The game What Do You Buy? consists of a series of cards representing tradesmen, each of which has an associated number of items for sale. The trades cards and items are distributed to the players. A narrator reads aloud a story contained in the rules booklet, and at each blank in the story looks at one of the players, who then turns over the top item in their stack and reads it aloud. It is a party game intended to provoke merriment.

The original version was published c. 1850 in London by J. Passmore as The Laughable Game of What D'Ye Buy? by Professor Punch, and featured 12 finely hand-colored engraved trades cards, 72 letterpress cards, and a 20-page booklet, all contained in a wooden box with an illustrated sliding lid.

Later versions were published by McLoughlin Brothers c. 1870 and in an "improved" version in the early 1900s. McLoughlin also published a simpler variant, What Do You Buy? with only eight trades — butcher, druggist, music store, furniture, fish market, bakery, dry goods and toy store — each with five items available. For example:

16: "Wishing to have something new to wear at a dinner party Susette was to give, I tried on AN ACCORDIOON.
17. Susette laughed, and said it fitted like A LUMP OF DOUGH.
18. So instead I bought FIVE POUNDS OF TRIPE.

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