The Tool Desk
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What the wandering trader does
A wandering trader is a randomly appearing merchant that sells selected items rather than buying and reselling a broad commodity list like a regular villager. It arrives with two trader llamas attached by leads. The trader can appear in the Overworld while you are exploring, building or waiting at a base, so its arrival is not tied to a village or a trading hall.
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Its inventory is generated for that individual trader. Two worlds can produce different offers, and two traders in the same world can have entirely different stock. Treat every inventory as a short opportunity window rather than a permanent shop.
Where it appears
- The usual target is a player in the Overworld, generally within 48 blocks.
- In Bedrock Edition, a claimed bell within 48 blocks can serve as the trader’s target.
- Java Edition surface-selection rules generally prevent ordinary cave spawning, although terrain and the player’s position can create edge cases.
- The trader’s llamas spawn with it and remain leashed to the trader when it arrives.
The exact location is still random. A trader may appear beside a base, on a nearby slope or in a less convenient patch of terrain, so clear paths and lighting around frequently visited areas make it easier to find and protect one.
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How often does a wandering trader spawn?
The game does not make one spawn attempt every few seconds. A 24,000-tick counter drives the scheduler. That is one Minecraft day, or about 20 minutes in real time. At each eligible check, the game increases the attempt chance: the first check has a 25% attempt chance, the second 50%, and later checks 75% until a trader appears or no eligible player is found. When an eligible player is found, the final spawn roll described by the Minecraft Wiki is 10%.
| Scheduler stage | Value | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Counter interval | 24,000 ticks | One Minecraft day, approximately 20 real minutes |
| First attempt | 25% | The initial scheduled attempt chance |
| Second attempt | 50% | The chance rises if the prior check did not produce a trader |
| Later attempts | 75% | Subsequent checks continue at this attempt chance until success or ineligibility |
| Final spawn roll | 10% | The roll made when a qualifying player is found, as documented by the Minecraft Wiki |
These percentages describe scheduled attempts, not a guaranteed “every X days” interval. A world can go through several checks without a trader because the player, location or final roll did not qualify. Conversely, a trader can seem to arrive soon after you begin playing if the next scheduled check succeeds.
What can prevent an apparent spawn?
- You may be outside the relevant Overworld conditions or in a position where the game cannot select a valid surface.
- The trader may have spawned outside your immediate view but still within the target area.
- The scheduled attempt can fail; the percentages are probabilities, not promises.
- In Bedrock, the claimed-bell target affects where the game looks, so moving far from that area changes what you should search.
Search the surrounding terrain, listen for the trader’s llamas, and check open ground around your base before assuming the scheduler is broken.
How long does a wandering trader stay?
Once loaded, a trader has 48,000 loaded ticks before despawning. That equals about 40 real-world minutes or two Minecraft days. The timer advances only while the trader and its chunk are loaded. Unloading the chunk pauses the countdown; returning later resumes it rather than giving the trader a fresh lifetime.
Opening the trading screen does not count against the timer while you are actively trading. That gives you a practical inspection window, but it does not make the trader permanent after you close the interface.
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What does not stop despawning
- Giving the trader a name tag does not make it permanent.
- Putting it in a boat or minecart does not stop the despawn timer.
- Leashing the trader or its llamas does not create a permanent merchant.
Protection and chunk loading are separate concerns. A loaded trader can still vanish when its lifetime expires, while an unloaded trader simply waits with its timer paused.
How to keep a trader alive long enough to trade
- Find it quickly. Check open ground, listen for llama sounds and look around the 48-block area around your base or the relevant Bedrock bell.
- Light and secure the area. Fence or wall the trader and llamas into a small enclosure, remove nearby hazards and add lighting so hostile mobs do not kill the trader before you finish.
- Keep the chunk loaded while deciding. Stay nearby while comparing offers. If you leave and unload the area, the timer pauses, but the trader will still have the remaining loaded time when you return.
- Trade before building a permanent setup. A boat, minecart or name tag can help with positioning, but none extends the 48,000-loaded-tick lifetime.
- Record useful offers. Because the inventory is temporary and random, note the item, price and remaining stock before buying.
Do not spend most of the trader’s lifetime constructing an elaborate enclosure. A safe, lit pen and a quick inventory check are usually enough.
What does the wandering trader sell?
The offer pool is random and version-sensitive. Mojang’s Java Team stated in the 25w07a snapshot announcement on February 13, 2025, that “The Wandering Trader now has better prices, more trades and a larger amount of stock for many items.” That change applies to the snapshot’s Java rules; exact prices, quantities and availability can differ in later releases and between Java and Bedrock.
The updated possible sales include the following categories:
| Offer type | Examples or documented additions | Why it can matter |
|---|---|---|
| Biome or regional building materials | Logs from Acacia, Birch, Dark Oak, Jungle, Oak, Spruce, Pale Oak or Cherry trees | Useful when a particular wood type is far from your base or missing from the current seed area |
| Equipment | An enchanted iron pickaxe | Can fill an early mining gap when you lack an enchantment setup or replacement tools |
| Potions | A potion of invisibility | Situationally valuable for exploration or avoiding certain mob encounters |
| Other rotating goods | Additional blocks and supplies from the trader’s normal pool | Value depends on your world, edition, release and the individual inventory |
Do not assume that every trader offers every item in the table. These are possible offers, not a guaranteed checklist. The snapshot announcement also described larger stock for many items, but you should verify the current version’s trade screen before relying on a particular quantity.
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What does the wandering trader buy?
