5 best shop ideas for Minecraft SMP servers

Minecraft SMP (Survival Multiplayer) servers are incredibly popular in the community, providing an environment for players to enjoy Survival Mode together. However, much like singleplayer Survival Mode, resource scarcity eventually rears its head. This is part of why some players open up shops to accommodate their fellow players, which can become quite lucrative.

A shop can be made for just about anything found in a Minecraft SMP, but some resources, items, and blocks are obviously more coveted than others. Whatever the case, if players are curious about opening up their shop in an SMP server, they'll want to fit the supply to the server's demands. It doesn't hurt to take a look at some great ideas to get them started.

Note: This article is subjective and only reflects the writer's opinions.

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5 great shop ideas to start up in your Minecraft SMP

1) Slime shop

A good slime shop can be a huge help for a wide range of Minecraft players (Image via The_Vivec/Reddit)

Given how beneficial slime blocks and slimeballs are when creating things in Minecraft. like redstone machines, leads, and string, opening a slime shop might be quite advantageous on an SMP server. Slime blocks are crucial for breaking falls in-game and see extensive use in cohesion with pistons and redstone blocks to create automated machines.

Sticky pistons also require slimeballs to craft. Depending on how redstone savvy a group of players is on an SMP server, creating a slime shop can be a fantastic way to make a little currency (whatever currency that might be) while helping players create the contraptions of their dreams.

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2) Elytra shop

Selling elytra can be a huge business in a Minecraft SMP (Image via Reddit)

Elytra remains one of the most coveted gear pieces to equip in Minecraft, so why not save players time traipsing through the End to loot its ships by opening up an elytra shop? Granted, it's a time-consuming process for the shop owner, but once they have a sizable stock of elytra saved up, heading back out into the End to collect more shouldn't be too demanding of a task.

Also, since elytra are so valuable in Survival Mode, fans should be able to charge quite a high asking price for one pair. They could ask for even more if the elytra is enchanted.

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3) Enchanted book shop

Minecraft players can always use more enchantments for their gear (Image via Reddit)

Few things are as important to Minecraft players as quality enchantments, and although some can be obtained from the enchanting table, some can only be acquired via enchanted books. Since this is the case, if players find themselves with a healthy stock of enchanted books looted from nearby structures, they might as well sell the ones they don't need.

Not only this, but by enchanting books at an enchanting table, shop owners can also sell standard table enchantments to help players save some lapis lazuli at their own enchanting tables and without needing to re-roll for certain enchantments.

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4) Raw Ore Shop

Ores are an essential resource, so players might as well cash in on them (Image via EBfireball/Reddit)

Raw ores like gold, iron, coal, redstone, and, of course, diamonds are part of Minecraft's foundation, both figuratively and literally. They make up a massive part of various crafting recipes, including the tools, weapons, and armor that players need to continue their mining and crafting adventures. Thus, selling in-game ores can be a lucrative shop job for players willing to procure the stock.

Finding ores in Minecraft isn't always the easiest process, but there are plenty of tricks to make the task easier. If players can rack up a large number of ores in a relatively short time, they can sell them to their friends on an SMP for a respectable price.

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5) Weapon/Armor/Tool Shop

Buying a piece of gear may be preferable to crafting it in an SMP (Image via Jamwill_/Reddit)

Although plenty of fans are perfectly fine crafting their own tools, weapons, and armor, sometimes they don't want to spend time doing so or don't have the resources available. If nothing else, that's a great opportunity for an enterprising player to open a weapon/armor/tool shop to get their fellow SMP members what they need for a reasonable price.

Granted, stocking up on diamond and netherite gear isn't exactly the easiest thing in the world, but that shouldn't stop players from providing gear of all rarities. Even better, players can offer up some armor trims for prospective customers to fine-tune the look of their new purchases.