hey guys, just curious what your guys opinion in on whatnot? seems like every con I go to its been too much clutter with a bunch of what not streamers. Last year at collect a con Orlando felt like i couldn’t even walk two feet without having whatnot streamers pushing their stuff down your throat. I know its supposed to be the collectors answer to twitch/ticktok but feels like its the negative of the hobby. I love seeing content creators and I even have learned a lot from them when I entered the hobby in 2019. Early vids from Scott and Rusty where my go to vids on learning the hobby and I loved and miss Maxmoefoes content. The thing is I don’t feel like Whatnot streamers are really content creators rather then people just trying to overcharge for their bulk that really no one wants and I got a vibe from a few at Collect A Con that they were very high and mighty. The big name people in the hobby were super friendly and they are more famous OG people are super welcoming and genuine and just didn’t get that vibe off them. Not sure if just because I had a negative reaction with them last year but curious how you guys feel. PS just talking whatnot people youtubers have all been super kind and welcoming to the hobby and I was able to meet a few of them and they were just so kind and genuine.
Never even had an itch to look into it.
All I know of it is seeing slimy ads on IG and true enthusiasts telling people to stay away.
I feel that whatnot and other streaming sales sites are naturally gonna favor the more “boisterous” people in the hobby. In terms of content creation, streaming seems to be the one that requires the most energy. In the same stroke though, they’re trying to sell something too, so they’re also salespeople. Salespeople also tend to be rather high energy and a bit unapproachable imo.
I’d imagine that many of the top level whatnot/etc. streamers didn’t start out as Pokémon collectors, but they might have gotten into due to the profit. I know one guy personally who didn’t know much about it initially a couple years back. But he has gotten into the collecting aspect since then. To be fair, he doesn’t always get names correct still, but he does have an active collection and is more excited about stuff than I am at this point hahah! That being said his primary goal is sales, he runs a business so it kind of has to be.
I agree however, I think that this side of the hobby is a bit annoying and I’d rather it not be there, but that possibly has long since disappeared it seems. This type of person is going to exist and we just have to pick and choose what type of content we want to consume. If enough people are tired of it, it will naturally die out. But it seems like it’s gaining traction with those in the not-so-deep community.
Just here for the replies 
All I’m saying about 99% of whatnot people I get very team rocket vibes
I agree with you, I’m just trying to restrain myself from going on a Whatnot diatribe, so I figured a gif would work instead 
I have never bought or sold on Whatnot, but I know it has less fees than eBay. Less fees = friendlier for consumers
I’ve watched people overpay by large margins for raw and graded cards on there and the streamer convincing them the whole time they got a deal and it’s worth more than even that. Most streamers on whatnot are shady and definitely have team rocket vibes. Scalpers with a license to scalp. And oh boy do they scalp. Saw one a day or two ago with scarlet and violet japanese booster boxes up for $275.
There’s some streamers however that are wholesome and have obtainable worthwhile bounties and don’t try to shamboozle their viewership. I have one new streamer I watch that has obtainable bounties and he starts each pack at $1 leaving it up to the viewership to decide their payment. Some streams the packs reach $10, sometimes they reach $15, and I’ve seen them reach $25. He also has a set number of bounties and they always get given away at the end of the stream by putting everyone on a wheel, 1 pack = 1 entry, and he spins and gives it all away. I have never seen another stream like his and these streamers are far and few between.
I’ve never used it so I don’t have much of an opinion on it as a platform. I have noticed a negative stereotype form around its sellers which is interesting to me.
I run into WhatNot and Drip sellers regularly in my local community and at conventions. Most are genuinely good people who desperately want a side hustle to “get rich quick.” Their sales volume is impressive, but most of their customers are children and teens with limited disposable income.
I’ve made a pretty penny selling my extra slabs/cards to them at trade nights/conventions. At this point, I’ve accepted that their presence in the community will persist, so I am learning to live harmoniously with them rather than focusing on the negatives.
Its worse than Team Rocket. Team Rocket are the bad guys and they don’t hide it. They embrace being the bad guy.
Whatnot is the bad guys, but they act like they’re the good guys.
Its not Pokémon, but…I recently watched a Youtube video where a whatnot streamer who does Lego related content went to a huge Lego convention. Whatnot apparently sponsored a “spending spree”. It was pretty cringe as he would buy some sealed Lego box with the sole intent of flipping on whatnot. He would strike deals with a vendor and then in the same clip mention about how well it would resell on his stream. His interest in the convention didn’t seem that genuine to me, though I only watched the one video.
The #grindset mentality that is commonly linked to whatnot is what makes me dislike it
i’m fairly agnostic on the app itself, but the people repping it sure do seem to nearly always be people i would never choose to associate with. there’s something about it that attracts grime
actually, wait no that’s not true. i do have one opinion on whatnot:
the youtube adds are awful and make me want to never check out the app out of principle
Personal anecdote, i have yet to come across content that isnt set up as a ripoff or preying on the less informed crowd (usually children to young adult). But im aware it just isnt technology that i am interested in understanding and i feel elderly saying that.
I have never googled whatnot before and nothing I have heard on this forum has made it more tempting to do so.
I consigned with someone who sold through WhatNot, so I would tune into their shows periodically to get a feel for the site and how it works. I did not understand it. I still don’t know why anybody would choose to buy things in this format. It is strange to watch and seems to rely more on people wanting to be more “part of the show” than shopping.
WhatNot has some strengths as a seller. The fee is really low. Buyers are charged automatically for their bids so you are always paid. But it also requires a hype engine to be successful. You are not just selling cards, you are putting on a show that includes selling cards.
At the end of the day I don’t think WhatNot delivered on its promise of being big fast money. I made my minimum consignment guarantee, which is fine, but there were better ways to sell those cards that probably would have made us more money in the long run.
I do feel like the idea of live streamed auctions for genuinely exciting items is a fun, vibrant idea. But it’s hard to sustain a supply of high-hype cards so you have to introduce roulettes, blind bags, randomness, etc. At no point in any of the shows I watched did I want to participate in any way. I don’t know who the target audience is but it strikes me as people who like to gamble and like the idea of a social, communal auction experience. They probably have much deeper pockets than me.
Something I am surprised to see people saying here is that a lot of the buyers are kids - I didn’t have that impression. WhatNot is very sports heavy and all the shows I was in felt like they were attracting middle-aged guys who treated it as an extension of their enthusiasm for sports.
When the hobby is owning/appreciating something it’s hard to be enthusiastic about a platform that solely focuses on the transaction part,
Consider this: if you were to ask me what I thought of eBay I wouldn’t really know what to say. It’s a useful platform that has its pros and cons, but it doesn’t evoke any reaction in me.*
I feel like whatnot (partly because it’s whole thing is that it’s live/fast-paced) attracts the over-excitable, :sphealbusiness: flipper type even more.
*I meant to add, the fact whatnot triggers a negative reaction in me means there’s something about it I find unusually bad
They probably have much deeper pockets than me.
I am confident a majority of them are more than likely financially irresponsible people with access to a big yellow button and an overwhelming amount of shiny cardboard
Source: my son took my phone when I wasn’t looking
I knew people in gradeschool that would spend hundreds on Clash of Clans with no hesitation. Spending on whatnot doesn’t surprise me