Interesting read about Whatnot, I’m familiar with the platform but have never used it, so I learned a few things. It was really tough to read about the guy who spent $1.4 million on sports cards and lost everything.
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WSJ speaking truth. Almost redeems them after the “beating the S&P for 20 years” lie that every noob now parrots.
Critics of online gambling always point to Kalshi and Polymarket. But Whatnot is MUCH worse, because it disguises itself as a hobby platform.
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The Whatnot spokeswoman said the company absolutely rejects that characterization. “Gambling isn’t allowed on Whatnot, and we strictly enforce this policy,” she said. “One of the main functions of that is you walk away with a card.” Part of gambling, she said, is that you put in money, and then you could walk away with nothing. That is “a massive difference” from Whatnot, she said.
As always, PR semantics bullshit.
I don’t know how widespread it is, but watching the Australian breaker for the 30th Celebration 2 weeks ago, they had setup a lottery wheel of 500 products where between 425-450 of those were single packs of the Japanese set Nihil Zero with the others being ETBs, UPCs and of course the 30th binder collections. You bid for the current slot on the wheel without knowing what it is until the auction is over.
How is that not gambling?
And the bidding was obscene. Most bids ended up over $100 AUD and frequently from the same people. Perhaps they were all millionaires, or more likely, just another poor sod like in the article, that fell prey to a gambling addiction spending beyond their means.
It’s just incredibly depressing to see people so starved of connection, meaning and purpose attempt to find fulfilment from a predatory breaker and a chat of other addicts.
And all that aside, all TCGs are also fundamentally gambling. That is their whole business model. Insert artificially rare cards into packs and if you’re lucky you might get one of them. Physical - and the original - loot boxes. If there were any real regulations with teeth, TCGs would be sold like cigarettes and alcohol. Blind boxes, that don’t even have a game attached to it, should be banned completely.
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I’d argue TCGs are fine if they go back to the way they were before serialized cards, premium-priced packs like MTG Collector Boosters and the upcoming Yugioh serialized sets, insane chase pulls, etc.
Go back to the pre-2020 business model; market primarily to players and let high-end collectors/investors come naturally without making them the primary market.
Agreed. Fuck Popmart.
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The whole article to say that gambling with a fomo aspect is incredibly dangerous for many people since theyll rationalize it easier.
Probably also has connections to the hustle/grind/entrepeneur mindset since many people dont see the work that goes into selling at a profit and think that they can easily do it too.
I still remember the day whatnot came out, and it was light hearted, and kind of a fun way to auction things. I cant stand to see what its become now.
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