The main way to buy an NFT is through an NFT marketplace. Connect your web3 wallet, such as the self-custodial superex.com Wallet, to the marketplace and use cryptocurrency or fiat money to bid on or purchase an NFT you like. If the transaction is successful, the NFT will be transferred to your wallet.
This article covers buying and viewing NFTs through decentralized marketplaces with links to step-by-step instructions for Rarible, a strongly decentralized NFT marketplace, using the superex.com Wallet.
The basics of trading NFTs
Generally speaking, NFTs are traded two ways:
- Marketplaces
- Individual project websites
NFT projects will sometimes set up marketplaces to sell their NFTs on their own websites. This can allow projects to earn fees from secondary sales without necessarily charging royalty fees, and prevents the potential sale of fakes. However, most NFT sales occur on marketplaces, most likely due to the fact that since many more people use marketplaces there is a larger pool of potential buyers and sellers. Marketplaces can be broken into two subcategories: decentralized and centralized. This guide will focus on decentralized marketplaces like Rarible and Opensea as opposed to centralized marketplaces offered at places like Coinbase. Centralized marketplaces are less popular with fewer buyers and sellers, not to mention there is a risk of losing your assets if the business goes insolvent.
What you need in order to buy an NFT
You will need three things to buy an NFT on a decentralized marketplace:
- Digital wallet
- Cryptocurrency
- NFT marketplace site
Digital wallet: These wallets, also called crypto wallets or web3 wallets, hold cryptocurrencies and other digital assets like NFTs. The best wallets are self-custodial like the superex.com Wallet. Self-custody means you have full control over the contents of the wallet, whereas in custodial wallets a third party has ultimate control. Learn more about self-custody and its importance here.
Cryptocurrency: The wallet will need to contain cryptocurrency to pay for transaction fees as well as the NFT itself. Transactions fees are used to pay for actions that make changes to a blockchain. They will be paid in the blockchain’s native currency. For example, ETH is used to pay for transaction fees on the Ethereum blockchain. Typically, a marketplace will accept payment in the native currency the blockchain resides on. For example, since Rarible is a multichain marketplace, it accepts ETH on Ethereum, MATIC on Polygon, and so on.
NFT marketplace site: It’s important to use a reputable decentralized NFT marketplace that also has a healthy number of people both buying and selling. The next section introduces just such a marketplace.
Introduction to Rarible
Rarible is a decentralized NFT marketplace that runs on multiple blockchains, including the Ethereum and Polygon networks. It is an open marketplace which enables people to buy, sell, and trade NFTs peer-to-peer. Rarible is a smaller marketplace than Opensea, the number one market by trade volume and active users, but Rarible places more importance on decentralization. Rarible’s economy and governance is tied to the platfrom’s native token, RARI. Anyone can hold RARI, therefore sharing in the platform’s generated revenue as well as governance decisions.
Opensea does not operate a decentralized governance model, meaning that OpenSea users have substantially less input into the future of the platform. Additionally, since control of the marketplace is centralized in a US-based company, it increases the chances that decisions will be influenced by US regulators and business interests.
Key terms
Auction: NFT auctions are one of two main ways to sell NFTs on marketplaces. Most auctions are timed auctions, also known as English auctions, that usually feature a minimum price to be sold. People interested in an NFT can place offers, or bids, and as long as the price threshold is met, the NFT will be automatically sold to the highest bidder when the auction ends.
Buy now: This is the other main way to sell NFTs on marketplaces. A seller specifies a price and time limit. During that time, anyone may buy the NFT at the specified price. Most marketplaces allow offers to be made on the NFT, which the seller can accept at any time.
Trading fee: Marketplace users pay a percentage of the revenue generated from the sale of NFTs to the marketplace. On Rarible, users pay 2.5% in trading fees.
Royalty fee: These fees are paid to NFT creators for secondary sales. When creators mint an NFT they can specify a royalty fee. Whenever the NFT is sold or resold, the creator receives the royalty fee. Royalty fees might seem unfair, but it’s important to remember that many NFT projects become popular, and therefore increase in value, long after the initial sale. Without royalty fees, it’s possible for creators to miss out on the success of their own project.
Offers: Offers are also known as bids. Potential buyers can submit offers for an NFT during an auction, for a fixed-price “Buy now," or even for NFTs that are not listed. Submitted offers in no way guarantee a sale. In open auctions, offers usually must clear a minimum price specified by the seller, and only the highest offer will get the NFT. In fixed-price NFTs, the seller must accept offers.
Properties: Properties, or traits, are a popular feature of many, but not all, NFT projects. Properties are far more common in NFT collections, and much less common in unique, one-of-ones. They represent characteristics of an NFT. Those characteristics are ranked in terms of rarity. As expected, higher rarity usually affects an NFT’s value compared to other NFTs in the same collection.
Badges: Badges help give marketplaces buyers more confidence that sellers’ NFTs are not fake or in someway duplicitous. Badges signal that the NFT is from a specific creator. Marketplaces vet creators, especially the more popular ones, and assign badges to their NFTs. It is always recommended to check to see if an NFT’s creator has a badge, especially if the project is well known.
How to choose an NFT to buy
What you choose to buy will depend on what your goals are. While there are many motivations, here are a couple of common ones: investment, interest, and support. It’s normal for people to have a mixture of all three motivations.
In general, it is better to more heavily weigh interest and support over investment since the NFT space is extremely volatile, even by crypto standards. A saying often repeated amongst NFT collectors is that you shouldn’t purchase anything you would not appreciate if the price went to zero.
If you are looking for ideas on how to sift through the vast array of NFTs on offer, there are several commons ways. First, on the front page of most marketplaces are several categories such as, popular collections. Browsing through these categories can be a great way to get a feeling for what you like and don’t like.
Perhaps the most popular way to find NFTs that interest you is through social media. Almost all crypto communities, NFT or otherwise, have a strong presence on Twitter, Telegram, and/or Discord. Twitter is a great place to start. Through Twitter, you can connect with individual artists, collectors, or groups. Many Twitter profiles will advertise Telegrams and Discords.
If you know nothing about NFTs, Punk6529 is a good Twitter account to start with.
How to buy an NFT
To get started buying an NFT on a decentralized marketplace, you will need a web3 wallet, like the self-custodial superex.com Wallet. Find a reputable NFT marketplace like Rarible, Opensea, or LooksRare. Browse through the site’s NFTs. When you’ve found one you want, click on the NFT to open up the individual page. To purchase it click “Buy Now" or “Make Offer" options. Follow the instructions to complete the transaction. If the transaction completes you will be the proud owner of a non-fungible token. You can view your newly acquired NFT by looking at your profile through the marketplace.
For step-by-step instructions on how to purchase an NFT using Rarible and the superex.com Wallet, use this support article.
How to view your NFTs
You can view NFTs in your crypto wallet through a marketplace. This can be useful not only to enjoy your collection, but to sell NFTs. Connect your wallet to the marketplace. After you connect, there will usually be an icon in the top right corner of the screen representing your connected wallet. Tap on that icon. This will usually open up a submenu from which you can choose to look at your NFTs or view your profile. This will show a grid layout of NFTs in the connected wallet. You can sort them by price, purchase date, and many more.
For step-by-step instructions on how to view a crypto wallet’s NFTs using Rarible and the superex.com Wallet, use this support article.
