I feel like I have had success in the 6 months that Ive been doing Whatnot as Virginiatreasurehunter. Some may disagree, but I am very happy with how my business has grown. Ive had people asking how I started and built things up and I thought I’d share if anyone is interested. Keep in mind this worked for me, it may not be the best way for you. -Consistancy. I tried a couple of different times and dates before I settle on Friday evening being my ‘set show’ day. I have a show every Friday, I have adjusted the times, but my shows are Friday evenings and I stick to it. Ive only cancelled one (I had the flu and wanted to die, so I thought $$$-It costs money to make money. I DID pay to promote for the first 3 months. The analytics showed I was getting sales from promotion, but more importantly I was getting bidders and return visitors who initially came in from promotion. $$$-MORE ‘It takes money to make money’. (This is the really unpopular one). I had $1 starts my first show, $3 starts after that, now I do all $4 starts. Yes I lost money on many items in the beginning. I sold many awesome pieces, many that I would guess Brad would get $30-$80 in his shows, for $3-$15. I knew I had to do this to build my business and considered it an acceptable loss. I congratulated my buyers (very upbeat and cheery, even when I was sad about it) and moved on to the next item. This has cost me the most money, and its been worth every penny. -KEEPING PEEPS IN THE ROOM. I did/do this several ways. I thought ‘People have so many rooms they can scroll through, how can I keep them in mine?’ My show thumbnail and title gave people a reason to stay. To start I gave a lot of jewelry away. - Plan your background thoughtfully. Give them something that takes time to look at. Brad uses a mirror and his zany personality along with the flats of amazing jewelry he’s selling. He’s shopping with a show, personified! However, for us mere mortals….. I now set up all ‘bangers’ in the background. Amazing higher end pieces I have preloaded, a few for auction, but mostly in the BIN. I do run flash sales during my shows on those pieces and I always make a nice profit on them. I could do a better job of featuring them during my shows..but that another topic, lol. By having those in the background there is always something really nice to look at, and if asked I tell people to look in the shop at the piece then I show the item up close and run the sale. I think people sometimes look and then research and come back because I am often asked to run a piece a second time, and then it sells, sometimes even a show or two later.

I made a purchase on FB marketplace for some storage trunks back in August of 2025. Mentioned to the seller that they were perfect for hauling my jewelry to vendor markets I do around the city. He mentions that they have jewelry they want to get rid of, that it was a bunch of mail ordered jewelry. I said of course I would be interested and he said they would gather it up and message me. I gave him my very bad card that needs updating but only after I move through the 500 I ordered. Well come February he message me and I kept trying to arrange a time to see the jewelry. Very no pressure, asking when was a best time for them. Finally got the message they are doing a garage sale so I headed there immediately. 4 boxes of sterling silver, with sajen pieces, vintage Avon, heavy gold plated costume. I was not prepared for the quality they had. Offered significantly more than they expected because it was still extremely fair and doable for me given the change in my circumstances. This is truly a blessing to help take my live shows to another level. Taking the weekend to be thankful and organize all of this! I can’t wait to bring everyone along and appreciate any advice on what works for you!

Don't read the comments until you vote to remove any influence. To be successful buying jewelry via online auction house, you have to be able to spot valuables in a sea of junk, usually with pictures that are far worse than this. Check out this photo and say your budget is $150 and you're only bidding on one lot. Which are you taking, left or right? I know what I'm taking!

Fabulous lot of buttons and smalls. Looks mostly true Victorian to me. I bet this listing doesn't last an hour.. https://ebay.us/m/NTUivF

Scammer FYI