How to Invest 500 Gold with Shopkeepers in Skyrim

ByJames Dorn Last Update on

Right from the start of Skyrim, ambitious adventurers dream of amassing vast riches during their travels across Tamriel‘s snowy province. Yet with simple shopkeepers only keeping dozens or a few hundred gold on hand, selling off valuable loot can be tedious.

Fortunately, investing gold to permanently expand a merchant‘s available funds offers a straightforward path to quick cash.

Permanently Increasing Shopkeeper Gold

The key to investing is taking the Speech perk called "Investor" at level 70. This then unlocks special dialogue options with select merchants allowing you to fund their stores for 500 gold.

Here are the step-by-step instructions:

  1. Reach Speech Level 70 (train or sell items to raise)
  2. Acquire Investor Perk
  3. Talk to Merchants and select "I‘d like to invest in your business"
  4. Choose to invest 500 gold
  5. Their available gold to barter with will now permanently increase by 500

However, important to note is that certain merchants have this dialogue option bugged so investing does NOT raise their gold amount. Confirmed working merchants include:

  • Belethor in Whiterun
  • Lucan Valerius in Riverwood
  • Ysolda in Whiterun

So focus efforts on those known functional NPCs.

Strategies to Earn Over 100,000 Septims

With shopkeepers able to purchase more expensive items, you‘ll need to get your hands on valuable loot to sell. These tips will have you raking in tens of thousands of gold:

Loot Ancient Nordic Ruins

  • Draugr and skeletons guard treasure rooms filled with gems and enchanted items
  • Typical haul from a medium ruin is over 5,000 gold worth of valuables

Smith & Enchant Jewelry

  • Transmute iron into silver and gold then craft jewelry
  • Create potent enchantments like Waterbreathing and Fortify Sneak on rings & amulets
  • Each enchanted item worth 500-5,000 gold based on value of gems used

Grow Giant‘s Toe and Wheat

  • Use Hearthfire house plots to cultivate profitable alchemy ingredients
  • Create extremely valuable fortify health potions from the ingredients harvested

Invest Heavily in Every Merchant

  • Max out available gold for all shopkeepers via 500 gold increments
  • Allows selling more expensive loot to deplete gold reserves

Combining these complementary strategies allows for rapid wealth accumulation. But what about the players who dream the biggest for their Dovahkiin dragon slayers?

Did you know the maximum gold limit in Skyrim exceeds 2 million septims? Here‘s a roadmap for hitting such a staggering sum:

Step 1: Speech Crafting (Levels 1-50)

  • Focus perks on Speech tree up to Merchant perk
  • Buy and sell items with every merchant to level speech to 50
  • This unlocks investing dialogue sooner at level 50 speech

Step 2: Investing Spree (Levels 50-70)

  • Travel to all major cities and invest 500 gold with every merchant
  • Mine iron ore and transmute to gold to raise capital if needed
  • Getting 18 merchants increased early makes later selling faster

Step 3: Max Enchanting, Smithing, Alchemy (Levels 50-81)

  • Huge part is mastering profitable crafting systems
  • High enchanting and smithing maximizes value of items sold
  • Recommended order:
    1. Enchanting to 100
    2. Smithing to 100
    3. Alchemy to 100

Step 4: Exploit Chests for Gems (Level 81-100)

Note: As a gaming commentator I cannot officially recommend cheating or sequence breaking bugs. However, some players do use known glitches to hit gold caps quicker in late game. This section is for educational purposes only!

  • Chests with high chance to spawn gems respawn rapidly
  • Teleporting away and back resets loot table allowing endless farming
  • Flawless diamonds, emeralds and other gems sell for over 1,000 each

Step 5: Sell Gems to Maxed Out Merchants

  • Fast travel to all invested shopkeeper stopping by whenever weight capacity is reached
  • Specialize in Stamina and the Conditioning perk to enable carrying more items
  • By maintaining circuits between major cities, gold will accumulate rapidly

Within just a few hours following these strategies, going from rags to riches well beyond the dreams of most Skyrim wanderers becomes a reality!

The same techniques allow duplicating massive reserves of crafting materials for the most ambitious Dovhakiin crafters producing legendary armors and weapons. But that my friends is a tale for another day!

Let me know if you have any other requests for making money fast in Skyrim!

James K. Dorn, a passionate gamer deeply immersed in the world of video gaming. My journey in gaming is not just about playing; it's about exploring every facet of the games I love. I am particularly fascinated by the intricate worlds of role-playing games like "The Witcher" series and "Elder Scrolls: Skyrim," where every decision shapes the story.

As a strategy game enthusiast, I spend hours devising tactics in games like "Civilization VI" and "StarCraft II," always eager to share my strategies with fellow gamers. I'm also an ardent follower of the ever-evolving landscape of indie games, finding gems like "Hollow Knight" and "Celeste" that offer unique, compelling experiences.

My content isn't just reviews; it's about deep dives into game mechanics, storytelling, and the art of game design. I love dissecting the narratives of games like "The Last of Us" and discussing the innovative gameplay of titles like "Death Stranding."

Being at the forefront of gaming news, I eagerly anticipate and share insights on upcoming releases like the next big open-world adventure or the latest in the "Final Fantasy" series. My goal is to build a community where we not only play games but also appreciate the artistry and effort behind them. Join me in this gaming journey, where every session is an adventure, and every game is a story waiting to be told.

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