Live selling and shopping has transformed the way products are sold online in recent years, and Whatnot is one of the fastest-growing platforms driving this shift. Even though the platform was launched in 2019, in 2025 it started gaining substantial attention and new users. The popularity of Whatnot is not shocking – it’s not only for commerce, but for community building and entertainment. Similarly, thousands of sellers have successfully expanded their businesses thanks to TikTok shop and TikTok live showcasing of products, and even Twitch has launched a live shopping feature.
According to an article by EcommerceBonsai, Whatnot generated over $2 billion in gross merchandise value in 2024, with more than $359 million in annual revenue and year-over-year growth exceeding 100%, confirming live shopping as a serious and rapidly scaling ecommerce channel. The platform hosts over 175,000 hours of livestreams every week, and the top 500 sellers have each surpassed $1 million in sales, proving that consistent inventory and volume drive real results. With the average buyer purchasing more than 12 items per week and 62% of sellers relying exclusively on Whatnot, access to reliable wholesale and liquidation inventory is a decisive advantage for resellers who want to compete and scale.
We recently joined Whatnot and have started doing live shows, selling inventory from the 888Lots warehouse starting at incredibly low prices.
Thousands of resellers use Whatnot every day to sell products through live auctions, bundle deals, and interactive shows. While the selling experience looks simple on the surface, long-term profitability on Whatnot depends on one critical factor: how and where inventory is sourced.
This is where wholesale and liquidation sourcing becomes the competitive advantage.
What Is Whatnot and How Does It Work
Whatnot is a live commerce marketplace, where sellers host real-time video shows to sell products directly to buyers. Sellers present items live, buyers bid or purchase instantly, and transactions happen in seconds. The platform, available both as a website and as an app, blends entertainment, urgency, and community, which creates strong buyer engagement and fast inventory turnover.
Sellers can run auctions starting at low prices, sell individual items, or group products into bundles. Success on Whatnot is driven by volume, pricing flexibility, and the ability to keep shows fresh with new inventory.
Whatnot is small-business friendly, which is exactly why we have decided to focus on this platform. On there, beginner resellers and small businesses have the chance to gain exposure and loyal viewers turned customers, if they manage to use their time efficiently and create FOMO. Consistency is the key for success, since the average user spends about 80 minutes a day on the platform.
Popular categories on Whatnot include accessories, apparel, toys, home goods, beauty, small electronics, collectibles, vintage items, and general merchandise. These categories perform especially well because they are easy to demonstrate live, impulse-friendly, and suited for bundle pricing.
Why Whatnot Is Profitable for Resellers
Whatnot rewards sellers who can move inventory quickly. Unlike traditional marketplaces that depend on long listings and search rankings, Whatnot allows sellers to sell dozens or even hundreds of items in a single live show.
The profit model works when sellers can:
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Start auctions at low prices without risking losses
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Offer bundles that feel like strong value to buyers
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Maintain enough inventory to run multiple shows per week
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Rotate products frequently to keep audiences engaged
This model favors sellers who have access to inventory at wholesale or liquidation pricing. When cost per unit is low, sellers gain flexibility. They can start bids at one dollar, absorb slow rounds, and still protect margins throughout the show.
The Sourcing Problem Most Whatnot Sellers Face
Many sellers begin their Whatnot journey by sourcing inventory from thrift stores, clearance racks, or retail arbitrage opportunities. While this approach can work in the short term, it quickly introduces several limitations that slow growth. Inventory supply is often inconsistent, making it difficult to plan shows or maintain a reliable product flow.
Unit costs are frequently too high to support low starting bids, which reduces pricing flexibility during live auctions. As a result, increasing show frequency becomes challenging, and product variety depends more on luck than on a repeatable sourcing strategy.
As sellers grow their audience, sourcing becomes the bottleneck. The question shifts from how to sell to how to source consistently without spending all day hunting deals.
Wholesale on Whatnot
The Wholesale category on the platform is a relatively new feature, designed to give resellers the opportunity to source inventory for their businesses or for their own live shows. Within this category, sellers showcase pallets, casepacks, and bundles, depending on the quantity and type of products offered. This makes it easier for resellers to secure inventory in bulk rather than sourcing individual items one by one.
The Wholesale category is currently available in the United States, Germany, and France, with the European markets still in beta testing. Its introduction signals Whatnot’s growing focus on supporting professional resellers and high-volume sellers who rely on consistent inventory to run frequent live shows.
In the Wholesale category, sellers present larger inventory formats such as pallets, which typically include wholesale or liquidation goods in quantities of 100 units or more, as well as casepacks and bundles that contain smaller but resale-ready lots. These formats are specifically designed to support scaling, bundling, and aggressive live auction pricing.
For resellers, the Wholesale category reduces sourcing friction and aligns closely with live shopping strategies where margins, volume, and inventory consistency are critical. This is also why wholesale and liquidation suppliers like 888Lots fit naturally into this ecosystem, providing inventory that is already structured for resale rather than individual consumer purchases.
