What We Love About Neopets: The Stock Market

To begin, the stock market is one of the oldest (and arguably one of the most graphically dated, although I would say classic) features of the Neopets community. Nigel the Chia is perhaps one of the most iconic Neopets personalities, and yet the Stock Market itself goes largely unnoticed by the majority of our community. In an official Neopets poll, Neopians were asked, "Do you use the Stock Market / NEODAQ?" Amazingly, 57% of Neopians response to this poll was "Huh?" To clarify (though it may seem obvious), 57% of polled Neopians do not know what the Stock Market is!

My theory for why many Neopians do not take advantage of the Stock Market is that they assume that the market in the Neopets world may be a parallel to the one in the real world - complex, subject to instability and even crashing, in short, confusing and risky! I'm here to tell you that you couldn't be more wrong. The Stock Market is perhaps one of the most stable and sustainable income sources in Neopia. The system is extremely simple, takes very little time, and reaps a world of profit. Everyone can gain by investing in the stock market, and I'm going to tell you how easy it is.

The Neopian Stock Market is similar to the real world market in one way - to guarantee a profit, you have to buy low and sell high. There are Neopians who "day-trade" (that is, to buy an expensive stock and hope to make a quick profit if it goes even higher), but if you're like myself and many others, this is too risky when there is a long-term, completely safe alternative.

Every day, you have the option to purchase 1000 shares on the Stock Market. You do not have to buy 1000 shares of the same stock, and you do not have to buy at a certain price. However, there are some guidelines. The cheapest at which you can purchase any given stock is at 15NP a share. It used to be that you could buy at any price, but frankly, that's just way too easy. Making a profit on the Stock Market is already like shooting fish neggs in a barrel! Most investors will choose to purchase 1000 shares of one stock which is currently available to purchase at 15NP a share, or slightly higher, perhaps a maximum of 16 or 17NP. The idea is to buy 1000 shares of a different stock at around 15NP a share every day until you have a portfolio (a collection of stocks) which is diversified (it represents a large portion of the entire market). Once you have diversified your portfolio, you simply continue to buy 1000 shares at around the same purchase price every day until you have several thousand shares of all of your stocks - and then you keep on buying!

When it comes time to sell your stocks, many Neopians are divided. The lowest price to sell amongst seasoned Stock Market investors seems to be approximately 60NP a share or around a 300% profit. Many Neopians will not sell until their shares are worth 70, 75, 80, and even 100NP a share. It may be appropriate to refer to a Neopian who sells only at 100 or above as a "collector" since stocks hit 100 so rarely that it may be a challenge for a beginner to sustain themselves at this sell-point.

If you don't already understand the mechanics of how to invest in the Stock Market, I urge you to search the Neopian Times and the Stock Market Neoboards for one of the many in-depth guides on how to invest effectively. I would like to dedicate the rest of this article not to HOW you should invest, but WHY you should invest.

The first, and most important reason you should invest in the Stock Market is that if you follow the right guidelines you are guaranteed to make a profit. As long as you invest at least 15000NP every day by purchasing 1000 shares in any stock at a low, you will eventually take out more than you put in. If you never sell a stock for less than you paid for it, you aren't going to lose. Eventually, all stocks rise, and when they do, you have the opportunity to sell and make a lot of Neopoints. You may be asking yourself "Can I make millions by investing in the Stock Market?" The answer is yes! It takes time, but here's why it works.

The Stock Market is sustainable. 15000NP may seem like a lot if you are just beginning, but there are many ways to make up those points. Sending daily games scores, playing Habitarium, visiting locations around Neopia for daily freebies, spinning the wheels, the list goes on. If you have already established some NP - you won't lose them by investing them in the Stock Market. You will make many more Neopoints by investing them in the Stock Market than you will by relying purely on the interest from your bank account. You can (and should) invest every day until you have a portfolio from which you can take out profits either to spend, or to re-invest. By investing in inexpensive stocks and not selling until you make a profit, you make a promise to yourself to continue growing.

The second reason the Stock Market is such a valuable asset when it comes to increasing your NP is that it is non-competitive. Unlike the real world market, the Neopets market is (purportedly) unaffected by what Neopians are buying. You do not have to worry about what another Neopian is investing in because it will not be reflected on the market, and therefore will not be reflected in your portfolio. This is unlike other techniques for making a high amount of Neopoints, such as re-stocking, where you are competing directly with other Neopians who may be more experienced or faster than you are starting out. It may sound silly but investing in the Stock Market is a personal journey.

The third and final reason the Stock Market is so valuable to every Neopian is because it is stable. Not only is the Market itself very reliable, but it is a way for you as a Neopian to create a stable income. Investing in the Stock Market takes only a few minutes every day. It will not impede you from pursuing other methods of increasing your Neopoints by absorbing all of your time. You can invest in the Market and then get back to playing games, re-stocking items, perusing the Trading Post and Auctions, and all of the other many available avenues to grow your Neopoints. At the end of the day, whether you have missed out on a re-stocked item, gambled away all of your Neopoints on Scorchy Slots, made a bad trade or spent all you had on training your beloved pets, or maybe showing them how much you care by spending everything on a fancy new paint brush, the Neopoints you have invested in the Stock Market will still be there. Waiting to turn you a profit.