Step by Step Beginners Guide for Trading NFTs on OpenSea

Editorial Team

Beginners Guide for Trading NFTs on OpenSea

Are you ready to begin your NFT investment and trading journey? If yes, then you are in the right place. We hope you’ve learned the basics surrounding non-fungible tokens, including how they work and all the issues around digital ownership. Remember, these are immutable and unique tokens held on the blockchain. They can be traded, exchanged, gifted, or held for a while.

It is a no-brainer that there are many things to learn about NFTs. However, this article will narrow down to making profits off them by selling these tokens on OpenSea, one of the best marketplaces in existence. Even with its flaws, it still towers above several options. Walk with us as we help you make your first profit on OpenSea and unlock future opportunities.

What is Open Sea?

 It is an Ethereum based P2P marketplace that allows you to buy, mint, sell and auction NFTs provided that you have Ether Coins for gas fees. It consumes the largest quantity of gas on the Ethereum Blockchain and doubles up as the largest NFT marketplace, supporting 24 hours of trade.

This platform allows you to trade art, domain names, music, and a range of collectibles, provided that they are on the ETH blockchain or the Polygon sidechain. We hope this will change soon when OpenSea decides to incorporate other blockchains. Note that it allows you to choose the NFT category to look up and shows you the hosting blockchain. It supports crypto wallets such as MetaMask, and other mobile wallets such as Coinbase and Trust Wallet. However, for the purposes of this article, we will mostly focus on MetaMask.

Things to Note Before Making Your First Sale

When using this platform, you should know a few things that we would love to cover to help you avoid surprises when the time comes to make a trade. First, transactions on OpenSea are not free. You must pay as fees when selling your digital assets.

What exactly are gas fees? Gas fees refer to the costs of transacting on the blockchain. It varies from one chain to another, with Ethereum charging the highest amounts. Gas fees are normally paid as compensation for the energy spent recording a transaction on the blockchain. Note that this will be payable in four instances:

  • When a buyer sends an offer, and you accept it.
  • When you list an item on the marketplace for the first time.
  • When you lower the price of your listing or cancel it altogether
  • Initiating your wallet to be ready for use for the first time on the platform.

Remember, OpenSea supports Ethereum, which has relatively higher transaction fees.

Buying and Selling NFTs on OpenSea

As we mentioned, the OpenSea platform uses select wallets to fund NFT transactions. We advise beginners to use a MetaMask Wallet to hold ETH coins for paying fees and buying NFTs on the platform. You can easily create one by visiting MetaMask.io or downloading its chrome plugin, supported by different browsers. Follow all the instructions needed to set up your wallet and ensure that you remember the recovery phrase. This process shouldn’t consume too much of your time.

It would help if you funded your wallet with enough crypto through exchanges such as Binance. Here, you will easily buy Ethereum and send it to your wallet. Also, note that a  Moon Pay option allows you to make direct payments to OpenSea, eliminating the need for another third-party application. However, it is quite disadvantageous as it attracts heftier costs. Some countries do not also support it.

After setting your MetaMask up, link it in the top right-hand corner where the wallet icon s to get you ready.

2. Search for NFTs

The second process is to search for NFTs, which is easy on this platform as they are grouped into categories. Head to the search bar and input the name of a specific drop you would like to see. For some, you will notice a blue checkmark that acts as a verification sign for an authentic collection. Remember to be careful since you will also run into fakes.

However, if you are not looking for anything specific, choose a category that impresses you and browse through it. You can view as many collectibles as you want. Remember, the left-hand side has all the filters you need when looking for the right NFTs. Also, note the chain categories below the filters, which contain different blockchains such as Ethereum, Polygon, and the Klayton network, which is not as popular. Clicking on any of these will take you to the NFTs hosted by the particular chains. Clicking on Ethereum will show you all the Ethereum-based NFTs that you can purchase.

Click on an NFT that appeals to you and proceed to the main page, where you will find the necessary metadata such as the name of the drop or collection, the number of people viewing it, and whether it is listed for sale or auction. For sales, the collections have buy now and make offer links if you are interested. You won’t find a link inviting you to the auction.

You can also see the NFT’s price history. Zero history shows a new creation that has not been traded on the NFT market before. Note that all transactions are recorded on the blockchain and open to buyers. The left-hand side of the listing will further tell you more about the original NFT’s creator.

Scrolling further down will bring you to the properties of the NFT, allowing you to tell just how unique or rare they are. Note that NFTs in a drop differ mostly in their background or design, which makes them rare. You should also click on the details section just after the properties as it contains the token standard that the non-fungible token relies on, for example, ERC 721. Note that this token standard is quite ancient, and most recent NFTs are built on ERC 1155.

There is also a trading history category where you will see the previous events regarding the NFT. The first even is the minting of the token, which normally happens from a null address as it is the original transaction, followed by the acquisition of the NFT by a different user and so on. You can also see if an owner still has the NFT and whether he got it from an auction or sale. Other details include the listing of the NFT.

You may also notice a Wrapped ETH on some listings, which signifies a timed auction, mostly seven days. Other details include the reserve price and a link to place a bid.

3. Buying Your First NFT

After searching and selecting your preferred NFT, it is now time to make a purchase. Remember, there are two options at this point, either to buy from an auction or a direct sale, details included in the listing. NFTs placed on auction have a minimum bid and, at times, a reserve price, which you have to meet to be considered. If you are sure that it is what you need, go ahead and place your bid.

