Starting a Whatnot Reselling Business, or Adding onto your Current Revenue Streams

Currently Whatnot is offering a bonus of $150, matching sales when you join with the referral link (see below). When you read the fine print, you see that the bonus only applies during the "bonus period" which may be anywhere from 7 days to 30 days, depending on the program they are running. Since this is a lot of money to miss out on, I suggest that you be ready to list and host your first show IMMEDIATELY upon approval. Achieving this goal is not impossible. You only have to sell $150, to a minimum of 5 buyers, and host shows that total 120 mins (2 hours) over that period. Depending on your category, this should be very doable, unless you wait until the last minute. 

Once you get approved as a Whatnot reseller, I strongly suggest that you watch the tutorials and do a "practice show" through Whatnot Academy. While Whatnot is pretty easy to operate, I find most people are really nervous about making mistakes in front of others. Practicing before you hit "START SHOW" will make you less nervous. The truth is that you'll get much bigger audiences if you are just the real human you, not some robot that does everything perfectly. One of the best things about the Whatnot platform is that people feel like they are "hanging out" with you, not necessarily being "sold to". 

To schedule a show on Whatnot, you'll need to login, and click "seller hub" on the bottom of the screen (if you are using a phone or tablet). At the top of the screen you'll see "Schedule Show". Click that. You'll need to fill out all of the fields on this screen. 

When naming your show, since you are new, I would recommend your title be descriptive. Once you have a following, then you can be funny or clever. Right now, I would suggest titles like, "Pyrex, Vintage Utensils, and other Kitchen Finds!" This lets your potential customers know what your store is offering. 

You'll need to add a photograph and/or video. I suggest both, if you can. Different sellers do different things here. Some us AI generated images of the types of items they will be selling. Some use photographs of the actual items they will be selling. Some create an image that will be used for all of these types of shows. The video, which needs to be less than 15 seconds, is a great tool for people to get a sneak peek of what you are actually selling. Simply lay everything out on a table, or in a cupboard, and scan them with your photo in video mode. Upload that to this page. 

You'll need to decide which category most fits what you are selling. They are constantly adding new categories, so be sure to check this list regularly, when adding shows, if you don't see a category that fits what you do. 

Initially I recommend running your shows as "auctions". I'll write, another time, about the difference in show types and how to run those. Surprise sets are really fun, but a lot of work. 

Once your show is scheduled, you'll need to add stuff to sell. There are two main ways to do this. The first way is to take a photo and list each item individually. Honestly, when you are new, I think this is the best way. At least do a dozen or so items. This way when someone stops by your show, they can look in your auction tab and decide if what you've got matches their interest. It's a good way of holding onto the attention of new buyers, who match what you sell. 

The second way is random pulls. Set up several "quality listings" by weight. The listing name might look something like, "Random pull, 4-7 oz". Your listings should correspond with the shipping weights selected in the listing. The required image can be anything, like maybe your pet. I have a lot of pets, so initially mine were each of my pets, in a different weight class. Add 100 qty for each of these listings and pay attention as you add new shows whether you need to add more. 

The second method is the one you'll see used by most people who do a lot of volume on Whatnot. There simply is not enough time to list each item. The advantage of listing items individually, however, is after the show, you can move them to your marketplace, or Buy-it-now, and buyers can purchase them at a set price even when you are not doing a show!

In the Seller's Hub, before you do any shows, you'll want to set up a default shipping profile. Here are things to consider

