Bex Scott welcomes guest Kim, owner of The Red Rooster Shoppe on Instagram and Whatnot, to the show to discuss everything to do with Whatnot. Kim, who has accumulated quite a following on Whatnot and is practiced at live shows, shares tips and advice on how to make Whatnot both fun and valuable. She also talks about all the vintage delights she collects and the many thrift stores she visits in Ontario.
Bex Scott welcomes guest Kim, owner of The Red Rooster Shoppe on Instagram and Whatnot, to the show to discuss everything to do with Whatnot. Kim, who has accumulated quite a following on Whatnot and is practiced at live shows, shares tips and advice on how to make Whatnot both fun and valuable. She also talks about all the vintage delights she collects and the many thrift stores she visits in Ontario.
Whatnot, according to Kim, is a social selling platform that combines entertainment and thrifting. It’s a buyers and seller social marketplace where live auction shows are commonplace. Kim and Bex talk about exactly why Whatnot has become so valuable to their vintage resale endeavours, not just as a sales platform but as a place to make like-minded friendships and support circles. Kim dishes about her childhood growing up with collector and reseller parents, her time as an auctioneer, the extensive vintage collection she has amassed, and exactly how to get started on Whatnot and in vintage collecting in general. The conversation is fun, full of laughter and tips, and a great way to get a feel for Whatnot as a platform.
Resources discussed in this episode:
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Contact Kim | The Red Rooster Shoppe:
Contact Rebecca Scott | Pyrex With Bex:
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Transcript
Bex Scott: [00:00:02] Hey everybody, it's Bex Scott and welcome to the Pyrex with Bex podcast where, you guessed it, I talk about vintage Pyrex, but also all things vintage housewares. I'll take you on my latest thrifting adventures, talk about reselling, chat with other enthusiasts about their collections, and learn about a bunch of really awesome items from the past. Subscribe now on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you love listening to podcasts so you don't miss a beat. Hey, everybody, this is Bex Scott and you are listening to the Pyrex with Bex podcast. On today's episode, I'm going to be chatting with my reseller friend Kim, also known as the Red Rooster, all about Whatnot, what we love about the app, and how to get started on it as a new reseller.
Bex Scott: [00:00:49] Thanks for tuning into another episode of the Pyrex with Bex podcast. Today I have the pleasure of introducing you to Kim from the Red Rooster Shoppe. Welcome, Kim.
Kim: [00:01:00] Hello. How are you?
Bex Scott: [00:01:02] Good, thanks. How are you?
Kim: [00:01:03] I'm good. I'm good, very good.
Bex Scott: [00:01:06] So I met Kim through a fun little platform called Whatnot, and we'll get into Whatnot a bit later. But I wanted to start off with you telling us a little bit about you.
Kim: [00:01:17] So my name's Kim. I live in Hastings, Ontario, Canada, or just outside of Hastings, technically. I'm a full time dementia caregiver, but I used to be an auctioneer and my parents were big collectors and resellers. So when I was a kid, that's all we did as vacations was go to flea markets and meets, and weekends were spent in some gym, in some school somewhere in Ontario selling things. So it's just kind of what I'm used to, and I enjoy doing it now as kind of like a fun activity.
Bex Scott: [00:01:56] That is very cool. I didn't know that about you. Did you love doing that as a kid when you were growing up? Was that something that you really enjoyed doing or what were your feelings around that?
Kim: [00:02:07] I was an only child. I am an only child. So I don't think I knew anything different. Right? Just this was my normal. It was a little boring sometimes. But then mum would get me making crafts in the background, which of course we'd sell. You know, we had these pencils you could rub between your hands and they were your frustration releasers and they would go all funny hair. So I would sit there and--.
Bex Scott: [00:02:31] -- oh I remember those.
