Shopkeeper Trading
Shopkeeper Trading Guide
This page explains how Shopkeepers work and how players can create and manage item-for-item trading shops.
Shopkeepers do not use money, petals, or balances (refer to Player Shops). They are strictly for trading items.
If you want to buy or sell items with currency, use chest shops instead.
What Is a Shopkeeper
A Shopkeeper is a special shop entity that allows players to trade items safely.
Trades are item-for-item
Trades are fixed by the shop owner
Shops pull stock from a linked chest
Shops are protected from theft and damage
Shopkeepers function similarly to villager trades, but are fully player-controlled.
Player Shops vs Admin Shops
Player Shopkeepers
Player shopkeepers:
Are created and owned by players
Use a chest for stock
Can run out of items
Are limited in number per player
These are the shops covered in this guide.
Admin Shopkeepers
Admin shopkeepers:
Have unlimited stock
Are created by staff
Are usually found at spawn or official areas
Players cannot create or edit admin shopkeepers.
Shopkeeper Limits
Players can only create a limited number of shopkeepers
If you reach the limit, you cannot place more
Higher limits may be unlocked through ranks
If you cannot create a shopkeeper, you are likely at your limit or in a protected area.
How Trading Works
Each shopkeeper has a set of trades defined by the owner.
A trade exchanges:
One or two input items for
One output item
Examples:
16 wheat → 1 emerald
5 iron ingots → 1 diamond
1 written book → copied book
There is:
No currency
No prices
No balance system
Trades only work while the shop has stock.
Shopkeeper Shop Types
There are several types of player shopkeepers, each with slightly different behavior.
Selling Shop
A Selling Shop sells items from your chest in exchange for other items.
Setup
Place the items you want to sell into the chest
Open the shopkeeper editor
Items for sale appear in the top row
Costs appear in the bottom rows
If no cost is set yet, placeholder barriers will appear.
Editing trades
Left-click a cost slot to increase the amount
Right-click to decrease the amount
Hold Shift to change amounts faster
You can also adjust how many items are sold per trade
You can create up to 5 pages of trades, for a total of 45 trades.
How it behaves
Items are removed from your chest when sold
Payment items are added to your chest
If an item runs out, the trade disables
If the chest has no space for payment items, the trade fails
Buying Shop
A Buying Shop buys items from other players in exchange for items you provide.
Setup
Place at least one of each item you want to buy into the chest
Add plenty of payment items to the chest
Open the editor
In the editor:
Top row shows payment items
Bottom row shows items being bought
The middle slot is unused
Important limitations
Buying shops require exact item matching.
Enchantments must match exactly
Damage values must match
Metadata must match
Because of this, buying shops work best for:
Blocks
Materials
Simple items
They do not work well for:
Unique enchanted items
Written books
Maps or highly customized items
Trading Shop
A Trading Shop allows you to trade any items for any items.
Setup
Place the items you want to give into the chest
Open the editor
Click an item in your inventory
Click a slot in the editor to set it as a cost item
You can:
Adjust amounts with left and right clicks
Replace items by clicking over existing slots
Remove trades by lowering costs to zero
Trading shops are the most flexible shop type.
Book Shop
A Book Shop sells copies of written books.
Setup
Place the written books into the chest
Stock the chest with writable books (book & quill)
Open the editor and set costs like a selling shop
Important notes
The shop sells copies, not originals
Copies have a different generation than the original
Only books that can be copied are supported
Books are identified by title
If the original book is removed, the trade stops working
If multiple books share the same title, only the first one is used.
Placeholder Items
Placeholder items let you set up trades for items you don’t own yet.
This is useful for:
Preparing shops in advance
Designing trade layouts
Planning future stock
Trades will only function once real items are added.
Using a Shopkeeper
Right-click the shopkeeper or sign
The trading interface opens
Insert the required items
Take the result item if the trade is valid
If a trade does not work:
The shop may be out of stock
The input items may not match exactly
Shopkeeper Protection
Shopkeepers are protected automatically.
Player protection
Only the owner can edit or remove their shopkeeper
Other players cannot access the linked chest
Items cannot be stolen or inserted
World protection
Shopkeepers are immune to explosions
Mobs cannot damage them
Shopkeepers return to position if pushed
What Players Can and Cannot Do
You can
Create player shopkeepers
Set up item-for-item trades
Restock and manage your own shops
Trade safely with other players
You cannot
Use money or petals
Change shopkeeper skins or appearances
Create admin shopkeepers
Edit or access other players’ shops
Common Issues
I can’t place a shopkeeper
You may be at your shop limit
The area may be protected
A trade doesn’t work
The shop is out of stock
The items do not match exactly
Why doesn’t this use currency
Shopkeepers are for item trading only
Use chest shops for buying and selling with money
Summary
Shopkeepers are for item-for-item trading
No money, no petals, no balances
Multiple shop types are available
Shops are protected and safe
Chest shops handle currency trading