Introduction
NFT, known as Non-Fungible Token, has taken the art and gaming industry by storm. You might have the same question as many others, what is NFT Art? It is a digital asset of the digital world. It is basically like a digital file of anything, including music, painting, meme, GIF, article or anything related to Art.
How to buy an NFT art? Is it simple like going to an online marketplace and buying with a credit card or Paypal? Or does it require a special understanding of cryptocurrencies? Or NFT is totally different from any other product available on the market? Yes, NFT is a totally new product and it requires a special understanding to buy an NFT or buildup a collection.
A thing that should be in the notice is that NFT Art has only one owner at a time, and its value will go up and down according to its demand in the digital market. There are NFT Art Finance sites that will surely guide you about it because its price changes daily.
Global Reach of NFT ART
Just like Art has no boundary. The same is the case with NFT. Old times are gone when artists and designers gather from all over the world to attend an exhibition for selling their products. Still, NFT has brought a great revolution by digitalizing everything. Now everybody can buy and sell their NFT online with just a click.
Now, there are some steps to buy NFT’s, we will try and explain the steps below:
Step 1: Buying Ether
Yes, Ethereum or Ether (ETH) – that is exactly the cryptocurrency that you’ll need in order to buy NFT crypto tokens. Though you can buy with Solana (SOL) or Polygon (MATIC) and even Bitcon (BTC) to name a few.
The absolute majority of NFT marketplaces out there only accept payments in Ether. There are some that do also accept fiat currencies and more-standard payment methods. However, this is still a rare occurrence.
Why is this case? Well, most of the NFTs that are out there, on the market, are actually ETH-based, as well. Specifically, they are ERC-721 and ERC-1155 tokens – ones that are both unique, and have no other equivalent on the blockchain.
Following that logic, the majority of NFT marketplaces are also based on the Ethereum blockchain, as well. The combination of these two circumstances results in you only being able to purchase most NFTs with Ether.
Step 2: Transferring Ether to a Reliable Wallet
Cryptocurrency wallets work in the exact same manner as your physical wallet would – they are used to store cryptocurrencies that you may acquire. However, one thing that crypto wallets have over physical ones is security – the top-rated wallets of the industry are going to possess some truly advanced security measures and features.
So, how do you go about picking the right wallet for yourself? After all, do you really want to give it much thought, seeing as all that you’ve set out to do is buy NFTs?
Yes, you do. For starters, you might be using that cryptocurrency wallet for years to come – if not, where are you going to keep your NFTs?!
Following that, a secure and reliable wallet will help you retain peace of mind, in regards to the non-fungible tokens that you buy. You won’t need to worry that someone will be able to hack into your wallet in a matter of minutes, and steal your artwork or collectible cards!
The most popular wallet for buying and selling NFt’s are Metamask and Coinbase which are browser-based and connects easily to nearly all marketplaces.
Step 3: Transfer Your Ether
This step is quite self-explanatory. In order to buy NFTs on a specific marketplace, you’re going to need to transfer the Ether that you purchased from your exchange account to your new wallet.
This process is exactly the same as you’d do it among any other circumstances, such as sending crypto coins to a friend’s wallet, or paying for some sort of a product or service. That being the case, however, it still shouldn’t be approached in a nonchalant manner.
No matter if you’ve done it thousands of times before, or if this is your first time sending crypto, make sure to not be complacent and to actually take things slow. Check the wallet addresses three or four times, make sure that your transaction is going through all of the appropriate channels, and be patient – it’s much easier to lose your coins than it might seem!
Once the transaction is done, and you can see your Ether in your actual wallet interface, it’s time to move on to the next step, and visit one of the more-popular NFT marketplaces.
Step 4: Ethereum and Gas Fees
Almost all NFT’s rely on the Ethereum blockchain to validate transactions. Because Ethereum transactions require computational energy to perform the blockchain charges users a “gas fee” based on the Ethereum metric of “Gwei”. Gwei is simply a tiny amount of Ethereum and is used to calculate costs involved in processing transactions.
On most NFT platforms, buyers pay a gas fee to validate a transaction on the blockchain network through their digital wallet. Sellers also sometimes pay gas fees to “mint” and sell NFTs, with the amount being spread to the network’s miners.
In some platforms like Opensea you will have the option to buy NFT using the Polygon network (based on Ethereum only) and the currency is known as Matic. This is relatively a low gas cost option and is used by many creators.
Step 5: Visit and Explore OpenSea (or Any Other NFT Marketplace)
So, you’ve got it all done and sorted on your end – now, the next logical step is to find the best place to buy NFTs from, right?
Well, yes – this is where the marketplaces come in.
