Stalking the Stalk Market: Selling Turnips in Animal Crossing

I’m not ashamed to say I’m a bit of an Animal Crossing addict.

I don’t know what it is about pulling weeds in a virtual world that’s so relaxing.

As a person who adores first-person shooters and massive adventure games, my adoration of animal crossing shouldn’t make sense. Yet, in a matter of weeks, I’ve gone from a casual player to a furniture-hoarding mess.

Which brings us to the point of this article, and the most stressful part of Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Yep, you guessed it. Turnips.

The Problem with the Animal Crossing Turnip Market

Turnips are about the closest you can get to gambling on animal crossing. Like gambling, these annoying root vegetables quickly become ridiculously addictive.

Every week, on a Sunday, I wake up early, ready to jump on my switch. I usually buy at least a full backpack’s worth of turnips.

That’s over 3000 veggies.

Enough to fill most of the basement in the house that I sold my soul to Tom Nook for.

At it’s best, the selling turnips in Animal Crossing is a brilliant way to make money. If like me, you can work out a reliable system, you can spend around 300,000 bells a week, and get at least 2 million in return.

Unfortunately, at it’s worst, the Stalk Market is the most stressful mechanic in Animal Crossing. This money-making scheme makes a game all about cross-breeding flowers into a source of incredible stress.

You know there are countless islands out there buying turnips for 500 bells and above. So, settling for anything less seems absurd.

That means every day, you’re running to Nook’s nephews and asking them for updates on your turnip price.

Eventually, the last day for selling your turnips arrives, and you’re left in a panic, scrolling through Reddit forums, and hitting up websites just for a chance at making a profit. That’s right, not only do you have to sell your turnips for a profit, but you have to do it on a time limit. Stressful, right?

Selling Turnips in Animal Crossing for a Profit

Here’s the good news, island dwellers. You can sell your turnips for a profit, and you can do it every week.

All you need is a strategy.

First, buy your turnips on Sunday from Daisy Mae. Make sure you don’t buy more than you can fit in your pockets. Don’t get greedy.

Next, you can spend a few days checking out the prices at Nook’s Cranny if you like. During the early days of the week, I usually can’t be bothered to traverse the internet for a good stalk market price.

I just want to hang out with my main man Poncho and do some fishing.

If you feel the same way, then you don’t have to rush too much initially.

The Nook twins will offer you two different prices for turnips each day. One comes before 12 pm midday, and the other comes after 12. That means you get two chances of a good price.

So, how do you know if your price is any good?

The Stalk Market Pricing Patterns

Just like the stock market, the stalk market has ebbs and flows to learn.

Figuring out early what your pricing might look like will reduce your risk of rotten turnips.

The official Animal Crossing guidebook tells us that there are four patterns to turnip price fluctuation:

• Gentle spike: This is when prices rise slightly at a random point in the week, but they won’t grow too much.
• Sudden spike: This is when your prices suddenly rise dramatically at one point in the week, then fall straight after.
• Normal: When your prices rise and fall slightly, staying mostly the same throughout the week.
• Gradual decline: When your prices never rise over the initial price, you bought your turnips for. Instead, you just get a constant decline.

Here’s what the stats for each option occurring per week look like:

So, how do you avoid having a nervous breakdown on Thursday because your price is still 57 bells? Strategy.

How to Get Ahead of the Stalk Market

First, have a “golden rule” that you stick to. I’d recommend selling your turnips any time the price goes over 350 bells.

Remember, many of the people online willing to accept visitors to their islands want payment. Just like you, these people know good turnip prices are worth paying for.

This means that you might get a higher price, but you’ll also need to spend extra bells or Nook miles on your journey.

If you want to see what your chances are of getting a decent price on your own island, use the AC-Turnip calculator. The calculator will show you your most likely prices for the next few days.

Your results are based on information like how much you bought your turnips for.

Mastering the Turnip Exchange

If you know you’re not likely to get a great price based on the calculator, you have a few options. All of your options begin with going online.

I personally started with the Turnip. Exchange website when I first started to sell. Unfortunately, there are some issues with this service.

If you want to get the best deals, you might need to become a Patreon supporter. That means paying real cash for fake turnips.

Secondly, the islands available to visit on Turnip Exchange often fall into two categories:

• Really busy islands with hundreds of people in a queue
• Islands that demand expensive tips, like 10 Nook Mile Tickets for entry

As people continue to get more money on AC, the standard tip price is inflating. You might need to fork over up to 10 Nook mile tickets for one trip these days.

