How To Sell an NFT

Non-Fungible Token, or NFT, is the digital asset that’s making headlines amidst the cryptocurrency craze. While they have been around since 2014, NFTs hit national news with the million-dollar sales of collectible digital art from artists such as Grimes and Mike Winkelmann (Beeple).

NFTs are tamper-proof to avoid counterfeits and preserve ownership of digital items. An item’s authenticity is preserved in an NFT held in your digital wallet. This gives you extra bragging rights and ensures that its value is unmistakable.

Once you appreciate the value of this unique digital currency form, it’s time to explore how to mint and sell NFTs in the digital market. Read on to find out everything about minting an NFT, selling an NFT, and answers to frequently asked questions.

How To Mint an NFT

Artists are earning millions from minting NFTs because of their unique content. One of the first non-fungible tokens on the market was CryptoKitty, a blockchain game on Ethereum developed by Dapper Labs from Canada. The game allows players to buy, collect, breed, and sell virtual cats—with some pieces selling for as much as $172,000.

Minting an NFT is how your digital artworks become part of the Ethereum blockchain, a public ledger that’s tamper-proof and unchangeable. Like metal coins get minted and added into circulation, NFTs are tokens that are “minted” upon creation.

The digital artwork you create is presented as an NFT for buying and trading on marketplace platforms such as OpenSea, SuperRare, and Rarible. The token guarantees the authenticity of your art piece, and it also allows tracking the NFT artwork as it is resold or collected again in the future.

However, you’ll pay “gas fees” to start the transaction in Ethereum and publish your artwork as an NFT in the marketplace. Gas fees are recurring charges for specific transactions, such as purchasing NFT, transferring NFT, and other Ethereum transactions.

Note that gas fees fluctuate, but ETH Gas Station can help you keep track of the fee’s price before any transaction. When the price is too high, consider making the transaction later. The popularity of a particular NFT also influences gas fees.

Word of caution: Never mint an artwork on another platform once you’re published in a marketplace. If you do, most platforms may delete the NFT and even ban you from using their services.

So, how do you mint an NFT?

Step 1: Decide on What You’ll Use To Create Your First NFT

Anything in a digital file format will do. This includes digital photos, your digital art from illustration software, or 3D models. GIFs and memes on social media are also an excellent option as long as they’re in the public domain or you may use them.

You can transform physical objects into digital files by scanning or taking pictures and turning them into NFTs.

Step 2: Working with MetaMask

A digital wallet that supports Ethereum smart contracts is a must. We recommend MetaMask because it has a straightforward setup process, will cost nothing, and is ideal for beginners thanks to plenty of documentation.

Visit the download page and get the digital wallet as a browser plug-in or an app for Android and iOS devices. Next, purchase a small amount of ETH using exchanges such as Bitbuy to cover the cost of minting your non-fungible token.

Step 3: Create an Account on an NFT Marketplace and Connect to MetaMask

The next step involves choosing and creating an account in an NFT trading base or platform for the minting process. OpenSea, SuperRare, and Rarible are the most common forms of blockchain technology platforms.

All three platforms will ask whether you have a MetaMask wallet to create your account. This allows you to make transactions on the Ethereum network.

Step 4: Mint Your NFT

Now that you have a wallet and marketplace, you can mint your own NFT using the three popular platforms above. Here are the general steps to follow:

1. Create your digital file in any format, including JPEG, GIF, PNG, MP3, or another that is compatible with your preferred marketplace. Make sure the file is not copyrighted.
2. Choose “create a collectible” as one or multiple images.
3. Most marketplaces request you add a name, description, price, and other metadata for the token.
4. The marketplace will charge a fee for publishing your NFT, which is taken out of your wallet.
5. Your NFT is in the marketplace for sale.
6. Viewers can bid on your NFT, and you accept a bid to complete the sale.

Step 5: Become the Next Grimes or Beeple

Now, wait for someone to purchase or bid on your NFT masterpiece. Minting and selling NFTs is similar on most platforms. However, you should know the associated costs.

This brings us to an important question.

How Much Does it Cost to Mint an NFT?

