Turnips?

[Nyxx]

I never quite understood the idea behind turnips, how they work and the marketplace around them. Could someone please explain to me what the point of turnips in animal crossing is? Thanks

 

[chet_manley]

Turnips act as a stock market in the game. You buy them on Sunday for a price between 90 and 110 bells. Then, over the course of the week, turnip prices fluctuate. So you may be able to sell them for 600+ bells (huge profit!), or you might have to settle for 30 bells (huge loss!).

If you are able to travel between towns, you can monitor when the market will offer the biggest return on your investment. Obviously you want to sell them for 111 bells or more to ensure a bit of a profit.

Turnip prices change twice daily (before and after noon), Monday through Saturday. There are four different ways that the turnip prices fluctuate:
- Decreasing -- Every day the turnip price goes down.
- Small Boom -- At some point, the turnip price will increase four straight times.
- Large Boom -- At some point, the turnip price will increase three straight times, with a higher maximum.
- Random -- You never know!

 

[LadyDestani]

Well, Chet gave an excellent explanation, but I thought I'd add that at the end of the week (the following Sunday) any turnips that are still in your inventory will rot. So if you don't sell within the week after buying them, they are a total loss.

Also, you cannot time travel once you have bought turnips or they will rot instantly, leaving you with a total loss.