Buying Guide
It’s true, unsigned_algorithms are complex, but you don’t need to be a coder to add one to your collection. The goal of unsig.info is to make the collection approachable and understandable to NFT collectors so they can add some color to their wallets.
In the Buying Guide, there will be some very high level information that can help with a purchasing decision. As always, do your own research and don’t rely solely on this (or any other) single site for your strategy. This Buying Guide is not intended as investment advice. There are some excellent resources available here.
Rule #1
Buy something you really really like.
Really. 
Hang out on the unsigned_algorithms Discord for any length of time and you’ll meet many collectors that enjoy owning an unsig because they simply like to look at it. If you’re spending your hard earned ADA on an unsig, it should be one you feel good about seeing it in your wallet.
Everything else
Below you’ll find the things that collectors look for most often when purchasing an unsig. You can find most of the information below by looking up an unsig in the search bar. For things you can’t find here, a pointer is provided to where you can find what you’re looking for.
Policy ID
Always check the policy ID before purchasing an unsig:
0e14267a8020229adc0184dd25fa3174c3f7d6caadcb4425c70e7c04
Number of properties
unsigs have between 0-6. Most unsigs that are listed on the secondary marketplace are between 3-6 properties.
In the order of rarity it is 2 properties, 3 properties, 6 properties, 4 properties, and 5 properties.
You are very unlikely to find a 1 property unsig on the market because they are extraordinarily valuable–it’s unknown whether one has ever been traded. There is only 1 unsig with 0 properties (#00000), and according to its owner it isn’t going to be listed anytime soon. That is the kind of unsig that you’ll someday find on the auction block at Christie’s.
Examples:
Left to right: #00000 (@adaboy98669717), #00010 (Nusigs), #00201 (Grancho), #06143 (Bluve), #18952 ($nofeets), #27549 (TheADAMoth)
Geometries
The geometry of an unsig is the way the lines, or forms, are arranged. There are 173 geometries in the collection, some far rarer than others. Some geometries are easily recognizable and have been given names, such as Windmills, Pyramids, and Diamonds.
Examples:
Colors
The colors in an unsig are what make it an unsig. unsigned_algorithms was built as a study of color, so this is a really important piece of the equation. It’s also a complicated one. At a high level though, collectors often look for color combinations that are very recognizable and have been given names such as Twilights, Sakura, and Horizon. There are far more color combinations in the collection than have names though, so pick one that appeals to you and is in your price range.
Another thing to consider here is that there are qualities of unsig colors that aren’t exactly about color. Some unsigs have a frosted appearance, or even a semi-transparent forms called ghosts. Not all of these have been categorized, and collectibility is a matter of taste.
Examples:
Left to right: #10201 (Redegg), #27050 (NyteLyte), #23011 (Grancho), #28738 (ArtAddict), #01890 (Grancho), #05672 (CryptoMatt)
Matchability
One of the remarkable things about the collection, and one becoming more discussed, is that many pieces in the collection match with other pieces and can be used to create larger compositions. It’s unclear at this time whether it’s more desirable to get an unsig that is highly matchable or has very few matches, but is something to keep in mind.
Most matches in the collection aren’t perfect; they match along one side while the rest of the unsigs differ at least slightly. There are some perfect matches hiding in the collection but they aren’t easy to find. Many collectors have begun to create compositions that have matching geometries but mismatched colors. This is an aspect of unsig collecting that is only getting started.
The matching tools at #unsig_hunters are very helpful if this is something you’d like to explore.
Other considerations
Often buyers will want to know whether the piece they’re looking at has ever changed hands. Currently this is information you can find on the unsigned_algorithms Discord server using the 007 bot.
Many unsigs have had value assessments and have matching certificate NFTs made by a team called TokenLoupe (formerly CNFT_art). If you’re purchasing an unsig and want to know if it has a matching cert, you can also find this information using the 007 bot on Discord.
For most other questions, you can find a great deal of data for each unsig here on unsig.info, including rankings for individual unsig characteristics. There are no official rankings, and you won’t find unsigned_algorithms on any of the analytics and ranking sites, but the TokenLoupe team has developed some ranking data that can be helpful.