You pay gas fees directly through your own crypto wallet when you submit transactions for confirmation on blockchains. Gas fees are transaction fees paid to blockchain validators, not to OpenSea.
OpenSea will never ask you to send funds to a private wallet address to cover gas fees. Instead, you'll be prompted with your wallet to pay the correct gas fee. This will look different depending on which web3 wallet you use.
Here's an example in MetaMask:
⚠️ Be aware of common phishing attempts. "Buyers" may claim they're experiencing an error when trying to purchase an item by messaging the seller with screenshots. OpenSea will never DM you first on social media or ask you to send funds to OpenSea in order to sell an item or resolve a transaction failure.
You can learn more about staying safe in web3 or gas fees in our help guides. If you're experiencing a phishing attempt, here's how to report it.
Creating an NFT collection
Using the OpenSea Studio tools to create a drop or new NFT collection requires you to deploy your own smart contract. In order to deploy your smart contract, you’ll need to pay gas.
Minting an NFT
Whether you are minting an NFT during a drop from another creator or you are minting an NFT you created to your own wallet, minting requires a gas fee.
Listing an NFT
Each time you first list an NFT in a collection for sale, you may be prompted to approve the collection, which costs gas. After that, listings for items in those collections will be gas-free. For more information about collection approvals, see our help guide.
Selling an NFT
Who pays the gas fees when an NFT is sold depends on the transaction.
Buyers pay gas fees when purchasing an item in a fixed-price listing.
Sellers pay gas fees when accepting offers.
Swapping tokens
Swapping crypto tokens requires a gas fee.