First Solana NFT Purchase: Detailed Step-by-Step Guide

You’re finally ready to purchase an NFT. You’ve created a wallet and funded it with SOL. Now let’s learn the actual process of purchasing NFTs on a marketplace. This guide uses Magic Eden as the reference, but other marketplaces follow a similar process.

Connecting Your Wallet to the Marketplace

The first step is connecting your Phantom wallet to the marketplace. Visit the Magic Eden website (magiceden.io). Make sure to verify it’s the official URL. A lock icon should be displayed in the address bar.

Click the Connect Wallet button in the upper right. When the list of supported wallets appears, select Phantom. When the Phantom extension popup appears, click the Connect button.

Once connected, part of your wallet address will be displayed in the upper right. Now you’re ready to explore and purchase NFTs on the marketplace. The wallet connection status is maintained even after closing the browser, but for security, it’s good to disconnect when not in use.

Exploring NFT Collections

The Magic Eden homepage has various sections including popular collections, trending collections, and latest mints. You can find more collections through the Explore menu at the top.

When you enter a collection page, you can check various information about that collection. Floor Price is the cheapest price among NFTs currently for sale. Volume shows the total transaction amount of the collection. Holders is the number of wallets owning that NFT.

Using the filter function, you can find NFTs with desired traits. For example, if you want to see only NFTs with a specific background color or accessory, filter by that attribute. You can also sort by price, rarity, etc.

Checking NFT Details

When you find an NFT you like, click it to go to the detail page. Here’s the information you should check before purchasing.

Check the image and metadata. You can see the NFT’s appearance along with Attributes information. The rarity of each attribute is also displayed, with lower percentages being more rare.

Check the price history. You can see past transaction prices for this NFT. This helps determine if the current price is reasonable.

Check ownership information. You can see the current owner and transaction history. Verify there are no suspicious points.

Also consider the overall market situation of the collection. Look at floor price trends, trading volume changes, number of listings, etc.

Purchasing the NFT

Once you’ve decided to purchase, click the Buy Now button. A transaction confirmation popup will appear.

The Phantom wallet shows the transaction details. Check the following. Verify the SOL amount to be paid is correct. Verify the NFT information to be received is correct. The expected network fee is also displayed.

If everything is correct, click the Approve button. The transaction is submitted to the blockchain and processed. Since Solana is fast, most transactions complete within seconds.

Upon successful purchase, a congratulations message appears on screen. Now that NFT is in your wallet.

Checking Your Purchased NFT

You can check purchased NFTs in several places.

When you open your Phantom wallet, owned NFTs are displayed in the Collectibles tab. Clicking an NFT shows detailed information.

You can also check in My Items on Magic Eden. You can see the list of purchased NFTs along with current market prices.

Searching for your wallet address on Solana Explorer shows all owned NFTs and transaction history.

Precautions When Purchasing

Your first NFT purchase is exciting, but remember a few precautions.

Avoid impulse purchases. Since NFT prices are highly volatile, research thoroughly before purchasing. Check the project’s Discord or Twitter to assess community activity.

Beware of fake collections. There may be fake projects imitating popular collections. Access through official links and check for Verified Badges.

Set a budget. Invest only amounts you can afford to lose. The NFT market is unpredictable, and you could lose all your investment.

Consider fees. In addition to the purchase price, there are platform fees and creator royalties. Fees also apply when selling later.

Purchasing with Offers

Besides buying immediately, there’s also the method of making an offer. An offer is proposing your desired price to the seller.

You can make an offer at a price lower than the listing price. If the seller accepts, the transaction is completed. A seller who wants to sell urgently may accept an offer lower than the listing price.

When you make an offer, that amount is locked in escrow. Until the offer is accepted or you cancel it, you cannot use that SOL for other purposes.

There’s also Collection Offers. This is making an offer for any NFT in a collection. It’s useful when you want to buy any NFT from that collection, not a specific one.

Dealing with Transaction Failures

Sometimes transactions can fail. Most cases are for the following reasons.

Insufficient SOL balance is the most common cause. In addition to the NFT price, you need SOL for fees. Keep at least about 0.01 SOL as a cushion.

Network congestion can cause transactions to fail. Trying again after a moment usually solves it.

If someone else purchases first, that NFT is no longer available for purchase. Popular NFTs trade quickly, so look for other NFTs.

Next Steps

Congratulations on your first NFT purchase. Your journey as a Solana NFT collector has now begun.

In the next guide, we’ll learn how to participate in minting. Minting is receiving NFTs for the first time from new projects, which can also provide many profit opportunities.