History Main / SecretShop

* The eponymous PetShopOfHorrors doubles as TheLittleShopThatWasntThereYesterday.

* ''ClassOf3000'' had a gift shop where you had to pass through an ''Franchise/IndianaJones'' style DeathCourse in order to enter. It turns out they did most of their business on-line.

** The ''VideoGame/ScottPilgrim'' game, being modeled after ''River City Ransom'', of course has a similar shop, run by Scott's roommate Wallace.

* ''{{Dollhouse}}''

* [[InvokedTrope Done deliberately]] in ''MegaTokyo''; when [[CloudCuckooLander Largo]] is asked to watch over Mega Gamers, he installs a [[CrazyAwesome fully functional maze of cardboard robots and obstacles]]... which turns out to be outrageously popular.
* In one ''{{Bobwhite}}'' Christmas story arc, Cleo learns from her younger sister Adelaide of a secret store in their hometown selling used and super-rare videogames. It's hidden behind a shady internet cafe in order to stay secret.

-->--''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemAkaneia Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon]]''

-->--'''Jake''' and '''Marth''', ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemAkaneia Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon]]''

* In ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'', the Ginza shops are this. Not only is the area surrounding them littered with the rare 5-Star Relics, they sell the most absurdly overpowered armor, weapons and medicine of the game, all at appropriately obscene prices. To open the area, first one must pay 5,000 Macca to a Ginza guard to gain access to a certain area, then find a Gold Card sold there at 10,000 Macca. Next, pay another guard 50,000 Macca to open another section to find a Platinum Card, and pay a man 100,000 Macca for a Silver Coin to be exchanged for a Black Card, which can finally be used to access the stores and their surroundings. By the way, the prices are linked to your current level - in a NewGamePlus, if you chose to retain your money and level, the wares' prices become so prohibitive that even with the money-grinding DLC it's a chore to gather the cash you need.

* ''{{La-Mulana}}'' has many secret {{Dungeon Shop}}s that are hidden behind pots or blocks or are only revealed by using seals or Key Fairies. In a major GuideDangIt, one vital PlotCoupon is sold from a shop that only appears if you buy an obviously fake item from another shop.

* In ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'', the Ginza shops are this. Not only is the area surrounding them littered with the rare 5-Star Relics, they sell the most absurdly overpowered armor, weapons and medicine of the game, all at appropriately obscene prices. To open the area, first one must pay 5,000 Macca to a Ginza guard to gain access to a certain area, then find a Gold Card sold there at 10,000 Macca. Next, pay another guard 50,000 Macca to open another section to find a Platinum Card, and pay a man 100,000 Macca for a Silver Coin t be exchanged for a Black Card, which can finally be used to access the stores and their surroundings.

* The Great Tree's shop in ''VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYear'' is hidden behind a tarp (which Flurrie's ability can remove) in an apparent dead end.

* Diagon Alley in ''HarryPotter''. To even see the front of the store that leads into the back alley that has one brick which must be tapped to get there, you need to be a witch or wizard. Or maybe a squib.

* Subverted in [[Literature/{{Discworld}} Terry Prattchet's]] Discworld/SoulMusic.
* The Merchants [=MacDoig=] in the ''LonelyWerewolfGirl'' books operate like this, if you don't where they are then you don't need to buy anything from them.

* ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'' has a rather devious one in [[spoiler:Luin, which you must pay to have rebuilt along with the rest of the town]]. There, you can purchase the best weapons that money can buy for each character, and each one is a LethalJokeItem.

* The {{DLC}} location Black Emporium in ''DragonAgeII''. Sells some of the best items in the game.

* The shops in the Thieves' Guild in VideoGame/TheEldersScrollsVSkyrim. At first, there's only your fence (plus a bartender) selling stuff, who must stay secret by necessity to avoid being persecuted by the few honourable city guards left in Riften. When you first show up, both the bar and the Thieves' Guild itself are both down on their failing luck. Once (if) you restore the Thieves' Guild to its former glory, more shops show up. From the player's point-of-view, they're secret because you have to unlock them by finishing an entire questline plus a lot of sidequests. From everyone else's point-of-view, they're secret because the Thieves' Guild isn't exactly on Main Street...

