08/04/2026
Maybe I'm a little behind but I tried whatnot for the first time last week. After watching tons of sales I figured I'd jump in and get something for myself. I saw these darling bluebird salt and pepper shakers and decided to bid. The seconds ticked down - 3, 2, 1 - it was mine! $10 plus shipping. Easy. When it arrived today I tore into the box like it was Christmas! That's when I saw it - my item had been broken and repaired. Um... That was never disclosed during the auction. As a vintage seller I know these things happen BUT an ethical seller - on any forum - does 2 things: 1) Inspects what she's selling for flaws, and 2) Disloses those flaws to the buyer outright. If you know anything about whatnot, we're talking about sellers with massive quantities of items. Boxes, shelves, storage facilities, etc. Because they are selling in massive quantities, and time is everything, you can't tell me they're inspecting every single item. (I literally saw sellers running items right out of their vehicles from estate sale parking lots. I watched other sell directly from boxes that had never been opened. Or selling dirty items. (Another item I won arrived sticky! Gross.)) Whatnot has the policy that if a seller does not disclose a flaw and sells an item anyway, you're entitled to a refund. That's fine, whatever. I'll get my money back. But I won't be a return Whatnot shopper. Quality matters. My time matters. Inspecting an item matters, especially in an industry where we're preserving the past to take it into the future. I'm not a perfect seller, but I value my customers enough to be careful about what I'm offering. I encourage you to shop only vendors who do the same.💕