• Do you want to allow free pick up for local buyers? This could be at a store where you already have a booth (with owner's permission). It could be at your home. If you agree to it, then select, "on". You'll need to then provide a note to the buyers (which will go to them automatically each show) on where they can get the items they purchased. 
• Domestic Shipments. If your show has tiny things, like stickers, under 3 oz, you can select first class mail letter. Just toggle that on. Shipments from 1-5lbs, do you want to use USPS Flat Rate Boxes, or ship priority. Personally, I choose priority because things that I sell don't always fit it the flat rate box. Finally, Domestic Shipments over 5 lbs (and this includes bundling multiple sales together, not just per item), I chose Ground Advantage. I rarely sell things that are heavy, but compact enough to fit into a priority or flat rate box. For me, this is the best way to save my customers on shipping costs, and make it easiest to pack later. 
• Shipping Costs box; There are 3 options. I have never done free shipping to my customers. That would balloon my costs too much, IMO. Many people do "buyer pays up to a set shipping cost", which is typically set at the default number. Today that's $9.21, but I've heard there is a postal rate hike coming. I choose that the "buyer pays all shipping costs". I've tried having where I pay above $9.21, but if I'm honest, haven't seen a difference in my sales by offering to pay that, so I don't. 

Finally you have Shipping Profiles. These are for when you have something specific that maybe you want to ship by itself, not bundled with anything else. When I sell craft supplies, sometimes I'll fill a flat rate box with stamps, papers, stickers, etc and they get all of that, for one money. I have set up a profile for "flat rate box", max weight, and can not bundle with any other items. If you had something really delicate, this might be a good option, so it doesn't get bundled with other items. 

Shipping Supplies - Get these BEFORE your first show. 

What kind of shipping supplies you'll need is completely dependent upon what you sell. If I were selling baseball cards, my needs would be very different than selling vintage home decor. 

Here is what I keep on hand, and where I typically get my supplies. 

USPS - I get and use anything FREE I can! Priority and Flat Rate Boxes are free from the USPS. You can order them and they'll deliver to you free! Key point here, don't use the Flat Rate boxes for anything that's not flat rate. If you are shipping ground, you cannot use the free USPS supplies. That said, probably about 35% of what I ship I'm able to use their supplies. 

Packing Paper: The larger the better. We order from a company called BringMeBoxes.com It's the cheapest way I have found to get shipping supplies. Plus if I order more than $200 at a time, they'll deliver for free. If that's not available to you, I've personally found that U-Haul has the best paper, at the best price. 

Bubble Wrap - I keep both big and small bubbles on hand. I also get this from BringMeBoxes.com, which comes in bulk, but it's the cheapest I've found and I go through a lot of it! Uhaul, once again is my cheapest souce if I have to purchase locally. 

Box sizes. This is going to vary widely depending on what you sell. In addition to all priority box sizes, and the largest flat rate box available, here's what I keep on hand. This is what I've found useful for selling vintage and greenery.

• 12x12x12. This is Whatnot's standard box size for all orders. 
• 16x12x8 This box size is actually my most commonly used box. It's the same total cubic inches as the 12x12x12, so I don't pay any overage for size. It allows me to ship things that are a little longer though. 
• 16x13.5x13.5 This is the equivalent of a small moving box. I do generally have to pay an oversize fee when I use this box. When a customer buys A LOT, this is easier than trying to break down things into multiple boxes. 
• 8x8x8 This is a smaller box that works well for things like creamers, salt & pepper shakers, etc. 

While recently I've expanded my box size range, these boxes, along with flat envelopes have sustained me for nearly 2 years. That has been largely helped by this tool. It's the box resizer. It basically scores the box so you can make it shorter by just folding it down. This way, if I really only need a 12x12x6 box, I don't need a different box, I just score the box 6 inches from the top and lay down the flaps. I don't need to figure out how to fill 6 inches with fluff and padding, wasting materials. 

Of course you'll also need some basic things like packing tape, and a printer. If you plan on making this a real side hustle, or primary job, invest in a thermal label printer, they aren't terribly expensive and will save a lot of time and energy. You'll also need either copy paper or thermal labels depending on which printer you have. 

I would also recommend that you have sharpies and painters tape on hand, for your shows, so you can designate who won each item, on the actual item. It makes life easier when you get to the packing part. 

Let us know how we can help you!

You can find us on Whatnot as SquirrelandBeeHome. Join the chat in our shows. Message us privately on Facebook. We love helping others become successful and we are really very transparent about our methods. Reach out. Let us help you. 

I hope you got something out of this blog, even if its just learning about the cool box resizer! Stay tuned for more helpful hints.