SuperRare Review

Sebastian Parker
Sebastian Parker
Last Updated on September 20, 2021

Have you ever heard of NFTs? NFT stands for “non-fungible token.” 

So, what’s that exactly? 

When you look at the definition of fungible, it’s a replaceable item. So, non-fungible would be the exact opposite. An item that is so unique, it’s not sold anywhere else. 

What Is SuperRare?

SuperRare is a marketplace like Amazon, eBay, or Facebook. SuperRare is a marketplace that specifically sells artists’ creative works. It mainly focuses on digital painting and art. Unlike other marketplaces, SuperRare makes sure that the digital art they sell is strictly unique and one-of-a-kind, like the Mona Lisa. The way SuperRare accomplishes this is by tokenizing the artwork through NFTs.

SuperRare logo

SuperRare is a young NFT marketplace that was founded back in 2018. The marketplace started as a much more exclusive platform, but donors like Mark Cuban and Samsung have recently backed it. The marketplace has always emphasized rare digital artwork, hence its name. It has become one of the most popular NFT marketplaces around.

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How Does SuperRare Work?

To buy artwork (NFT’s) on SuperRare, you must first buy ETH (Ethereum) from Coinbase or another cryptocurrency exchange of your choice. Everything sold on SuperRare requires ETH to buy. You must pick an exchange that lets you withdraw off the platform, as you’ll need to send the ETH over to SuperRare to use it.

To start buying ETH, you’re going to need a Coinbase wallet. So the next step is to create a Coinbase wallet account. From there, you’ll link up a payment source and give any identifying information the platform needs. Also, if you don’t already have a SuperRare account, go ahead and create one before buying anything. 

Once you’ve bought ETH on Coinbase, you’ll need to move the currency into a wallet that can link with SuperRare. Once the ETH is available to your SuperRare account, you’re good to browse their selections of NFTs and buy what you like! 

Superrare site

If you’re an artist looking to sell your masterpieces, SuperRare has a form you can fill out to submit your profile. Artists can get up to 85% of commissions on their sales, and they have passive income if their artwork gets traded on the secondary market. NFTs are a new way to monetize your art, making them appealing to digital artists getting started in the art world!

What Currencies Can You Use on SuperRare?

The only currency used on SuperRare is Ethereum, which you can purchase through cryptocurrency exchanges such as Coinbase. While other NFT marketplaces use other cryptocurrencies, SuperRare uses the Ethereum blockchain because it was the first to offer the services needed to verify NFTs. 

When exchanging an NFT, the blockchain that backs the token has to verify that the token is genuine and does not have any duplicates. Smart contracts on the blockchain allow and automate this process. 

Essentially, the contract holds the token on the marketplace, and then, once a buyer transfers the funds, the NFT is released to the buyers into the buyer’s wallet. All of this requires Ethereum wallets that can accept their ERC-721 protocol.

What Types of NFTs Can You Buy on SuperRare?

NFTs can link to most types of digital files. However, SuperRare is a platform that works with a handful of different NFTs due to its focus on digital artwork. Here are some of the NFTs you’ll find on SuperRare:

  • Still images: These are 2D images with no movement meant to represent a picture, painting, or other visual digital art.
  • GIFs: This file type allows for lossless formatting on both static and animated pictures, but most GIFs feature animation of some kind.
  • 3D artwork: Modelled and rendered 3D art is the feature of these NFTs. 
  • Videos: Short video clips can be minted into NFTs. SuperRare then features them in its marketplace. 

You won’t find many NFTs made specifically for collectibles on SuperRare. While collectibles stand to benefit from using the NFT capabilities of the blockchain, SuperRare focuses on the art side of NFT minting. So, its marketplace only features the above choices when it comes to exchanging NFTs.

How Do You Buy an NFT on SuperRare?

To buy an NFT on SuperRare, you first need to fund your SuperRare account. You won’t be moving funds directly over to SuperRare, though. Instead, you’ll need to have the Ethereum in a linked wallet that SuperRare can access. SuperRare is compatible with the MetaMask, Fortmatic, and WalletConnect wallets. 

These software wallets are essentially addresses on the blockchain to which you have the private keys – or rights. With this control, you can permit other wallets to exchange with your wallet. In general, funds from this wallet come from cryptocurrency that you buy on an exchange and transfer over to the software wallet. 

Once you have one of these wallets up and funded, you can go into your SuperRare account and link your SuperRare account to the wallet. Now, whenever you want to purchase an NFT from SuperRare, you can use that wallet. 

NFTs on SuperRare are listed for either a fixed price or put up for auction. If the NFT has a fixed price, you can pay the listed amount of Ethereum to add the NFT to your collection. For auctions, you’ll have to participate in the bidding to have a shot at the digital item. 

SuperRare also offers buyers the ability to place offers on NFTs that are posted but not for sale. While you’re not guaranteed to get the NFT, it opens up another way for the buyer and seller of the NFT to communicate and negotiate a price. 

Do You Need to Store Your NFTs? How Do You Do So?

Since NFTs are tokens verified by the blockchain, they can be stored the same way as other crypto tokens. In other words, NFTs are stored in wallets, much like cryptocurrency. However, they can’t share the same space as your Ethereum. 

