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Why Is The Fence Locked in Red Dead Redemption 2?

Why Is The Fence Locked in Red Dead Redemption 2?

As you tediously loot every damn drawer and cabinet in Red Dead Redemption 2, you will start to accumulate loads of valuable doodads to sell to the Fence. You happily locate a shop and gallop your way to him only to find him locked. You wait a day or two, but to no avail; the dude doesn’t want to open his shop? Why is that? Why is the Fence locked in Red Dead Redemption 2?

There is a glitch in Red Dead Redemption 2 where the Fence gets locked and won’t seem to open ever, even after returning later. You can save the game, exit, and load the game again. Go back to the Fence, and this usually will fix the issue.

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This detailed guide explains everything about the Fence in Red Dead Redemption 2. We’ll explain its use, why it is locked, and how to unlock it.

Unlocking the Fence in RDR 2

The Fence does not only sell items to players but also purchases ill-gotten goods. Two specialty fences are the Wagon fence, which will pay players for stolen wagons, and the Horse fence, which will pay players for stolen horses. This is where you bring in animal pelts to craft trinkets and special clothing sets.

Normal fences become available at the start of Chapter 2, and the wagon fence unlocks after completing “The Spines of America” in Chapter 2, while the horse fence is unlocked by completing “Horse Flesh for Dinner” in Chapter 3.

Just keep in mind the vendors in this game are only open during certain times of the day. If you visit them at night, they won’t cater to you and the shop will be locked. This is visible by the small clock icon next to the Fence shop icon.

Sometimes the bounty on your head also closes up shop for you to interact with, but that is rarely the case for Fences.

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You can make some massive moolah by selling Gold Bars at the Fence. If you want to know each of their locations in the game, then follow this guide.

Fence Lock Glitch

Fence in Read Dead Redemption 2

This glitch in Red Dead Redemption 2 prevents you from visiting the Fences. What happens is that there will be a padlock icon over the Fence icon when you approach it even though on the world map it shows it being open.

This bug usually kicks in around chapter two, or there some hidden reason for this bug later on; the game is doesn’t tell you why is it so.

If you do find yourself in this situation, then there is an easy solution. As you can see in the picture above, the Fence in Rhodes is locked. It’s not a clock icon, so it’s got nothing to do with the opening times it has a padlock instead.

All you need to do is walk away from the area as if you’re gonna make a camp but instead, just save your game and then exit your game and then simply reload your game, and then when the game loads, the fence should be open and ready to do business.


Make sure you have unlocked the fence through the story missions. The fence lock glitch has plagued many players, but the solution is rather simple and shouldn’t take long to fix. Just follow the steps given above, and you are ready to sell your stolen items and craft those garish clothing.