Desert Trader
| Desert Trader | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Location |
| Address | Calico Desert |
| Open Hours | Always |
| Closed | 15-17 Winter |
| Residents | Desert Trader |
The Desert Trader keeps a stand in the corner of the Calico Desert and refuses to take gold. Everything on the counter is bought by barter, paid for in geodes, gems, ore, bat wings and seeds, which makes this the one shop in the valley where a full purse is worthless and a full backpack is king. The stand is open at every hour of every day, so a farmer coming up out of the Skull Cavern at midnight can spend the trip's takings on the spot. Mega Bombs for Iridium Ore and Staircases for jade are the trades that keep farmers coming back, because both feed straight back into the cavern they came from.
Area
The stand sits in the corner of the desert, a short walk from the Oasis and the Bus Stop where Pam drops the farmer off. Reaching the desert at all needs the bus repaired, which means the Vault bundles paid off or the repair bought through the Joja Community Development Form.
Shops
Some lines never leave the counter. Artifact Troves cost five Omni Geodes each, which is the cheapest route to artifacts in the game once Clint is breaking them open. A Warp Totem: Desert costs three Omni Geodes, and the recipe for making them costs ten Iridium Bars, which pays for itself for anyone running the cavern regularly. Triple Shot Espresso costs a Diamond, Spicy Eel a Ruby, Mega Bombs five Iridium Ore and ordinary Bombs five Quartz.
The decorative end of the permanent stock is deliberately absurd. A Butterfly Hutch costs two hundred Bat Wings, the Green Turban fifty Omni Geodes, a Birch Double Bed a single Pearl, the Midnight Beach beds fifteen and thirty Iridium Bars, and the Dark Piano nine hundred and ninety-nine Coal, which is a stack of coal for a piano.
The rotating stock changes with the day of the week. Monday brings Hay for an Omni Geode, Tuesday Fiber for Stone, Wednesday Cloth for three Aquamarines, Thursday a Magic Rock Candy for three Prismatic Shards, and Friday Cheese for an Emerald. Saturday is the seed exchange, where each season's wild seeds buy the next season's at two for one. Sunday sells a Staircase for a single Jade, which is the trade that makes deep Skull Cavern runs practical, since jade is common and a staircase skips a floor.
Two hats alternate by date: the Magic Turban on even days and the Magic Cowboy Hat on odd ones, each for three hundred and thirty-three Omni Geodes. The Void Ghost Pendant needs maximum friendship with Krobus, an unmarried farmer and an upgraded farmhouse, and costs two hundred Void Essence.
Residents
The trader is the only occupant of the stand and never accepts gifts. Offering gold gets a flat refusal:
"Your coin has no value where I come from.... Do you have anything else to trade?"
Sandy knows the trader by reputation. When Emily comes to the desert on her birthday in the fall, standing near the stand while Sandy is there gets Sandy's view of the neighbours: she thinks the trader sells rare products.
Notes
The Night Market closes the stand for its three days. During those evenings the trader can be found at the market itself instead, handing out one free cup of Coffee a night, which is the only time anything here is given away rather than swapped.
Magic Rock Candy is limited to one purchase a week, so hoarding Prismatic Shards for a bulk buy achieves nothing. The seed exchange is the quiet bargain of the week: a farmer sitting on a surplus of one season's wild seeds can roll them forward into the season they actually need, which turns unwanted forage into Spring Seeds without a Seed Maker.
All Shops
Every entry in this group, with its key details.
| Name | Image | Open Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Abandoned House | 
|
All Day |
| Adventurer's Guild | 
|
2:00pm to 2:00am |
| Blacksmith | 
|
9:00am to 4:00pm |
| Bookseller | 
|
- |
| Carpenter's Shop | 
|
9:00am to 5:00pm |
| Casino | 
|
9:00am to 11:50pm |
| Desert Trader | 
|
Always |
| Fish Shop | 
|
9am to 5pm |
| Giant Stump | 
|
- |
| Harvey's Clinic | 
|
9:00am to 3:00pm |
| Ice Cream Stand | 
|
1pm to 5pm during Summer |
| Island Trader | 
|
Always |
| JojaMart | 
|
9:00am to 11:00pm |
| Marnie's Ranch | 
|
9:00am to 4:00pm; (Building open 9am to 6pm) |
| Oasis | 
|
9:00am to 11:50pm |
| Pierre's General Store | 
|
Shop: 9am to 5pm; Building: 9am to 9pm |
| Qi's Walnut Room | 
|
Always |
| The Stardrop Saloon | 
|
12:00pm to 12:00am |
| Traveling Cart | 
|
6:00am to 8:00pm Friday and Sunday; 5:00pm to 2:00am during Night Market; 12:00pm to 2:00am during Desert Festival |
| Volcano Dungeon | - | - |
| Wizard's Tower | 
|
6:00am to 11:00pm |