The two most popular ways NFTs can be sold are at a fixed price or an auction where they are listed on an open market. These options may get you paid for all your hard work after minting, but knowing which one will be the bigger payout could be a crapshoot. So what is better for your NFT, an auction or a fixed price?
The methods available to you to sell your NFT comes down to personal preference. Choose a platform that provides the kind of sale you are expecting and is easy to maneuver. If working with a group, keep their interests in mind.
Taking your NFT to market is the end of a long road of creating your project and finally minting it, but only the beginning of your market woes. If you aren’t prepared for a selling type, you could be in for a long wait and loss of potential profits.
So read on and learn which is better for your NFT: an open auction or a set price.
Ways to Sell Your NFT
Each market has its particular way of handling the sale, but a few are typical for each type of platform.
The most “common” ways that markets and platforms sell NFTs are:
- Auction – The auction that eBay made famous is one of the most common sale types on the marketplace. You choose a beginning price, usually your bottom dollar, and let people fight it out over a week or whatever amount of time is slected or offered by said platform. The person with the highest bid that pays at the end of the auction walks away with your NFT.
- Fixed Price – A fixed price sale is another common way sites sell NFTs. All you have to do is choose your price point during minting, and once it hits the market, that’s how much it will bring. Of course, you could wait a while to move it, but the price you set is the price you will get. Choosing the right price for your NFT is crucial.
- No Reserve Auction – A no reserve auction is gutsy. You go in with no price point and see how much the people want to pay for your art. This is a good choice for an established artist who knows what their pieces will bring but a gamble for an unknown young artist.
- Decreasing Price Auction – Some auction houses will have a decreasing price option. This option has a fixed price that will go down every couple of days. For example, if you start high on Monday, the price will decrease every set number of days until you reach a decrease limit or it sells.
The different auctions give you several other options to sell your NFT, each with its strengths and weaknesses. It would help if you looked for the best option for you or your group. Don’t rush into selling without doing your homework and choosing what is most logical for you.
Plus, be sure to account for your minting costs. If you are on a tight budget, these posts will help you out:
- The 3 Cheapest Ways to Mint an NFT: Full Breakdown
- How to Sell NFTs without Gas Fees (or less) A Complete Guide
A Standard Auction is the Most Normal Way to Sell Your NFT
Auctions were one of the first things that made the jump to digital. There will be regular auctions on whichever platform you decide to use. These auctions will run for a set time, and you could still end up with your NFT after it is listed. Auctions go unbidden all the time. Don’t take it personally, and take a different approach to sales.
For example, I created a piece of art, minted & listed it on Foundation (an NFT marketplace), and the auction will begin as soon as the first bid is received. I set the amount for the first bid, which is essentially a reserve price that I know I will get when this NFT sells.
A few reasons to hold a standard auction are:
- Simplicity – Having an auction that runs for a set time is simple. You know when it starts and when it ends. During the auction, you can track the bids and try to decipher from market trends. A simple approach means you can take your hands off the wheel and watch the action unfold.
- Reliability – A typical set time auction will be a reliable way to sell your NFT. These types of auctions attract people from all corners of the internet, and it is easy for them to follow. That means they will keep coming back until they understand the process and seek other options.
- Familiarity – Knowing how the standard auction works can be easy on the mind. You don’t have any unforeseen drops in prices or surprises that could turn the sellers into nervous wrecks.
Standard auctions have become a part of our culture. We sell off everything from digital art to the old toys we used as children. Holding a standard auction will get your token out there, but you should understand that sometimes items do not sell at auction.
Fixed Price Sales are Very Common in the Digital Age
One of the first wrinkles in digital auction houses was the fixed price. This means that the item is only up for sale for that particular price. People have set prices because they are trying to get rid of several different items or because it has a universal price point.
A few benefits of fixed-price sales are:
- Consistency – If you have a token that people want and several of them, going with a fixed price might be your best bet. Then the price is the same each time, which encourages buyers from all tax brackets to pick up the essential token.
- Ease of Use – A fixed-price auction does all the work for you. The items could not have a set price, so they could stay on the market until you have run out of minted tokens. These work best for shareable tokens and not for more unique things like trading cards or moving art.
- Profit Prediction – When you know how much you want for something and how many there are, you can better estimate how much profit you will have. Being able to predict what you will make off each run gives the company or artist a bit of runway to work on the next project.
Using a fixed-price auction also means winning the auction once your price goal is reached. It could last an hour or weeks, but in the end, once the threshold is crossed, you can expect your NFT to have a new home.
No Reserve Auctions are for Gamblers and Start-Ups
A great way to know what the people think of your NFT is to have a no reserve auction. No reserve means that there will be no official price on the token. That means you start in the basement, and whatever people want to pay, as low as one cent, can be the owner of your non-fungible treasure.
A few great things about a no reserve auction are:
- Thrilling – A no reserve auction is exciting. It is one of the biggest gambles in investing and doesn’t end well more often than not. But, on the other hand, some people love to see the price fluctuations, and having some skin in the game could be exhilarating.
- True Value – If your token wants to know its actual value, you should list it on a no reserve auction. Starting with a no reserve means that if nobody wants your non-fungible token, you have to keep it. Be prepared to relist something if you need to. Markets are made on items that are sold and resold.
