To the Leadership Team at Whatnot,

We fell in love with Whatnot because it was built on something rare in the e-commerce world: real community, authentic connections, and a passion for the hustle. It was a place where independent hobbyists, small-business owners, and everyday collectors could share their passions, support one another, and build a livelihood from the ground up.

But right now, that community is under threat.

Lately, the platform has been flooded by massive, corporate big box liquidation stores. These corporate entities are not part of our community. They are bulk liquidators dumping mass-produced, salvaged merchandise onto the app. Because of their massive scale, they are able to:

• Bury Independent Streams: Corporate accounts push small, hardworking sellers completely out of the algorithm and off the main feeds.

• Undercut the Market: They dump inventory at prices that individual sellers—who rely on these sales to pay bills and feed families—simply cannot compete with.

• Destroy the App’s Culture: Whatnot is turning from a vibrant, interactive community of hobbyists into a sterile, corporate clearance aisle.

We are not asking Whatnot to stop growing. We are asking Whatnot to remember its roots. If independent sellers are crowded out, the very heart and soul of this platform will go with them.

Our Demand:

We, the undersigned buyers and sellers of Whatnot, call on management to take immediate action to protect small businesses. We urge Whatnot to remove big box liquidation operations from the main marketplace, or at the very least, restrict them to a completely separate corporate/liquidation tab so they no longer bury and destroy independent streamsand finally,  lower the fees on small businesses who a are counting on this revenue to pay bills. 

The 8% fees imposed on sellers who do not have a volume over $$10,000 a month is a slap in the face while higher volume sellers receive fee breaks.  

Let’s keep Whatnot about the people, not the corporations. Sign today to protect small sellers!