Kim: [00:02:32] Yeah, yeah, I forget what they were called, but, or the anger busters, I think we used to put labels on them sometimes is that. The only problem with them was because I used to take them to school with me, they were my fidget toy, but the eraser gets covered up by the hair and it's really hard to correct your mistakes. So you can't make any mistakes when you have that as your pencil. Yeah, but it was so normal that in grade seven I did speech arts, which I don't know if you did, but where everybody has to write a speech and then everybody goes in front of the classroom. It's probably too anxiety driven to be done anymore for kids.
Bex Scott: [00:03:12] Yeah. That was my worst. Fear.
Kim: [00:03:14] Yeah, it's it probably ended in like the late 80s, early 90s. But in the 70s and 80s, it was the thing you, every single kid had to do it. And I was good at it. I was, I was good. I could memorize and I could perform a little bit, but then I would get up on stage, and usually I would do a five minute speech in 2.5 minutes, because I would get really nervous and I would just go through it really, really fast, which took away from points. So I never went to like regionals or anything. Anyways, in grade seven, I wrote a speech. The first line of it is, have you ever gone to Pennsylvania for a screw? And it was so normal to me and I, and I was, I was like 13. I had no idea what a screw like that, what the connotation of that was until I was up on stage in front of the entire school. And the moment it came out of my mouth, like a millisecond later, I'm like, oh, I know what I just said, but I have to carry on. I have to carry on. But we would go like, we went every year to this swap meet for classic cars because my dad, who never finished building it, but he was building a 1928 model A coupe, which is kind of like a truck.
Bex Scott: [00:04:32] Very cool.
Kim: [00:04:33] But he never finished it because he wanted it to be 100% original, which meant every single part down to screws. Which is why we would go all the way to Pennsylvania, because that's every October at Hershey, Pennsylvania there's a meet for classic cars, antique car enthusiasts. And it's just, it's mud. It's an entire field of mud that you trudge through because it always rains, it always rains and there's so many people and everyone's pulling their wagon with their car parts in it, and I would have to trudge along in the mud holding on to a precious screw or something. But I just thought it was normal. So I wrote, in grade seven I asked the entire school if they'd ever gone to Pennsylvania for a screw.
Bex Scott: [00:05:25] I love it. That's very cute.
Kim: [00:05:27] It's a little embarrassing now.
Bex Scott: [00:05:30] Oh, so you had the childhood of flea markets and auctions and being an auctioneer. So how did the reselling side of what you do now begin?
Kim: [00:05:41] I had to close my business as an auctioneer. Auctioneering was actually like the last career I had before I got sick. I have what's called central sensitization syndrome. And so it's like fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue put together into one. So I was pretty much laid up in bed for a few years. And then the pandemic hit. And then my mother started to have the signs of moderate dementia. And so it got to the point where I had to move her in with me. So we moved here to near Hastings on the Trent River. And it's beautiful here and there's lots of activities for her to do. But I was looking for another outlet and mom and I always loved thrifting. It was our thing to do was to go thrifting. And I love that treasure hunt. But then you get the stuff home and it's like, oh, I don't really need this. And I had a huge, I had when I was sick and laid up at home, I had started trying to, like, ADHD really, because I never really completed anything, but I would get into a whole bunch of different crafts. So I had a whole like room full of craft supplies, and I was on Instagram and it wasn't even related to reselling, the woman that I was following.
Kim: [00:07:06] But she posted that her son and daughter-in-law were doing some, you know, Funko Pop sale on Whatnot. And I went, what's Whatnot? Like, I need to Google this. So I didn't use the referral code or anything, so I didn't get my little your bonus of using a referral code from a seller or another Whatnot or... But I looked into it and I was like, this sounds cool. This is fun. I think I want to do this. So first it was just to kind of get rid of my craft section, and then it was like, nah, you know what? I like these vintage decor people. The people who do vintage decor are fun. And I love these sellers and I love that community. So that's where I want to start, I started buying from there and then I was like, you know what? I think I want to, I want to sell in this category too. And next thing you know, I've got an entire basement full of stuff.