- More Buyers – When you have an auction that runs at no reserve, you will have an uptick of people out there searching for a once-in-a-lifetime deal. More eyes on the token mean more bidders. This could drive the price up or open the gates for a crowd that appreciates your art.
The no reserve auction is lots of fun. It shows the bidders that you are willing to let go of your token for almost nothing or in hopes that it sets the market on fire and brings a king’s ransom. Whatever the result, you should know that listing with no reserve means anyone can walk away with your work for pennies on the dollar. Learn to be comfortable with these sales.
A Decreasing Price Auction is a New Type of Auction
One of the best things that platforms like OpenSea do is try different types of auctions. The decreasing price auction is a way for people to set a price that lowers every few days it is on the market. For example, if you list on a Monday for four Ethererum, you can set a decrease command for Wednesday that drops the price to three.
A few good things about the decreasing price auction are:
- Guaranteed to Sell – Your NFT is almost guaranteed to sell when you have a decreasing price auction. This type of auction will keep the watchers interested in the item. When it hits the price they like, they will hop on it like a pile of leaves in the fall.
- Longer Auction – You can use a decreasing price auction to extend the time of the item. Having it lower every couple of days will keep the item on the market for much longer. Think of it like a relisting of the same listing. The item could drop for longer than other auctions in its class.
- Fast Money – One of the best things about a decreasing price auction is that the sale is pretty quick. Once people see that the price is lowering, they may throw an entire budget’s worth of money at a token. This gets you cash fast but could also be a significant discount to the buyer, so be careful.
The decreasing price auction is a great way to keep people interested in your token. They will check back on the item to see if the price has dropped lower or if someone has snagged the token. If the price continues to fall, someone is more likely to pick up the token.
Where to Auction Your NFT
Now that all your resources are gathered, and you know which type of auction you want to run, it is time to choose a platform. Again, there will be several options to choose from, and staying with the most well-known names could be best for those still hesitant about non-fungibles.
Some of the best places to auction your NFT are:
- OpenSea – The groundbreaking, first of its kind lazy minting powerhouse is OpenSea. They feature several different types of auctions and are one of the largest marketplaces in the game. OpenSea is your best option for minting of all kinds, and their user-friendly platform is off the chain.
- Rarible– When it comes to being a solid number two, Rarible gets that job done with flying colors. Their interface is easy to understand, and they have copy and paste sections for the hard-to-nail coding that must be inputted. Rarible has a vast marketplace and is worth checking out.
- Mintable– Mintable is an excellent platform for everything NFT. Their creation station and market are top-notch places to have an auction. Recently, users have flocked to Mintable for their different types of auctions, and creators have lined up to get a taste of their profit-sharing models.
There are more and more places to list an NFT for auction every day. You can’t go wrong with any of the choices on the list. So, snoop around and find one that fits your style and work with it until you know it from back to front.
Oh yeah, do you have your crypto wallet yet? If not, we dropped a list of the top wallets you can use to sell and buy NFTs. Personally, I use both Coinbase and MetaMask.
The Best Selling Point for You
So, what is the best auction type for you? There have been examples of different types of auctions and a few facts about what makes them different from their cousins, but no concrete answers about what will work best for you. In truth, only you know what will work best for you or your group.
Some ways to know which type of sale is right for you are:
- Money Situation – What is your monetary situation? If you need money, the best thing to do is make quick money and use a no reserve auction. The no reserve draws many bidders, and they can be set for shorter runs, like 24 hours. Money can be a big influencer, and you should try and prepare against being in dire need of the sale. Then again you are in this to make money and you obviously need to consider your costs to mint your NFT. Perhaps Lazy Mining and listing your NFTs on Rarible is a better approach.
- Time-Sensitive Token – Are you trying to time the release of your non-fungible token with another product? You can choose an auction with a hard deadline that means once the auction time is over, the highest bidder will take home the token. Picking auctions with set times is great for time-sensitive tokens.
- Investment Sales – Are you waiting around for the right time to release your token because it is sure to become a high-profile investment? Going with a decreasing price auction would force a crowd to jump into your page and flood it with bids while it is still available.
Choosing the auction depends on what situation you are in. Take your time and play all the angles to try and pick the best type of sale. This is important, and the above examples should guide you to ask the right questions to learn which of the types will show the most success for you.
However, I should point out that either selling or setting up an auction means nothing without potential buyers making the bids. That’s why you have to read this article which will you show the hardly talked about techniques that successful NFT artists are using to sell their art and projects.
Plus, it helps to think like an NFT collector.
Conclusion
Auction and fixed price sales are just a few ways to sell your NFT. These markets are flooded with collectors and investors who want to grab hot items and let them rot in their collections until a buyer makes an offer they can’t refuse. Be sure to list your NFT with a solid picture and description.
Choose an auction type that works best for you or your group. For example, monetary issues could mean the token must sell immediately, or it could wait until the right time to enter an auction and start a bidding war.
Be frugal with your time and ensure that your auction will benefit everyone before going into a listing. And remember selling NFTs for a profit is not an easy task, and we drop 3 interesting facts in this article.
Also, if you need some help and inspiration, you have to read these two posts.