I think it’s due to the live action nature of getting into bid wars… people can’t stand the thought of losing so they end up paying way more.
Absolutely a system that takes advantage of competition/heat of the moment type bidding. Now clearly, nobody is putting a gun to the head of a buyer, but the human psyche is an interesting thing when it comes to buying items. We all know that comics/collectible can be an addiction.
One of my biggest complaints is that if you purchase multiple things, it doesn’t batch for the show and shows as multiple charges/purchases. Drives me nuts to see a ton of charges and makes fraud alerts go into overtime.
Also have to laugh at the increasing of profiles/ad reels, or just shows that are starting to feature a “pretty face/picture/or shot of cleavage”. Sort of cheesy in my opinion. Just sell your books…
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I can show my cleavage but not sure anyone would want to buy comics from me at all.
As for the randomness of the books, I pulled some keys, some recently hot books, and some rarities that you would not really see elsewhere. Problem is, it flopped. I had some super rare Image books, not expensive but really hard to find and neat comics to own. I got my money back on them. My signed Lady Death stuff which I usually do really well with, didn’t sell for more than I paid.
This week was a flop but not all weeks are. I guess I need to keep grinding.
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I am not at all convinced the “Whatnot” App is sustainable. Every single seller will have boxes of drek and those will find their way on to that platform. As more sellers are added, the point of diminishing returns will be an absolute.
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I was just on the app. Could only stand it for a few minutes. Sellers selling drek.
Dont know if it has to do with the time of day, but this is enough of a turn-off for me.
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I had 1980’s Moon Knight, Some silver age books, a bunch of rare horror. But that all could be drek to people if they are not into those books
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Na, that’s not drek.
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I honestly don’t see the appeal to whatnot. I have it but can’t really stand it…I think the live waiting gets to me…I’m so spoiled with on demand I don’t even watch sports live anymore on TV…record and fast forward through the boring stuff. I can get through a 3 hr Football game in 45 minutes without missing a single play.
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I will often look at all the people who are doing shows and save the small number who I really enjoy. There are tons of sellers who don’t have much of interest to me or who sell in a format I dislike (please, people, list what we will be for sale). That said, when I find a great seller I make sure to tune in often because I can get some really cool stuff for myself. I have had some great shows when I am selling and some terrible shows. It seems to help when I have some cool stuff that really catches the eyes of potential buyers and I have built up a small following—also helpful. That said, sometimes it’s just grinding away and hoping for a good show that day…
In enjoy it. I stay away from the large crowded ones and tend to lean towards ones with fewer people and books that look interesting. The early evening ones are usually pretty decent, but I usually hop in and out of about 5-6 before I find one that I hang around in for a while.
I have avoided Whatnot so far but find the hard push among comics fascinating. Feels like at some point, I’ll have to give in and at least look at it but I’m wary of the temptation to be distracted at work. I don’t know how sustainable it’s going to be as more and more people compete for eyeballs.
The only time Whatnot has actually worked out for me was on May the 4th when everyone was doing SW themed shows so I was able to fill gaps in my SW collection for a decent price. Otherwise, the process of sitting there and waiting to see if anything remotely interesting comes along gets old really fast. I don’t have that kind of time or patience and not everyone takes the time to type out their inventory. Kudos to the sellers who are making it work for them though. I hope it generates more interest in comics.
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I want to throw my hat in the ring randomly one day.
Still unsure if to start out with moderate keys or hot keys or sets.
@Anthony you need a huge following to do well on whatnot. Sellers that are big on YouTube and IG seem to have fans who will pay a premium on books just to buy from them.
That said, whatnot can add features to even the playing field. Like search options that allow buyers to find specific titles on current and future shows which they could then bookmark for alerts. This would allow even smaller sellers to get viewers if they have good books to sell. It also adds incentive to sellers to add book titles and descriptions as opposed to ‘lot 1’, ,lot 2’, etc.
A few thoughts since we are on the topic as since I’ve followed Whatnot since early on. Sorry if a few are repeats of things I’ve stated previously. All my opinion.
- No mystery box sales should be allowed. (I imagine some will whole heartedly disagree on this which is fine).
- One hour max time limit on any persons show.
- Max of 3-5 shows per week per seller (I’m flexible here but the daily or even 2x day is nonsense.
- All items should be loaded in for the sale and then cleared. Perhaps some can be left but this business of sellers loading in their entire inventory (often just drek books) and willy nilly selling is crap.
- Auctions should be 30 seconds or less–if the seller wants to use sudden death than fine, but with the current system of auctions being extended anyways, there is no reason for 60 second or greater times on these.
- If a book is highlighted/promo’d/featured (with the obvious goal of getting viewers) than it must be ran/sold. Tired of this crap of sellers complaining about prices they are getting or not enough viewers and then not running the books they advertised. This goes into the whole hour long limit as well. I understand that the end game is to keep viewers on the hook, but waiting on a three hour show just to get to the one key book is aggravating.
I’ve dealt with some excellent sellers and shows on Whatnot. I think the platform has great potential if just tweaked a bit. My intent isn’t to be overly critical either, just things I believe will help. I’m sure a ton of work went into the whole thing. I recognize that and appreciate it.
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There are a few things I know I’ll never do in life: jumping off a bridge with a bungee cord around my ankle, skydiving, swimming with sharks, walking barefoot on hot coals for example.
And the final one: Buying a Mystery Box.
Not a freakin prayer.
“But often you get more FMV content than you paid for” - yea - and I don’t care.
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In response to @Devildog’s list…
- I agree with mystery boxes being awful.
- I don’t mind if a show goes long as if things are listed I can tag them to be notified when I should come back and bid.
- I think shows should be limited at least by category. You can maybe do 3 comic shows a week, 3 toy shows, etc. or maybe a flat limit.
- Preload your items the best you can, YES!
- I like 45 seconds to a minute for auctions. It allows people who tagged an item to come back to rush on back or others to look online and see how good a deal is being offered compared to other sites, and so forth.
- If you loaded a book you better run it, I agree. I have had sellers start a book a bit higher than I expected, but they at least ran it. If you advertised something and it wasn’t run I’ll never be back.
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Not sure on #5. I know buyers have multiple shows open and are bopping around. If they can’t focus and keep track of time, then they should lower the amount they are staring at. I think 30 seconds is fair. 60 is just boring…and the bids aren’t coming until less than 15 seconds anyway. 
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