Where to Buy Affordable NFT Art

It took me a minute to understand cryptocurrency. I mean, the Dogecoin, blah blah, Elon Musk, I get it, but I still think a non-fungible token (NFT) sounds more like a kind of mushroom trade run by a bridge troll than the future of odorless, tasteless currency. We lick our pennies in this house.

“NFTs are proofs of ownership stored on the blockchain,” Ekin Genç explained for VICE, “that are supposed to show whose wallet owns which digital file, how much it cost to receive it, and who has previously owned it.” The price of NFTs, as they are attached to unique images, he continues, have skyrocketed recently with everyone from musicians to CryptoPunks, and other creatives churning them out. Consider British producer Mura Masa, who participated in an NFT art exhibition at the beginning of March 2021. “It's fair enough saying, ‘Oh yeah, NFTs are a way for finance bros to buy crypto art for ridiculous money,’” he told VICE, “[but] the devaluation of art, music, creative work in general in the digital age is in my opinion a huge problem, and NFTs present a potentially interesting alternative to music streaming, etc.” So, call it what you will, but you can’t say that the art of crypto isn’t trying.  

You can use various currencies to buy NFTs, including ye olde credit card, although the most common way they're purchased is, unsurprisingly, with crypto. If you’ve never dabbled in crypto, check out well-vetted sites like Coinbase that will walk you through the steps of investing in currencies like Ethereum and Bitcoin. Above all, we’re here to dispel the myth that you have to be super rich and/or a Finance District Bro to dabble in the world of NFT art collecting. Turns out, there are tons of digital sellers and marketplaces for crypto art that feature rad pieces by people like you and me (so, bad! JK) and offer a range of themes and price ranges. 

If you’re looking to become the proud owner of some NFT art, the following vendors are a solid place to start, both for their range in price and content, and their familiarity. I mean, who doesn’t love eBay? Hop on the hoverboard, and let’s go shopping for some pixels, whether you have a budget of $3 or much more…

Crypto.com has one the most accessible price ranges for NFT art. All you have to do is sign up, for free, and then you can peruse the marketplace of upcoming and past drops. Recent standouts include the new Surreal Sea series by 3D artist Christian Whiticar, and Snoop Dogg’s “Diamond Joint.” Then there are the pieces by talented plebeians and rising artists in the Marketplace section, which start as low as $10. For both the Drops and the Marketplace section, you can either bid on a piece or buy it on the spot.

Pinkies out, kiddos. 1stDibs, the online auction house praised by Saint Dakota Johnson in the actor’s canonical Architectural Digest home video tour, started slinging NFT art over the summer. The same can be said of Christie’s and Sotheby’s, but again, neither of those houses have been given Dakota’s blessing, so I’m out. Also, 1stDibs just rocks the hardest; in case you're new to the online auction house, it has an incredibly eclectic, even vivacious, selection of treasures ranging from 18 karat gold and turquoise penis cufflinks to tons of other designer decor and home goods we love. Naturally, their curation of crypto art is damn cool, too. Most of the pieces are going for upwards of $1,000, so be ready to shell out. But boy, are they amazing, from the squiggling Picasso-style (remember, these pieces move on live-view) paintings to post-modern robots.

Ah, yes. All roads really do lead back to eBay, baby. And you know what? We feel comfortable here, nestled beside this NFT of a cute alien fetus doodle (only $13.99!) and this psychedelic pole dancer. The price spectrum of NFT art being sold at the OG of online auction houses is expectedly broad, starting with artworks that go for a few bucks, and shooting up into the thousands.    

Happy e-shopping, e-friends. [Evaporates.] 

The Rec Room staff independently selected all of the stuff featured in this story.