The ultimate OpenSea NFT user guide
Whether you’re an NFT OG or just starting out in the NFT space and want to learn how to buy an NFT, you’ve probably heard of OpenSea. OpenSea has been in the NFT space since 2017, then Alex Atallah and Devin Finzer managed to raise hundreds of millions of dollars through multiple rounds of funding.
What is OpenSea?
OpenSea is one of the most popular peer-to-peer NFT marketplaces for buying, selling and creating NFTs on the web3. Founded in 2017, OpenSea has earned its place as the busiest NFT marketplace with a trading volume of over $6.5 billion.
OpenSea sells every type of non-fungible token you can think of. Here is a list of some of the types of NFTs offered on the OpenSea market:
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Art
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Collectibles
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Music
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Sport
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Exchange card
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Tool based
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Virtual worlds
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Web3 domain name
Unlike some of the other NFT marketplaces, OpenSea does not focus on one specific niche in the NFT community. Instead, OpenSea offers a marketplace where creators and collectors alike can come to buy, sell, and create all kinds of NFTs.
How to set up an Opensea account
Before creating your own OpenSea account, there are some basic elements you need to trade on the marketplace. The required items are as follows:
Ethereum wallet:
First things first, you need to get an Ethereum wallet to store all your cryptocurrency and NFTs before creating your OpenSea account. You can see a list of wallets accepted by OpenSea here.
One of the most common NFT wallets that people prefer to use is Metamask.io. For guidance on how to set up the Metamask wallet, check out this helpful guide: How to Set Up the MetaMask Wallet.
Cryptocurrency (ETH):
After you get your chosen wallet, you need to put some cryptocurrency in it. When deciding what kind of cryptocurrency to use, it really comes down to personal preference. However, the most common currency used to trade NFTs on OpenSea is ETH/WETH.
To get your own cryptocurrency, you need to create an account with a trusted exchange like Coinbase.com.
Once you’ve set up an account, all you need to do is enter your debit card or bank account information into your Coinbase account to be verified. Once verified, you can buy ETH and other cryptocurrencies on Coinbase.
If you buy crypto with your debit card, the funds will usually be available immediately. Buy crypto using your bank account and you may not receive your money for 3-5 business days.
How to buy Ethereum (ETH) on Coinbase and send it to your wallet
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Go to Coinbase.com
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Log in or create an account
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Click Purchase / Sell, and choose Ethereum
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click, preview purchase, to confirm the order and then select, Purchase now, to complete the purchase.
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When your ETH is available (up to 15 days), send it from Coinbase to your wallet
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Open your Metamask account (or another acceptable wallet) and copy your wallet address
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Return to Coinbase and select Portfolio, and choose Ethereum. click, Sendand then paste the wallet address you copied into To field. (Always check that you have pasted your entire wallet address)
Image credit: Coinbase
Click Continue to send your ETH, it will probably take a few minutes for you to appear in the wallet you transferred it to.
Although ETH/WETH is the most preferred cryptocurrency on OpenSea, it does not mean that it is the only option. OpenSea has over 150 different payment tokens available, such as $UNI, $WHALE and USDC. It is currently not possible to trade on OpenSea using non-cryptocurrencies such as USD and Euro.
Now that you have your wallet loaded with some cryptocurrency, you’re ready to set up your OpenSea account.
Setting up your OpenSea account
If this is your first time visiting the OpenSea NFT marketplace and you plan to trade, you must first create your account. How to create your account on OpenSea:
Go to Connect to Wallet the tab, found in Menu section and select the type of wallet you connect to OpenSea. This will ask you to digitally sign for approval, confirming that you want 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 Settingssuch as Username, Bio, E-mail address, Social linksand Pictures. From there you are ready to go. Typically, after you set up your OpenSea account, you will log in by digitally signing using your wallet.
How to sell an NFT on Opensea
Selling your NFT should not be a difficult task. Therefore, 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, select accordingly Accounting, and finally go to your Profile where you can choose which of your NFTs you want to sell. Select your NFT and then press Sell. This will give you the opportunity to enter the price of your NFT and schedule the listing.
Image credit: OpenSea
When selling an NFT on OpenSea, you may notice that there are four different types of listing options available for you to choose from:
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Fixed price (purchase now)
The fixed price list option will put your NFT on sale for one purchase now price. This listing strategy is fine and dandy if you have a fixed price for the NFT you are selling. -
Dutch auction (starts high, ends low)
When you list your NFT using the Dutch auction strategy, you simply set a starting price, closing price and the duration of the auction. As time progresses, the initial price decreases until it reaches the set floor price. -
Auction (starting price or reserve price)
The Auction the listing option is your standard English auction. You simply list your NFT for a minimum price and then let buyers bid on it. You also have the option to set a reserve price and you can accept any offer you want. -
Bundle (list multiple NFTs as one bundle)
Pooling your NFTs is a good choice if you want to sell more than one NFT to the same buyer. When you collect multiple NFTs, only one transaction is required as opposed to several, which means that you as the buyer save having to pay a series of gas fees.
