What is your personal opinion on whatnot?

COINS MAKE CENTS · July 12, 2026 6:44PM

Me and some fellows coin dealers were having a conversation over a few beers this weekend and whatnot came up. All of us had mixed reviews some good some bad some unknowns. This got me thinking what other coin dealers and collectors thought about buying on whatnot and how it is affecting the coin collecting world....

Keeping the poll anonymous to hopefully keep down on any drama

*** the second one is suppose to say I think its HELPING coin collecting somewhat.... dont know how to change it

MasonG · July 12, 2026 6:50PM

There isn't an option that works for me. I know what it is and although I don't currently use it, I can't say for sure I never will. As far as its impact on coin collecting, I don't have an opinion either way.

So that's my vote.

skier07 · July 12, 2026 6:50PM

I don’t think a lot us on this forum myself included are familiar enough with whatnot and understand how it works. So I’ll defer.

Nephasth · July 12, 2026 6:56PM

I think it and ebay live help dealers move inventory faster than they would otherwise. I also think some of the dealers use predatory sales tactics.

ProofCollection · July 12, 2026 6:59PM

I think it gives dealers a good way to clear out the dreck.
I think it's good for people who with lots of time on their hands who like to buy common or low value widgets and bullion.

Capgun · July 12, 2026 7:45PM

No experience there, however have seen PawnBroker Pickers on YouTube. They boast about selling on Whatnot. Amusing at best.

Choppy · July 12, 2026 8:09PM

I am not a fan of the Whatnot format. (Note that I do not use the smartphone app, I use their web page on my computer.) I mostly check out the paper currency auctions, but I've seen the same problems with the coin auctions as well.

A dealer may have some older banknotes, and maybe at good prices, but I will never know because I bailed out early. I hate having to sit through an enormous amount of modern stuff just to see if there's anything I want. With HA, you know what items are coming later, and you know about when the auctioneer will get to them.

Most of these guys are so slow! I wish there was a "Dude, move on!" button.

Also, I'm not comfortable spending maybe hundreds of dollars on an old banknote that someone is holding at arm's length from the camera. Stains? Pinholes? Tears? I want to see detailed photos, and I want to zoom in on them.

Finally, what is with all the AI slop art for the various auctions? It feels like I'm in a casino.

So, yeah, I do not intend to use Whatnot, at least not for anything worth over a few dollars.

Dave99B · July 12, 2026 9:33PM

I find it tacky, and I see what appears to be newbies overpaying for dreck. I'm concerned about the long term impact of turning off these newer collectors.

Dave

Walkerguy21D · July 13, 2026 5:25AM

@ProofCollection said:
I think it gives dealers a good way to clear out the dreck.
I think it's good for people who with lots of time on their hands who like to buy common or low value widgets and bullion.

I don’t have an opinion, either, as I have no experience with it. However, a smaller dealer friend of mine told me at FUN last week that someone was looking over the case of his lower end raw coins, and asked for a price on the whole lot, which he then bought. He wasn’t interested in the other case with the slabs and more expensive material, just the “dreck”. He was a whatnot seller.

USSID18 · July 13, 2026 5:35AM

I'm not a dealer but I would think the more eyes balls on your coins the better. However, Whatnot would be the last place I would go for the "MOST" exposure to your coins,

Kliao · July 13, 2026 5:47AM

It's a good way to move out lower value junk for (sometimes) crazy high prices.

I liked how a dealer described it: It's like the TV coin marketers. It's another form of entertainment where you're paying for hours of entertainment.

Walkerfan · July 13, 2026 6:04AM

I know what it is. I have no intention of ever using it. But, I think it’s good for the hobby, because it’s stimulates interest and seems to be very popular.

TwoSides2aCoin · July 13, 2026 7:05AM

I have an account there. Without a massive build up of followers , it is almost like taking stuff to the Goodwill store.

RandomSchmoe · July 13, 2026 7:26AM

As a collector I like to take my time and look hard at what I may purchase. Whatnot is just not the right format for me.

BLUEJAYWAY · July 13, 2026 9:56AM

El Paso.

TallahasseeCoinClub · July 13, 2026 10:10AM

I did not vote, but have tried WhatNot experimentally as both a buyer and a seller.

It is a site that I will no longer use.

TomB · July 13, 2026 11:25AM

You likely would have more participation if one of the options was closer to something truly neutral like "It likely neither helps nor hurts a great deal as it is simply another venue".

