Collecting is how you engage with the artwork, communities, and movements that speak to you. Foundation is the premiere destination where you collect and showcase your most coveted NFTs on your profile’s Home tab. You can even earn ETH when you sell NFTs that you’ve collected on the secondary market. When you collect, your taste will forever be recognized on the Ethereum blockchain. You’re also supporting your favorite creators directly. Win-Win.
Anyone on Foundation can begin collecting NFTs – you’ll just need to connect your wallet before getting started.
There are currently six ways to collect NFTs on Foundation: Drops, Editions, Buy Now, Offers, Reserve Auctions, and Worlds.
- A drop is a special type of collection that can be minted by individual collectors - the NFT assets are revealed at a later date.
- An edition offers unlimited minting of a single artwork for up to 7 days for Timed Editions, or until the max token supply is reached for Limited Editions.
- NFTs with a Buy Now price can be instantly acquired.
- An Offer can be made on any NFT on Foundation - if you’d rather not try your luck in an auction, you can make Offers on your favorites. Sellers choose whether to accept an offer.
- Start a live auction on NFTs with a Reserve Auction price by placing a bid to start the countdown. The auction could last up to 7 days, depending on the seller's selected auction duration.
- Collect from a curated world - this collection experience is powered by Reserve Auctions, Buy Nows, and Offers.
Let’s get into the details for each of these options:
Drops
Drops are fixed collections of NFTs that collectors can mint when the artist starts the drop - the NFT asset is revealed later for a unique and exciting collecting experience. At the time of minting, you’ll see the available image for the NFT.
You can mint an NFT in a drop by following these steps:
- Navigate to the drop collection page.
- If the Mint button is available, click Mint to purchase up to 10 NFTs from the drop.
- Confirm the transaction in your wallet.
- Pay the required gas fee to complete the transaction.
Once you’ve minted an NFT from a drop, you’ll want to stay tuned to the creator’s communication channels to find out when the NFT asset will be revealed. Once revealed, the final asset for the NFT will replace the pre-reveal asset.
If you’d like to mint from a Dynamic Price drop - the minting process is the same as above, but you can purchase at any price point you're comfortable with as the price decreases.
If the auction sells out or concludes at the ending price, individuals who paid above the final price will be able to claim a rebate via our smart contract by navigating back to the drop page once the sale has concluded.
Once you claim your rebate, the ETH will be sent directly back to your wallet.
Presale for Fixed Price Drops
Some Fixed Pricing Drops may have a presale period, which offers eligible wallets the opportunity to mint earlier than the general public.
The presale information, when applicable, can be found in the “Minting schedule” section of the drop page. The mint schedule will display:
- The date and time the presale starts
- The date and time the public sale start
- Whether or not you are eligible for the presale
- The list of collections whose token holders are presale-eligible
To check your allowlist status, take a look at the presale information - a check mark will be visible for Foundation profiles that have been granted access to the presale. Presale eligibility is given by the creator to collectors with a list of NFT collections they determine.
To see all collections that qualify for the presale, click the collection icons in the presale section to expand the list of collections. Clicking on the collections will also tell you when the presale “snapshot” was taken. Only token holders at the time of the snapshot are eligible for the presale.
Editions
Edition collections on Foundation are ERC-721 smart contracts designed for collectors to mint a single NFT with an unlimited supply for a limited time of up to 7 days for Timed Editions. Or until the max token supply is reached for Limited Editions. After that, minting is closed on that edition contract forever.
You can mint an NFT from an edition collection by following these steps:
- Navigate to the edition collection page.
- If the Mint button is available, click Mint to purchase.
- Confirm the transaction in your wallet.
- Pay the required gas fee to complete the transaction.
Once the edition timer has run out or the max token supply is reached, minting is closed, and the collection size will remain as-is.
Buy Now
The simplest and fastest way to purchase NFTs on Foundation - the seller sets a fixed price, and you can purchase with just a few clicks.
To buy with this method:
- Navigate to the NFT page and click “Buy Now”.
- Confirm the transaction in your wallet.
- Pay the required gas fee to complete the transaction and acquire the NFT.
Once you complete a Buy Now transaction, the NFT is yours! From there, you can showcase it on your Foundation profile, in your home tab, or list it for sale. If you see a Buy Now option, but are unable to complete the transaction, you may need to wait until the listing goes live on the scheduled date and time.
Offers
On Foundation, you can make an Offer on any NFT - Offers are made using the Foundation Marketplace smart contract, which ensures a secure, blockchain-backed experience for all parties. When your Offer is accepted, the NFT is 100% yours.
