Buying turnips in Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a good way to make money. I have a few theories about when is best to buy and sell, which I'm going to track on this blog.
The first mistake I made when buying turnips a couple of weeks ago: not making a note of the price I bought at. Today, I've taken screenshots so I don't forget.
Right, so I'm buying at 97 bells a piece.
How many shall I buy?
I'm buying 500 turnips for a total of 48,500 bells.
How buying and selling turnips works
Some basic tips, which you'll know if you've been playing this game:
- You can only buy turnips on Sundays
- You can sell them any day except Sundays
- If you keep turnips past Saturday they will rot
When turnip prices change
The price changes twice daily (excluding Sundays). One weird thing is that due to the opening hours of the shop, you have considerably more time to sell in the afternoon than you do in the morning.
Shop opening hours: 8:00am - 10:00pm
Turnip prices change at 12:00pm
Therefore, you have two slots for selling:
8:00am - 12:00pm (4 hours)
12:00pm - 10:00pm (10 hours)
If the prices changed at 3pm, it would be more balanced. But with the current setup as it is, you'll need to make sure you find out the selling price before midday so you don't potentially miss out.
What is your goal?
Ultimately, you want to sell at a profit. Depending on how many turnips you bought, how many bells you mind potentially losing, and how risk-averse you are, sometimes you might want to wait another day to see if the price goes up.
BUT - it won't always go up. My testing, so far, suggests that the prices are generally best on Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday. No guarantees, of course - but I found that the prices on Monday, Friday and Saturday are often very low.
If you're happy to sell at a price, just go for it. You could always sell some of the turnips to make most of the money back, and hold onto the rest to see if the price goes up on later days.
Whatever you do, if you have any turnips left in the final slot (Saturday afternoon) be sure to sell up or they will go to waste. Any money is better than losing the turnips completely.
Talk to friends
If your prices aren't great, ask around to see if anyone has better prices than you.
Last week, I sold my turnips at a better price than I bought them at - but then the price went up the day after. Lots of people came to my island to sell their turnips that day. They also very kindly left me gifts as a thank you.
But then a friend's island then had their prices go through the roof the day after!
It's a gamble - so be careful.
Turnip exchange
There's also Turnip exchange, if you're looking for a way to maximise your chances of getting a good price. Be sure to read the FAQ before joining.
Who's playing along?
Are you buying turnips today? How many?
