Graveyard Keeper 2 trading: prices and rejected items

What to check, in order

1. 01

   Check that this trader actually buys the item; anything else shows as unavailable.

2. 02

   Look at the trader’s money before offering a big stack.

3. 03

   Sell a few units and watch the price fall before dumping the whole batch.

4. 04

   Spread large sales across several days, or across traders who buy the same thing.

5. 05

   Read the final deal balance; buying and selling are settled together.

6. 06

   Come back after midnight if the trader is broke.

Money basics

Graveyard Keeper 2 counts money in copper, silver and gold: 100 copper make a silver and 100 silver make a gold. You start with exactly one silver. Your first real income is Burial Certificates, which Januarius at the tavern buys for a silver each.

Who buys what

This is the table that answers most “why can I not sell this?” questions. Traders sell a lot but buy very little, and each one buys a different short list. If the item is not on that list, it simply does not appear as sellable in your backpack.

Field note: Herm buying Boards, Planks and Bricks makes early woodworking a decent money maker. A zombie on the sawhorse is quietly earning you silver.

How prices are worked out

Each unit is priced on its own. The formula is base price × √(usual stock ÷ current stock). When you buy and the shelf empties, each next unit costs more. When you sell, you start at 75% of the base price, and every unit you add to the trader’s stock lowers the next unit’s price. The minimum is 1 copper.

So the twentieth plank you sell in one go is worth noticeably less than the first. That is not the trader cheating; it is the stock formula. A few items, such as certificates, have a fixed price and ignore all this.

What happens at midnight

Every trader has a starting purse and a daily income, paid at midnight. Stock also drifts back toward its usual level: missing items restock by up to a fifth of the usual amount per day, and surplus items you sold them gradually disappear as they turn into cash in the trader’s purse.

In practice, this means a trader who just bought fifty boards from you will be broke and over-stocked for a few days. Sell to them again later in the week and prices will have recovered.

Shop tiers change stock

Most traders have three tiers. Herm is the first to upgrade, after Planted and Delivered, and his tier II stock adds fish fillets, eggs, milk, seedlings and flax thread. Town shops are upgraded by talking to the trader once you have the materials.

Upgrading is not always a pure win. The Trademaster sells Bronze Scrap, Iron Ore, Golden Nuggets and gems only at tier I. If you rely on him for ore, stock up before you upgrade. Upgrades also reset that trader’s weekly happiness counters.

Selling a big batch well

Split it. Sell part today, part tomorrow, and offer the rest to a second trader with the same item on their list. The first units of every batch are the valuable ones; the tail of a huge stack is close to worthless on the same day.

Watch the deal balance at the bottom of the trade window. Buying and selling in one trade are settled together, so if you are also buying scarce stock, the total can swing more than you expect. Check it before you confirm, especially when stocking up on something the trader has little of.

• Sell the first units of each item; stop when the price has dropped by a third or so.
• Check the trader’s purse before offering anything big.
• Return after midnight for fresh money and recovered prices.

Early ways to make money

In the first weeks, money comes from the graveyard and the woodpile. Burial Certificates are the steady earner: every buried body gives one, and Januarius pays a silver apiece. That alone covers seeds, scrap and your first bags.

Herm is the second outlet. He buys Firewood, Sticks, Boards, Planks, Clay Plates and Bricks, all things you make anyway, so a zombie on the sawhorse or potter’s wheel turns spare hours into coin. Rusty tools you replace can go to the Smithy shop instead of a chest, and every whole fish you catch has a buyer at the Fish Stand.

Organs are the odd one out. They sell for nothing, and Flesh is worth only 35 copper. If you want autopsy work to pay, the Treasure Hunter perk adds 10 copper for every organ or pocket action, which adds up over a few bodies a week.

• Burial Certificates to Januarius: 1 silver each.
• Boards, planks, plates and bricks to Herm.
• Whole fish to the Fish Stand.
• Replaced rusty tools to the Smithy shop.

Trades that also give happiness

Some sales pay happiness on top of money, up to a weekly limit that resets at 00:14 on Pride. Januarius gives 1 happiness for each of the first five Burial Certificates each week. Herm gives a fraction of a point for fish fillets and, from tier II, for vegetables. Town orders later become the biggest happiness source of all.

Since sermon attendance depends on happiness, these trades are worth doing every week even when you do not need the money.

Common questions