Whether you are an NFT OG or are just getting started in the NFT space and want to learn how to buy an NFT, you have likely heard of OpenSea. OpenSea has been in the NFT space since 2017, when Alex Atallah and Devin Finzer managed to raise hundreds of millions of dollars through multiple rounds of funding.
OpenSea is one of the most popular peer-to-peer NFT marketplaces to buy, sell, and create NFTs on web3. Founded in 2017, OpenSea has earned their spot as the busiest NFT marketplace with a trading volume over $6.5 billion.
OpenSea sells every kind of non-fungible token you could think of. Here is a list of some of the types of NFTs offered on the OpenSea marketplace:
Art
Collectibles
Music
Sports
Trading Cards
Utility based
Virtual worlds
Web3 domain names
Unlike some of the other NFT marketplaces, OpenSea does not focus on one specific niche within the NFT community. Instead, OpenSea offers a marketplace where both creators and collectors can come to buy, sell, and create all kinds of NFTs.
Before creating your own OpenSea account, there are some basic items you will need in order to transact on the marketplace. The necessary items are as follows:
Ethereum wallet:
First thing’s first, you will need to get yourself an Ethereum wallet to store all your cryptocurrency and NFTs, before creating your OpenSea account. You can view a list of wallets accepted by OpenSea here.
One of the most common NFT wallets that people prefer to use is Metamask.io. If you would like some guidance on how to set up your Metamask wallet, check out this helpful guide: How to Set Up Your MetaMask Wallet.
Cryptocurrency (ETH):
After you obtain your wallet of choice, you will need to put some cryptocurrency in it. When determining what kind of cryptocurrency you want to use, it really comes down to personal preference. However, the most common currency used for trading NFTs on OpenSea is ETH/WETH.
In order to obtain your own cryptocurrency, you will need to set up an account with a trustworthy exchange such as Coinbase.com.
Once you have an account set up, all you need to do is enter your debit card or bank account info into your Coinbase account to be verified. Once you are verified, you can purchase ETH and other cryptocurrencies on Coinbase.
If you purchase crypto with your debit card the funds will usually be available immediately. Purchase crypto using your bank account however, and you may not receive your funds for 3-5 business days.
How to Purchase Ethereum (ETH) on Coinbase And Send it To Your Wallet
Go to Coinbase.com
Sign in, or create an account
Click Buy / Sell, and select Ethereum
Click, Preview Buy, to confirm your order and then select, Buy Now, to complete your purchase.
When your ETH is available (up to 15 days), send it from Coinbase to your wallet
Open up your Metamask (or any other acceptable wallet) account and copy your wallet address
Go back to Coinbase and select Portfolio, and choose Ethereum. Click, Send, and then paste your wallet address that you copied into the To field. (Always double check you pasted your full wallet address)
Image credit: Coinbase
Click Continue to send your ETH, it will likely take a few minutes to show up in the wallet you transferred it to.
Although ETH/WETH is the most preferred cryptocurrency on OpenSea, that isn’t to say it’s the only option. OpenSea has over 150 different payment tokens available, such as $UNI, $WHALE, and USDC. It is not currently possible to transact on OpenSea using non-crypto currencies like USD and the Euro.
Now that you have your wallet loaded with some cryptocurrency, you are ready to set up your OpenSea account.
If this is your first time visiting the OpenSea NFT marketplace and you plan on transacting, then you will need to create your account first. Here is how you create your account on OpenSea:
Go to the Connect Wallet tab, found in the Menu section and choose which type of wallet you are connecting to OpenSea. This will prompt you to digitally sign for approval, confirming that you would like to connect your wallet to the OpenSea marketplace.
Image credit: Opensea
Image credit: Opensea
Once your wallet is connected to OpenSea, you can go to your Profile and update your information in Settings, such as Username, Bio, Email Address, Social Links, and Images. From there, you are all set to go. Generally, after you have set up your OpenSea account you will login by digitally signing, using your wallet.
Selling your NFT should not be a difficult task. That’s why the OpenSea team made their process of selling NFTs very user-friendly. So, how do you sell an NFT on OpenSea?
To sell an NFT on OpenSea go to Menu, then select Account, and finally go to your Profile where you can choose which of your NFTs you want to sell. Choose your NFT and then tap Sell. This will give you the ability to set the price of your NFT and schedule your listing.
Image credit: OpenSea
When you go to sell an NFT on OpenSea, you may notice that there are four different types of listing options available for you to choose from:
Fixed price (Buy Now)
The fixed price listing option will put your NFT on sale for a Buy Now price. This listing strategy is straightforward and good if you have a set price for the NFT you’re selling.
Dutch auction (Begins high, ends low)
When you list your NFT using the dutch auction strategy, you are simply setting a starting price, ending price, and the duration of the auction. As time progresses, the original price decreases until reaching the set floor price.
Auction (Starting price, or reserve price)
The Auction listing option is your standard English auction. You simply list your NFT for a minimum price and then you allow buyers to bid on it. You also have the ability to set a reserve price and you can accept any offer you would like.