When choosing where to mint your NFT, consider the fees associated with the marketplace blockchain, set commissions by the marketplace, and the royalties you receive.

The cost to mint an NFT is due to network transaction fees and gas fees. The latter is necessary for sending all transactions on the Ethereum blockchain. Gas fees vary depending on network congestion.

Many popular NFT wallets will let you mint free, while others will charge a basic fee between $70 to $120 to get you started. Research a platform to mint your NFT first. You need a system that’s easy to use, is safe and secure to transact with, and will not soak you in fees when the NFT is up and running.

Here is a breakdown of how much it will cost to mint an NFT on three popular platforms.

On OpenSea

OpenSea is one of the most popular digital currency marketplaces that will not charge an upfront fee to get started. Signing up on the OpenSea platform is free, but you need to pay a small account initialization fee of between $70 to $300.

There’s also a sales processing fee of about $10 to $30. Your funded MetaMask wallet makes it easy to pay for these costs in cryptocurrency.

On SuperRare

Minting an NFT on SuperRare will set you back anywhere between $40 and $200. The actual amount depends on the congestion level on the Ethereum blockchain at any moment.

On Rarible

Rarible is a more expensive platform for buying and selling new NFT. Minting on the platform can cost you anywhere between 350 to 600 ETH, or higher. Artists must have a MetaMask cryptocurrency wallet with Ethereum funds before they can mint NFT art on Rarible.

In October 2021, Rarible introduced a new functionality they call “lazy minting.” This feature promises an easy way to create non-fungible tokens at zero cost. The traditional method stores data on the blockchain after minting. Instead, the new functionality mints your artwork at the point of purchase, so the buyer pays the gas fees when buying the artwork.

Once you’ve gone through the minting process, you have an NFT that is ready to sell!

How To Sell an NFT

It is easy to sell NFT art. Before you start, make sure your crypto or digital wallet has Ethereum. This section provides details on setting up your account and selling your non-fungible tokens on the most popular marketplaces today.

Selling on OpenSea

OpenSea is a premiere NFT marketplace where you can buy and sell various digital assets, including tokenized trading cards, portraits, and high-brow photographs. It is also one of the biggest NFT markets right now and enjoys the most traffic. This means you have access to thousands of collectors, resellers, and buyers daily.

Selling your art on OpenSea is straightforward:

1. Select the NFT you’ve just created.
2. Tap the Sell button in the upper right-hand corner.
3. Next, you’ll be prompted to select the price, auction type, and other preferences. You can set the price as fixed or start an auction using multiple settings, including price threshold and expiration.
4. Click the “Post Your Listing” button.
5. There’s no fee for listing your NFT for sale, but you will pay something once a sale goes through. OpenSea will prompt you to initialize your wallet if this is the first sale you’re making. Expect a few other review prompts if you didn’t mint your artwork on OpenSea.
6. Complete the listing by confirming the details and posting your NFT on the marketplace.
7. You can view all NFTs you have up for sale by going back to your profile and clicking the “Activity” tab.

OpenSea charges the buyer a 2.5% transaction fee, and you pay the gas fee for a successful sale. However, changing a condition like the price of your NFT will attract a mining fee. So you will pay for gas when you accept a bid from a buyer and sell it at a different price.

The platform has a share function. Click the three dots on the details page of your listed NFT to share it with your Twitter or Facebook followers. There’s also an option to copy the NFT listing link or get an embed code for your profile site.

Selling on SuperRare

SuperRare is another popular NFT platform that allows trading in rare, unique, and single-edition digital artwork. The platform is a blockchain-backed social network for NFT creators and collectors, making it one of the most successful NFT marketplaces.

SuperRare is an exclusive NFT marketplace that markets NFTs uploaded by their artists on their behalf. The marketplace is an excellent choice if you will spend more on your NFT assets and in joining a high-end art marketplace.

Tokenize your digital artworks using the Ethereum blockchain standard at SuperRare. You also earn royalties with the platform, thanks to collectors who purchase and trade artworks.

Joining the SuperRare marketplace as an artist is free but invite-only. Everyone can try their luck and submit a profile and digital artwork following this link. The resulting form requires information such as your name, portfolio, a 1-minute application video, and stories behind your selection of artwork.

