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You’d have to live on a rock to have not heard of NFTs by now. In only a short amount of time, buying and selling NFTs has gone from being something that only those deeply embedded in the Web 3.0 understood to being commodity celebrities, and business people alike have all become obsessed with. But as popular as they are, some still find them confusing, and you may still be perplexed about understanding the NFT market. You may have questions about how you buy and sell them and, like others, may wonder what an NFT marketplace is? 

The Basics 

NFT marketplaces are the platforms upon which most NFT transactions occur. On these markets, you can buy, sell, trade, store, and show off all of your NFTs. In many cases, they will be where you mint your NFTs. 

NFT marketplaces operate on the blockchain, and most work on the Ethereum network. However, recently other blockchain platforms have been growing in popularity as well. Tron, Solana, Polkadot, and Binance are among the many networks growing in popularity and replacing Ethereum as the default.  

How Do I Get an NFT Marketplace to Work? 

There are a few things that you will need to have a transaction on an NFT market. Effectively, you can buy and sell on them like you would any other commerce site on the web. However, since we are working with Web 3.0 and metaverse technology, there will be a few variations on the specifics. 

First, to make any transactions on the blockchain you will need a crypto wallet. Crypto wallets hold whatever crypto coins you hold, and will also act as a measure of identity verification. 

You will also need crypto coins. These will be the currency you use for all of your transactions on the NFT marketplace. Depending on which NFT wallet you use, you may be able to acquire your crypto assets through the wallet natively from whichever fiat or crypto currency you already have in your possession. If not, you will have to acquire your crypto coins from a different platform or wallet, then transfer the coins to the wallet compatible with the marketplace. 

Depending on the marketplace you choose to use, you may have to create an account on it as well. Your account will be linked with your crypto wallet and will be how you identify yourself. 

How Do You Buy and Sell On An NFT Marketplace 

NFT marketplaces are the default venues for buying and selling NFTs. After you have bought NFTs, you can put in your offer. If you have everything you need already put together, the purchasing process will be easy. The main things you need are listed above: your crypto wallet, cryptal coins, and an account on the marketplace. 

Buying NFTs are a straightforward process. NFT markets set NFTs for sale either to be sold at a set price or available through auction. 

If the seller has elected to sell the NFT at a set price, you can immediately purchase it by clicking “Buy”. 

If the NFT instead is set for an auction, you may have to bid against other potential buyers looking to acquire it. The process works the same as a normal auction, where you put your bid in until you either beat out everyone else or have to bow out. 

With a few more steps, selling an NFT is the inverse of the buying process. To be able to sell your NFT, you must first upload it to the blockchain. Your NFT must be an original creation, and you must have the right to sell it on an NFT market. After the NFT is uploaded, it will be allowed to be put up for sale with the option to either have it sold for a set price or in an auction with a minimum sale price.  

When putting an NFT up for sale, you will also be liable for gas fees or the cost of going through with the transaction. Gas fees vary depending on the time of day, the amount of people attempting to upload, or the coin that the NFT marketplace you are on uses. Part of the reason alternative blockchains to the Ethereum network have grown in popularity recently is that the gas fees on Etherium can be fairly high, especially considering newer or faster blockchain networks. 

Getting Started on a New Marketplace 

Hopefully, this helped you understand how to get started on NFT marketplaces and gave you a basic understanding of the NFT market. There are several NFT marketplaces out there, all operating on any number of blockchains and crypto coins. However, they all mostly work the same way as described in his article.