Bells make the world go round in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. They’re the currency for most of the purchasable items in the game – from clothes to furniture, to paying off your house loan. There’s a multitude of ways to earn Bells in the game, such as fishing or selling fruit. But if you ask the players with millions in their bank account what their secret is, they’ll tell you one word – turnips.

Turnips are easily one of the best ways to make money in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, but it’s also the riskiest. Selling turnips each week is referred to as the Stalk Market, for its similarities to the real-world stock market. You can buy turnips for a set price every Sunday and then have the option to sell them at Nook’s Cranny every week for varying prices.

The goal is to buy low and sell high, which isn’t always as simple as it seems. So in this guide, we’ll tell you how to buy turnips along with some tips for how to maximize your profits.

Sundays Are for Waking up Early

As we mentioned earlier, you can buy your turnips every Sunday. A small, snotty boar called Daisy Mae will be found wandering your island, offering her turnips for anywhere from 90 Bells to 110 Bells. We recommend buying for 100 Bells or less, where possible. Any more than that and your chances of a profit dramatically decrease.

While Sunday may usually be a day for lie-ins and relaxation, you’ll want to wake up early if you plan on purchasing turnips. Daisy Mae will only sell her turnips from 5 am-11:59 am, after which she’ll be gone until the following Sunday.

Check Your Prices Twice a Day

After purchasing your turnips on Sunday, Timmy and Tommy will start offering a varying number of Bells to purchase them from Monday. The prices they offer change twice a day. The first price will be available from midnight to 11:59 am, and the second price from 12:00 pm to 11:59 pm. Try and make sure you’re checking twice a day in order to sell for the highest price.

You can check your turnip prices in Nook’s Cranny. Talk to Timmy or Tommy and choose the option “Turnip prices?”

Your Turnip Prices will Follow Set Patterns

While the prices may seem completely random, there’s actually a bit of a pattern behind them. There are several patterns your turnip prices can have each week. These patterns are as follows:

  • Small spike
  • Large spike
  • Fluctuating (also known as random)
  • Decreasing

The pattern your turnip prices will follow changes every week. Each pattern will generally have optimal days to sell. You won’t always be able to make a profit from your turnip prices, so be aware. We recommend aiming for a 50-100% profit where possible.

Make Use of Turnip Price Predictors

One of the best ways to gauge how profitable your turnips will be is to make use of price predictors. There are several websites out there that will tell you what pattern your turnip prices are following. While they won’t give you an exact sell price for each day, you’ll get a general ballpark of what your prices for the week will look like and the best time to sell. We recommend Turnip Prophet or Turnip Calculator to predict your prices and pattern for the week. These predictors are based on tons of user data and data mining, making them super accurate and super useful!

Compare Prices with Friends

While the cost of many things is consistent across islands, the one thing that differs across players is their turnip prices. Checking in with your friends to see what their prices are each day increases your chances of selling for a high price. Daisy Mae will also be selling her turnips for different prices across islands, so you can compare with friends to see whose Daisy Mae is offering the best price.

If you’re truly desperate to make a large profit, you can look online for people letting you sell on their island. Subreddit r/acturnips and website Turnip Exchange can be used to find others with high turnip prices. Just be aware when using these, especially if they’re asking for an entrance fee. While most of the community is great, a select few may take your Bells and kick you off before you even have a chance to sell. We personally recommend sticking to the subreddit, as asking for entry fees is against the rules.

If you do decide to sell on strangers’ islands, make sure you tip accordingly for their time.

Your Turnips Will Rot After a Week

If you wait too long to sell your turnips, they’ll be rotten by the following Sunday morning. Make sure you sell no later than Saturday. Even if you’re selling at a loss, it’s better than losing all your precious Bells. There is one advantage to rotten turnips, however. If you place rotten turnips outside, ants will gather on them. It’s the only way to catch an ant, and they’re an entry in the Critterpedia. You can donate your ant to the museum, or sell it for a paltry amount of Bells.

Time-traveling can also destroy your turnips. There’s no consequence for time-traveling forward (unless you go beyond Saturday.) However, if you time travel backward, even by a minute, your turnips will rot, and you’ll have lost your bells. So be aware when changing the clock on your Switch!

Hopefully, this guide will help kick-start your stalk market success. Just remember turnips is a game of chance, you may or may not be able to make a profit every week. Happy selling!

Don’t forget to check out our review for Animal Crossing New Horizons!