Buying and selling turnips in Animal Crossing: New Horizons is meant to be a challenging, yet rewarding, activity that mimics the real-life stock market. But New Horizons doesn’t seem to want to make it easy for players to participate.
Essentially, players can buy turnips from Daisy Mae every Sunday for a set price, and then they have a week, until the following Sunday, in order to sell them. The adorable NPC replaced her grandmother, Joan, in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, who was in charge of turnip selling in previous generations of the Animal Crossing franchise.
The goal is to sell the turnips at a higher price in order to turn a profit, but since Animal Crossing: New Horizons' turnip prices fluctuate at a moment’s notice, it adds a challenging layer. But if players know how to play their cards – ahem, turnips – right, then the gamble can be well worth the reward.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons' Turnip Problem
Given that buying and selling turnips seems like such an easy way to make money in New Horizons, it may seem perplexing as to why some players find this activity more frustrating than rewarding. The problem is that, while players have plenty of opportunities to sell the turnips, there’s not much of a chance to buy them.
Daisy Mae only comes around on certain times every Sunday - from 5 AM to 12 PM. This is a limited window, and for players who can’t manage to get online during those hours, they have to wait an entire week in order to participate in the turnip stock market. Many people have commitments in real-life, like jobs or familial obligations, that prevent them from specifically scheduling when they can play the game. Forcing players to be on at a certain time is frustrating.
Of course, this isn’t the first or only time the Animal Crossing franchise has forced players to be online at a certain time or risk missing out on a specific event. Joan used to only grace the games on Sunday, too, and many specific NPCs don’t make appearances until certain days, particularly holidays. But when the activity involves an opportunity to make money, it would be helpful if Animal Crossing: New Horizons made it a bit easier and accessible.
Luckily, there are more opportunities to sell turnips once players have them in their possession, as Nook’s Cranny will accept them on any day of the week with the exception of Sundays. However, players only have a week to sell their bunch of turnips, otherwise they will rot. In other words, it will be money down the drain. Animal Crossing: New Horizons, unfortunately, makes turnip buying frustrating, but that’s supposedly part of the challenge of turning a profit.