Thread by @maxogles

Today's a great day to talk about NFTs on the #InternetComputer!

Why do some projects sell out and others don't? If a project doesn't sell out on day 1, is it a bad project? If it does sell out on day 1, is it a good project?

Let's go through this in detail 👇

1) My experience comes from being the COO of Entrepot, launching over 50 collections.

And from being the creator of @crypto_90s, a collection that launched this week and has sold 25% percent of mint.

2) Let's start with the obvious: MOST NFT projects do NOT sell out. This is true for ETH, SOL, and ICP.

There are many collections, and the demand rarely exceeds the supply.

3) What factors impact demand for an NFT collection?

- mint supply
- price
- quality of art
- utility of the project
- marketing exposure

There are others, but I suspect these factors account for the majority of demand.

4) When you ask, "why do collections sell out? (or not)" you can look to those factors.

And if a collection hasn't sold out, those are the "levers they can pull" to increase their chances of selling out.

5) Let's take a real world, high-profile example: @huxleysaga.

Huxley is an NFT collection launched on Ethereum built around comics books. They have an INSANELY talented team, with people who worked on some of the biggest sci-fi films/games we know of.

6) If you've heard about Huxley, you probably know their NFTs are VERY high demand. However, did you know they were NOT an immediate sell out collection?

Here's a chart that shows the sales of the their 3 NFT collections:

7) Their 1st collection launched Oct 14. There was some with some initial buzz that sold 25-30% of their collection.

But then it dropped to low, but steady sales for 6 weeks! They finally sold out on Dec 3rd, when some FOMO helped people realize the collection WOULD sell out.

8) After the 1st collection sold out, you might think the 2nd collection was a slam dunk. 👎

They launched on Dec 15, but it didn't sell out. 😥 Did people scream and say their project was dead? Nope.

They sold slow and steady for 2+ months, and finally sold out in Feb.

9) Huxley offers a realistic model for all collections who are creating true value for their communities and holders.

Build momentum, create value, and demand will increase over time.

10) Let's look back at the demand factors. Huxley didn't sell out, so how did they choose to influence demand for their project?

- mint supply
- price
- quality of art
- utility of the project ✅
- marketing exposure ✅

11) When projects don't sell out on day one, people are quick to say:

- the collection is too big!
- the price is too high!
- the art is no good!
- there's no utility!
- you aren't marketing to other chains!

Any one of these *COULD* be true.

12) As an NFT creator, you look at the demand factors and choose *which* levers you want to pull, to help your project fit the demand for it in the market.

You could cut your supply in half.
You could drop your prices.
You could increase utility.
You could do more marketing.

13) How does this relate to my project, @crypto90s?

- small collection, just 1999 NFTs
- the price is a bit high, but we think utility will justify the price

Our plan:

1) release our product (✅ increase utility)
2) use the product itself for marketing (✅increase marketing)

14) Are we worried that opening the marketplace will affect the ongoing mint of our NFT? No.

Our product has real utility -- a tool to help people show off their NFTs. And we think at least 1999 people will want that product, so they'll have to mint if they want to use it.

15) If people don't like the product, they can sell their NFTs in the marketplace, which is good for them.

As a creator, my goal is to make our product so good that people simply won't want to sell, because they want to keep using our product. This creates value for everyone!

16) As an aside -- the number of projects that don't sell out will only increase.

With more marketplaces, and access to self-minting, more and more projects will not sell out immediately.

Does that make them TERRIBLE?!?!?! 👿

No.

17) When you look at projects that haven't sold out -- ( there are 7 actively minting on @Entrepot) -- ask yourself:

How will they influence demand as they continue forward?

If you feel confident that the team can execute, they're still good projects!

Remember Huxley.

18) Final note:

I think it's unfair to judge a project based on a single day(s) mint performance.

All projects are dynamic, growing and improving over time, and should have the benefit of building momentum and increasing value over time.

19) And of course... 😏

If you haven't minted a @crypto90s NFT, get one here: entrepot.app/sale/crypto90s