While you can definitely buy your select NFTs from other individuals on the blockchain, most of the time, you’re going to want to look at a trustworthy marketplace. This is because these markets act as aggregators – on them, you can find a huge variety of different tokens, whether it be artwork, collectables, trading cards, in-game items, utility NFTs, or else.
For the sake of being consistent, we’re going to be using the example of OpenSea – the most well-known and respected NFT marketplace on the internet.
On OpenSea, you will be able to find a huge selection of different NFTs, ranging in type, price, and general use cases, as well. No matter if you’re new to the space and want to buy NFTs for the first time, or if you’re already a veteran, OpenSea should be an amazing place to start exploring the world of non-fungible tokens.
Step 6: Find the Right NFT for Yourself
Earlier, we talked about the process of finding the right non-fungible tokens for you. Well, if you still haven’t got your eyes set on one, now’s the time to do it!
Remember – there’s no rush. Set a dedicated price range, choose the type of NFT that you’d like to own, and enter some other details to the OpenSea interface – details that will help you narrow down the choice pool.
Truth be told, OpenSea is a great help in this regard. Housing over 19,5 million different NFTs, the platform offers an incredible range of options for you to explore. This is true even if you have already picked some non-fungible tokens for yourself, too – perhaps you’ll find some alternatives or additional collectables that you’d like to own?
Once you’ve picked the right NFT for yourself, do make sure to check whether or not it has some unlockable content, just how limited it is, and all of the additional features surrounding it, too. If you’ve made up your mind, it’s time to actually perform the purchase!
Step 7: Buy the NFT
Entering the landing page of the NFT of your choice, you might see a few different options. Some NFTs will have the option to be purchased on the spot, while others might require you to enter an auction beforehand – let’s assume that you’re going to buy NFTs that can be purchased instantly.
At the top-right corner of the OpenSea page, you’re going to see a wallet icon. Press it, and a list of supported crypto wallets will pop up.
MetaMask is among the more-popular software wallets on the market. Connecting your Ledger to it, you will be able to observe your cryptocurrencies within its UI, while still having the security side of the Ledger Nano X active. This is also the reason why, after buying NFTs, you’d still want to have the Ledger wallet, in the first place – advanced security.
To put things simply, what you need to possess when purchasing NFTs are two different wallets – MetaMask, and the Ledger Nano X. The latter can be avoided, sure, but it’s the most reliable and secure option on the market and is thus highly recommended, nonetheless.
Now let’s see, what should be checked and what mistakes to be avoided before buying NFT’s?
#1 The Unique Properties of the NFT
If you want to increase your chance of buying an NFT with a promising value trajectory, check the rarity of the properties your chosen NFT has. You’ll want an NFT with the lowest percentage of commonness among the collection, and you can view these percentages in the properties section on the NFT’s page, as shown above.
Checking the properties of an NFT is also a great way to confirm that it’s legitimate. A lot of scam accounts upload copies of popular NFTs, but cannot replicate the properties. So keep an eye on this section as a safety measure, too.
#2 Seller Verification
Like Twitter or Instagram, most of the official sellers on platforms such as OpenSea will have a blue verification tick next to their account name to prove that they can be trusted and are not impersonator accounts. So, if you’re looking to buy from a well-known seller, like World of Women or Cool Cats NFT, make sure the account has a verification tick. Also do check if they have a website and their social accounts like Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, etc. Some or many of them have a discord presence with communities built around their NFt collection. Be sure they have decent number of followers, and someone is there to answer your queries.
#3 The Market Platform’s Transaction Fees
When you exchange crypto, buy an NFT, or perform a similar function on a market platform, you’re often charged a transaction fee. The same goes for traditional e-commerce sites like eBay and Depop, but these fees vary depending on the platform. So make sure you’re aware of any existing fees on your chosen platform before making any purchases.
#4 NFT Liquidity and Market Volume
NFTs don’t have the same liquidity as crypto coins, which is important to keep in mind. You cannot liquidate an NFT into traditional currency nearly as easily as you can with cryptocurrency, so this may come as a problem for those investing in an NFT for a profit. Some experts suggest fractionalizing your NFTs to increase their liquidity rates, which essentially involves splitting your NFT into smaller parts.
#5 The Price Performance of the Seller’s Other NFTs
If you want to confirm whether or not your chosen NFT is a good investment, it’s always a good idea to check the seller’s account. Here, you can take a look at their previous sales and find out what price their pieces are selling for. You can then scroll down on the table and check out how much the same NFTs sold for a few weeks or months ago. The bottom end of the value range is known as the floor price, which is the minimum price the NFTs are trading for. This will allow you to get a good idea of how the NFT prices are fluctuating and whether it correlates with what you’d like to see in your chosen NFT In the future.
The most important thing to remember is that NFT purchases are non-refundable and you cannot undo a purchase once done. But never regret with art – it is important how much value you yourself attach to the art, not what others have to say about it.