It will open up to a box where you can type your bid. Remember to accept the terms and conditions surrounding the purchase. You may also have to convert your ETH, an option possible on OpenSea. Once everything is in order, go ahead and place the bid. However, be careful if you are a seller since buyers have come up with a new scam where they don’t use the right currency. An example is placing a 1 USDc bid instead of 1ETH, which are worlds apart in value.

We should also talk about WETH, which stands for wrapped ETH. This is an ERC720 token responsible for all the auctions that happen on OpenSea, thanks to its time delay ability. Note that it is impossible to place a bid using standard Ethereum tokens since you must immediately authorize the transaction in your wallet whenever you send ETH, which may be impossible. It means staying on the screen and waiting for an auction to end, which can go on for several days. Warped ETH can be used with a pre-approved transaction, meaning that all you need to do when you win an auction is send it over. However, this will not happen if you lose the auction. It is also worth mentioning that one wrapped ETH equals one standard ETH in value, saving you from any unreasonable price differences. Lastly, WETH is easy and can be directly transacted on OpenSea.

How to Convert ETH into WETH

You don’t have to sweat when converting your ETH balance to WETH. There is a wallet on the upper right side of the dashboard. All you need to do is click the dots beside the balance and wrap, giving you a chance to input the amount of ETH you would like to wrap right before clicking on the convert token prompt. The last step is to sign the transaction as directed by your wallet, which will reveal a pink Ethereum logo for the wrapped ETH. This token will be available in your MetaMask, even though it may not reflect easily at times. Do not freak out if it does not, as you can sort that out in one easy procedure.

Other supported currencies in OpenSea include usdc and dye, which represent dollars. They can easily be bought from exchanges such as Binance and transferred into the MetaMask wallet, attracting high gas fees. The only alternative is to use Polygon, which is relatively less expensive.

Once you buy the NFT, it will be added to your wallet.

Selling an NFT on OpenSea

The first part of the article mainly focused on buying an NFT. However, since trading is made up of both buying and selling, this second part will focus on how you can make money off NFTs after minting or acquisition. You should know that this platform offers you various options when disposing of your NFT. You can either set a fixed price, start a dutch auction, or resort to an eBay-style auction. All in all, ensure that you follow the right steps.

We covered this step in the first part of the article. Kindly refer if you still can’t tell how to link your MetaMask wallet to the marketplace. Remember, you need this particular wallet to receive payment from the sale of your NFTs.

2. Choose the NFT You Would Like to Sell

You can choose any digital asset from your portfolio that you wish to sell. Remember, you have three options when selling: a set fixed price, an eBay auction-style, and a dutch auction. Most people prefer setting a fixed price expiring at a given provided data. We will cover timed auctions later.

3. Set a Time Limit

You need to set a time limit before the sale goes live. OpenSea gives sellers up to 6 months to make money from their digital assets, but you are free to make it as shorter as possible. Changing the listed price or canceling the listing before expiry will attract gas fees, which can be extremely high at times, depending on the blockchain congestion. These fees also add up if you change or cancel your listing many times.

We advise you to list your item for a short duration and later reset it instead of canceling after some time and incurring high Ethereum gas fees. OpenSea also has a set and forget option where the expiration date is set into the future. All in all, find a limit that works for you.

A shorter time limit will come in handy in several instances. For example, you stand to gain a lot whenever there is increased activity in the market, causing several floor price fluctuations. All in all, the best advice we can give is that you consider the market conditions and your preferred trading style when coming up with a time limit or expiration date.

4. Come Up with the Right Market Price

The fourth step is to find the right market price for your NFT. Rarity comes into play in this step as some NFTs are rarer than others and should therefore cost more. You can easily check your NFT rarity by using tools such as rarity. tools. It will help you know the right amount to charge.

It would be best if you also used OpenSea’s filters to see the price of similar NFTs and gauge how much yours should sell. Remember, the main reason you are trading NFTs is to profit, which you must also maximize. Avoid selling your creations at a bigger discount than necessary since several collectors are always looking for such deals.

Therefore, extensively research an NFT’s market value before listing it. Only type in the price you would like to sell your token for once you are confident enough. Do not also get the decimal point wrong, as canceling a listing or changing the price comes at a price. The more gas fees you incur, the lesser you make from your sales. Luckily, OpenSea allows you to view the dollar equivalent of your listed price to avoid making a mistake during the listing.

Note that this platform will charge you for this process. After selecting the period and price, sign the transaction and wait for a buyer to purchase your work. Remember, you can turn on email notifications to keep updated on your listing. This is important since you may not have time to track it. Remember, this is only possible on OpenSea and not MetaMask. It is the fastest way of viewing offers from buyers if you are busy.

Note that you can also create a private listing where only a selected individual will buy your product provided that you have their ETH address.

5. Receiving Offers

You should be ready to receive offers on your listed NFT. Remember, this can also happen for any of the tokens in your portfolio and not just the listed ones. Once you accept an offer, it gets paid out in Wrapped Ethereum, which we have already covered.

You will make an interesting observation when receiving offers. A good number often carries lesser amounts than the listed price. Do not get mad, as collectors are trying to strike a deal. Create a counteroffer and prepare to pay gas fees when you accept an offer.

What happens once you have been paid? You can convert the Wrapped ETH to Ethereum, which will also attract gas fees. You should realize by now that Ethereum is one of the most expensive blockchains in existence.

Conclusion

We hope this article has furnished you with everything you need to know regarding the trading of NFTs. Ensure that you determine the right market price for your tokens or risk letting others profit excessively from your work. We wish you all the best as you acclimatize to the NFT world.