thewhiterun cauldron shop keeper used to be at her shop all the time aswell as the general store guy(forgot their names) while i was exploring abit away from whiterun, came back a few days later in game time and noticed they were never open and i had to picklock there doors to get in even at day time, once i went in they were never to be seen in there shops. i dont recall killing either of them, so i thought to myself that they would reappear in a couple of days so i decided to do some dungeons etc...came back few days later and still they were not there. so im guessing they have died somehow mostly by a dragon but im not sure how that would happen because they were inside there shops + houses like all day... i heard somewhere that shop keepers respawn eventually or that relatives take over there shops but that has been nothing but [censored] to me. is my game messed up or what?

maybe she has no relatives

You killed them didn`t you?

This happened to me, except with the Khajiit caravans. Ri'Saad just mysteriously disappeared one day, and I haven't seen him since. I really miss being able to sell stuff on the road.

Same with me... The male shop keeper in the house near the market in whiterun (forgot his name) was lying on the streets when I came back from my journey one day. 'resurrect' wasn't working and I did not want to spwan him new, so he is gone for me. I definetly did not kill him and there was no dragon there. His boy is still producing firewood near the shop and has no dialog option on his boss being dead so I guess it's a bug. Sad story but I hope BGS wll fix it.
BB
Troubadix

What happened to shopkeepers being replaced with new NPCs?

Did you install any mods?

I have seen the Khajiit travellling from town to town on the roads. Sometimes they get held up by wild life and other things. I once saw only three of them, but they are now 4 of them again.

The shop keepers wander around the town in the evening and early mornings. Might even be possible that they sit around at the inn in the late evenings. But being gone permanently sounds like you are having a more serious issue like a mod gone wild or something.

No, i play on the ps3 cant use mods nor can use console commands to resurrect NPCs which svcks. I've checked everywhere around town and couldn't find them(not even there bodies) so either they told skyrim to get [censored] and moved onto a different location or died from who knows what. It's annoying me and i know i can just go to another town but what if one day they too die aswell then im stuck with all my [censored] with no money. not sure if its a bug or what but this has happened to me on 2 different characters now so im not too sure...

I know, if they didnt add that i mean thats pretty stupid to forget that this is a free roam game and has technology where NPCs can go and kill each other and they didnt even think about when important NPCs die.
not sure if this is a bug or what though... but if they didnt add that in, then thats just bleh...

http://i.qkme.me/3595ne.jpg

Never happened.

Maybe check the Whiterun Hall of the Dead for the shopkeepers?

I have a Khajiit caravan that’s short one cat, too, and I swear I had nothing to do with it!

You can try to reload previous save files and see how far back the issue goes and if it is not too far then just start from there.

some get replaced and some don't, too bad there's no list in UESP or WIKI

I would but unfortunately i disabled auto save because last time it was enabled it slowed down my game so bad it was unplayable.
this issue was going on first when i was level 21 i am now level 44 and they have never been shown in side the shops or the town itself.

Or you can get on with your life... you don't need every shop keeper. She may be stuck some where. One trick I've heard works on many of these "stuck" or "missing" problems is to go into an isolated cell, like your house or a cave, and wait for 30 days game time. That's sufficient to reset all the other cells.

There`s one test you can try, but it`ll take patience from you. Go into a tavern or house and sleep for 30 days. Do not go out at any point until those 30 days are up. Then go check them.

If they`re still dead then they won`t be coming back. Ever.

LOL. Shagsbeard beat me to it. Well met!

Thats weird, its never happend to me before.

2 people suggested this, if that is so i guess it wouldnt hurt to try. i just hope it works since whiterun is my favorite place to do my shopping and selling

Shopkeepers don't respawn Bethesda never said they did, simply If a shopkeeper has family they might take over the business.

Then I have some good news for you. You have been hit by the full consequences of your actions and are out of luck.

does this also include people who work for the original shop keeper? because there is usually a guy who chops wood near the front of the general store who says he works for the general shop keeper
but funny thing is, i havent seen him either sincei last saw the original shop keeper. ( sorry i dont know there names )

Are you on PC?
Tried prid "reference ID here", moveto player, resurrect?

Nope, unfortunately i play on the PS3..

Well, off for an inn then.