Minting creates the token rather than buying it from an existing holder. Projects run allowlists, Dutch auctions or open editions, and the popular ones clear in seconds.
Competitive mints create a gas-war: hundreds of bidders raise their priority-fee simultaneously, so a $50 mint can carry $80 of gas and still fail. Failed attempts still cost gas.
Risk checklist before minting anything: the contract address must come from an independent source, unaudited mint contracts can contain a trap, and the secondary market often opens below mint price. Use a burner-wallet.
Related: gas-war, nft, burner-wallet, failed-transaction