Hi guys. I was wondering what everyone’s opinion of the “Whatnot” app is?
I honestly have not looked into it but keep seeing advertising and hype for it regarding as a selling place for cards.
My initial thought is it sounds kinda weird, so up to now I’ve straight up avoided it, but what’s the deal and does it offer anything more or less than eBay and PWCC? What are your experiences? Thanks all.
So I guess ill break it down by what it is, and then how I feel in that order.
Whatnot to me appears to be what a lot of people have been doing on facebook for a long time now. Its a place where you can go “live” and sell items, kind of like a spur of the moment auction or box break type of a thing. I think personally it fills a nice void in moving those systems away from a multitude of platforms in order to group it in one place, so if into that sort of thing with live content then it for sure does have an audience to be somewhat useful.
As for my own view as a buyer, I havent considered it because I mean I have those places I buy from already on lockdown. PWCC going on their own comes to mind in this exact situation as well: with more places to scour and look at, the more time and energy needs to be used and with that I tend to end up backing down and keeping my buying spaces to the bare minimum. That may of course be different for others, but i like to keep things as simple as possible so its just not my jam.
As for selling, I dont sell much to that degree to have a need to use the app, and i sure as shit also dont really want to get on camera to do so either. Super time consuming and to me i prefer just being hidden when selling off things to make way for more. I have though heard some great results from a lot of seasons collectors/sellers who have tried it out, so in that regard again aside from my own personal opinion, there may actually be use for such a thing among the collecting community.
And as with anything thats all opinion based, only time will tell with how it might fair in the future.
Are you buying into box breaks?
If you are, Whatnot is an awesome platform for doing that. It’s really easy to use. You have a ton of options for who to buy from. As a creator, they also have a ton of really useful options.
The platform doesn’t lend itself to any other competitive uses right now.
We have some E4 community members that stream there and can speak to their firsthand experiences!
I don’t sell myself on there but I’ve been a sporadic buyer on there and it can be a lot of fun. Main reason for not selling is I think the ideal times to do so would be evenings and I don’t want my job to spill out more than it does into family time already.
Some thoughts as a buyer:
It is cool to be able to see a live video of the item, even to ask further questions of the seller live as it is being auctioned (note it is usually 1-2 min total tops though depending on bid activity). So if you want more angles and all that it can work out well at times. The sellers will frequently take requests for what to put up at times if they have it (and buyers are there bidding) as well. Sometimes with the new giveaway feature you can win things being present in chat.
That said I rarely hop on to streams to buy singles as I just don’t buy many singles in general. I have too much stuff. Box breaks are where it is at for me as I am a bit of a gambler and opening product is some of the most fun for me (even if someone else is doing it as the atmosphere is quite fun in the right channels.) I’ll never forget a Gym Heroes box break PokemonRadar did where it was something like 11 straight non holos in a row to start the box. So the second half of the box was juiced with nearly 50% holo odds and I ended up getting 3 packs and went 3/3 on holos. @gemmintpokemon was also in there for that one among others who just made it a fun time to hang out and chat. I use it in the background at times the same way I will use a good YT video or YT/Twitch Livestream even if I may not end up buying. Just another way to engage with the hobby if you choose.
The way I see it, the product is the “experience” of being involved in a livestream more than it is the actual cards. Some people really enjoy that kind of activity but it’s just not for me personally.
Have not used that platform, but will be looking into cause it is not for some people post was interesting, Doing opposite of some people is the answer to do something. LOL. *goes straight to whatnot now…
As a buyer I used to get some great deals on singles, as the platform continued to grow the more people are present in streams and more whales. Most of the time now Im better of just buying the card off ebay for cheaper.
Just went to download the app. The catalog is very limited for vintage Pokemon. But it is always good to set up before a platform goes big . Will update after i can upload a listing. interesting.
I used to use it in the beginning of 2021, and noticed the prices of singles and sealed product or box breaks are way higher then current market rate.
It is super easy though to buy things on the app so that is a plus. But the UI/UX of the pokemon page is chaotic with many streams mixed in with scheduled streams and every seller with clickbait titles.
For an experienced buyer i stick to ebay or pwcc, if you are new its a great app to get you started and exciting watching your interaction live.
Is the LIVE only worth buying from? The marketplace seems limited. At least i opened a account and learning the platform slowly.