The 25w07a Java snapshot added buying offers for basic supplies. Mojang described the change this way: “They will also now buy basic supplies from players, so it’s possible to get some emeralds by helping them prepare for their next journey even if you don’t feel like buying anything.” Each trader offers two items from the documented buying list, not the entire list at once.
| Possible buying item | Practical note |
|---|---|
| Water Bottle | Useful to sell if you already have bottles and can spare them |
| Water Bucket | Check that selling it will not remove a tool you need for building or emergencies |
| Milk Bucket | Worth considering when you have reliable cows and surplus buckets |
| Fermented Spider Eye | More attractive if your brewing supplies are already established |
| Baked Potato | A practical surplus-food conversion when your farm produces more than you consume |
| Hay Bale | Can turn excess wheat production into an emerald source when the offer appears |
Because only two buying items are selected for a particular trader, bring supplies only after checking the actual offers. A trader that buys hay bales is not automatically buying baked potatoes or buckets as well.
How to identify the best deal
There is no universally best wandering-trader trade. The right purchase depends on your seed, progression and alternatives. Use these four tests in order.
1. Measure scarcity in your world
Ask whether the item is inconvenient or impossible to obtain nearby. A rare wood type, distant biome block or a material needed for a build can justify an emerald premium early in a world. If you can harvest the same item five minutes from home, the trader’s offer is less compelling.
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Count the emeralds you would spend and compare them with the time, danger and resources needed to obtain the item elsewhere. Include travel, tools, food and the possibility of losing equipment. A costly item can still be efficient if the alternative requires a long expedition or a dangerous dimension trip.
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3. Check stock and lock behavior
Look at how many units the trader has and whether the offer locks after its available stock is consumed. Larger stock makes a trade more useful for a planned build; a one-off purchase may be worthwhile only for a scarce item. Do not assume that a favorable first price can be repeated indefinitely.
4. Compare reliable alternatives
Villager trades, farms, tree plantations and Nether access can replace some trader offers. Their value changes as your world develops. Early-game scarcity can make a log bundle excellent; later, a nearby tree farm may make the same purchase wasteful.
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Best-deal scenarios
Rare wood before you have a route to the biome
Logs are a strong convenience purchase when your base is established far from the relevant trees, especially for a project that needs a complete matching palette. Check the exact wood type and stock first. Once you have saplings or a dependable forest route, the same emeralds are usually better spent elsewhere.
An enchanted iron pickaxe during early progression
An enchanted iron pickaxe can be attractive when you are still mining with basic gear and do not yet have a reliable enchanting setup. Inspect the enchantments and durability in the trade screen; “enchanted” alone does not prove that it is better than the tool you already own. The purchase is most defensible when replacing or enchanting your own pickaxe would take longer than the emerald cost.
Invisibility for a specific expedition
A potion of invisibility is situational rather than a general upgrade. It can support a planned exploration or mob-avoidance strategy, but it does not remove every danger and may be less valuable than ordinary supplies if you have no immediate use. Buy it when you have a defined trip and understand the potion’s duration and limitations.
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Buying basic supplies for emeralds
The new buying offers are best treated as a conversion of surplus production. Sell hay bales, baked potatoes or bucket-based items only when your farms and reserves can replace them. Before selling a water or milk bucket, keep enough containers for your current construction, farming and emergency needs.
Edition and version cautions
The buying list and the added log, enchanted-pickaxe and invisibility offers are documented for Mojang’s Java 25w07a snapshot. Snapshot mechanics can change before a full release, and Bedrock may use different pools or prices. Check the edition and exact game version shown on your installation before planning a farm or quoting a price from a guide.
Prices are also inventory-specific and can change with later balancing. The reliable facts for planning are the scheduler interval, the loaded despawn lifetime and the existence of the documented offer categories—not a single price that every trader must display.
Troubleshooting a missing or disappearing trader
“I have not seen one for several days.”
- Confirm that you are playing in the Overworld and spending time in loaded areas where a valid target can be found.
- Remember that the scheduler checks roughly once per Minecraft day, not continuously.
- Search around the player or claimed bell rather than checking only the exact block where you expected it.
- Allow for failed probability rolls; several checks can pass without a spawn.
“It vanished while I was building a pen.”
If the trader and its chunk stayed loaded for about 40 real minutes, its 48,000-loaded-tick lifetime may have expired. A name tag, boat or minecart would not have prevented that. Hostile mobs can also kill an unprotected trader, which looks like a despawn from the player’s perspective.
“It was gone after I returned from a trip.”
Chunk unloading pauses the timer, so a return trip by itself should not consume unloaded time. Check whether the trader died to a mob, suffocated or was exposed before leaving. If the chunk remained loaded through a nearby player, a ticking area or another loading method, the lifetime could have continued while you were away.
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“The trade I saw online is not available.”
Compare edition, release and snapshot status. Offers are random, each trader has only part of the pool, and the Java snapshot changes are not a promise that every current version displays the same inventory.
Quick Recap
A practical checklist
- Search within roughly 48 blocks and check the surrounding surface.
- In Bedrock, inspect the area around a claimed bell.
- Light and fence the trader immediately.
- Open the trade screen and record prices, stock and enchantments.
- Check whether the item is genuinely scarce in your seed.
- Compare the emerald cost with travel, farming and villager alternatives.
- Use buying offers only for supplies you can spare.
- Finish trading before the 48,000 loaded ticks expire.
- Do not rely on a name tag, boat or minecart to make the trader permanent.
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