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According to Findsack, there are around 28.6 million wallets trading NFTs as of 2021. Today, the NFT market is now worth more than $40 billion, and valuations just keep rising!
So, landing on this article means that you’re interested in a piece of this multi-billion dollar pie! Luckily, this is going to be a super no-nonsense, no-fluff tutorial for complete beginners on how to buy NFTs on OpenSea.
I would like to add that you got to stay to the end because at the end we are going to discuss a better OpenSea alternative that allows you to buy branded IP-based NFTs without interacting with Etherium or paying crazy gas fees!
If this is something you’re interested in, make sure to stick to the end, and if you find this post inspiring and valuable, share it with your friends, please! (Virtual high fives and hugs to all my sharers out there)
The 3-Step Process of Buying NFTs on OpenSea Using MetaMask
Now, the first step depends on how new you are to the crypto world! If you don’t already have a Metamask browser wallet, and you don’t already have Ethereum owned by you, you need to start from the very very beginning, and this is exactly what I will share with you!
Step 1. Buy Some Ethereum
First, we need access to Ethereum, and so to get that access, we are going to use a company called Coinbase.
Coinbase is one of the biggest and most trusted crypto wallets out there! It’s easy to use, is designed quite well, and will protect your coins with multiple security features (i.e. 2-FA).
Creating a Coinbase wallet is fairly easy and can be done in a matter of minutes. You simply go to Coinbase.com and click the “Get Started” button in the top right. Alternatively, you can click the button below this image to receive $10 in free Bitcoin if you spend over $100!
After creating your Coinbase wallet, you would need to link a payment method and fund your account with some Ethereum.
To buy Ethereum, it’s very simple and easy! When you’re on your main Coinbase dashboard, you click on Ethereum and you can see a bunch of different options that you can use to buy or sell ETH.
So, let’s say you decide to buy $100 worth of Ethereum. You have to connect your bank account (which is relatively easy to do) or you can connect your PayPal.
After connecting your preferred payment method and selecting the amount that you wish to buy, you click preview buy, then buy.
Congrats… You’re now a proud Ethereum holder and you can use those Ethereum to buy NFTs on the Ethereum blockchain. And this is what takes us to the next step.
Step 2. Set Up a MetaMask Wallet
Most exchanges can’t interact directly with the Ethereum blockchain which means you can’t buy NFTs using Coinbase.
So, what we have to do is take the Ethereum that we just purchased, and we’re going to move them into a MetaMask browser wallet (Which is very easy to do), and then that browser wallet that we are going to download will allow us to interact with Ethereum and buy NFTs on that blockchain!
All you need to do is download the MetaMask Chrome extension, (this link takes you directly to the download page, but don’t forget to come back). After you finish downloading the extension and setting your password, you will be receiving a 16-word recovery phrase.
Pro Tip: Make sure to back up your key phrase on a piece of paper and keep it safe in your favorite book that you would never part with. (Learn more about basic safety and security tips for MetaMask!)
When you click on the Metamask icon in your Chrome extensions bar, this is what your wallet would look like! As you can see, this wallet doesn’t have any Ethereum.
So, what we need to do is copy our MetaMask wallet address (where we actually want to send our Ethereum) and now we are going to Coinbase and send that Ethereum that we have bought over to our Metamask address!
To transfer crypto, all you need to do is go to Coinbase, click on Ethereum, and then the “Send” option. Then you paste your MetaMask wallet address and click continue, noting that there will be some fees for us to send Ethereum.
Alright, so after typically a few minutes, you will find that Ethereum lands inside of your MetaMask wallet.
I know this probably feels complicated at this point, but this is what you have accomplished so far. You have purchased Ethereum on Coinbase and swapped them from the Coinbase wallet to the MetaMask wallet.
Step 3. Browse The OpenSea Marketplace For NFTs
So now we’ve got the money we need to interact with the Ethereum blockchain where NFTs actually are!
The next thing that we need to do is go to the marketplace where the vast majority of NFTs are currently being sold, and that’s OpeanSea!
So, we are going to go to Opensea.io where you can start exploring the myriad of different NFTs. Since you’re not going to buy a certain NFT, you can start by sorting NFTs based on price, from low to high.
After you find the NFT that you wish to buy, you can click now, review the collection details, and finally click checkout. Upon checking out, you’re going to notice that there is gas fees which vary between $5 all the way up to $100!
You need to be careful and pay very close attention to gas fees because these expenses cannot only prevent you from achieving some nice profits but also make you lose a lot of money! A great way to stay in the loop of the gas fees is to use an OpenSea gas fees tracker like EtherScan.
Finally, if the contract goes through, the NFT that you’ve just purchased will show up and you can click into it.
4 Things To Look For When Buying NFTs on OpenSea
There are a ton of random NFTs, millions of them on OpenSea. Some of them are just pictures that random people have taken.
They got no real value and there’s nobody valuing them at anything higher than 1 cent, so you’d never be able to sell them.
So, how to know what NFTs to buy? Here are the 4 things you’re going to need to look for to make sure you don’t lose money.
1. High Liquidity
When you go to one of the NFTs, you can look down and you can actually see the selling history. Before buying an NFT, you want to ask yourself this question: Is it liquid, are people buying and selling this? The more time it’s been sold the more liquid it is, and the easier it to get out of it and sell it for a profit!