Take a look at our Foundation Marketplace smart contract Help Center resource to learn more.
You can make an Offer by:
- Navigating to the NFT page and clicking “Make Offer”.
- Enter the Offer amount that you’d like to pay for the NFT in ETH. Please double-check that your offer amount is correct - Offers are recorded on-chain and can’t be canceled.
- Confirm the transaction in your wallet.
- Pay the required gas fee to complete your Offer.
The ETH will be taken from your wallet and placed in Foundation’s Marketplace smart contract until the transaction is completed.
If not accepted, Offers automatically expire after 24 hours. If the creator or seller accepts your Offer, the NFT is yours!
Although you can make offers on NFTs listed in worlds, the curator does not get paid when the seller accepts an offer. To buy an NFT in worlds, place a bid instead.
What happens if my Offer expires?
If the creator or seller does not accept your Offer within 24 hours, the amount will automatically be refunded to your Marketplace Balance. You’ll then be able to convert your funds to ETH by clicking on “Marketplace Balance” in your profile dropdown, or you can use that ETH to make another offer. Check out our Marketplace Balance help article for more information.
Reserve Auctions
NFTs that have a reserve price listed are available for Reserve Auction, which is a live auction that starts on that NFT when someone places a bid. Reserve auctions can have a duration from 15 minutes up to 7 days.
This purchase method also uses the Foundation Marketplace smart contract to seamlessly move your bid funds, and the NFT, through each phase of the auction.
If you’ve found a piece on Foundation that you’d like to bid on, here’s how to participate in a Reserve Auction:
- Navigate to the NFT page and click Place bid.
- Enter your bid amount in ETH - if you’re placing the first bid, the amount needs to meet or exceed the reserve price. Please double-check that your bid amount is correct - Bids are recorded on-chain and can’t be canceled.
- Click Place bid and confirm the transaction in your wallet.
- Pay the required gas fee to complete your bid.
Bids are not incremental - the amount of your bid will be shown as the current highest bid on the auction.
An auction comes to an end when the countdown has run out of time.
For each bid placed within the final 15 minutes of the countdown, the countdown timer will reset back to 15 minutes, until no further bids are received and the timer finally runs out.
If you’re outbid, your bid funds are instantly returned to your wallet - if you’re looking for the ETH from a returned bid, take a look at the Internal Txns tab of your wallet on Etherscan.
If you’re the highest bidder when the auction ends, you’ve won the auction!
If you are unable to place a bid on an NFT with a Reserve Auction price, it may be scheduled to be listed and you will need to wait until the listing goes live. If you can’t wait, you can consider placing an Offer instead.
Settling an auction
Auctions aren’t finalized until they’ve been settled - collectors are encouraged to settle auctions that they’ve won, but anyone on Foundation can settle an auction. Settling an auction will instantly transfer the NFT to your wallet, and send the funds from your winning bid to the seller.
Follow these steps to settle an auction:
- Navigate to the Activity page, or the NFT page, and click “Settle auction”.
- Confirm the transaction in your wallet.
- Pay the required gas fee to complete the transaction.
Collecting in a world
Worlds are curated on-chain groups of NFTs on Foundation. You can start an auction, place a bid, or make an offer on an NFT in a world.
Starting an auction
To start an auction in a world, select the NFT you want to collect and click Place bid on the NFT page. The auction will have the same flow as any Reserve Auction on Foundation, with a portion of the sale paid to the curator.
Auctions aren’t finalized until they’ve been settled. Once you’ve settled the auction, the NFT will instantly be transferred into your wallet.
Buy Now
To instantly buy an NFT in a world, select the NFT, and click Buy now. Once you complete a Buy Now transaction, the NFT is yours!
Placing an offer
To place an offer on an NFT in a world, select the NFT, and click Make Offer. Enter the offer amount that you’d like to pay for the NFT in ETH. Ensure that the amount is correct - offers are recorded on-chain and cannot be canceled.
The ETH will be taken from your wallet and placed in Foundation's Marketplace smart contract until the transaction is completed.
If not accepted, Offers automatically expire after 24 hours. If the creator or seller accepts your Offer, the NFT is yours.
Moments
Worlds is a web3-native curation tool. Curators can create a gallery setting that provides a space to discover new artists and attract NFT enthusiasts with similar interests. Moments are created within a world, so collectors can start an auction, place a bid, or make an offer on an NFT in a world the same way through the Moment.
Moments also come equipped with a + Add to Calendar button. You can add a calendar reminder via Google Calendar to get notified when a Moment starts!
We hope these guidelines help you along your NFT collector journey - take a step now by viewing our curated collections on Foundation.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us!
