What the F**K did “The Home Depot” send me?

What the F**K did “The Home Depot” send me?

“Reversing. Reversing. Caution, please.”

That’s the soundtrack in the warehouse today—two dudes backing up forklifts like it’s a NASCAR pit lane… and immediately arguing about whether it’s “fair” because one guy weighs less. Welcome to liquidation life: loud, sweaty, chaotic… and sometimes painfully expensive.

Because today’s episode is about the moment every buyer hits sooner or later:

You pay real money for a “premium” load… and when it lands, you stare at it like, What the fk is this?**

3 months into Whatnot: the reps matter

I’m in the warehouse with my partner-in-crime, Jeremy—my Whatnot partner, the guy helping run the whole show. We’ve been at this almost three months, and we’re finally getting traction:

We’re up to ~5,500 followers

Some days we go live 7–8 hours

Regularly pulling 50–60 viewers on auctions

And here’s the truth nobody wants to hear: Whatnot is not easy.

It’s not “press live, get rich.” It’s community. It’s consistency. It’s showing up when you said you would—over and over—until people trust you enough to spend money with you.

Jeremy’s best advice for starting a Whatnot channel

If you want to build a channel that actually grows, the formula is boring… and that’s why it works:

1. Be consistent

• If you decide “Monday / Wednesday / Friday,” then do it every Monday/Wednesday/Friday.

• Same time. Same cadence. Same expectation.

2. Run promos (optional, but helpful)

• Some sellers buy promotions to get visibility.

• It can help, but it won’t save you if you don’t have the next point…

3. Product is everything

• Your inventory is your marketing.

• Good product = easier bids, higher average sales, better repeat customers.

4. Pick a niche you can talk about all day

• Shoes, designer clothing, jewelry, makeup—whatever.

• The point is: if you’re not excited, your audience won’t be either.

And here’s the most important part from experience: even when you do all that, it still takes time to become profitable. You can lose money for a while because you’re building the crowd first.

The auction math nobody talks about

Want the simplest way to understand auctions?

You don’t need 1,000 people.

You need two people who want the same item.

That’s it.

When you have enough viewers, you’ll finally get those moments where two bidders go back and forth—and suddenly the price climbs. More viewers = more chances that happens.

So yes, followers matter. But the real engine is still what it’s always been:

Inventory.

FC loads vs LPNs (and why “hit or miss” is an understatement)

We’ve run some FC loads through Whatnot. And honestly? The results have been mixed.

Jeremy’s take:

• FC loads can be fantastic… or total trash.

• LPNs tend to be a better hit—better quality, better value.

(And no—don’t ask me what FC means again. Go watch the FC video. That’s why we made it.)

The best sourcing tip I can give you (and I probably shouldn’t)

Alright. Here’s the part where people DM me to shut up.

Find recyclers.

Find electronic recyclers. Find anyone getting return truckloads—especially plug-in products. Retailers send a ton of returns to recyclers. And if you connect with the right ones, you can land loads that make you look like a genius.

I’m talking pallets with:

• Fans

• Home accessories

• Plug-in appliances

• Even air conditioners sitting on the bottom like it’s nothing

And the wild part? Sometimes it’s not “scrap.” It’s shelf-pulls. New. Box damage, sure—but sellable.

We ran recycler product where:

• Cost averaged under ~$3

• Average sale was over ~$7

That’s the kind of spread that makes your whole operation breathe again.

The “too much repetition” problem (that kills your auction)

Even with great product, you can still wreck your sales if you bring the same thing over and over.

Here’s what happens:

• If you have 5 of an item, bidders stay interested longer.

• If you have 100 of the same item, by item #21 the room is bored and you’re getting $1–$2 bids.

So your goal is simple:

• Variety

• A mix

• Enough quantity to sell, not enough to fatigue the crowd

CVS loads: boring… but profitable

Now let’s talk about something that isn’t sexy—but works.

We brought in a CVS manifested load—around 20,000 items in a truckload. It’s clean product, typically new, and the math can be beautiful:

• Large pallets can show $10,000+ retail

• Loads like that can be bought around 7–10% of retail

• Resellers and flea-market buyers love it because they can mark it up to 30–40% and still move it

Yes, there’s repetition. Yes, you’ll see hair dye, medicine, personal care, sometimes food. But it’s versatile:

• Pull Whatnot-worthy items for auctions

• Put the rest in the bin store

• Or sell pallets straight to flippers

That load type keeps your business fed when trendier inventory gets weird.