* The shops in the Thieves' Guild in {{Skyrim}}. At first, there's only your fence (plus a bartender) selling stuff, who must stay secret by necessity to avoid being persecuted by the few honourable city guards left in Riften. When you first show up, both the bar and the Thieves' Guild itself are both down on their failing luck. Once (if) you restore the Thieves' Guild to its former glory, more shops show up. From the player's point-of-view, they're secret because you have to unlock them by finishing an entire questline plus a lot of sidequests. From everyone else's point-of-view, they're secret because the Thieves' Guild isn't exactly on Main Street...

SisterTrope to BlackMarket and [[TheLittleShopThatWasntThereYesterday The Little Shop That Wasn't There Yesterday]].

* The eponymous PetShopOfHorrors doubles as [[TheLittleShopThatWasntThereYesterday The Little Shop That Wasn't There Yesterday]].

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[[AC:Literature]]

* Subverted in [[DiscWorld Terry Prattchet's]] [[Discworld/SoulMusic Soul Music]].

[[AC:Live Action Television]]

* ''{{Class of 3000}}'' had a gift shop where you had to pass through an ''Franchise/IndianaJones'' style DeathCourse in order to enter. It turns out they did most of their business on-line.

[[AC:Webcomics]]

* Some shops in the ''LegendOfZelda'' series are hidden under bushes, which must be chopped down.

* ''{{Class of 3000}}'' had a gift shop where you had to pass through an IndianaJones style DeathCourse in order to enter. It turns out they did most of their business on-line.

* Some ''FireEmblem'' games have secret shops, which are slightly-different-looking tiles of floor in out-of-the-way locations. You require a member's card to get in, which can only be obtained by stealing one from enemies, and the prices can be downright exorbitant.

* ''TalesOfSymphonia'' has a rather devious one in [[spoiler:Luin, which you must pay to have rebuilt along with the rest of the town]]. There, you can purchase the best weapons that money can buy for each character, and each one is a LethalJokeItem.
* The Black Market in ''WildArms3'' sells some pricy stuff, and you need a Black Card to get in.

* The Mirage Village in ''FinalFantasyV''. [[spoiler:You encounter it as a random battle in a specific place.]]
** ''FinalFantasyVI'' has a [[PlayingWithATrope strangely inverted]] example. [[spoiler:The weapon shop in Narshe... nothing can be bought there, and Narshe is the first town you see in the game. Plus, the town is otherwise deserted, and the door is locked. However, the weaponsmith will offer to either give you a piece of magicite or forge it into a weapon.]]
** ''FinalFantasyIX'' has a secret synthesis shop, which you access by defeating Hades... who is, in addition to being tough to beat, also [[spoiler:hidden in the VeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon]]. Plus, you'll need the ingredients for whatever you want him to make... a few of which are unique.
** In the secret dungeon of FinalFantasyXII, there is an ''invisible'' shop in a room that looks just all the other rooms; you have to get within a few feet of it to see the interaction icon.

* Wallace has a not-so-incredibly secret shop in the ''[[VideoGames/ScottPilgrim Scott Pilgrim vs. the World]]'' game. [[spoiler:It's marked with a star near the end of the first level]].

* In {{Mabinogi}}, several of the regular stores have "secret shop" tabs, which can only be accessed when you become friends with the owner, or some such; these shops typically have costlier, more useful items. Plus, there are 2 {{NPC}}s who wander from town to town; finding them requires either luck, stakeout and patience, or a guide.
* Some shops in the LegendOfZelda series are hidden under bushes, which must be chopped down.
* RiverCityRansom has Merlin's Mystery Shop, which is hidden in the Armstrong Thru-Way Tunnel. It sells expensive fantasy items with names like "Excaliber" and "Zeus Wand" that provide enormous stat boosts.
* {{Runescape}} has several of these (usually involving the completion of a quest), but the prime example is the Ape Atoll; you can't shop anywhere on the island until you're done two (moderately long) quests, you will be attacked if you show up in the vicinity without turning yourself into a monkey of some kind, and you can't communicate with the monkeys unless you're wearing a monkeyspeak amulet. Also, the island itself is right on the southwest edge of the world, and can only be reached by gnome hang glider. The most commonly-bought item on the island is a Dragon Scimitar, which is a good weapon for medium-high level fighters, and cannot be purchased (from {{NPC}}s) anywhere else.