How to buy an NFT on Opensea
Considering that NFTs have attracted a large amount of collectors and investors, it’s no wonder why OpenSea decided to offer a selection of NFTs as opposed to a single niche of collectibles. If you are an NFT collector/investor like myself, you have probably asked, how do you buy an NFT on OpenSea?
Buying an NFT on OpenSea is as easy as logging into your Opensea account, and either using Explore the tab, or Search feature to search for an NFT that piques your interest. Once you find an NFT you want to buy, select it and select it purchase now or Make the offer, if you wish to bid on an item. Finally, you must sign for the transaction.
If you place an offer, you must wait until the buyer either accepts or rejects your offer. If you end up having to cancel your bid, you will have to pay a gas fee to cancel your bid. If you choose purchase now However, the transaction will happen immediately after your digital signature and the asset will usually be transferred to your wallet within a few minutes.
Image credit: OpenSea / VeeFriends
How to make an offer
If you place an offer, you must wait until the buyer either accepts or declines your offer. If you end up having to cancel your bid, you will have to pay a gas fee to cancel your bid. If you choose purchase now However, the transaction will happen immediately after your digital signature and the asset will usually be transferred to your wallet within a few minutes.
Do you want to confirm that you received the NFT after the purchase? Just go to OpenSea Menu, then go to Accounting, Profileand then make sure you watch Overall the tab. This is where you can find all your NFTs that you have collected at your specific wallet address.
Please note that your newly purchased NFT token takes some time to populate your OpenSea account. If you want to verify your transaction on the blockchain, you can do so using Etherscan.io.
Etherscan allows you to search the blockchain for addresses, transactions, tokens, prices and anything else happening on the Ethereum blockchain.
Image credit: OpenSea
Create an NFT on OpenSea
Apart from buying and selling NFTs, OpenSea also provides users with an easy solution to create your own NFT. To create your own NFT on OpenSea, follow these simple steps:
Image credit: OpenSea
Image credit: OpenSea
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Log in to OpenSea
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Go to Create, or choose Collection if you create a collection
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Enter the name of your NFT and/or collection
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Upload the desired media for NFT
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Customize your OpenSea URL
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Add a description of up to 1000 characters
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Give your NFT a category to help others find it on OpenSea
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Enter any social and website links
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Enter a royalty percentage (up to 10 percent)
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Choose which blockchain you want to mint on (Ethereum or Polygon)
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Select Create
Congratulations, you have created your first NFT on the OpenSea NFT Marketplace. Going forward, if you created a collection, you can always insert new NFTs into that collection.
Remember that you cannot change the metadata of the NFT you create. The metadata includes everything in the list above. So be sure to double check all your work before depositing your NFT.
OpenSea tips and tricks
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Be careful when accepting bids and always double check that the bid is in your preferred currency (sometimes people will bid $1 as opposed to 1 ETH).
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If someone from OpenSea Support contacts you about any issues you are experiencing, be extremely careful as this is a common way for scammers to get you to give them access to your account.
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Never give out your wallet passphrase or allow anyone to access your device, even if someone claims to be OpenSea supported.
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When buying or minting an NFT on OpenSea, it is important that you choose the correct gas rate (transaction rate) to ensure that the transaction goes through. For NFTs, always select Medium speed at least, or choose High, to get the best chance to buy/execute your NFT. Select Lowand you risk losing your gas tax and the transaction will likely fail.
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If you ever experience an issue where OpenSea doesn’t want to connect to your wallet, or the buy/sell process isn’t working properly, try closing OpenSea and reopening. If that doesn’t fix the problem, you may need to reinstall Metamask on your device.
Opensea is your one-stop-shop for buying, selling and creating NFTs. Whether you’re looking to collect your own CryptoPunk or just want to surf around, OpenSea is easy to use and open 24/7.
Are their costs associated with listing an NFT on Opensea?
There are no costs associated with creating and maintaining an NFT on Opensea. However, OpenSea takes 2.5% of each transaction involving an NFT that a user chooses to list using OpenSea.
Creators can set a fundraising level fee of up to 10%. This means that creators can earn money every time their NFT is sold using OpenSea. The creator can change this fee percentage at any time.
Please note that if you are collecting for someone else or as part of a group, OpenSea does not support splitting contract levels. So if you need to split the revenue between two parties, you have to do it outside of OpenSea. You can find more information about Openseas fees via their Help Center.
What are the costs associated with canceling a listing?
To cancel an entry, click Cancel the entry at the top right of your product page. Please note that cancellation of listings incurs a gas fee to make the item unavailable to other users. The gas fees are constantly changing depending on the transaction volume on the blockchain. You can read more about gas taxes here.
