The Traveling Cart in Stardew Valley
Image by Destructoid

Best items to buy from the Traveling Cart in Stardew Valley

It's a surprise every time

If there’s anything that you’re looking for in Stardew Valley, there’s a high 💞likelihood that you’ll find it at the Traveling Cart. The vendor here sells almost everything you could imagine from b♐asic resources to furniture and clothing items. 

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The Traveling Cart comes to Stardew Valley every Friday and Sunday, and can be found in the northern corner of the Cindersap Forest, close to the entrance to the Secret Woods and is open between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. 

The Traveling Cart also shows up at both the Night Market (Winter 15-17) between 5 p.m. and 2 a.m. and the Desert Festival (Spring 15-17) between 12 p.m. and 2 a.m. The stock available ✤at either festival is the same.&nb🀅sp;

Stock rotates, so different things will be available to purchase every time you visit. Prices are often high, but there are some items that can’t be purchased anywhere elseཧ, so it’s always worth checking what’s in stock whenever the Traveling Cart is around. 

Of course, some items are more worthy of your Gold than others, but what are the best items to purchase from the Traveling Cart? After years of visiting the vendor to check her stock, I’ve learned🦹 a thing or two, so I can give some tips about what to look out for. 

Special Stock at the Traveling Cart

Special Stock items available from the Traveling Cart in Stardew Valley
Image by Destructoid

There are a select few items that are only available to purchase from the Traveling Cart or are otherwise diffic𝄹ult to get, so if they’re on the stock list during any visit, it’s worth buying them to avoid 🌳missing out on having them. 

Unlike other items purchased through the Traveling Cart, prices of Special Stock items are fixed, so you’ll always pay the same for them, regardless o▨f when they come up:

ItemPriceDetails
Rare Seed1,000 Gold– 100% chance to appear in Spring and Summer
– 1.26% chance to appear in other seasons
– 10% chance for five stacks to appear
– 90% chance for a single stack to appear
Rarecrow #44,000 Gold– 40% chance to appear
– Also appears at the Festival of Ice for 5,000 Gold
Coffee Bean2,500 Gold– 25% chance to appear
– Also a possible drop (1% chance) from Dust Sprites in the Mines
Red Fez8,000 Gold– 10% chance to appear at any time
– Only available from the Traveling Cart
Joja Furniture Catalogue30,000 Gold– 10% chance to appear after completing the Community Center Bundles
– Can be purchased from Joja Mart for 25,000 Gold
Junimo Catalogue70,000 Gold10% chance to appear after completing either the Community
Center Bundles of Joja Community Development Form
Retro Catalogue110,000 Gold– 10% chance to appear
– Only available from the Traveling Cart
Tea Set1,000,000 Gold– 5% chance to appear from year 25 onwards
– Also a rare possible gift at the Feast of the Winter Star
Stardew Valley Almanac6,000 Gold5% chance to appear
Bait and Bobber6,000 Gold5% chance to appear
Woodcutter’s Weekly6,000 Gold5% chance to appear
Mining Monthly6,000 Gold5% chance to appear
Combat Quarterly6,000 Gold5% chance to appear
Wedding Ring Recipe500 Gold– 100% chance to appear in multiplayer games
– Does not appear in single player games

Spouse Portraits at the Traveling Cart

Spouse Portraits available at the Traveling Cart in Stardew Valley
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Spouse Portraits were added in the 1.6 update and will become available at the Traveling Cart after you get 𒉰married, or Krobus becomes your roommate. You can only purchase the Portrait of your spouse (or Krobus) a💎s long as you have 14 hearts with them, but you get to keep it even if you part ways. Each portrait costs 30,000 Gold. 

Specific items worth buying at the Traveling Cart

Items worth purchasing at the Traveling Cart in Stardew Valley
Image by Destructoid

The Traveling Cart has a truly huge number of items that rotate for purchase, so t✨here’s always a chance that you’ll find something you need. However, there are certa🍃in items that are more worthwhile than others, so here are a few that stand out from the long list of available items:

Red Cabbage Seeds

If you’re looking to speed-run the Community Center Bundles, you’ll 𓆏need to keep an eye out for Red Cabbage Seeds at the Traveling Cart during your first year. While they’re available from other sources from the beginning of year two, there’s a 🐭chance that they can appear at the Traveling Cart before that point. 

You can help with this and guarante🐟e that they show up at least once in the first year by selecting “Guarantee Year 1 Completable” in advanced options when starting a new game. 

Quality Sprinkler

Usually, making Quality Sprinklers calls for 1 Iron Bar, 1 Gold Bar, and 1 Refined Quartz. Although this isn’t too much of a tall order, collecting the necessary resources can prove problematic or tiresome. Quality Sprinklers sometimes come up for purchase at the Traveling Cart, and they’re always worth 🌠purchasing if you have crops that need watering. 

Meals with additional buffs

There are a couple of meals that could possibly show up at the Trav🔴eling Cart,✅ both of which have unique perks when consumed. 

Triple Shot Espresso will increase your movement speed for four minutes and 12 seconds, and also applies to your horse if you have one. Although you can buy the recipe from the Stardrop Saloon for 5,000 Gold and then make it using 3 Coffee, Triple Shot E🎐spresso is something that’s always worth hoarding if you see it f🗹or sale.

Seafoam Pudding is incredibly useful, especially if you’re planning on going after any Legendary Fish or wanting to reel in the Iridium Krobus Statue in the Cindersap Forest, as it increases your fishing level by 4, even if you’re already level 10. Although you do get t♊he recipe for Seafoam Pudding when you reach level 9 Fishing, the ingredients can be difficult to 💜get. 


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Paula Vaynshteyn
With her first experience of gaming being on an Atari ST, Paula has been gaming for her entire life. She’s 7,000 hours deep into Final Fantasy XIV, spends more time on cozy games than she would care to admit, and is also your friendly resident Whovian. Juggling online adventuring with family life has its struggles, but she wouldn’t have it any other way.