Strengthen your application by adding your Twitter, Instagram, and any other additional social media links and websites. SuperRare follows an interesting approach to ensure that they pre-select the best artists. Good art costs money, so working with trusted artists adds trust and transparency.

Curated SuperRare artists have no shortage of traffic to their listings. However, SuperRare doesn’t have a social share feature on its pages. Perhaps the designers want to preserve the platform’s clean and minimalistic design.

But you can share your NFT on SuperRare by copying the URL address of your listing. You can do the same with other NFT marketplaces too.

Buyers at SuperRare pay a 3% transaction fee for all purchases. You receive 85% of your primary sale price, and 15% goes to the platform. Plus, you get a 10% royalty on secondary sales of your artworks. SuperRare uses the power of Ethereum smart contracts to ensure artists receive an automatic percentage of secondary market revenue.

Selling on Rarible

Rarible comes with a share option that works through Telegram, Facebook, Twitter, and Email. Open your NFT details page to access the function. Tap the round button with three dots at the top of the page to access “Share” from a drop-down menu.

The artwork you list on Rarible is also listed on OpenSea automatically, so you have the benefit of listing your NFT on two platforms at once.

The platform lets you choose if you want to set a price for your artworks or prefer buyers to bid on your NFTs in an online auction to increase your sale proceeds. Rarible is easy to navigate and locate minting information, whether you are minting and selling your first NFT or multiple digital tokens.

When you first mint your NFT on Rarible: 

1. Wait a couple of minutes as MetaMask confirms transaction approval. 
2. A “Sign the sell order” MetaMask pop-up will appear. Click on it and sign to confirm the transaction. 
3. Your Rarible NFT is now out there for others to view and buy.

View your NFT in the Rarible Marketplace or on your artist page, but it may take a couple of minutes to appear. There are options to edit the NFT price, give it away to another MetaMask wallet or Ethereum address, or remove your art from sale.

Buyers and sellers on Rarible pay a 2.5% fee for each transaction, making it 5% of the total price. However, you can also pay the entire 5% fee, and there’s an extra option to set your own fee.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can You Get Royalties from NFT?

Yes.

You can also set royalty amounts from 10% to 30% (depending on the marketplace), so you can track sales of your artwork after the initial sale. Some marketplaces allow viewing NFT sales throughout the day. Minting your NFTs is an invaluable revenue stream if you are a digital artist!

NFT royalties offer you a percentage of the sales price every time your NFT piece of art sells in a marketplace. Each payment is executed by a smart contract automatically and is perpetual.

There are no intermediaries in NFT royalty payments, and the people transacting cannot change what they pay. However, not all NFT yield royalties. Make sure the smart contract terms are spelled out clearly and written into the blockchain. The rest occurs automatically.

Can You Make Money with NFT?

Yes.

There are several ways to make money with NFTs, including digital works of art that you create. NFTs show proof of authenticity and allow you to profit from the work. If you’re a meme creator, you benefit when it circulates.

Like artwork, NFTs also help address issues with authenticity and eliminate counterfeits. Fashion and clothing brands profit from NFT by releasing limited digitized editions of their outfits along with collections of iconic celebrity pieces. Plus, fashion brands also benefit from creating an NFT marketplace for their accessories and clothes, giving them unlimited revenue.

Collectible tokenizing is another best NFT application. NBA top shot cards, memorabilia, trinkets, and other items can be sold as digital assets. Sellable in-game items also have an enormous market.

How Much Does It Cost To Create an NFT?

It varies.

Creating or minting an NFT and selling it can cost less than a dollar up to $1,000. OpenSea, for example, requires relatively reasonable one-time fees to mint unlimited NFTs for free. Conversely, Rarible pushes an up-front fee on the seller, and other platforms will take a piece of the sale proceeds.

You must know the minting fees before choosing a platform. Check out our guide on the best NFT marketplaces for further information.

Conclusion

Minting and selling an NFT may seem like a complicated task if you’ve never looked into it. But breaking the process down step-by-step shows things are not as difficult. This is exactly what we’ve tried doing in this tutorial.