Why Not? Do Whatnot — The Live Auction Playbook for Liquidators
Why Not? Do Whatnot
Alright guys… welcome to Liquidation Motivation.
We’re on our first live auction. We’re almost ready to go—bear with us. It’s our first time doing Whatnot, so we’re figuring everything out in real time.
Camera sideways?
Is my camera sideways? Anybody?
Perfect. Let’s do it.
So What Is Whatnot?
Whatnot is an online live auction platform that is straight-up revolutionizing the resale industry.
And I thought I was late to the game…
…but then I started asking people.
I asked everybody:
my community
my Facebook
customers
neighbors
friends
family
And you know what I found out?
Nobody freaking uses it.
That’s why I’m telling you—this platform is still young, and it has a massive opportunity to grow.
You know that saying?
When’s the best time to plant a tree? Ten years ago.
When’s the second best time? Today.
I might be late to the party, but I’m telling you… this party is only getting bigger.
The Truth: You’ll Lose Money at the Start
Let’s keep it real.
Anybody who starts in auctions—especially live auctions—loses money at the beginning.
The first 30 / 60 / 90 / 120 days, you’re probably going to lose money.
Why?
Because you don’t have a community yet.
And community is everything on this platform.
I had someone call me today like:
“Tom, we’re doing horrible… we only get nine people per live.”
And I’m like…
Then you’re doing something wrong.
Either:
you’re not entertaining enough
you’re not engaging
you’re not consistent
or honestly… you might not be likable on camera
That’s not an insult—this is a performance game.
When you build your followers, your pricing changes.
When your pricing changes… your whole business changes.
The Simple Math: Community = Higher Prices
Here’s the game.
Right now I’m selling Macy’s shoes on Whatnot.
My cost is $10 a pair, and sometimes I’m selling them for $5.
Why would I do that?
Because the buyer who gets a deal:
follows the channel
comes back
becomes a repeat bidder
Eventually $5 becomes $7.
Then $10.
Then you hit break-even.
And once you’ve got 200–400 people in your auction?
Those same $100 retail shoes can sell for $20 all day long.
For the buyer it’s still a steal.
For you?
It’s a simple doubling of your money.
And that’s what you care about on Whatnot:
move merch, stack profit, repeat.
Why Whatnot Makes Sense Right Now (Inventory is Everywhere)
Guys, look around the market right now.
Merchandise is everywhere.
The market is flooded.
Prices are coming down.
Contract holders are saturated—hundreds of trucks available all over the country.
So when you find those good deals?
You need a channel that lets you blow through inventory fast.
That’s Whatnot.
You can still do:
pallet sales
higher-end eBay items
specialty stuff
I’m not putting a $1,500 drone on Whatnot and letting it go for $300. That’s an eBay item.
But for long-tail liquidation items?
Whatnot is the perfect outlet.
The Whatnot Auction Format (Fast, No-Frictions)
Here’s how it works:
We start everything at $1.
Then we run 15-second auctions.
If someone bids in the last 3 seconds, it adds a few seconds.
So auctions can last:
15 seconds
30 seconds
a minute
longer if it’s a bidding war
And once you have a big audience?
People run sudden death style auctions—things can hit $60 in like 10 seconds.
That’s the power of a crowd.
Two people want the same item?
It gets bid up past fair market value.
That’s the whole trick:
you don’t need 1,000 buyers… you need two bidders.
Shipping + Bundles + Local Pickup (Whatnot actually makes it easier)
Shipping is one of the reasons this platform is so good.
Whatnot handles shipping charges through the platform.
They tell you what label to use, what box to use, and buyers can bundle items.
So instead of charging someone shipping five times, it can bundle into one package and keep it reasonable.
And then there’s the best part:
Local pickup.
We do local pickup for people around our area, and that’s been huge because:
People come to pick up their Whatnot orders…
…and then they walk right into our bin store and start shopping.
So you’re not just making money online.
You’re bringing a whole new customer base into your physical store.
The #1 Problem You’ll Hit: Organization
Let me warn you right now…
If you sell 200 items in a single auction, that’s like getting 200 eBay orders in one day.
It’s chaos unless you have a system.
So here’s what we’re doing:
storage bins for repeat buyers who buy 10–20 items
separate bins for small buyers
bins on wheels so you can move them
lock them up so nobody messes with sold items
Because once you sell it, it needs to be secured.
If something disappears, now you’ve got a problem:
the customer picks up and it’s missing
or you need to ship it and you can’t find it
So organization is key.
Want Better Prices? Be Entertaining. Period.
Guys… live selling is performance.
I’ve seen people say:
“Tom, why am I getting $2 for everything?”
Meanwhile, we’re:
cracking jokes
having energy
showing personality
making it fun
You can be goofy. You can be weird. You can be loud.
Nobody cares how you look. Nobody cares.
The only thing people care about is:
are you fun to watch
are you consistent
do you bring deals
do they trust you
If you’re quiet and boring, people scroll.
So don’t care what anyone thinks. Get on camera and sell.
The “Referral + Facebook Ads” Hack (This is crazy)
Here’s a wild strategy:
Whatnot gives referral credit when people sign up with your link.
So I run local Facebook ads promoting my Whatnot stream, targeting people within like 10 miles.
If enough people sign up through my link, that referral credit can offset ad spend.
So you can basically:
promote the stream locally
build your community faster
drive local pickup traffic
get new bin store shoppers
and reduce your effective ad cost.
That’s a legit growth loop.
Why Not? Do Whatnot.
If you’re in liquidation, you need another channel to move volume.
Whatnot is:
fast
community-driven
low friction
great for long-tail items
and it can feed your retail store through local pickup
But you’ve gotta remember:
You will lose money early.
That’s normal.
Build the community.
Stay consistent.
Be entertaining.
Get organized.
Then the sky’s the limit.
Now go out there and make some money.
home | blog