Project Numismatics · July 13, 2026 11:59AM

I used it extensively about a year ago for a period of about 3 months. I wanted to see what all the hype was about. It’s very addictive but my issue was that it became more about the thrill of acquiring and entertainment than collecting. I stuck with reputable dealers (there are some!) and my acquisitions were generally at fair market value, just ultimately wasn’t for me. Prefer to collect with a more goal oriented / intentional mindset which is hard on Whatnot.

ElmerFusterpuck · July 13, 2026 12:13PM

I've looked at it for a bit and decided it wasn't for me. It felt like I was in a small room full of screaming toddlers while trying to concentrate on an open heart surgery.

johnny9434 · July 13, 2026 1:06PM

whatnot = whatever. i look thats about it

jmlanzaf · July 13, 2026 2:47PM

@TomB said:
You likely would have more participation if one of the options was closer to something truly neutral like "It likely neither helps nor hurts a great deal as it is simply another venue".

Or eliminated the usage question. What if I think Whatnot is good for the hobby but don't want to use it?

jmlanzaf · July 13, 2026 2:48PM

@ElmerFusterpuck said:
I've looked at it for a bit and decided it wasn't for me. It felt like I was in a small room full of screaming toddlers while trying to concentrate on an open heart surgery.

Lol. It definitely doesn't appeal to everyone. But it does appeal to a lot of people.

jesbroken · July 13, 2026 4:07PM

I think it's not very user friendly like ebay, gc, etal. JMO
Jim

jmlanzaf · July 13, 2026 4:38PM

@jesbroken said:
I think it's not very user friendly like ebay, gc, etal. JMO
Jim

It's designed for a very different experience. If you like whatnot, you would probably be bored to years at GC or HA. Ebay, of course, has now embraced the whatnot format and offers live auctions.

Colonialcoin · July 13, 2026 5:04PM

I have gone on a couple of times. From what I have seen, it’s people selling as Laura put it, widgets. Mainly cheap, raw stuff that sells from $1-$100.

jmlanzaf · July 13, 2026 5:33PM

@Colonialcoin said:
I have gone on a couple of times. From what I have seen, it’s people selling as Laura put it, widgets. Mainly cheap, raw stuff that sells from $1-$100.

That is the bulk of auctions. But there are certain sellers who sell fairly high end stuff. The site is only really defined by the style of the auctions, not the items sold.

ProofCollection · July 13, 2026 6:02PM

@jmlanzaf said:

@Colonialcoin said:
I have gone on a couple of times. From what I have seen, it’s people selling as Laura put it, widgets. Mainly cheap, raw stuff that sells from $1-$100.

That is the bulk of auctions. But there are certain sellers who sell fairly high end stuff. The site is only really defined by the style of the auctions, not the items sold.

I don't know about that. Could a dealer profitably sell a few dozen $1000+ coins and make a profit in that format? Not from what I've seen because the $1000+ customer base is not attracted to that format. Which isn't to say it couldn't be cultivated and couldn't be done, but still.

jmlanzaf · July 13, 2026 6:22PM

@ProofCollection said:

@jmlanzaf said:

@Colonialcoin said:
I have gone on a couple of times. From what I have seen, it’s people selling as Laura put it, widgets. Mainly cheap, raw stuff that sells from $1-$100.

That is the bulk of auctions. But there are certain sellers who sell fairly high end stuff. The site is only really defined by the style of the auctions, not the items sold.

I don't know about that. Could a dealer profitably sell a few dozen $1000+ coins and make a profit in that format? Not from what I've seen because the $1000+ customer base is not attracted to that format. Which isn't to say it couldn't be cultivated and couldn't be done, but still.

Your experience is limited. People don't always start things at $1 and go. They are people that do wall scans, all of actions is interested and then start it at a "fair price". I've seen sales of a much as $5000 for coins.

This wasn't coins, but I also saw one card dealer sell 250 $1000 boxes in about 10 minutes. It was amazing to watch.

jmlanzaf · July 13, 2026 6:27PM

@ProofCollection said:

@jmlanzaf said:

@Colonialcoin said:
I have gone on a couple of times. From what I have seen, it’s people selling as Laura put it, widgets. Mainly cheap, raw stuff that sells from $1-$100.

That is the bulk of auctions. But there are certain sellers who sell fairly high end stuff. The site is only really defined by the style of the auctions, not the items sold.

I don't know about that. Could a dealer profitably sell a few dozen $1000+ coins and make a profit in that format? Not from what I've seen because the $1000+ customer base is not attracted to that format. Which isn't to say it couldn't be cultivated and couldn't be done, but still.

What is your personal opinion on whatnot?

What is your personal opinion on whatnot?

What is your personal opinion on whatnot? 49 votes

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