2. A Rising Price
When you check the selling history of a specific NFT, you can actually see the movement of the selling price since the day it was minted! A rising selling price is a good indicator, so you want to buy an NFT that each time it’s being sold, it’s sold for a higher price.
3. How Close the NFT is to the Floor
We want to buy something as closest as we can to the floor price because if we need to get out quick, and we got something that’s 3 or 4 times the price of the cheapest one in this collection, you’re really going to struggle to sell it, or you will sell it a loss if you really need the money!
4. A Strong and Actively Growing Community
What I mean by community is, is this project being talked about? Is there a bunch of people that are actively promoting and loving it? There are a couple of ways to find out the community behind each project. The most common one is by googling it!
Discord is typically where the NFT communities exist, as well as Twitter, Reddit, and a couple of other social communities that you can join!
So, you want a project with a strong community where it’s very actively growing and people are active in the community because this will tell you once again that there’s some hype around this NFT. In this way, you’ll hopefully sell it for more, shortly down the road!
How to Buy NFTs Without Ethereum and Gas Fees?
The quick answer is to get off the Ethereum blockchain and use another crypto blockchain to buy NFTs. The alternative blockchain for buying NFTs directly on OpenSea without gas fees, or at least with extremely minimal gas fees, is Polygon! Alternatively, you can use an NFT marketplace like Veve.
Here’s a video by DevMoney that explains exactly what Polygon is, the pros and cons of this blockchain, and how to actually use it to buy NFTs on OpenSea with little to no gas fees:
Veve – The Best OpenSea Alternative for Buying and Selling NFTs
OpenSea is nothing more than just a huge marketplace for buying and selling digital collectibles. The problem with OpenSea is that you need to have an Ethereum digital wallet to use the platform and you can only pay using cryptocurrency.
In addition to that, minting fees are high, which means that buyers need to pay more to cover the costs. This is exactly why the vast majority of newcomers to the NFTs world are probably losing money, not making money.
This is where Veve; a premium digital collectibles marketplace comes into play as a superb OpenSea alternative! Veve’s ecosystem allows you to put your hands on the blockchain’s first appearance (FA) NFTs without ever interacting with Ethereum, paying crazy gas fees, or even having a digital wallet at all!
Veve has its own in-app currency that’s called “Gems”, and 1 gem equals $1 in value. You can fund your gems wallet directly through a Credit/Debit card, which makes it a more convenient option for beginners of all age groups!
Veve Marketplace Vs. OpenSea Marketplace
This comparison breaks down the pros and cons of each marketplace to help you decide which one is better for buying and selling NFTs.
So, here’s a quick overview of why I think Veve is a better alternative to OpenSea:
OpenSea Pros
✅ Competitive Commissions – The commission rates are very competitive.
✅ Industry-Leading Security – No other marketplace offers the same level of security for every transaction.
✅ Large Variety of NFT Collectibles – It has the biggest selection of NFT styles of any platform.
✅ A Slick App – Opensea is one of the few marketplaces with a mobile app, which launched in October 2021.
OpenSea Cons
❎ Digital Wallet – You need to have an Ethereum digital wallet to use the Opensea platform, and you can only pay using cryptocurrency.
❎ Crazy Fees – Minting fees are high, so the buyer must pay more to cover the costs.
❎ Learning Curve – The process of buying and transferring crypto, creating a MetaMask wallet, and connecting it to OpenSea would be confusing, especially for complete beginners.
❎ No Real Value – The vast majority of NFTs on OpenSea were created by random people and there’s nobody valuing them at anything higher than 1 cent. So, you would never be able to sell them.
Veve Pros
✅ No Digital Wallet Required – You don’t need a digital wallet or any crypto to buy Veve NFTs. The app makes it easy for you to purchase its in-app gems via Debit or Credit card.
✅ Huge Brands and IPs – Since it launched, Veve has announced tens of valuable partnerships with big IPs and brands such as Coca-Cola, Marvel, Disney, DC, and 100+ more!
✅ The Mass Adoption Effect – Veve covers NFTs in all verticals. This means that people from all age groups can find relevant collectibles to their interests. When the company starts getting very well-known, this can cause mass adoption!
✅ A Solid PR Agency – On May 1st, 2021, Veve announced a partnership with Rogers and Cowan PMK, one of Hollywood’s most storied agencies, to their team as their lead communications partner.
❎ Veve Cons
Cash Out – The only problem with Veve right now that sets people back from buying and selling NFTs on this marketplace is that there’s no cash-out option available at the moment. The team promised to roll out this feature in late 2022!
So, it’s not technically a con if you’re patient and looking forward to playing the long-term game!
Conclusion
Although NFTs have been around since about 2014, the once-fringe movement burst into the mainstream in 2021 because NFTs now translate to money.
If you’re looking forward to learning how to buy NFTs as a complete beginner, by the time you finish reading this article, you should be familiar with the whole process.
We have also shared a great OpenSea alternative that allows you to put your hands on branded IP-based NFTs without interacting with the Ethereum blockchain and paying crazy gas fees, and that would be Veve!
If you find this post inspiring and valuable, share it with your friends, please! (Virtual high fives and hugs to all my sharers out there)
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Cheers,
Odeh Ahwal