Now… the Home Depot disaster

Alright. Let’s get to why you clicked this.

I decided to buy a more expensive Home Depot load.

In my head—like in any buyer’s head—a “Home Depot load” should mean:

• Some tools (not all tools, but some)

• DeWalt, Milwaukee… something

• Mixed hardware and general home improvement junk (fine)

• Like my Lowe’s loads: not perfect, but tool-heavy enough to justify the buy

Instead, what showed up was:

Lighting. Kitchen cabinets. Toilets. Tubs. More lighting. Carpets. Even sectional sofas.

And here’s the part that made me want to launch myself into space:

I paid almost $10,000… and I got zero tools.

Not “a few tools.” Not “mostly not tools.”

Zero.

It wasn’t even a full truckload either. I expected 26 pallets of real Home Depot-style returns—and I’m standing there surrounded by stuff that moves like molasses in liquidation.

Because everybody knows:

• Lighting doesn’t sell well in liquidation (there’s too much of it everywhere)

• Cabinets/toilets/tubs can sell, but you have to stage it, research it, assemble it, explain it

• It’s the opposite of quick-turn inventory

And I’m sitting there thinking:

Did I get a processed load? Did somebody strip all the tools out and leave me the leftovers? Did I order from the wrong person? Did I misunderstand “online returns” vs “in-store returns”?

Because I specifically chose the “better” option—online returns—because it was pitched as higher quality.

It wasn’t.

And the worst part? I had already told customers:

“Home Depot is coming. Great tools. Wait for it.”

Then the truck shows up and I fall flat on my face.

The real question: where did I go wrong?

This is me being dead serious:

If you know how this works—if you know why a Home Depot load would show up like this—teach me.

I share a lot. I’m asking for real feedback here:

Is this what Home Depot loads usually look like from certain channels?

Is “full tool Home Depot” handled by big players before it ever hits the open market?

Did I buy the wrong grade/category?

Did I get stuck with the end of a processed pipeline?

Because right now, I’m trying to get answers from the seller—and figure out if they’ll make it right—or if I just donated ten grand to the education fund.

The Goodwill donation loads (and the toy museum dream)

To cool down from the Home Depot rage, I’ll show you something fun: donation pallets.

One load was all media—CDs, DVDs, maybe VHS. I thought:

“Cool, bundle 5–10 DVDs and sell lots cheap.”

Reality check:

• We ran 10 DVDs earlier and it did $1.

So now the plan is probably:

• Find a flea market buyer

• Or a vintage music/media shop

• Or someone who can move bulk media in a way that makes sense

But the real heat was the toy pallets.

These were the kind that get my brain going—because they’re mixed, raw, and sometimes untouched. You see bags? That can mean it hasn’t been fully processed. That’s where the surprises live.

And in those toy pallets we’re finding:

• Big character pieces (Batman, Spider-Man)

• Nerf guns

• Transformers (some older looking stuff)

• Toy Story items (Buzz Lightyear)

• Monopoly sets with figures

• And yes… Ninja Turtles (and older Ninja Turtle pieces can be worth real money)

Because here’s my side-quest that’s turning into a real project:

I want to build a toy museum.

Not a cute one.

I mean the world’s largest toy museum.

There’s apparently one in Montana with a million toys. So yeah… I’ve got work to do. But if anybody’s going to pull it off, it’s the guy who buys truckloads of everything and proudly calls himself the king of crap.

Takeaways you can steal from this whole mess

If you’re building Whatnot, sourcing loads, or running a bin store—here’s the real playbook from this day:

• Consistency beats talent on Whatnot.

• Community takes time. Expect early losses.

• Inventory quality is the business. Not your logo. Not your hype. The product.

• Variety prevents fatigue and keeps bids alive.

• Recyclers can be gold for plug-in, shelf-pull style loads—if you find the right ones.

• Manifested retail loads (like CVS) can be boring but profitable and versatile.

• Don’t assume a retailer name guarantees a category.

• “Home Depot load” doesn’t automatically mean tools—apparently.

• Ask better questions before you wire big money.

And if you’re about to buy a “premium” load—learn from my pain:

Make them explain what you’re actually buying, not what you hope you’re buying.

Alright. That’s it.

Now go out there… and make some money.

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