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Trader Bob

Trader Bob was a simple and straightforward small prize game with a rustic cabin theme.

A small prize was “given” to the contestant, and the contestant’s goal was to “trade up” three times. A pair of small prizes was revealed, and the contestant had to choose which would be a “trade up” in value from their current prize. That prize would be traded for another, which would be traded for another. If at the end of the game the contestant had “traded up” every time, they would win a large prize.

Trader Bob endured five years, and was played about as frequently as Give or Keep (which had very similar rules). However, it was usually obvious whether the contestant had won or lost before the final reveal, meaning Bob had to rush through the price reveals quickly.

Trader Bob was retired along with several other games in late 1985.

Bob Barker stands beside a female contestant in front of a rustic cabin-themed game setup with shelves displaying various small prizes and wooden barrels.
45th pricing game to debut
S8, April 8 1980 – S14, November 19 1985
Likely created by Phil Wayne Rossi or Frank Wayne
FAQ
S8, Apr 29 1980
A woman in a red dress stands next to a glitzy jukebox on a game show set, with a red background and decorative elements highlighting the prize.

This glitzy jukebox is at stake, worth $1,995!

A rustic cabin-themed set for the game 'Trader Bob' featuring shelves with prizes and a contestant interacting with Bob Barker.

And, with some pride, Bob reveals that Emilia will be the first to play Trader Bob! She’ll have to “trade up” three times to win that jukebox.

Scene from the game show Trader Bob featuring a contestant and the host at a podium.

Just for playing the game, Bob has a gift to start Emilia off on her trading journey: a curling iron.

The Trader Bob set featuring a rustic cabin theme with wooden barrels and various prizes displayed on shelves, as a host interacts with a contestant.

That curling iron is hers now! But she can “trade it up” for something better.

Two models wearing matching red dresses stand beside barrels, showcasing two prizes: a can of paint labeled 'PAINT' on the left, and a cosmetics set labeled 'COSMETICS' on the right.

Emelia can trade it for either this can of paint or this cosmetics set. Only one of these prizes is worth more than the curling iron, but which?

A woman smiling and speaking into a microphone, standing next to Bob Barker on the set of The Price is Right.

Emelia decides to trade for the paint.

sign displayed as part of the Trader Bob price reveal.

The cosmetics set is revealed to be $25 before it is wheeled away forever.

A curling iron and a can of wall paint displayed on the Trader Bob set, labeled with their respective names.

Emilia’s traded the curling iron for the paint. Next stop, to trade the paint…

Two female models in red dresses standing next to wooden barrels labeled with prize categories on a colorful game show set.

…for either a massager or a card shuffler. She keeps the massager; the discarded card shuffler was $20.

A model showcases a True Value brand prize while the game's host gestures towards it.

Finally, she trades the massager for a waffle iron, instead of a bottle of garden spray worth $35.

A game show contestant stands beside the Trader Bob rustic cabin-themed prize setup featuring wooden barrels, while Bob Barker prepares to reveal the prices.

Here’s Emilia’s sequence of four prizes. If she has managed to trade up at every step, she’ll win the jukebox!

A curling iron priced at displayed on a game show table.

The curling iron she started with is $15. Is the paint worth more than that?

A curling iron and a can of paint are displayed side by side, with the paint marked at .

AWWW! An early loss. Emilia gets to keep the paint she traded for, but nothing else.

S10, Nov 16 1981
A game show scene featuring Trader Bob's rustic cabin-themed set, with Bob Barker speaking into a microphone and a female contestant interacting with a display or prize.

Bob had a habit of shouting “Don’t show us the price!” every time a model wheeled a prize over.

Bob Barker points to two prizes: a blue item priced at and a smaller item priced at , during a segment of Trader Bob.

Steven’s traded his $25 punchbowl set for a $49 foot massager…

A game show host stands next to two prizes labeled with prices, and , under signs reading 'TRADER BOB.'

…which he traded for a $63 set of Mary Kay cosmetics…

Two prizes displayed under the game show segment 'Trader Bob', featuring a prize labeled '' and a vacuum cleaner priced at ''.

…which he traded for an $80 vacuum! Steven wins that vacuum…

A contestant smiling during a game show segment, wearing a beige shirt with a name tag, set against a colorful backdrop.

…AND, because he made three successful trades, a trip to Holland!

S13, Mar 1 1985
A model smiling while presenting a variety of food storage containers on a game show set, with a colorful background.

Dian has to engage in a balancing act to keep all these containers on one barrel!

A game show set featuring Trader Bob with wooden barrels displaying various prizes, including a blue shirt and an iron, alongside a contestant and the host.

If that fondue set is worth more than $50, Ann has won a camping trailer…

A contestant reacting with surprise and excitement while playing a game on a game show, wearing oversized glasses and a pink outfit.

$55! She’s got it!

S14, Nov 5 1985
Two female models showcase prizes on wooden podiums, displaying a waffler on the left and a mirror on the right, with colorful background elements.

One interesting quirk with Trader Bob is that an observant viewer could always tell whether a contestant had won or lost simply by paying attention to the prices revealed.

A price tag displaying next to a white appliance on a wooden counter.

For example, this contestant chose the waffler instead of the mirror. The mirror was revealed to be $57…

A handheld vacuum cleaner displayed next to a waffler labeled 'WAFFLER' on a rustic wooden backdrop.

…do YOU think the waffler will be worth more than $50?

A host and a contestant stand next to a rustic cabin-themed game display for "Trader Bob" with prizes displayed on barrels, featuring items labeled with their values.

Bob polls the audience, who groans with displeasure.

Two prize items: a white appliance priced at and a black waffle maker priced at , displayed on wooden pedestals in a rustic setting.

Yep, they weren’t going to have both of the prizes in the final trade worth more than $50.

It was assumed for years that Trader Bob was retired because of a low win rate, but reruns on The Barker Era channel revealed it was won about as often as its sister game Give or Keep.

It’s possible that:

• the rise in Plinko’s popularity meant less time for other small prize games

• the staff felt the reveal was anticlimactic

• the game ran long and its retirement allowed for more exciting games to be played

• the 1985 Tom Kennedy nighttime version caused staff to reevaluate which games to keep in the daytime rotation

After being played for about five years, Trader Bob was retired in late 1985 along with On the Nose, Balance Game ’84, and Walk of Fame.

  • Trade over to other small prize games of the era like Give or Keep, Balance Game, and Finish Line
  • Got cabin fever? Trade for Swap Meet, which also involves trading prizes
  • Hit up the trading post at the Trader Bob FAQ page
  • Don’t show us the price! But do show us what else happened in 1980
  • Return to “Golden Game Gallery“