The process of selling an NFT varies between the various marketplaces and the actual minting of an NFT can happen at different stages. On some marketplaces minting takes place as part of the item listing process, while others mint the NFT as part of the sale transaction – this is referred to as lazy minting. When an NFT is created at the start of the process, Ether must be deposited into a wallet, which then must be connected to the marketplace. Once connected to the marketplace, the user uploads an image file of the correct size and format, provides details of the NFT and pays a Gas fee to mint their item. The item is then listed. When lazy minting is utilised, the same process is used except the Gas fee is deducted from the sale proceeds and minting is rolled into the process of assigning the item to the buyer. There are many different methods of sale:
- Timed auction
- Open ended auction
- Auction with reserve price
- Fixed price
- Drawing sale
Single editions or multiple editions can be minted depending on the desired sale price and artwork rarity.
Some marketplaces also allow for unlockable content which is released once artwork is purchased and paid for. This offers a great opportunity to create digital + physical sales where the unlockable content is a form for confirming delivery details for the physical print or original piece.
On most platforms it is not possible to sell the copyright to an image, however platforms such a Mintable are now enabling this.
