Collecting art in the medium of NFTs is fast-paced and exciting, and if you're looking to explore the different methods of selling an NFT you've collected or minted on SuperRare, you've come to the right article. (Note: Only whitelisted artists who are invited to the platform have the ability to mint.)
SuperRare supports three ways to sell artworks: Auctions, Offers and Buy Now list prices. Across all three sales methods, the fee structure remains the same:
Fees
On primary sales (the first time an artwork is sold, also known as a mint sale):
- The Artist receives 85% of the sale amount
- SuperRare DAO Community Treasury receives 15% of the sale amount
On secondary sales (which is any sale following the primary sale):
- The seller receives 90% of the sale amount
- The original artist receives 10% of the sale amount as a royalty
On all sales, there's a 3% marketplace fee added on top of the sale price that's paid for by the buyer – this goes to the SuperRare DAO Community Treasury.
Note: The 3% fee will be reflected for "Buy Now" List Price but not for Auctions.
Auctions
Auctions are an exciting and dynamic way to buy or sell artwork on SuperRare.
When most people think of NFT purchases on SuperRare, they think of the "Buy Now" experience, with a set list price and where sellers get open-ended offers. We also offer the option to participate in scheduled auctions that start and end at a specific time, or reserve auctions, which kick-off when a specified reserve price is met.
The goal of our NFT auctions is to make the bidding and selling process easier and more productive for both artists and collectors, so keep reading to dive into our exciting collecting process!
How do Auctions Work?
There are two types of auctions on SuperRare: Scheduled Auctions and Reserve Auctions, each detailed below.
Sellers will still be able to set "Buy Now" list prices at which collectors can simply buy their artwork at any time.
Artworks can still receive open offers if they’re not under auction, but note that there is a difference between bids and offers:
Bids are offers that are made within an active auction.
Offers are open-ended offers that collectors can make on any piece that is not under auction. An offer is essentially a collector saying, "Hey, you may not be intending to sell this work, but in case you are, here's my offer for it."
Artworks that are counting down to the start of a Scheduled Auction are not available for making offers.
Scheduled Auctions
In a Scheduled Auction, the seller of an artwork chooses three parameters:
Start date & time
End date & time
Starting bid price (optional)
The length of a scheduled auction can be set for between 1-7 days.
When an auction is scheduled, a countdown timer appears on the artwork indicating when bidding will start.
At the start of the auction, a countdown timer is started, indicating the time remaining.
Bidding is available at amounts equal to or higher than the starting bid price. Bids placed during an auction cannot be canceled. If a bidder is outbid, their bid is returned.
If a bid is placed within the last 15 minutes of an auction, the auction time is extended by 15 minutes from the time of the bid.
The highest bid at the end of the auction wins the auction.
Scheduled Auctions Step by Step – Seller’s perspective:
Configure and save auction parameters: start time, end time, and (optionally) starting bid price (ETH)
Once the auction is configured, the artwork will display a timer counting down to the auction start. No bids can be placed during this time. Your followers are notified of the Scheduled Auction.
Auction starts at scheduled time and now displays a timer counting down to the auction end. Bidding is available for bids that at least match the starting bid price (if one was specified).
You receive notifications as bids are placed. If a bid is placed within the last 15 minutes of an auction, the auction time is extended to 15 minutes after the time of the bid.
At the end of the auction, it closes automatically. You and the buyer are notified that it needs to be settled.
If the buyer doesn't do it first, you can settle the auction via your notifications page or via your Dashboard. The ETH and artwork will then change hands.
Scheduled Auctions Step by Step – Buyer’s perspective:
You will be notified that an artist or collector you follow has scheduled an upcoming auction. Bids are not available on the work until the auction starts, nor is it open to offers during this interim.
At the time of the auction start, the work is available for bidding. If the seller has set a starting bid price, your bid must meet or exceed it.
If you get outbid, your funds will be returned immediately and you can place a higher bid.
If a bid is placed within the last 15 minutes of an auction, the auction time is extended to 15 minutes after the time of the bid.
At the end of the auction, it closes automatically. You and the seller are notified that it needs to be settled.
