What kinda magazines or items have good trading value?

When I wuz locked up...if you had stamps...you could trade em for just about anything!!! Also...stationary...from the outside...that wuz alwayz good tradin'...umm...we usually shared mags...instead of trading those.

In Ohio, it was cigarettes, coffee and stamped envelopes.

Thanx! I am getting ready to send him some things and just wanted to know what would be good trade value. I dont want to ask him cuz I dont want him to get in trouble. Thanx for responding.

When I was in prison, the things of the greatest value were the most scarce, and mind you, this will be different from camp to camp. For me, it was designer paper. I could sell a sheet for as much as a quarter. But I also liked to write, so I would create poems and put it on these designer paper, and maybe even add some rainbows with art chalk. All these things were bought. Sometimes your hustle depends on your skill as well. I remember at one camp where I could not write fast enought to sell the poems and paper. Also, if you camp can receive pens, they sell well too. But don't send too much or the camp will get wise to you.

Was in Maximum Security, cigarettes have greatest value can buy anything woirh them. Although stamps are great too my facility didnt allow you to get them cause of the possibility for acid to be on them, so they were out. Magazines have no real value they usually are traded. Any luxury food item such as coffee, or things notpurchasable through commissary are usually tradeable. I have found cigarettes are the best option though.

Tobacco is the biggest trade in any way shape or form here in Kentucky, as well as stamps. But tobacco is the "gold" of the trade. Oh and for those who are interested some "girlie" magazines also bring in a good deal.

cigarettes and Green Money

Charlie, too, always said cigarettes, but of course, we can't SEND them those - just the $$ to buy them! :) He also said stamps, I sent him as many as FLDOC allowed - I also sent him cards - especially this time of year, Halloween cards, Thanksgiving cards, Xmas cards, etc. - I'd buy the card, pick up 2 envelopes (usually not a problem, I've even offered to pay the store for the extra one - sometimes they take the money usually they don't care) write him a letter (NOT on the card, just on paper) and mail him the letter, "blank" card and extra envelope.

In Michigan we cant send anything but money orders, letters and some pictures. Although I never thought of sending him blank cards with envelopes and stuff. I'm sure this will help save him $$. With Christmas coming up and all I think I will shop for cards that he can send his mom and sisters and stuff. What a great idea! I'm also going to buy some holiday stationary and mail it to him too! Thanks for the ideas :)

Charlie, too, always said cigarettes, but of course, we can't SEND them those - just the $$ to buy them! :) He also said stamps, I sent him as many as FLDOC allowed - I also sent him cards - especially this time of year, Halloween cards, Thanksgiving cards, Xmas cards, etc. - I'd buy the card, pick up 2 envelopes (usually not a problem, I've even offered to pay the store for the extra one - sometimes they take the money usually they don't care) write him a letter (NOT on the card, just on paper) and mail him the letter, "blank" card and extra envelope.

wow good idea!! :thumbsup:

Who knows what we can send - or not and to where?

magazines have a little value, but mostly its cigarettes and contraband or weapons that have the highest trading value in prison. for scaples, they will pay up to 25 packs of cigarettes which carry a street value of $100. and ofcourse, money itself. most of the things that have high value, i hope most of us wouldnt even consider bringing in!!!

magazines have a little value, but mostly its cigarettes and contraband or weapons that have the highest trading value in prison. for scaples, they will pay up to 25 packs of cigarettes which carry a street value of $100. and ofcourse, money itself. most of the things that have high value, i hope most of us wouldnt even consider bringing in!!!

What are scaples?? :confused:

did you mean scalpel and what the heck would you be doing with that?

did you mean scalpel and what the heck would you be doing with that?

OH goodness..I hope that is not what she meant :eek: . That is dangerous!! I would never send him anything like that. Stationary and blank cards is as far as I will go.

Cigarettes, Food, and other Commissary. Someone is always down for the old 'lunch sandwich' deal if they are in the starvation tanks in the county. Artwork. Drugs.

Send me to prison! At least there you can get real food and real commissary!

Wow i just found this thread and its really informative! Thanks everyone!

What about books?

My guy said sports magazines and magazines with pretty women in them (actual porn may or may not be allowed depending on the prison) were the most popular.

One thing my guy and I did a few times was this. When somebody mentioned that he needed a bit of information, such as the address or phone number of a person or organization, the words to a certain poem or song, a bit of legal or medical info, etc., my guy would ask me to look it up on the net. Then I would send him the info and he could trade it - or just give it and the guy who asked would feel that he owed my guy a favor.

Oh yeah, I would print out the page and mail that, so my guy could cover his ass by giving him the paper and saying, "This is what my friend looked up. It's not my fault if it's incorrect".