Why Wholesale and Liquidation Sourcing Works for Whatnot
Wholesale sourcing allows sellers to buy products in bulk at prices designed for resale. Liquidation sourcing provides access to overstock, returns, and closeout inventory at deep discounts.
For Whatnot sellers, this means:
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Predictable cost per unit
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Inventory ready for bundling and auctions
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Better margins even with aggressive pricing
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The ability to plan shows instead of scrambling for stock
Categories like clothing wholesale, accessories, toys, electronics wholesale, and home goods are particularly well suited for live selling when sourced in bulk.
Wholesale does not replace Whatnot. It powers it.
Why Whatnot Sellers Source From 888Lots
888Lots is a B2B wholesale and liquidation platform built specifically to help resellers and retailers profit from branded and sought-after inventory. We work directly with manufacturers and major retailers to provide inventory that fits live selling models.
Our platform offers:
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Individual items and liquidation lots ideal for live auctions
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Brand-name products buyers recognize and trust
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Daily inventory updates across high-demand categories
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Pricing that supports $1 starts and bundle deals
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Fast US shipping – either FBA or from our New Jersey warehouse. We also have the Pickup & Save section on the website, which allows our partners in the NY & NJ area to take their heavily discounted order from our warehouse, additionally saving the shipping costs.
Because we operate strictly as a B2B platform on 888lots.com, our pricing, quantities, and logistics are designed for resale from day one. Sellers do not need to compete with consumers or worry about retail markups.
For sellers serious about turning Whatnot into a repeatable business, sourcing from a wholesale and liquidation partner is not optional. It is foundational.
Proof That the Strategy Works: The Cheap Chick on Whatnot
The effectiveness of this model is best demonstrated through real sellers who use it successfully.
The Cheap Chick is a long-time 888Lots customer and affiliate who has built a strong presence on Whatnot. We have already mentioned her as a successful reseller and youtuber in our article Top 12 Reseller YouTubers Every Amazon Seller Should Follow in 2025, but she has managed to gain a substantial following and make profits on the Whatnot platform.
With thousands of followers, over 1,200 consistent five-star reviews, and over ten thousand items sold, the store ‘TheCheapChick‘ reflects what happens when live selling is paired with smart wholesale sourcing.
Her Whatnot catalog features exactly the types of products that perform best in live shows: sunglasses, accessories, toys, bags, home items, and general merchandise priced to move quickly. Many items sell in the one to five dollar range, a pricing strategy that only works when inventory is sourced at the right cost.
By sourcing through 888Lots, she is able to:
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Maintain a steady flow of new inventory
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Price aggressively without sacrificing margins
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Bundle products effectively for live auctions
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Scale her shows without relying on inconsistent retail finds
Her success is not based on one viral show or lucky sourcing trips. It is built on a repeatable wholesale and liquidation strategy that supports long-term growth.
Start Sourcing from 888Lots and Profit from Live Auctions
A practical example of inventory suited for live shopping is this Women Apparel 4 Boxes wholesale lot from 888Lots. The lot includes 172 brand-new units across four boxes, with an average cost of about $2.90 per item, making it ideal for low starting bids and bundle deals on Whatnot.
The manifest features recognizable brands your customers will be attracted to. A Varley women’s half-zip sweatshirt and SPANX shapewear pieces can be positioned as premium items during live shows, often driving higher bids due to brand trust and perceived retail value.
Lilly Pulitzer tops and pants add color and lifestyle appeal, which performs well with impulse buyers.
The North Face and Brooks athletic apparel attract fitness-focused buyers and tend to sell quickly when introduced mid-show.
With this type of lot, resellers can auction premium items individually, bundle smaller pieces to increase order value, and spread inventory across multiple shows. This is exactly the kind of wholesale and liquidation inventory that allows Whatnot sellers to scale consistently instead of relying on one-off retail finds.
Turning Whatnot Into a Scalable Resale Business
Whatnot is an excellent selling platform, but it is not a sourcing solution. Sellers who rely only on retail arbitrage often hit a ceiling. Sellers who build a wholesale sourcing pipeline gain control over margins, volume, and growth.
888Lots helps bridge that gap by giving Whatnot sellers access to inventory designed for resale, not leftovers meant for consumers. We have also participated in Whatnot’s Wholesale Show category as a business, making us part of the ecosystem rather than only an external supplier. We understand that resellers need reliable supply, predictable margins, and high-quality inventory they can confidently sell live without hesitation.
Whether you focus on clothing wholesale, accessories, toys, electronics, or general merchandise, the opportunity is the same. So, if you are planning to sell on Whatnot and want to improve margins, inventory consistency, or show frequency, wholesale and liquidation sourcing is the next step.
888Lots provides daily deals, bulk inventory, and reseller-first pricing built to support live selling success. Thousands of sellers already use our platform to fuel their resale businesses across marketplaces, including Whatnot.