When I was just starting out in the industry, I made numerous costly mistakes with NFTs—especially with pricing. I thought pricing my minted blockchain art below others would surely give me an edge!

And lo and behold, I was wrong. But as the saying goes: if you’re not making mistakes, then you’re not doing anything.

If you’re contemplating how to price your NFT, look no further. To price your NFT, check the floor price of similar NFTs within the same collection and rarity, then set yours a bit above this price.

What gives NFT art value?

This is probably a question you’ve already asked yourself, and it’s one of the main concerns of NFT critics. What really gives NFT art value?

NFT art gets its value from perceived and intrinsic value—that is, a value derived from the buyer and seller’s perception of the quality, rarity, desirability, credibility and other pertinent factors of the artwork and community behind it.

So really, there is no tangible value to NFTs. They aren’t shiny precious metals that you can turn into jewelry, nor simple ingredients you can use for cooking your favourite meal. It’s digital art (JPEG, MP3, MP4 files) registered to a blockchain.

Its value is created by the community and the people who support it. Without this crucial piece of the puzzle, NFT art wouldn’t have value.

You can also compare it to physical art. For example, one of the most common points of contention for the value of NFTs is why would someone buy a JPEG, a file that you can easily download and use at your discretion, instead of a limited edition painting that no one else can replicate?

There are several reasons. For one, if you use someone else’s NFT, to which they own the commercial rights, you cannot use it for monetary gains. Another reason? Everyone can peep the blockchain to see who actually owns the NFT. 

If you’re the owner of the NFT, only you can say that you own it.

How is NFT price determined?

So you bought an NFT—good on you! Now you’re probably wondering how the heck do I value my NFT?

To value your NFT, take a look at these three factors: 

• Desirability
• Utility
• Social proof

Desirability

The desirability of your NFT stems from the following:

• Rarity
• How many traits it has (if it’s part of a generative collection)
• The rarity of the characteristics (if it’s part of a generative collection)
• Demand for the NFT

For example, some NFTs are sold as one-to-one (1/1). In other words, only one NFT exists from the artist for that particular artwork, and there aren’t others like it. An example? The Weeknd’s “The Source” NFT sold for an astronomical $490,000 because it is a 1/1 edition of unreleased music accompanied by visual design.

Utility

NFTs aren’t just for art; they can also have virtual and real-world applications. This can include membership to exclusive communities, informative newsletters, alpha, virtual worlds, and other valuable content.

Some artists even venture as far as offering tangible collectibles by purchasing an NFT. So not only would you get a JPEG, but you’d also get cool artwork mailed straight to your front door.

Social proof

As I said in the beginning, social proof is one of the key factors at play in how to price your NFT. Simply put, if there are influencers, famous community members, and people with a voice in the digital world supporting your NFT, people will eye your digital collectible.

This is one of the reasons why BAYC and Moonbirds have succeeded time and time again. Both business models rely on celebrity members and notable creatives.

How much is the average NFT worth?

It’s difficult to judge what makes an “average” NFT. Are these NFTs that are valued above 1 ETH? Are they JPEGs that have a long-lasting community? Who knows.

But we can see the average sales price of NFTs, which, according to CryptoSlam, is currently sitting at $85.46. I remember the good old days when NFTs sold at an average of $1,003.65.

Unfortunately, those days are long gone.

How much should I charge for an NFT?

So now we get to the part you’ve been waiting for: how much should I charge for my NFT?

The answer lies within the nature of the NFT. Is it part of a generative collection, or is it a limited collectible you bought from websites like Rarible or Nifty Gateway?

Let’s take a look at both options below.

How to price your NFT from a generative collection

Say you bought an NFT from goblintown.wtf and are ready to flip it for a profit. These are the steps you should follow:

1. Navigate to Rarity Sniffer or Rarity Sniper
2. Search the collection
3. Enter the ID of your NFT in the search box
4. Take note of the rank of your NFT
5. Estimate the approximate price of other NFTs that are up for sale within a similar rank
6. Price your NFT a bit above this approximate price
7. Hope for the best

This is by far the easiest route to take for how to price your NFT from a generative collection. One thing though—if it isn’t selling, lower the price. But be patient, don’t do this if it doesn’t sell after one day.

How to price your NFT from a limited collectible

Got your hands on a limited NFT? Good on you. Limited collectibles are, well, limited. The more scarce the digital asset, the more demand for it. Especially if it comes from a renowned artist. 

Now pricing your limited edition collectible is trickier than it seems. You can’t just search it up on rarity tools as with generative collections—you’ll have to research other collectibles from the same art style, gauge the rarity of your NFT from its collection, and view past sales of similar NFTs.

But one way to guarantee a profit is to do all of this, set the base price of the NFT around the price of similar digital art, then auction it.

If people are really fond of your NFT, you’ll make bank. If not, you’ll still take profits.

How do I sell an NFT for a high price?

There are two ways to sell your NFT for a high price:

1. Mint a hyped-up NFT, then sell right before reveal
2. Hold an NFT from a project with exemplary leadership and an even better community, then sell during a bear market

The first method is how some NFT traders were able to quit their full-time jobs during the countless rallies. It’s a reliable strategy if you have an eye for overhyped drops. You also have to ensure that you always sell before reveal since the reveal tends to dramatically drop the price of all NFTs in the collection.

The second method is less reliable, as it depends on several factors, with a lot of luck involved. I can name off the top of my head five promising projects that have failed due to dishonest and malevolent founders or under-delivered artwork.

How to price your NFT on OpenSea

Although I mentioned two methods for pricing NFTs, there are others. One method I used for some time was estimating the price through attributes on OpenSea.

Don’t know what I mean? Just follow my lead. This time we’ll be using alien fren #1608 for this example. The owner hasn’t put it up for sale at the time of writing.

First, check the properties of your NFT. You generally want to avoid the background and focus on the body or general composure of the NFT and one or two other traits.

Then, select the pinpointed traits. As you can see in the image above, I chose the Lochias and Park hat properties.

Now you want to scan the current and historical prices of the NFTs within these properties. You’ll have a better idea of how much it costs, and you can always average the price between them if you want an accurate price.

Once you’ve collected this information, go ahead and list your NFT on OpenSea!

Summary

The question of how to price your NFT takes research and commitment. But for a short answer, check the rank of your NFT in the collection, then price it a bit higher than NFTs that are a similar rank.

After that, it’s all a waiting game. Although generative collections are the most popular form of NFTs, limited collectibles can also be tricky to price. For these, gauge the price from similar artwork, then set an auction.