Bex Scott: [00:08:04] I understand that fully. Yeah, that's what my basement looks like as well.
Kim: [00:08:09] It's bad. It's really bad. But it's all inventory as far as I'm concerned. It's all inventory. So it's just a matter of when I manage to get time to sell it.
Bex Scott: [00:08:22] That's what I say every time I bring a new box home. Like this will be sold one day and it's going to make me a lot of money. So that's why I bought it. And then it's the slippery slope of the next box is the same thing.
Kim: [00:08:34] Yes. My husband just, he just shakes his head because he likes everything new, so he doesn't understand it. But he likes me being thrifty. He likes that. He likes that I can always find a way to save money somewhere. I will figure out a way.
Bex Scott: [00:08:52] That's perfect.
Kim: [00:08:52] He doesn't think that way. So he's always like, oh, good, like we don't have to buy a brand new fridge. We can go to the restore and get a fridge that's pretty much brand new because it came out of some remodeled house, you know, those sort of things. He likes that. But he doesn't like all the boxes right now. We call it the Great Wall of Hastings, because they're all lined up and built up into basically a wall that divides part of the basement. So.
Bex Scott: [00:09:24] That's awesome. I'd like to come and shop in your basement.
Kim: [00:09:27] Yeah. You'd have to unbox everything. I always say if someone was to come here and rob the place to try and get my treasures, first of all, it's all stuff that's going to take you a while to resell, so good luck with that. Second of all, there's a dog that will bite you. But third of all, you're going to have to go and like clean up first to find all the stuff and go through about 150 boxes. So guaranteed, I'll be home before you get through a third of it.
Bex Scott: [00:09:56] So really, it's a security system. That's a whole new way of looking at it.
Kim: [00:10:01] Yeah, it's it's a way of, you know, hiding your valuables in about 150 boxes. It's a little treasure hunt. It's like an Easter egg hunt for robbers. To figure out which box it is that's got the best stuff. Might be at the bottom. Might not be, I don't know. I don't know, actually, because I can't remember what's in everything. I never label the boxes, which I should probably do, but then it's always usually just whatever comes from the latest auction. And, you know, I accidentally fall into a thrift store on the way home from an auction pick up. That's not my fault. That the car just--
Bex Scott: [00:10:42] -- it just happened to be there.
Kim: [00:10:43] The car has a self-driving system that drives itself to different thrift stores on the way to the grocery store. Or like when I do my blood work, I make sure I do it in Trenton because the parking lot for the blood work place is the same parking lot as for the Missions Bible Thrift store. You know, so it's not my fault that after I get blood taken, I have to go into a thrift store to recover. That's the only way to recover from a loss of blood, really. Is to buy somebody.
Bex Scott: [00:11:20] It definitely helps.
Kim: [00:11:21] Yeah.
Bex Scott: [00:11:22] That's how I feel about Costco. I send my husband to Costco because Value Village is on the way to Costco, and he can drop me there and then go do the grocery shopping and then come and get me after he's done.
Kim: [00:11:35] I think what I'm going to start doing is bringing, once my husband's semi-retired, I'm going to get him to come with me thrifting, because then he'll get the 55 plus discount because I don't qualify yet. And I was thinking of becoming a student just so I could get the student discount because I buy so much, especially from the one place, Vinnies. I love them. But every time they always ask, they just automatically ask everybody do you qualify for a discount? Every time I'm like, no, not old enough yet. I wish I was old enough. It would save tons of money. I spend way too much there.
Bex Scott: [00:12:15] So from your perspective, I've tried to explain Whatnot to people before, and I'm not very good at it. So how would you explain Whatnot to somebody who's never heard of it?
Kim: [00:12:26] They call themselves a social selling platform, but basically it is entertainment plus thrifting put together. It's a way to get social and meet new people. There's friendships there, but it is... Whatnot is Whatnot. It's just, it's everything under the sun. They're even looking at the possibility of doing, in the next year or so, doing like vehicles and stuff, like.
