What is the first reliable income source?

The clearest current route is the burial loop: complete a grave, receive a burial certificate, finish the first turn-in, then sell certificates. The village-head vendor data accepts certificate grades I, II and III.

Why are there no fixed sale prices?

The relevant item price fields are zero in the extracted item data, while the vendor system separately tracks stock, money and daily income. Publishing a fixed number before checking the complete trade screen would mislead players.

Can I keep cutting wood and sell boards?

Herm accepts surplus boards, but boards are also a foundation for many early buildings and grave furnishings. List the next construction batch before selling only the excess.

What if a merchant stops accepting goods or runs out of money?

Vendor data contains finite starting money and daily income. Switch activities or advance time, then check again. This guide does not publish an exact refresh number before it is verified in the trade UI.

Demo economy guide · vendor data checked

Graveyard Keeper 2 early money guide

This early money guide starts from the safest opening income, not an inventory fire sale. Complete the burial loop first, then turn goods Herm explicitly accepts into working cash. Wood, seeds and bronze scrap also gate construction, so a larger coin balance does not always mean faster progress.

Certificate grades3

Herm tier-one buy-only goods4

Best first incomeBurial

No invented fixed prices

The currently extracted item price fields are insufficient to reconstruct the actual trade price, and vendors have their own money and progression rules. This page can reliably answer who accepts what, how to produce it and what not to rush-sell, but it does not dress an unverified number up as best profit per minute.

First income: burial certificates

Process and bury the first body.
Complete the grave and marker to receive the first burial certificate.
Follow the objective and take it to Herbert, the guard captain at the crossroads.
Later burials continue the certificate loop; the village-head vendor data lists all three accepted grades.

Burial Certificate IBurial Certificate IIBurial Certificate III

After the first grave, the game directs the keeper to take the burial certificate to the guard captain — The first burial certificate and turn-in prompt at about 36:04. Source: CohhCarnage / YouTube

What Herm explicitly buys at tier one

In the game’s vendor data these four items sit in Herm’s tier-one product pool while being marked as not sold by him: goods he takes from you rather than normal stock he sells back.

Sellable good	How to obtain or make it	Reserve first
Firewood	1× Short Log → 1× Firewood, Chopping Spot	Reserve enough for furnaces and daily fuel first.
Stick	Surplus sticks from exploration and gathering	Early grave furniture and other recipes also use sticks.
Board	1× Log → 4× Boards, Sawhorse	Boards are a core building material; sell only a known surplus.
River fish fillet	1× River Fish → 1× River Fish Fillet, Kitchen Table	Keep it for your own food when energy is the bottleneck.

Recommended sale priority

1
Burial certificates
They arrive through the core loop without consuming wood needed for construction. Complete the first grave and turn-in first.
2
Surplus firewood and sticks
Easy to obtain, but sell only what remains after fuel and recipe needs.
3
Surplus boards
One log makes four boards at the Sawhorse. Building demand is high, so do not mistake working stock for profit.
4
River fish fillets
Herm accepts them at tier one. If energy food is scarce, eating the fillet can advance the save more than selling it.

Where to reinvest the first money

Seeds and the food loop

Herm’s tier-one stock includes wheat seed. A repeatable food source reduces work lost to low energy.

Bronze scrap and basic metal

Herm’s tier-one stock also includes bronze scrap. Saving cash for nails, the wooden anvil or the furnace chain is more useful than early decoration.

The material that clears a bottleneck

Check the current objective and next workstation before buying. Stock without a concrete use simply turns cash back into another inventory pile.

Technologies supporting this route

The Concept of Wood

R 2 G 2

Opens the Sawhorse and turns one log into four boards.

Chopping

R 8

Opens Firewood at the Chopping Spot.

Gardening

G 5

Starts the farming branch; treat it as reinvestment rather than instant cash.

Fishing I

G 15

Opens the basic fishing rod; the quest and rod access still matter.

River fish dishes

free

A zero-point recipe node for turning river fish into fillets.

Do not rush to sell these

Every board and stick

Reserve workstation, grave-furniture and repair needs first.

Bronze scrap and nails

They directly gate woodworking, grave furniture and many early buildings.

Your first seed batch

Establish repeatable harvests before deciding what is genuinely surplus.

Unique quest items

A willing buyer does not prove the quest is finished with it. Keep uncertain items.

Evidence and limits

First burial certificate: complete English auto-captions from CohhCarnage Part 1 plus the in-game prompt at 36:04.
The three certificate grades accepted by the village head and Herm’s four tier-one buy-only goods: the shop and vendor tables in the game files.
Item names, recipe inputs, outputs and technology unlocks: the item, recipe and technology tables in the game files.

Data version: 2026-09-15. The page must be rechecked if the full release changes shops, prices or vendor money.

Frequently asked questions

What is the first reliable income source?: The clearest current route is the burial loop: complete a grave, receive a burial certificate, finish the first turn-in, then sell certificates. The village-head vendor data accepts certificate grades I, II and III.
Why are there no fixed sale prices?: The relevant item price fields are zero in the extracted item data, while the vendor system separately tracks stock, money and daily income. Publishing a fixed number before checking the complete trade screen would mislead players.
Can I keep cutting wood and sell boards?: Herm accepts surplus boards, but boards are also a foundation for many early buildings and grave furnishings. List the next construction batch before selling only the excess.
What if a merchant stops accepting goods or runs out of money?: Vendor data contains finite starting money and daily income. Switch activities or advance time, then check again. This guide does not publish an exact refresh number before it is verified in the trade UI.