Bundle (list multiple NFTs as one bundle)
Bundling your NFTs is a great choice if you are looking to sell more than one NFT to the same buyer. When you bundle multiple NFTs, only one transaction is required as opposed to multiple, meaning you the buyer saves on having to pay numerous gas fees.
Considering NFTs have attracted a large crowd of collectors and investors alike, it’s no wonder why OpenSea decided to offer an assortment of NFTs as opposed to one single niche of collectible assets. If you are an NFT collector/investor like myself, then you’ve likely asked, how do you buy an NFT on OpenSea?
Purchasing an NFT on OpenSea is as simple as signing into your Opensea account, and either using the Explore tab, or the Search function to browse for an NFT that sparks your interest. Once you have found an NFT that you would like to buy, select it, then choose Buy Now or Make Offer, if you would like to bid on an item. Finally, you will need to sign for the transaction.
If you put an offer in, you will have to wait until the buyer either accepts or rejects your offer. If you end up needing to cancel your offer, you will need to pay a gas fee in order to cancel your bid. If you choose Buy Now however, then the transaction will occur immediately after your digital signature, and the asset will be transferred to your wallet generally within a few minutes.
Image credit: OpenSea / VeeFriends
If you put an offer in, you will have to wait until the buyer either accepts or rejects your offer. If you end up needing to cancel your offer, you will need to pay a gas fee in order to cancel your bid. If you choose Buy Now however, then the transaction will occur immediately after your digital signature, and the asset will be transferred to your wallet generally within a few minutes.
Want to verify that you received your NFT after purchasing? Simply go to the OpenSea Menu, then go to Account, Profile, and then make sure you are viewing the Collected tab. This is where you can find all your NFTs that you have collected on your specific wallet address.
Note that your newly purchased NFT make take a moment to populate in your OpenSea account. If you want to verify your transaction on the blockchain, you can do that using Etherscan.io.
Etherscan allows you to search the blockchain for addresses, transactions, tokens, prices, and anything else taking place on the Ethereum blockchain.
Image credit: OpenSea
Aside from buying and selling NFTs, OpenSea also provides users with an easy solution for minting your very own NFT. To mint your own NFT on OpenSea, follow these simple steps:
Image credit: OpenSea
Image credit: OpenSea
Sign into OpenSea
Go to Create, or choose Collection if you’re minting a collection
Enter the name of your NFT and/or collection
Upload any desired media for your NFT
Customize your OpenSea URL
Add a description up to 1000 characters
Give your NFT a category to help others find it on OpenSea
Enter in any social and website links
Input a royalty percentage (up to 10 percent)
Choose which blockchain you want to mint on (Ethereum or Polygon)
Select Create
Congratulations, you have successfully minted your first NFT on the OpenSea NFT marketplace. Moving forward, if you created a collection, you can always mint new NFTs into that collection.
Keep in mind that you can not change the metadata of any NFT you mint. The metadata includes everything in the list above. So be sure to double check all of your work before minting your NFT.
Be cautious when accepting bids and always double check that the offer is in your preferred currency (sometimes people will offer $1 as opposed to 1 ETH).
If someone from OpenSea support reaches out to you about any issues you may be experiencing, remain extremely cautious, as this is a common way for scammers to get you to allow them access into your account.
Never give out your wallet’s secret phrase or allow anyone access to your device, even if someone claims to be with OpenSea support.
When purchasing or minting an NFT on OpenSea, it’s important that you choose the proper gas speed (transaction speed) to ensure that the transaction goes through. For NFTs, always select the Medium speed at the very least, or choose High, for your best chance at buying/minting your NFT successfully. Choose Low, and you risk losing your gas fee and the transaction will likely fail.
If you ever experience a problem where OpenSea does not want to connect with your wallet, or if the buying/selling process isn’t functioning properly, try closing OpenSea and reopening. If that doesn’t fix the issue, you may need to reinstall Metamask on your device.
Opensea is your one-stop-shop to buy, sell, and create NFTs. Whether you are looking to collect your own CryptoPunk or even if you just want to browse around, OpenSea is easy to use and open 24/7.
There are no costs associated with creating and listing an NFT on Opensea. However, OpenSea takes 2.5% of every transaction involving an NFT that a user chooses to list using OpenSea.
Creators can set a collection-level fee of up to 10%. This means creators can earn revenue every time their NFT is sold using OpenSea. The creator can modify this fee percentage at any time.
Keep in mind that if you are making a collection for someone else or as part of a group, OpenSea does not support contract level splits. So, if you need to split revenue between two parties, you will have to do it outside of OpenSea. You can find more information on Openseas fees via their help center.
To cancel a listing, click on Cancel listing at the top right of your item page. Please note, canceling listings requires a gas fee to make the item unavailable to other users. Gas fees are constantly changing depending on the volume of transactions on the blockchain. You can read more about gas fees here.
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