when the Redwood City Police Department relocated its headquarters on the east side of the Bayshore Freeway.
Now here is something that will have fellow Gunboards members livid and screaming . . . when discussions were raised about the pitfalls of having the RCPD headquarters on the "other side" away from Redwood City proper. The subject was brought up about earthquakes and how the RCPD could be cut-off from Redwood City proper with the collasp of the freeway overpasses.
(in a tone of trepidation . . . Ooohhh Boy! I can hear the screams of protests now from Gunboard members. . . ) The officials of the RCPD said that such obstacles could be remedied with the police officers hauling the needed eqiupment, on foot, to cross the freeway. Where upon the officers would commandeer civilian vehicles to carry out their law-enforcement duties on the western side of the freeway . . . where 75 percent of the Redwood City residents live.
The idea of police commandeering civilian vehicles in disaster situations? Such subject is way beyond that of "flame" with comments postings responses . . . it is more like napalm!
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yeah they are comming out of the wood work we started this in January http://thepracticalsurvivalist.blogspot.com/ and have had thousands of visitors and nearly a third from 57 countries besides the U.S. we have so many request to write stuff we cant even keep up and we never even posted to have requests.....
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