While there are islands owned by people not asking for tips, these are often very busy.

I’ve had a few instances where I’ve joined a queue of around 60 people, waited three hours, and then been kicked from the queue before I got anywhere because the host left.

It’s a real headache.

If you really want to stick with the turnip exchange, make sure you do it right.

• Don’t pick islands that demand rusted parts, golden nuggets, and star fragments. These items are rare and hard to earn in the future. It’s really not worth the extra bells you’ll get.
• Do start searching early. Don’t wait until Friday or Saturday evening to start looking for places to sell your turnips. Trust me.
• Don’t fill your pockets. If you’re traveling to an island on Turnip Exchange, you might need to take bonus gifts. That means you won’t be able to sell as many turnips. Keep space in your backpack.

Going Beyond the Turnip Exchange

The Turnip Exchange website is one of the easier options to use, but it’s rarely the best choice. I often find that it’s much better to start my search on Reddit instead.

Follow r/ACturnips on Reddit, and you’ll see a bunch of posts. Every day there are announcements from people willing to let you join their islands.

Most of the time, the Reddit community is a lot more generous than other sites. You might be asked for a couple of tips, but most people just tell you to give what you can.

Ideally, you’ll want to pick a Reddit post that’s as recent as possible. This reduces the chance that the island owner has already been flooded with requests:

Send a DM, post a comment, and follow the rules. Remember, to join the Reddit board; you will need to share your Nintendo Switch friend code too.

The first time I used the Reddit board, I was overwhelmed by how well it worked. I sent a few messages while I was cooking, and got two responses within 10 minutes, complete with Dodo code.

Again, I’d recommend hitting the Reddit boards before Friday and Saturday. These are the busiest days of the week for turnip trading because your turnips rot on Sundays.

An Alternative Option: Try Discord

Reddit is by far my top choice for reducing the stress of turnip selling. If you want to make some extra cash, but you don’t want to spend hours queuing for islands every week, Reddit should give you a much simpler experience.

You might even find a few friendly people who will allow you to leave the island and come back with more turnips. This is rare, but it’s a possibility.

If you have more than one inventory full of turnips, you’re better off using Discord.

Check out some of the Discord servers that support turnip selling here.

Unlike Reddit channels and the Turnip Exchange, where you only see a handful of islands, you’ll find literally hundreds of people posting their turnip prices on Discord. Usually, you can DM a few people, get your codes, and sell anywhere up to 5 lots of turnips within a couple of hours.

Bonus tip: If you find someone on Saturday who’s willing to accept multiple trips, and you don’t have that many turnips, consider checking the boards again. Some people from overseas might already have Daisy Mae on their islands. That means you can buy more turnips, then go back to your selling island for a bigger bonus.

Turnip Selling Etiquette and What to Do With Rot

If you use any of the strategies above for selling your turnips, please, be courteous.

Too many people taking advantage of nice people willing to open their islands is what could end up ruining the stalk exchange for everyone. Whenever you visit an island to sell:

• Follow the rules: Some people will ask you to sell your turnips within a specific time frame or avoid shopping in other stores while you’re on the island. Do as you’re told.
• Never share the code: It’s not your island. Don’t take a Dodo code and share it with everyone you know on animal crossing. That’s bad manners.
• Don’t destroy the plants: Yes, you’re in a hurry to sell your ‘nips, but the island’s flowers don’t have to suffer.
• Don’t dawdle: Get in, get your money, and get out. Don’t spend half an hour talking to Raymond and taking pics.
• Leave a tip: Even if the island owner doesn’t ask for it, be generous. You’ve just made a few million bells thanks to this person. Show them you appreciate it. I’d usually leave about 10% of anything I make for the island owner.

If, for any reason, the advice above doesn’t work for you, don’t panic.

Even if your turnips go rotten, they’re not useless.

Turnips are excellent for attracting ants and flies when they go bad. Leaving a few on the grass around your home will help you complete your Critterpedia.

Approach Turnips the Right Way

Turnips on Animal Crossing can be an exceptionally stressful part of an otherwise relaxing game but they don’t have to be.

If you want to avoid a headache, you just need to maintain the right mindset. Don’t buy your turnips determined that you’re going to get at least 600 bells or above for them each week. Sometimes you’ll need to sell for less, but if you’re still making a profit, you’re on the right track.

Additionally, just like your homework, don’t leave turnip selling to the last minute. Not only is it super annoying to have an entire room of your home devoted to turnips because you can’t place them in storage, but you could miss out on a deal if you wait too long.

Good luck with your turnip journey!