I froze on the road outside Vulkhel Guard when an orc in an Altmer wig began declaiming like a crowned monarch. You probably felt that jolt too the first time you saw a festival impersonator and wondered where the money was hiding. I learned fast: Trade Bars decide whether you leave with a costume, a house decoration, or nothing but a souvenir laugh.
I’ll walk you through the quick wins and the smart plays for Trade Bars so you stop chasing small gains and start saving for the things that matter.
How to get Trade Bars in ESO’s Jester’s Festival
Outside city gates you’ll spot costumed rulers and a crowd that smells of chaos and candy.
Complete your first daily event quest during the Jester’s Festival and you’ll get a golden Stupendous Jester’s Festival Box. Open it and you walk away with 300 Trade Bars plus event swag like a page of the One Bad Knight style. That first daily is where the meat is—after that you still earn event items, but not Trade Bars.
I always grab the free event Quest Starter from the Crown Store on day one; it points you to the impersonators and saves time. The three impersonators appear with a special icon on the map:
- Jester King Jorunn outside Ebonheart in Stonefalls
- Jester Queen Ayrenn outside Vulkhel Guard in Auridon
- Jester King Emeric near Daggerfall in Glenumbra
Pick a route, clear the nearby dailies, and claim the Stupendous Box. If you keep doing that each day, your Trade Bars add up—fast enough to buy a mid-price item from the Impresario or to save for something bigger in the Crown Store’s Gold Coast Bazaar.
How do I earn Trade Bars in ESO?
Daily event quests are the primary source. For Jester’s Festival the guaranteed chunk comes from that first daily Stupendous Box (300 Trade Bars). You can also earn small bits from select event activities but those rarely beat the daily reward.
Can you farm Trade Bars in ESO?
You’ll notice players logging in at 4:50am CT hoping to squeeze more—this happens every event.
Trade Bars are time-gated. You can’t chain-run event content to flood your coffers. The system gives a set amount per daily run; for Jester’s Festival that big 300-Trade-Bar payout is single-use per day. ESO’s daily reset is 5am CT, which is when those dailies and most other lockouts refresh. Treat them like a timed allowance rather than a grindable resource.
Can I save Trade Bars between events?
Yes. Trade Bars do not vanish when an event ends. They behave like a festival currency that keeps its balance, so you can hoard for Gold Coast Bazaar offerings or rare cosmetics without fear of losing them when the drums stop.
How to use Trade Bars in ESO
On the map you’ll see the Impresario’s icon outside major cities; players cluster like shoppers at a market stall.
There are two primary outlets for Trade Bars: the Impresario event vendor who appears near major cities, and the new Gold Coast Bazaar tab in the Crown Store. The Impresario sells current-event items and smaller trinkets; her icon looks like a calendar with a star. You can spend there any time, though outside events the list may be thin.
If you’re aimless with Trade Bars you’ll end up with a bag full of junk. If you plan, they become currency for big wants: rare costumes, furnishing packs, and limited-event emotes. The Gold Coast Bazaar is the place to spend when you want something from past events or a high-ticket item; those options cost far more Trade Bars than the Impresario’s regular wares. Think of saving Trade Bars like building a fund: sometimes the small daily deposit adds up to a purchase that feels like paying cash for a large trophy.
Where can I spend Trade Bars?
Spend at the Impresario outside major cities for current-event items, or in the Crown Store’s Gold Coast Bazaar for high-value, retrospective pieces. Zenimax Online Studios designed the Bazaar to be the long-game destination for collectors.
I mention the ESO subreddit and official forums because they’re where players post Bazaar drops and price checks; follow the Crown Store updates and @TESOnline on Twitter for announcements if you want to time purchases or sales. You can also watch streamers on Twitch showing Bazaar inventories during events to spot rare items in real time.
Short version: daily first-quest = 300 Trade Bars, you can’t farm them endlessly, and you can hoard them for big Crown Store buys. Will you save for the flashy costume or spend on the small thrills tonight?