How to Catalog Items on 'ACNH' From Your Friends' Islands

How to Expand Your Catalog on 'Animal Crossing' With Friends

Jun. 4 2020, Updated 6:02 p.m. ET

There are abundant ways to acquire new furniture, decor, and clothing on Animal Crossing: New Horizons — shaking trees, gifts from villagers and balloon presents to name a few outside of shopping at Nook's Cranny and Able Sisters. Nevertheless, it can often feel like the same items keep showing up over and over. If you're sick of seeing cool stuff on your friends' islands and waiting for those items to show up on your own shores, there is a better way. Here's how to catalog your friends' items on ACNH.

How do you catalog items on 'ACNH'?

Once you have picked up an item and put it in your pocket, that item becomes available in your Nook Catalog. Once you're done so, even if you no longer have them in your pockets or storage, you can find them in the Nook Stop catalog and have them shipped to your house.

However, note that you can't pick up items that have been placed, whether on your friend's island or in their house. But that's easy enough to work around. Before you visit a friend's island, tell them what items you'd like to catalog. Instead of placing them, your friend can pick them up and then select "drop item" (instead of "place item"). Instead of seeing the object in its actual size and dimension, it will appear as the icon for the category of item it is — be it furniture, clothing, a fossil, or wall and floor decor. 

They'll have to pick up placed items before you arrive however. If they try to pick any furniture or decor up while you're visiting over online or local play, they'll receive a message saying they shouldn't try to redecorate while company is over. So annoying! But, with a little coordination before your visit, you can catalog pretty much anything you with.

Some people even set up cataloging exchanges over social media, and I've visited a few islands where hosts will have a designated area full of "dropped" items visitors can pick up and put back down to catalog them, which can help you expand your available offering super fast. There's a big but coming, though...

Unfortunately, not every cataloged item is available for purchase.

While most items in the catalog are easily ordered, not every conceivable item in the game is for sale. For example, you cannot purchase DIY items — you have to make them yourself, which means you must have the recipe. 

Also special items from some in-game characters, like Gulliver, are not available for purchase. So if you've been coveting your buddy's Moai statues, unfortunately you're just going to have to wait for the day when, finally, Gulliver sends you one for helping him yet again put his communicator back together.

Also, you'll note that some furniture, objects, and clothing come in multiple colors and patterns, but adding one variation to your catalog does not make all other available variations appear. You have to acquire each one to be able to order it. Such a pain, but they gotta keep you spending those bells somehow! 

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