Purchasing your First NFT - Ultimate Guide
Updated: Jun 12, 2022
This guide will provide the answer to the most popular question of 2022: "How the f**k do I buy an NFT?!". Whether you are a complete newbie to NFTs or already have your foot in the door, this guide will help cut through the confusion and provide logical steps, helping you to purchase an NFT. If you spend a few minutes to read this post, we promise you will have EVERYTHING you need to make that first NFT purchase.
#1 Understanding Basic Crypto Fundamentals
#2 Purchasing Ethereum & Creating a Crypto Wallet
#1 - Understanding Basic Crypto Fundamentals
The foundations of purchasing NFTs, revert back to Cryptocurrencies [or “Crypto”], which are digital currencies free from the control of governing bodies, such as a bank or government entity. The very essence of Crypto is creating a cultural movement across the internet that is community driven, community owned and most importantly, decentralized. Crypto forms an integral role in purchasing NFTs, so this guide will provide context as to “why” and “how” it is used within the NFT eco-system.
There are two central factors to understand, before going through our beginners’ guide:
Ethereum: Often referred to as “ETH”, is used for all transactions on the Ethereum network and is the most commonly used crypto to purchase NFTs, as of 2022.
CryptoWallet: This allows users to store and retrieve digital assets, in the form of crypto or NFTs. Without delving into too much overwhelming detail, a crypto wallet is the gateway application which permits the transactions of NFTs to occur on the blockchain; This can be thought of in the same way that your debit card & unique information within, is the gateway mechanism to allow purchasing of goods and services.
Now that we have the boring stuff out of the way, let's delve into how Ethereum and Crypto Wallets interact, to form the foundation of your pending NFT voyage
#2 - Purchasing Ethereum & Creating a Crypto Wallet
If you already have Ethereum in a Crypto Wallet, jump ahead to heading #3, where we explain how you can use this, to purchase an NFT. For those who don't, take a read of the below steps.
Step 1 - Purchase Crypto
There are hundreds of different exchanges which allow the purchasing of ETH and other crypto currencies. As a beginner, Not Another NFT recommends using Coinbase , as they offer a relatively simple user experience.
Once you have setup a Coinbase account and your card details been verified [can take up to 15 days], you can now purchase ETH on Coinbase:
Select “Buy/Sell”, and choose “Ethereum”
If it is your first time, it is recommended to purchase a small amount, to mitigate chances of something going wrong. However, it is important to note that there will be a “transaction cost” applicable on every purchase of ETH; this is common across all crypto exchanges
Select “Preview Buy” to confirm your order and then proceed to “Buy Now” to complete the ETH purchase. You now own ETH and Coinbase will send a notification when the ETH is available in your account.
Once you have purchased ETH, you can now proceed to step 2 below…
Step 2 - Create Crypto Wallet
There are many crypto wallets available, from Coinbase to Trust Wallet. However, the most commonly used and the one which Not Another NFT recommends, is MetaMask.
Download & Install the MetaMask Browser Extension
Create username and password
It is imperative you write down the uniquely assigned Secret Recovery Phrase and store it in a safe place. If you misplace this series of words or forget the sequence in which the words appear, you will loose access to your wallet and it, along with all crypto held within, will be unrecoverable.
Confirm the phrase by placing all the words in the correct order, as they were provided
Once complete, MetaMask should appear in your browser extensions, as per the below image
Step 3 - Adding Ethereum to MetaMask Wallet
You have now have the two fundamental components to buy your first NFT, [1] Ethereum and [2] Crypto Wallet – We now need to bring the two together, by sending the Ethereum purchased on the crypto exchange [Coinbase in this example] to your Crypto wallet; The below steps outline how.
Navigate to your MetaMask wallet extension on your browser and click on the icon
Once clicked, this will bring up the below MetaMask User Experience
Click on “Account 1” to copy your Ethereum wallet address – Your Ethereum address is a 42-character code, which is publicly viewable. You can think of your Ethereum wallet address, as your bank account number, which will allow you to receive and transfer crypto from anyone, anywhere in the world.
Once you have your wallet address copied, you will now need to navigate to the crypto exchange where you purchased your Ethereum [Coinbase in this example]
From the coinbase platform, navigate to your “portfolio”
Select “Send” and then paste your Ethereum wallet address you copied from the above step, into the “To” field.
Double check that the wallet address pasted, is the wallet address listed on MetaMask account – If you send crypto to the wrong address, you will not be able to get it back, so take your time with this step
Click “Continue” then “Confirm” to send your ETH. The ETH should transfer to your wallet within a few minutes.
Once the transfer is complete, you will see the amount you transferred [minus transaction cost] sitting in your MetaMask Wallet
CONGRATULATIONS – You have now purchased Ethereum and transferred it to a crypto wallet and are now ready to purchase your first NFT! Navigate to this guide, where NotAnotherNFT will provide a step-by-step guide to using these crypto assets to purchase an NFT.
#3 - Purchasing an NFT
You have now purchased Ethereum and have placed these assets within a MetaMask wallet, now you have the question: "Yes, but now what?! How do I buy an NFT?!". This section of the guide will answer this question in easy to understand steps.
Step 1 - NFT Marketplace Platforms
You will first need to navigate to a platform, which allows anyone to buy and sell NFT’s – There a number of platforms which offer this service, from Rarible to LooksRare, but Not Another NFT will focus on OpenSea for this guide. You can think of OpenSea, as the eBay of the NFT world, with a decentralized spin.
Navigate to OpenSea, and click on the icon on the top right of screen, and select “Profile”
This will trigger a “Connect you wallet” User Interface, where you should select the wallet platform, where your Crypto assets (ETH) is stored; For this example, we will maintain MetaMask as the wallet of choice.
Once MetaMask is selected, a pop-up will appear on the right of your screen, where you will be asked to select which wallet you would like to connect to OpenSea, to create your profile
Select the wallet you want to connect, scroll to the bottom of the pop up and select “Next”. This will bring you through to the final page of the MetaMask extension popup, where you should select “Connect”
Once connected, this will create a profile in OpenSea unique to the wallet address, you used to connect to OpenSea – This OpenSea profile will serve as the platform to buy, sell and store NFTs from this crypto wallet address.
Step 2 - Purchasing an NFT
You have now purchased Ethereum, transferred it to a crypto wallet and created a profile on OpenSea – Now for the final step, actually buying an NFT!
In OpenSea, navigate to the project you have decided to purchase an NFT from. For the purpose of this example, we will use Fluf Word as the NFT collection, we will purchase an NFT asset from in this example [Personal fav of the Not Another NFT team!]
Navigate to “items” on the Fluf World landing page
Select the “Buy Now” status on the left-hand side of the page – this will filter all the NFT’s under the Fluf World Collection, which are listed for sale
Navigate to the NFT you would like to purchase and select the NFT; this will bring you through to the detail page for the specific NFT. If you are happy with the listing price of the NFT, select the “Buy now” option on the listing
This will surface a checkout window, where you should select “checkout”
Once the checkout has been confirmed, this will launch a pop from the MetaMask wallet on the right of your screen, where you will need to “confirm” the transaction.
Once the transaction goes through, this NFT will be transferred to your wallet via the blockchain. To view the NFT in your wallet, navigate back to the profile section of OpenSea and visit the “collected” tab, where you will see the NFT you have just purchased. For a more in depth look at the transaction on the blockchain, visit Etherscan and paste the address of the wallet.
CONGRATS!! You now have all the knowledge you need, to make that first NFT purchase
#4 - Engage with the NotAnotherNFT Community
Questions, comments of feedback on the above guide?! head over to our community page and get into contact!