If the seller doesn't do it first, you can settle the auction via your notifications page or your Dashboard. The ETH and artwork will then change hands.
Reserve Auctions
When setting up a Reserve Auction, the seller of an artwork chooses a public reserve price which, when met, kicks off the timed auction.
Reserve Auctions don’t have a scheduled start time. Instead, the artwork has an indicator that a reserve price is set, and is available for bidding starting at the reserve price.
The first bid must be at least the reserve price. When the Reserve Price is met by the first bid, the auction is triggered and the timer starts a 24-hour countdown to the end of the auction.
Bids placed during an active timed auction cannot be canceled. If a bidder is outbid, their bid is returned.
If a bid is placed within the last 15 minutes of an auction, the auction time is extended by 15 minutes.
The high bid at the end of the auction wins the auction.
💡Pro-tip: You can set a 'Buy Now' price alongside a Reserve Auction to provide a more flexibility for your collectors to collect. Additionally, you can also list the 'Buy Now' in RARE and set a Reserve Auction in ETH. Note, the reverse cannot be done.
Reserve Auctions Step by Step – Seller’s perspective:
Configure the public Reserve Price in ETH. If there is a standing open offer on the artwork, your reserve price must exceed it.
Your followers are notified of the Reserve Auction. The artwork now displays an indicator that a Reserve Auction is set and displays the Reserve Price. The artwork is available for bids starting at the reserve price.
When a bid is placed that meets or exceeds your Reserve Price the auction is triggered, starting a 24-hour countdown to the end of the auction.
Your followers are notified of the timed auction kickoff and bidding is available until the end of the auction.
You get notified as bids are placed. If a bid is placed within the last 15 minutes of an auction, the auction time is extended to 15 minutes after the time of the bid.
At the end of the auction, it closes automatically and notifies you and the buyer that it needs to be settled.
If the buyer doesn't do it first, you can settle the auction via your notifications page or via the artwork card 3-dot menu. The ETH and artwork will then change hands.
Reserve Auctions Step by Step– Buyer’s perspective:
You will be notified that an artist or collector you follow has set up a Reserve Auction on an artwork with a specified Reserve Price.
The artwork has an indicator that it has a Reserve Auction set with a Reserve Price.
You cannot bid beneath the Reserve Price.
If you place a bid that meets or exceeds the seller’s reserve price, the auction is triggered, starting a 24-hour countdown to the end of the auction.
If a bid is placed within the last 15 minutes of an auction, the auction time is extended to 15 minutes after the time of the bid.
At the end of the auction, it closes automatically and notifies you and the seller that it needs to be settled.
If the seller doesn't do it first, you can settle the auction via your notifications page. The ETH and artwork will then change hands.
How to Settle an Auction
Once an auction ends, it must be settled by either the buyer or seller. If the auction did not gain a bidder, it still must be settled by the owner of the artwork.
Settling the auction can be done from the dashboard of either party. Once done, the artwork will finally transfer to its new collector!
How Time Applies to the Ethereum Blockchain
SuperRare Auctions are run and settled directly on Ethereum, and are therefore based on block time, not conventional time.
The countdown timers in the UI are an approximation based on the average block completion time of the Ethereum blockchain. Participants should get their bids in as early as possible to ensure that they are processed by the Auction smart contract before the close of the Auction.
List Pricing
To update an existing or set a new a list price on an artwork:
Go on the artworks's detail page and click "set price", set your new price, and confirm the transaction
To remove a list price from an artwork
The simplest way to do it is to click on the three dots menu on your artwork's card. Cards can be find in your collections or creations. Then click "remove list price".
Here is another, slightly more technical way to do it:
Check the URL of the artwork to see if it’s V1 or v2 token. For example, this URL is a V2 token: https://superrare.co/artwork-v2/the-scarlet-soldier-14872 For v1 tokens, you'll see
/artwork/rather than/artwork-v2/in the URL.For v2 tokens just set list price to $0 and the price will be removed.
For v1 tokens, you have to send the token to a different wallet in order to clear the list price (of course you can send it right back again if you'd like!).
Note that it may take time for actions to be processed on the Ethereum blockchain.
