The Live Auction App Where People Can Bid ‘Til They’re Broke

**Jessica Mendoza** (0:05)
When Sean Harding was a kid back in the early 1990s, he was obsessed with baseball.

**Sean Harding** (0:11)
I just grew up loving baseball. You know, playing catch, watching baseball, playing baseball.

**SPEAKER_3** (0:19)
Here's a pitch on the way, a swing and a belt, a field, way back, Blue Jays with it.

**Sean Harding** (0:25)
My favorite team when I was a kid was the Toronto Blue Jays, and they won the World Series, and it was just so cool, and I just loved it.

**SPEAKER_3** (0:33)
Touch them all, Joe. You'll never hit a bigger home run in your life.

**Jessica Mendoza** (0:38)
And like a lot of kids who love baseball, Sean was also really into baseball cards.

**Sean Harding** (0:43)
When I opened up a card, I would immediately turn it over and just read the stats, right? Like, when was this person a rookie? What's his batting average? How many home runs has he hit? What teams has he played for?
So I just loved being inundated with that knowledge and just, you know, the pictures and getting to know more of the players. It's just all of it.

**Jessica Mendoza** (1:07)
But Sean grew up. He got married, had three kids, and became an accountant.
And collecting baseball cards became just another childhood memory. Until 2024, when he walked into a collector shop to buy a gift for a friend.

**Sean Harding** (1:22)
And when I went in there, Jessica, I was like, I was, I felt like I was a kid again. And I looked at the cards and the design of the cards was so much better than it was 30 years ago. I mean, like the picture, the feel, everything. I was like, oh my gosh, these are so, these are so nice. I love it.
So that's how I got back into it.

**Jessica Mendoza** (1:44)
Sean ended up going to that card shop a lot, building his collection up again.

**Sean Harding** (1:48)
And then I found out from a buddy of mine that it's like, why are you going to a local card shop? You can buy, you can buy cards online.
Like what? That sounds so awesome. This counters a $300 to $500 card, fellas, all day.

**Jessica Mendoza** (2:04)
Sean's friend introduced him to live auctions, live streams where buyers can bid around the clock on collectible items like baseball cards. The most popular live auction app in the US is called Whatnot.

**Sean Harding** (2:17)
It was so easy. It was so convenient. It was very fast-paced, but it was so easy to use. You download it on your phone, you put in your payment information, your shipping address, and you just start swiping.

**Jessica Mendoza** (2:30)
Right.

**Sean Harding** (2:31)
Right?

**SPEAKER_4** (2:31)
Yeah.

**Jessica Mendoza** (2:32)
Come on.

**SPEAKER_4** (2:34)
Roman and Cags, Doolado to 25

**SPEAKER_5** (2:39)
Oh my, that looks-

**SPEAKER_4** (2:41)
Holy moly.

**Jessica Mendoza** (2:43)
Did you find it fun at all or thrilling?

**Sean Harding** (2:46)
Oh my gosh. Yeah.

**SPEAKER_5** (2:48)
Of course.

**Sean Harding** (2:49)
Right? Like when you have access to that much without leaving your home.
Yeah. Right? It was very fun.

**Jessica Mendoza** (3:00)
But Sean says that what started out as a fun hobby turned into an addiction. Soon, thousands of cards filled box after box in his guest room.
After four months on Whatnot, Sean decided to tally up how much he had spent.

**Sean Harding** (3:16)
I went on Whatnot and I downloaded my activity to see what that total was.

**Jessica Mendoza** (3:23)
You added it all up?

**Sean Harding** (3:26)
I added it all up.

**Jessica Mendoza** (3:27)
What was the total that you saw?

**Sean Harding** (3:30)
Almost $1.4 million.

**Jessica Mendoza** (3:35)
Welcome to The Journal, our show about money, business, and power. I'm Jessica Mendoza. It's Friday, August 14th.
Coming up on the show, the live shopping app where some people.

**SPEAKER_4** (4:02)
This episode of The Journal is brought to you by Harvey, an AI platform designed for legal and professional services. Built and tested by lawyers, Harvey is trusted by more than 60% of the AmLaw 100 The platform dramatically reduces time spent on research, drafting, and document review without sacrificing quality, all while meeting the highest industry standards for security and compliance. Harvey, AI, tailored for law.
Visit harvey.ai to learn more and request a demo.

**Hanna Krueger** (4:41)
Whatnot is what happens. When eBay and TikTok and the home shopping network come together and have a baby.

**Jessica Mendoza** (4:52)
That's our colleague Hanna Krueger, who covers retail.

**Hanna Krueger** (4:55)
Whatnot took the most addicting qualities of the 21st century and fused it into an app. Where there's shopping, there's endless scroll, there's an entertainment aspect in music, and things flashing on screen. It's a really captivating, intoxicating experience in the palm of your hand.