I personally have not yet messed with it. It seems like a great place to buy if you don’t know exactly what you want to buy. I’ve heard you can get some good deals as it’s not been entirely adopted by everyone yet.
I downloaded Whatnot early last year to watch a couple big breaks Steve Aoki was doing and didn’t do much with the app after that. Fast forward to last week, I opened up the app for the first time since then and have been enjoying it quite a bit. I will say that if you are a person who likes gambling and/or has issues with self control, tread with caution. The box breaks and pack buying can be fun, but you will notice that a lot of the channels have all these different gambling and side-bet elements at play, such as hitting a certain “bounty”, or encouraging people to bid more to hit a breakpoint where their name gets on a wheel for a drawing to win more expensive prizes.
For example, you may find someone ripping the newest 5 modern sets (your standard $3-$4 packs), but wait! You have a shot at getting a PSA 7 Base Holo Charizard if you spend at least $15 on a pack and get your name on the drawing wheel! By the time all the auctions are said and done, you may have 150+ people on the wheel you are competing with. I was watching someone ripping open hidden fates packs and people were bidding them up to over $30 because if you managed to pull a shiny vault card out of your pack, your name went into a drawing for an Evolutions booster box. The way the app pulls payments out, which is instantly upon winning a bid (but there may be options to change this?), can be a bit dangerous as well because the auctions go fast and without being prompted to enter in payment info. or confirm anything at the end, I can see where you can lose track of how much money you are spending.
I do think its a great platform. It’s entertaining, the people going live are usually very interactive with the people in the chat and are generally happy to show you cards up close and talk about them with you. It seems MOST people will show the front and back of the cards up close and at different angles to try to give you a fair assessment on the condition which is great.
Wow, interesting but now for me i guess. Just want to post a card and not interact. Just relax. Sounds like a app Las vegas. right now
HAHAHAHAHA. Just watching a live whatnot pokemon pulls. Dont really understand what is going on. just gambling . But looks like fun for those that participate. %50, $500, $250 winners so far. Funny too watch. hahahhaha
* WHAT IS A WHEEL ?
From a Seller’s Perspective, WhatNot can be a Great Platform!
First Off, I really enjoy the whole livestream aspect of WhatNot as it allows you to interact with everyone watching your livestream in real-time as well as show the condition of whatever your selling in real-time. This eliminates the need for having to take pictures and/or create listings which means that you’re able to quickly and easily sell through whatever you’re selling. Plus, WhatNot Auctions are “rapid-fire” (1-2 Min. Ea.) which means you’re able to sell-through a lot in a relatively short amount of time. That’s the biggest up-side to WhatNot IMO - being able to quickly and easily sell-through Inventory that I really don’t want to bother with listing on eBay.
I typically focus-on selling single-cards, graded-cards, and occasionally Modern Booster Packs on WhatNot. Pricing really just depends upon how many people are actually viewing and bidding within your livestream; however, generally speaking, I usually average eBay Auction Sold Pricing. There are some cards that sell for WAY MORE than eBay Pricing (Active and/or Sold) and some cards that sell for WAY LESS than eBay Pricing (Active and/or Sold); but, in the end, it usually averages-out to around what you’d expect from an eBay Auction.
And, on the back-end, a nice perk for Selling on WhatNot is that they handle all Buyer’s Sales Tax and Shipping Costs - that’s all paid directly to WhatNot and not the Seller. As a Seller, you’re simply combining orders into one package, entering the final weight of that package, and printing the label provided by WhatNot. So, you don’t have to worry about paying anything for Postage. Coming from eBay where the “standard” is always Free Shipping (Paid by the Seller), that’s HUGE!
Are those live sellers owners of all the cards or consignments?
Thanks for all the opinions guys! I’m gonna read them more slowly in a bit since I just got off work. Appreciate the feedback though since I’m always looking for new places to buy from and I couldn’t get a good read on this until now. I don’t think I will ever do a box break, but it’s nice to have options. Maybe I’ll check out other features of course.
I’m paranoid about all tech. So, I’m always going to approach new-ish web and smart apps with extra scrutiny and caution. If they are hastily designed, your personal info may become victimized as these apps grow and become targets for bad-actors. Otherwise, I have no opinions about whatnot. I think it will be a wait and see. A big issue might be (okay, one opinion) their conflict-resolution practices. In case it matters significantly, consider, smaller platforms tend to have less robust processes and practices.