Offers
Additionally, there is an open Offers system which allows collectors to make an offer on any piece that is not under auction.
An offer is essentially a collector saying, "Hey, you may not be intending to sell this work, but in case you are, here's my offer for it."
You don't have to do anything to make an artwork available for offers – anyone can make one at anytime as long as it is at least as high as any existing offer, and as long as it isn't under auction.
If you're interested in accepting an offer, you should do so sooner rather than later, because offers can be withdrawn at any time. (Note: Auction bids cannot be withdrawn).
Offers are useful for price discovery and for letting collectors indicate interest in a piece – but if you're really looking to sell something, you should use Auctions or set a Buy Now price.
Note: Prior to the launch of Auctions, the Offers system was known as "Bids" – so if you're familiar with how "bidding" worked in the early days of SR, this is the same system, just now called Offers.
Series Offers
What are Series Offers?
The Series Offers feature on our platform allows collectors to place a single offer across all NFTs in an artist’s series. Rather than making an offer on a specific artwork, collectors can broadcast one offer to the current owners of every piece in that series.
This approach provides convenience, efficiency, and cost savings. By placing a single offer rather than multiple individual offers, collectors pay less in gas fees and save time. Meanwhile, artists benefit by receiving offers that apply to their entire series.
How it Works
When a collector makes a series offer, it will be visible to all current owners of the artworks in that series. Only the first owner to accept the offer completes the transaction; once that happens, the offer automatically becomes invalid for all remaining artworks in the series. This ensures that only one artwork changes hands at the offered price.
Collectors can also revoke their offers at any time before an owner accepts. This flexibility allows them to adjust or cancel their bids if they change their mind.
How to Make a Series Offer
The user interface has a “Make a Series Offer” option on the series artwork pages. This option is available for all artworks in the series, making it easy for collectors to place series offers.
To make a series offer, collectors must set one offer amount, which applies to every artwork in the series. This simplifies the process by using a single bid that any owner in the series can choose to accept.
Collectors can make an offer in ETH, RARE, and USDC.
Viewing your Series Offers
Artists and owners can view all of the Incoming and Outgoing Offers over Account Dashboard, where you can accept or withdraw your Series offers.
Incoming Offers
Artists and owners can view and accept offers made in different currencies for their Series. Once a Series offer have been accepted, the offers will disappear for other owners or artists.
Outgoing Offers
Collectors can view and withdraw offers they have placed in different currencies for the Series on the Outgoing tab. Offers can also be withdrawn directly from the respective Series page.
Buy Now
As you might imagine, 'Buy Now' purchases involve setting a "list price" at which an artwork can be purchased.
If you have a price set, you can still receive and accept offers on the piece.
Setting a price is a good idea if you don't want to run a timed auction but know specifically what price you'd like to get for an artwork.
You can list a 'Buy Now' price with a 'Reserve Auction' to create a compelling opportunity for your collectors to collect your art.
Using FIAT currencies (USD/EUR/GBP)
We’ve partnered with MoonPay’s Concierge team to ease your purchasing experience. The Concierge team can buy or bid on the artwork you are interested in on your behalf.
What artworks can I purchase using FIAT:
All artworks listed on Superrare no matter their selling mechanism, i.e Buy now, Make an Offer or Auctions can be purchased via MoonPay Concierge
Is there a spending minimum or maximum?
The concierge service only works for bids and offers above $15k. There is no upper limit and it’s up to you how much you want to spend.
Ho does it work?
Go to the SuperRare x MoonPay concierge page.
Provide MoonPay with your Name, Email, Address and Name of the Artwork you are interested in buying.
Once you’ve submitted the form a member of the MoonPay Concierge team will contact you via email.
If you decide to go ahead with a purchase the MoonPay team will invoice you in your local currency (e.g. USD/EUR/GBP).
You pay for the artwork via bank transfer.
Once you have settled the invoice, MoonPay will send the artwork to your preferred wallet address.
Are transactions recorded on-chain?
All transactions going through MoonPay Concierge are recorded on-chain. Although you pay for artworks in fiat artists get paid in crypto currencies.
Can I pay with a credit or debit card?