On SuperRare, the NFTs are part of your collection tab. You can look at the NFTs you’ve purchased there. If you want to move the NFTs off of SuperRare, you have a few choices: a software wallet or a hardware wallet. 

MetaMask offers NFT storage wallets. So, if you have a MetaMask wallet linked to your SuperRare account, setting up an NFT wallet is as simple as following the instructions in MetaMask. 

Hardware wallets are the safest form of storage because they take the tokens offline, in a sense. A hardware wallet is a physical device with your wallets in its storage. When the blockchain records your digital assets as being in that wallet, you can disconnect the wallet from any Internet signals and keep the wallet from being accessed or hacked. 

Whether you go with a software or hardware wallet, keeping your NFTs in one of these services will help keep the NFTs from being taken by a malicious actor.

How Do You Sell an NFT on SuperRare?

If you’re an artist who’s interested in selling some of their art on SuperRare, then you’ll want to know how you’ll get paid. SuperRare offers a good royalty rate for its artists, but there are some other things to keep in mind before you dive in. 

Selling Options on SuperRare

On SuperRare, you can choose one of three selling options for your NFT: 

  • Fixed price: The NFT is sold for a set price to the first person to make the offer and have their transaction confirmed. 
  • Auction: The NFT is placed up for a certain number of blocks, and buyers can place bids until the block is completed. 
  • List: Artists can instead list their NFT with no price and allow potential buyers to come to them with offers. 

Regardless of which of these options you choose, the NFT will be listed and indexed on SuperRare’s art galleries. There, potential buyers will be able to review the NFT and decide if they want to buy it or not.

SuperRare’s Payment and Fees

SuperRare offers an 85% royalty rate on artwork sold on its platform through primary sales. That means that if your art sells for one ether after you mint the NFT, then you would receive 0.85 ETH in your wallet, and SuperRare would keep the remaining 0.15 ETH. This is true whether or not you use the fixed price or auction options to sell your NFT. 

Artists also receive a 10% royalty for secondary sales of their NFT. This is when the NFT is transaction again after having been sold by the artist to the buyer. The blockchain allows for the NFT to be tracked back to the original wallet. This way, the artist gets paid their share as the NFT continues to change wallets. 

Is SuperRare Safe to Use?

Because SuperRare uses the Ethereum blockchain and smart contracts to automate transactions, your NFTs are safe while listed on SuperRare. The marketplace is also non-custodial with the NFTs listed on it. This fact means that the NFTs you mint are stored in your wallet until the NFT sells. 

If you’re ever unsure about these transactions, it’s possible to go into the blockchain and verify these for yourself. The benefit of this technology is that it allows for an easily verifiable transaction log that can be read by anyone that wants to see it. 

The Pros and Cons of SuperRare

SuperRare is one of the more exclusive platforms to buy and sell NFTs on. Because they only allow artistic NFTs on the platform, artists can be sure they are selling alongside other high-quality art. Also, the royalties are among the best in the NFT marketplace right now, especially when you factor in the secondary sales royalties. 

However, SuperRare only deals with Ethereum, which currently has high transaction fees when moving currency and tokens around. SuperRare also takes a sizeable payment out of your sales as gallery fees. 

Ultimately, selling on SuperRare will come down to a personal choice. If you’re okay using an expensive currency and blockchain, then SuperRare offers an excellent way for a digital artist to increase their income. 

Frequently Asked Questions

The world of NFTs and digital art marketplaces can be confusing at first glance. There’s a lot that goes into buying an NFT, let alone understanding the platform that you want to use. Here are some of the common questions we’ve seen about the SuperRare platform: 

Is SuperRare Legit?

SuperRare is a legit business. They’ve been operating since 2018 when founders John Crain, Charles Crain, and Jonathan Perkins developed the platform and the tech behind the platform called Pixura. All transactions are used via smart contracts on the blockchain rather than people, so mistakes or glitches are rare.

How Does SuperRare Make Money?

SuperRare collects fees every time an NFT is bought or sold. The first time an NFT sells (which is called the primary sale), SuperRare takes 15% of the total sale price as a gallery fee to keep their business going. They also collect a 3% fee from buyers on the sale of the NFT. 

How Many Artists Are on SuperRare?

There are thousands of artists that are using SuperRare helping to generate their $1.5 million weekly trading volume. SuperRare lets you filter listed NFTs by the artist. So, if you have an artist you are interested in and follow on a social network, you can look them up on SuperRare, too. 

What Is SuperRare Built On?

SuperRare exists on the Ethereum blockchain. Ehtereum was the first blockchain to offer the ability to mint and verify NFTs, making it a solid choice for NFT marketplaces that started up three to four years ago. While Ethereum is expensive to use currently, it remains the most well-known option thanks to its ERC-721 protocol for verifying tokens.

Does SuperRare Have a Token?

SuperRare offers a curation token that they call $RARE. This token will be used to govern what direction SuperRare goes using the decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). $RARE is an ERC-20 token, meaning that it is a token supported by the Ethereum blockchain and its relevant token protocols.