I had a reasonable amount of money from the outside, so I was able to buy magazines and other things which I could trade around. Most of them were the usual trash that makes Prison run smoothly as one of the screws put it. There were a couple of guys who had a lot of them - I knew a guy who had at least 50 different magazines that he lent/traded to people.

I did a lot of different things for various rewards, I wrote helped write letters for different people, cards, and that sort of thing. I am a good writer, so it made sense. There were a couple of people who were really talented artists who made cards, and did paintings for people too.

I also started running a store for a couple of weeks in one of the units where I was, dealing mainly in food, and toiletries, and different stuff. It was quite profitable for me - I charged interest on everything, unless I knew certain people were in a bit of a bind, and I would lend them interest free. It started because someone wanted to borrow some chips, and said they would pay me back 2, and no sooner did I get them back the next week than someone else came along and borrowed them. It sort of went from there.

To buy cans of coke from the machine in the yard, or to buy chips/snacks in the visiting area, we used tokens (worth $1 each) and this was - most of the time - the easiest way of charging interest. I wasn't the worst person to borrow stuff off - people would charge triple and even more for cigarettes.

In OH, you can't send extra envelopes (for cards). Can send ONLY the embossed stamped envelopes. So check with your institution to find out what is allowed.
Magazines are handed around. They share books and magazines. No trading value there. Doc used to buy cigs (he doesn't smoke) to use but now the building is supposed to be smoke free. Because he has enough money in his account, he buys things at Commissary to use for trading. You might consider just sending a money order (if allowed) and then let him buy things there that he can use for trade (coffee, snacks, writing materials, grooming items, and lots more).

I send my man extra mail (dirty storys) and he trades them, I just use a slightly different font when I print out the ones I got online so he knows what he can pass along, I also send in blank cards, and I make post cards with my printer...I print the same picture twice on card stock fold it in half and put it in like a card. Most of the time I write a line or 2 very lightly in pencil on the cards then they arent actualy blank. If you can get away with making cards with tatoo paterns on them thats good too!

In Michigan we cant send anything but money orders, letters and some pictures. Although I never thought of sending him blank cards with envelopes and stuff. I'm sure this will help save him $$. With Christmas coming up and all I think I will shop for cards that he can send his mom and sisters and stuff. What a great idea! I'm also going to buy some holiday stationary and mail it to him too! Thanks for the ideas :)

i to have a loved one in mdoc i have had 4 mail rejections for unsigned cards and i know i signed them just a tip dont waste your money sending blank cards

sexy pics off the internet. If you can find high resolution pics of women to send, it will cost you about a dime a piece and they can get upwards of 2 bucks worth of canteen goods for some of them.

But of coarse, bartering is against prison rules, so I would never, ever do that.

Cigarettes

Something that traded well at our prison were steamy text stories. Like the ones you can print off of the internet, or from Hustler's story magazine.

I read in this thread that coffee has good trading value and my son always wants me to send lots of coffee in his quarterlys. He says he drinks a lot of coffee and that he shares it too. Makes me wonder if he is drinking it or trading it and for what.

coffee, definitely where my guy is.. Pretty much anytihng they can get their hands on is tradable from pillows (crazy, right?) to stamps. I also send my guy extra mail, like jokes and funny stories that he passes around. He has also traded food for sweat pants and will work out a "deal" by my calling on of the guys' girls or parents or even sending extra sexy pics for an inmate (not of me of course.)
It seems like anything and everything is tradable, I just try and provide as much as I can for my guy.

sexy pics off the internet. If you can find high resolution pics of women to send, it will cost you about a dime a piece and they can get upwards of 2 bucks worth of canteen goods for some of them.

But of coarse, bartering is against prison rules, so I would never, ever do that.

lol:D i'll bet!!! ;)

Smokes of course if they are allowed,stamps,nice paper,colored penciles and differant colored ink pens for drawing,coffee,sweets,street cloths if allowed like sweat shirts etc. , thats about it.Any thing else would be contraband, like green money etc.

stamps are usually good trades, especially with the rates always increasing

Stamps, paper, colored pencils, sexy pics, playboy mag, just about anything can be traded for anything. Trading is very pop behind the walls for alot of reasons, some good some bad :) :(

When I got out last time I wnt to the dollar store got a bunch of cards 2 for $1 & just sign name lightly in pencil, so they could just erase it & sell it for $1-$2.Throught the years where I was they'd b strict & wouldve pulled a blank evelope.B4 in ca we could get statioery packs (paper,env.etc..)but they stopped that STAMPS 7 LOTS OF THEM..THE LIMIT EVERY TIME YOU WRITE Really cool stationery..not something lame they can get that 4 free in graphic arts.Mags no on mainline maybe in shu