Seth Chandler doesn't fit the typical profile of a social media influencer. He's a silver-haired 52-year-old with fewer than 30,000 followers, and his obsession since childhood has been collecting rare coins. But when he flicks on the livestreaming shopping app Whatnot, he can turn a relatively small audience into big bucks.

His shop, Witter Coin, often reels in upward of $100,000 in orders per week through the app. He has earned millions over two-plus years using the platform, including $4 million last year (and he's on track for $5 million this year).

"I'm an old guy, so I'm like, ugh, technology," Chandler recalls of joining Whatnot. But he sensed an opportunity to find a new audience for his Cow Hollow collectibles shop and get a leg up on other dealers. "Most coin companies are living in prehistoric times, so I started messing around with it," he said.

He estimates that he's spent thousands of hours selling products like Liberty Head nickels and Morgan silver dollars through a platform he describes as "if QVC and Instagram had a baby." His livestreaming escapades have brought a swell of new customers to 64-year-old Witter Coin and earned him fans from around the country.

"It's fun, it's action - I just love it," he said. "You're doing 22 things at once: You're on a stage, and you've got to keep people entertained and focused."

His typical livestream moves quickly: He's churning through coin sales, often with rapid-fire "sudden death" auctions and most bids starting at $1. Witter's Whatnot philosophy is that one-third of its products sell "a little strong," one-third sell "just right," and one-third sell "too cheap," so buyers know they might score a deal.

"We go fast as hell, so you get FOMO kicking in," Chandler said. "We get high-value items and a lot of unique items that most other streamers don't have."

While Facebook, TikTok, and Amazon have launched live shopping features, the format has struggled to take off in the U.S. in the same way it has in Asian countries. But Whatnot - which has raised about $500 million since launching in 2019 - believes that in a world of sketchy or faceless Instagram or TikTok shops, people are craving a more personal way to buy stuff.

Live shopping "combines entertainment and commerce," said Chief Product Officer Tom Verilli, who joined Whatnot from Amazon-owned Twitch in 2023. "There's this trust and authenticity that comes from the ability to see and speak to the person that you're buying from."

"The best part about it is the people," Chandler said. "Most of them are newer to collecting coins, so it's a great way to introduce them."

"It's a money-printing machine," Chandler said of the app. "We have unlimited amounts of coins that people want; the biggest challenge is that we just need to be on there more."

To check out Whatnot, see:
https://www.whatnot.com/

To read the complete article, see:
How this SF coin nerd reels in $100K per week on a niche shopping app(https://sfstandard.com/2024/10/09/witter-coin-sf-livestream-shopping-app-whatnot/)