The cryptocurrency world is a new and exciting way to trade stock, invest your money, and a new approach to fiscal transparency. What many forget is that the world of cryptocurrency also presents us with new ways to own and appreciate art.
You may already know about NFTs, digital art, and their markets; you may own an NFT and are looking to evaluate its worth against a strong NFT market, or may be seeking to sell it and cash in.
OpenSea is certainly one of the best places to sell NFTs right, and arguably is the most used and profitable art market out there right now, across both physical and digital art.
In this article we will cover the main parts of OpenSea, what it is, as well as how to sell your NFTs there. Let’s explore the world of crypto together.
What Is An NFT?
Without going into too much detail, as many know an NFT is, a shorter definition is all we need to understand the scope and importance of a market such as OpenSea.
In simple terms, an NFT is basically just ‘digital art’. While you can display and appreciate these pieces of art – well, not all of them can be seen physically – they are often made by digital artists and in their digital format they can become keys, tickets, and much more.
An important facet of the NFT is its relation to blockchain. Blockchain enables us to see who has owned the NFT before, and its changing value. Blockchain is a new way to prove we own the art, which can provide an owner with extra features that non-owners cannot use.
The term ‘art’ is pretty wide in this context and can cover anything from traditional images, to usable items in a game, to 3D bot generated images.
As NFTs can often be more than just an image, their value is varied and often high.
What Is OpenSea?
OpenSea is the largest NFT marketplace there is right now, with more listings and users than any other.
It’s thought that the amount of people who actively use OpenSea is astronomically more than those who physically set foot in traditional art auctions across the world. Interestingly, OpenSea will be vastly more lucrative than any physical art auction or gallery can be.
This is part of the reason why people may use it, even if they don’t own NFTs, to both appreciate the art but also for those who want to keep a nosy eye on the highest bids and most valuable pieces of art.
How To List An NFT On OpenSea
Listing an NFT on OpenSea is pretty easy and simple with OpenSea’s useful and practical layout.
Firstly, let’s be clear, you need an NFT first in order to sell one. Which either means making one yourself, or buying one. Let’s assume you already have an NFT you want to sell.
Again, you will also need an OpenSea account before you sell an NFT. Let’s assume you have this too.
Go to your profile, located in the right-hand corner, and select the drop-down box. Then select ‘Profile’.
From here you can edit your profile, but the button we are looking for is the ‘Sell’ button in the right-hand corner that should be lit up blue. Here you will be taken to the listing pages where you can select how to sell the NFT.
Types Of Auction
Fixed Price
Fixed Price means that the NFT will be listed at a fixed price for the duration you choose to list it. It cannot go down or up in price unless you change the settings.
Timed Auctions
There are two kinds of timed auctions that you can enter on OpenSea either selling to the highest bidder (price increases as people bid), or you can sell with a declining price (the price will fall until someone buys it).
In a timed auction you can also set a reserve price. A reserve price means that you won’t receive bids that aren’t equal to or greater than the reserve price.
Duration
You will need to list your NFT for a period of time. This can be as short as one day, or as long as you wish. Simply adjust the date with the calendar. Listing for a limited time means you can reduce the listing price if it doesn’t sell.
If you have already agreed to sell an NFT for someone, you can list their name under the ‘Reserve for specific buyer’ section where only that person can buy the NFT. This means OpenSea can facilitate NFT sales securely as well as being an auction.
Fees
As you change how and when you want to list your NFT the service fee and creator fees can change. The service fee goes straight to OpenSea for facilitating the deal, which is pretty run-of-the-mill.
A second fee is called ‘creator earnings’ this means that the artist, or creator, of the NFT can also get a piece of the earnings for their art. This is one of the great things about NFT sales is that it remains transparent with the artist about fees they may receive.
There are two things you may need to do if you have never sold on OpenSea before. Firstly, you will need to initialize your wallet, which is simply setting up payments to receive payment.
Secondly, you may need to go through certain procedures to show authenticity of ownership as well as if OpenSea are allowed to trade that specific NFT. In most situations this is quick and easy.
Final Thoughts
Selling things on OpenSea is easy and effective. There is a reason it remains the biggest art auction in the world and the most lucrative.
More people buy their NFTs from OpenSea than anywhere else, so if you want to sell an NFT or buy an NFT then OpenSea is the place to do it.
OpenSea creates an open platform that is transparent with users, sellers, and buyers. All of whom can appreciate art, own art, and ultimately support artists transparently.
Blockchain is the way forward, for art sales at least.
