Whatnot: The Good
Let’s talk whatnot. I've been watching and buying and (occasionally) selling on whatnot, and it looks like a promising medium, or at least an interesting one, but one that has major issues. Today we cover the good parts.
The best way to describe whatnot is a live-streamed card show with social media. You sell live via livestream auction. The tech is like an administrator-run Zoom or Team meeting, except that your feedback to the host is via a scrolling chat section next to the video. There can be a thousand streams at once, so your outcome is entirely dependent on audience, which you get by participating on other livestreams and garnering followers. In other words, it is social media-driven. Once followed, that person's shows (if any) will be featured on your front page. If you see a promising show, you bookmark it.
Unlike eBay, the company is making a real effort to qualify its sellers. Whatnot requires applications and seller training (yes, they actually require you to take a seminar on policies and such before they will allow you to sell). That part is very cool.
The financial end is better than eBay for sellers. Fees are lower than eBay, and no store subscription: 8.9% on your sales plus about 3% processing fees on the gross payment processed. Call it 12%.
Very different back office than eBay, refreshingly so. Payment is instant: you must furnish a payment method when you sign up as a buyer and if you win an item, whatnot charges you immediately. No waiting around for a buyer to choose to pay. If he wins, he is charged.
The logistics are tighter than eBay. The app creates the shipping labels and furnishes them to you to print and use: no more seller-selecting shipping methods and costs. You have to hustle over to the PO because the items basically need to go out w/in 48 hours.
There are some innovative parts for buyers too. Instead of a fixed listing that ends a week or more in the future and bidding stretched out over that time, it is a dynamic, interactive and immediate experience. Much closer to an auction house live auction. One benefit for the buyers is that you can bundle items immediately, rather than hoping you win multiple items eventually, to cut down the shipping cost per item. All sales on a specific stream are aggregated into a single shipping label, automatically, with each added item costing $0.50 after the $4 initial bite. Sales tax is collected automatically unless you register your resale permit. Packaging and shipping are subject to specific standards and requirements. For single raw cards, it is a penny sleeve in a toploader in a team bag in a padded envelope, minimum. Not an issue for us vintage collectors---we know how important good packing is--but apparently an issue for the schmucks who collect modern. Again, no leaving it to the sellers and no paying $5 for shipping and getting a PWE.
The interactivity is the embodiment of the effort a few years ago to take the National live for non-attendees, except that instead of it being a one-way stream for dealers to show stuff, the buyers can make requests and comments. Good hosts act on the requests. I saw a guy get two sizable sales (a $200 1956 Koufax and a $150 1964 Aaron) because he was responsive to requests.
The live stream also does foster some sense of community.
Recently, they have adopted a listing format that allows for sales without a livestream. I hope that works out, because eBay is so predatory and capricious that it needs a rival. It only covers PSA graded cards and requires you to scan the cards and create the listings with a smartphone.
So, there is a lot to recommend whatnot. There is also a lot to hate about it. Next week, I crap all over the platform.