Animal Crossing: New Horizons - The trick to Turnip sales

Earning large amounts of Bells is important in all of the Animal Crossing games, and with Animal Crossing: New Horizons, that hasn't changed in the slightest. One of the most effective ways to make Bells is to participate in the "stalk market," a turnip-based recreation of the real-world stock market. However, you need to have a strategy prepared before going in. Otherwise, you may end up losing money instead of making more of it. Here's our guide to getting the most out of the stalk market in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

Finding the best buying prices

Every Sunday between 5 a.m.-12 p.m., a character named Daisy Mae will arrive on your island and will sell you turnips for a specific price. This price normally ranges between 90 and 110 Bells. A price closer to 90 is ideal; you should still buy if the price is higher, but don't do it right away. There's a way you can attempt to get your turnips at a lower price — by visiting a friend's island online or through local play.

Indeed, something many players don't know is that when you visit someone else's island, you can speak to their "version" of Daisy Mae, and you'll be able to buy turnips for the price they sell for on your friend's island. This means you can potentially get your turnips for the week for a lower price than you would if you bought from your own island. Make sure to ask your friends what their turnip prices are on Sunday so you can make sure you get the best deal.

When does Daisy Mae leave?

Daisy can only be found on your island on Sunday mornings. She disappears around 12 p.m. so you need to purchase those turnips from her before she's gone. Otherwise, you'll be thinking about what might have been for the rest of the week.

How to make the most money by selling

Now that you have your week's worth of turnips, the waiting game of finding the best selling price for them during the week begins. You can sell your turnips to Timmy and Tommy at their shop during the week, and they change their prices once at 12 a.m. and once more at 12 p.m.

Obviously you want to sell the turnips you bought for a higher price than what you bought them for, but trying to maximize your profit is where things can get tricky. Sell too soon and you might miss out on potential Bells; sell too late and you may end up with a net loss on your investment. Whatever you do, sell off your turnips by 10 p.m. on the following Saturday, or else they'll spoil and lose all their value. It's better to sell for a loss than it is to have no return on your investment at all.

When it comes to trying to maximize your return on investment, there are a few strategies you can employ. The first is to watch the prices as they shift throughout the week and figure out if you can discern a pattern in the prices. As of now, there are four known stalk market trends to memorize and be aware of:

• Random Trend: Turnip prices will vary randomly throughout the week.
• Decreasing Trend: Turnip prices will steadily decline over the course of the week.
• Small Spike Trend: Turnip prices initially decline, but gradually increase three times. The fourth price will spike higher, followed by lower prices for the rest of the week.
• Large Spike Trend: Same as the Small Spike Trend, but the spiked price will be drastically higher.

If you notice that the first four prices of the week are declining, pay very close attention to the fifth price. If it continues the downward trend, sell your turnips immediately since that's a sign of the Decreasing Trend. You'll probably lose money overall, but not as much as you would if you were to wait longer. However, if you notice that the fifth price increases, you've got one of the spike trends on your hands. The sixth and seventh prices will continue to moderately climb, and the eighth will be your spiked price.

Small Spike Trend spike prices tend to be 170 and 200 Bells, while Large Spike Trend spike prices can be as high as 300 Bells or more. Sell your turnips for this price to make a huge profit. If you can't discern a pattern, it means you've got a Random Trend, and your chances of making profit come down to luck. During a Random Trend, it's best to sell your turnips for the first price you see that's higher than what you bought them for as you might not get another good price again. Alternatively, you can try and press your luck and wait to see what other prices will be, although I don't recommend this since it's risky.

Another way you can try to maximize profit is to, again, visit a friend's island and compare their shop's prices to yours. If you're stuck in a Decreasing Trend but your friend starts to see signs that they're experiencing a Small or Large Spike Trend, for example, make sure you go sell your turnips on their island instead of your own. This is also a good way to avoid being at mercy to a Random Trend's unpredictability, too.

Your thoughts

What do you think of the stalk market? Have you developed any strategies to maximize profits yourself? Let us know in the comments below.