12 Essential Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar Tips — Master the Saturday Market and Make Money Fast

Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar reworks the old Harvest Moon DS experience and adds modern quality-of-life features — especially around the Saturday market. Below are 12 practical tips to help new players get started, move faster in town, and make the most of bazaar days.

• • How tools and tutorials work early on.
  • Where to sell stuff and why the bazaar matters.

• Navigation tricks, processing tips, and timing for events and holidays.

Quick Links

• You’ll get your tools as part of the tutorial, don’t worry
• No, there’s no shipping box to quickly sell items
• Use these barrels as shortcuts around town
• Don’t forget to take a bath, stinky
• Read those mission objectives and item descriptions carefully
• Grab some flour and eggs before Spring 21
• Pay attention to the wind
• Use your hoe to dig these little dirt patches
• The town shop is closed on Fridays (and technically Saturdays)
• Keep things processing in your windmills
• Bring a variety of items to your bazaar stall on Saturdays
• Save your money for Saturdays, too

You’ll get your tools as part of the tutorial, don’t worry

If you’re staring at river rocks or ore and wondering when you’ll be able to mine or fish, relax. The game gives you the basic tools — such as the pickaxe and fishing rod — via unskippable events during your first week of spring. So you don’t need to grind or unlock them beforehand.

No, there’s no shipping box to quickly sell items

Unlike many other farm sims, Story of Seasons: Grand Bazaar does not use a shipping box to sell goods automatically overnight. Instead, sales are driven by the Saturday bazaar.

However, if you need money outside bazaar days, you can still sell items directly to Miguel at the town shop while it’s open. Be aware though: bazaar sales are required to upgrade the marketplace, so you can’t rely solely on shop sales if you want to progress bazaar tiers.

Use these barrels as shortcuts around town

There are barrels around Zephyr Town you can jump on and cut through areas instead of walking around. They also give a small boost when jumped from, letting you cover ground faster.

Consequently, using barrels saves time on Saturday mornings and for tight event schedules.

Don’t forget to take a bath, stinky

Bathing at home costs 30 minutes of in-game time but restores about half your stamina. So, after chores like watering and animal care, take a quick bath if you plan to go fishing or collect items later in the day.

Read those mission objectives and item descriptions carefully

Mission icons can be misleading. Instead of relying only on the little icon, read the mission text to confirm what item type is requested.

For instance, “wild flowers” are categorized separately from cultivated flowers. So giving a common flower when the mission wants a wild flower will not count.

Grab some flour and eggs before Spring 21

Spring 21 features a holiday where giving honey or honey-based items boosts relationships. A honey cake yields a much larger relationship increase than plain honey.

Therefore, plan ahead: you’ll likely have eggs from the tutorial chicken, but you should also grow wheat and process it into flour so you can bake a honey cake and maximize relationship gains.

Pay attention to the wind

Wind affects two systems. First, windier days speed up processing times in windmills. Second, once you unlock the glider, stronger winds carry you farther and let you reach certain areas that are inaccessible on calm days.

Use your hoe to dig these little dirt patches

Small dirt clumps on the farm and around town can be dug up with your hoe. They often yield rocks and collectible medals that can be sold for quick cash.

The town shop is closed on Fridays (and technically Saturdays)

Plan seed and supply purchases for Thursdays, because the town store is closed on Fridays. The store is also closed on Saturdays in its regular form, but Miguel sells a different selection at the bazaar that day.

Keep things processing in your windmills

Early game gives you one windmill, so keep it busy. Processing raw materials into goods — like turning wood into lumber or walnuts into bottled walnuts — increases their sale value and provides materials needed for upgrades.

Bring a variety of items to your bazaar stall on Saturdays

On bazaar day, stalls show several items at once. If you only bring one stacked item, a single customer can buy them all and cause other customers to leave. Thus, bring a mix of items to fill multiple display spots and maximize sales during the short market window.

Save your money for Saturdays, too

Many key purchases — like backpack upgrades, animals, clothing, and some seeds — are only available at the bazaar. So, while Miguel can sell you basic goods during the week, save funds for Saturday to buy big-ticket items and to invest in farm upgrades.

These tips should help you make the most of your first few seasons. Have fun at the market, and don’t forget to plan for that honey cake!