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💸 Fees & Royalties: Transaction Costs

Learn about platform fees, creator royalties, and gas costs

Buy, sell, and bid on NFTs in a simulated marketplace

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💸 Marketplace Fees & Creator Royalties

Every NFT sale involves multiple parties taking a cut. The seller lists for X ETH, but after marketplace fees, creator royalties, and gas costs, they receive less. Understanding the fee breakdown is critical for profitability—especially for traders flipping NFTs where margins are thin.

🧮 Interactive: Fee Breakdown Calculator

Adjust sale price, marketplace, and royalty to see how fees impact seller profit. Notice how 0% marketplace fees on Blur can be offset by optional royalties.

10 ETH
0.1255075100
5%
0%2.5%5%7.5%10%
Sale Price10.00 ETH
− Marketplace Fee (2.5%)−0.2500 ETH
− Creator Royalty (5%)−0.5000 ETH
− Gas Fee (Buyer pays, est.)~0.0050 ETH
✓ Seller Receives9.2500 ETH
Net Margin: 92.5% of sale price.

⚖️ The Royalty Enforcement Debate

🎨
Pro-Royalty (OpenSea, LooksRare):

Creators deserve ongoing revenue from secondary sales. Without royalties, artists only profit once—the initial mint. Royalties align incentives: creators build long-term value, collectors benefit from creator engagement.

💰
Optional Royalties (Blur):

Royalties should be voluntary. Buyers and sellers should negotiate freely. Enforced royalties reduce liquidity and hurt traders. Market forces will find equilibrium—strong projects command royalties, weak ones don't.

📜 EIP-2981: On-Chain Royalties

EIP-2981 is a standard that lets NFT contracts specify royalty info (recipient address, percentage). Marketplaces can query royaltyInfo() to get the creator's preferred rate. But it's only a suggestion—marketplaces aren't forced to honor it.

Reality: Blur ignores EIP-2981. OpenSea respects it (if operator filter is used). No universal enforcement.

🔒 Operator Filter (OpenSea)

OpenSea's solution: NFT contracts can use an "operator filter" that blocks transfers via non-royalty marketplaces. If your NFT uses the filter, it can't be sold on Blur (unless Blur honors royalties). Controversial—some call it censorship, others call it creator protection.

Trade-off: Enforced royalties reduce liquidity. Fewer buyers = lower prices. But creators earn more per sale.

💡 Key Insight

The "royalty wars" of 2023 exposed a fundamental tension: creators want predictable revenue, traders want maximum profit, and marketplaces compete on fees. Blur's 0% fees and optional royalties captured massive market share from OpenSea, forcing the entire industry to reconsider royalty enforcement. The result? A fragmented landscape where royalty enforcement depends on which marketplace and which NFT contract you use. As a trader, always calculate total fees (marketplace + royalties + gas) before listing—on Blur, you might net 98% of sale price; on OpenSea with 5% royalties, only 92.5%.

🔍 Fee Comparison Table

MarketplacePlatform FeeRoyalty EnforcementTotal Cost (w/ 5% royalty)
OpenSea2.5%Optional (operator filter)7.5%
Blur0%Optional (default off)0-5%
LooksRare2.0%Yes (enforced)7.0%

*Assumes 5% creator royalty where enforced. Gas fees not included (~$10-50 depending on network congestion).

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