MoonPay Concierge only takes bank transfers
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q: I have an NFT that I bought outside of SuperRare. Can I sell it here?
A: Not at the moment. Apologies!
Q: I received an offer on my artwork from OpenSea – how is that possible? Should I accept it?
A: OpenSea generally acts as a giant aggregator for many NFTs and does index tokens that are minted on SuperRare. While your SuperRare token may receive offers there, we do not recommend accepting on OpenSea as this runs the risk of bypassing the Artist royalty system and other SuperRare-specific terms and conditions.
We hope for a future of better cross-platform functionality! But for now, it is best to trade SuperRare tokens within the SuperRare platform itself.
Q: Do Auction Bids and Offers interact at all? E.g. if an offer exists on an artwork when it is configured for an auction, will that offer be part of the auction?
A: No. There is no interaction whatsoever between Offers and Auction bids – they're actually different smart contracts and totally separate systems.
Q: If an artwork has a Buy Now price set, can the owner still receive and accept offers?
A: Yes.
Q: If I make an Offer or Bid, and someone places one higher than mine, will my Offer/Bid automatically be returned?
A: Yes, your Offer or Bid will automatically be refunded if someone places a higher amount than yours. There is one exception: if you place an Offer on an artwork, and another collector purchases it through the List Price (“Buy Now”) option, your Offer will remain on the artwork and will be open for the new owner to accept (even if it’s lower than what they bought it at). Please note, owner are only able to accept offers or ignore offers; they are not able to deny offers.
Q: Can an artwork have a Buy Now price while under auction, or counting down to a Scheduled Auction?
A: No, Buy Now prices will be hidden from the UI as soon as an auction is configured.
Q: If an artwork has an auction configured, can the owner still receive and accept offers?
A: No. The offers and auction bidding systems are separate and do not interact. If you configure an auction, you are opting out of the Offers and Purchase features for the duration of the auction.
Q: Is an artwork available for offers if it is counting down to a Scheduled Auction?
A: No. If an artwork has a Scheduled Auction, offers are closed until the auction bidding starts.
Q: Are bids placed in an auction able to be withdrawn?
A: No, bids placed in an auction cannot be withdrawn for the duration of the auction. If a bid is outbid, it will be returned automatically.
Q: Can open offers still be withdrawn outside of auctions?
A: Yes, offers can always be withdrawn from within your dashboard. Click on your profile icon in the upper-right corner of the site, select "dashboard", then scroll down to see all of your existing offers.
Q: Is there a minimum offer or bid?
A: Sellers can set a global minimum offer amount for all of their artworks. There is also a minimum increase amount of 10% over the previous open offer or bid.
Q: What if I have an open offer on an artwork and the owner sets up a Scheduled Auction or Reserve Auction on it – can I withdraw my offer?
A: Yes. Please note that when the auction starts, your offer will be hidden from the artwork's history until the auction starts. However, you can still retract your offer during that time.
Q: Can auctions be canceled?
A: Scheduled Auctions can be canceled before they begin. Reserve Auctions can be canceled before the reserve price has been met and the auction is initiated. If a Scheduled or Reserve Auction has begun, it cannot be canceled.
Q: How can I cancel an auction?
A: Similar to how you start an auction, you can cancel them from the 3-dot menu on an artwork when viewed in your "Collections" page (or "Creations", if the piece is your original artwork). Please note, this is currently unavailable on mobile.
Q: Can I edit the reserve price of my Reserve Auction once it's been set?
A: Unfortunately, no. You will need to cancel the auction and reset it.
Q: Can I edit the time of my Scheduled Auction once it's been set?
A: Unfortunately, no. You will need to cancel the auction and reset it.
Q: Can I set up an auction if a piece has an existing offer?
A: Yes, but the existing offer will be hidden from the UI as soon as the auction is configured. The person with the existing offer will be able to withdraw it, even during the auction.
Q: What happens to the 'Buy Now' price if the Reserve Auction ends lower/higher than the 'Buy Now' price?
A: The 'Buy Now' price will remain hidden from the UI. In the event that the List Price is lower than the Reserve Auction, the token owner that sets the List Price is the only one that can purchase the token at the List Price in order to prevent an arbitrage opportunity.