Bex Scott: [00:12:56] Wow.
Kim: [00:12:57] Yeah. Which would obviously be local pickup not shipping. But they were talking about that in a product development show. So Whatnot is, it's like eBay but it's live. It's entertaining. There's still the auction part. But you can go in and you can just search for things at any time. But there's always a show on somewhere with something that you're probably going to like and want.
Bex Scott: [00:13:22] Mhm.
Kim: [00:13:23] And it's just fun. You can just come in and watch because there's, you know, there's goofs like me doing trivia and like I was just on the wigging-out train where we all were, there was 22 sellers, so that was like 11 hours solid of sellers who were wearing silly wigs and being silly for 11 solid hours. Yeah. It was pretty amazing. It's I mean, whatnot is just, it's entertainment, but it's also value because you can get some really good deals on Whatnot. And as a seller, it's just, it's a fun way to sell your stuff. I find it quick and easy and it's on my schedule, right? Like, I don't have to, if I can't do it because with mom having dementia, she's my priority, so if she's not having a good day or because she's not having a good day, I'm too tired to do a show because I don't want to be blah on a show. I want to be fun. I want to be myself. So I need to feel rested, so I can move it. I can move my shows when I need to.
Kim: [00:14:33] Consistency is important, but it's do as I say, not as I do. If you have the time, and, you know, one day when mum's not with us anymore, then I hope that Whatnot will be something that I do like, you know, 3, 4, or 5 times a week. That I'm doing short Whatnot shows or long Whatnot shows. And that's the other thing, you don't have to do one hour or, you know, three hours. You can do as much as you want or as little as you want, which I really like. So, it's so flexible for sellers and they are asking us to do more detailed listings. But if you do an unboxing. You can just lift it up and show it and turn it around and give some descriptions and mention any issues with it, and hit the button and start the auction and sell it like right there and then. So, which is great because I got a lot of boxes to unbox. So I love that part. But yeah, it's, I mean I think it's more, it's like it's entertainment and shopping all in one for just about anything you could think of.
Bex Scott: [00:15:40] Yeah, I think that's the perfect way to describe it. And I'm a very introverted person. I kind of keep to myself, and I've always been shy and starting off on Whatnot, having to - you don't necessarily have to show your face, you can flip it around and just show your product - but having to talk to yourself the whole time at the beginning was very challenging for me, but you kind of get into it and you start to have fun, and you have your regular followers and shoppers that come in to your shows all the time, and you start to build friendships and community. And I think four of the Canadian sellers, you've been a huge part of building that community and those friendships. And when I found all of you guys, it was kind of like a little built-in friend pod that you go along your daily life, but you guys are always there and you can ask questions and shop from each other's lives, and it's perfect.
Kim: [00:16:38] Yeah, I love the fact that there's like this group and it's, you know, mostly women in our category. So it's this really awesome, supportive group of women that are all Canadians who all love to buy and sell. And yeah, we're just so supportive of each other and just going into each other's stores. And there's been major things that have happened. Friday was my one year of selling on Whatnot anniversary, so--
Bex Scott: [00:17:07] Congratulations.
Kim: [00:17:08] It's only been one year and like three days. So, and it's not easy at first. You got to kind of get your own rhythm and groove and find the vibe that works for you. And that took some time for me to figure out because I didn't, I didn't really know, like I'm like an introverted extrovert, I guess. So like, I start off really shy and then I get stupid, or else I'm like extremely extroverted and I talk to every single person in the store, and then I just say, I don't get out much. That's my excuse. I don't get out much. But there's that Canadian group of women and we chat with each other offline, off of Whatnot, about our lives, and we're supportive of each other in our own lives and what's going on because, you know, as resellers there's so much else that goes on in our lives other than just listing product and selling it. And, you know, we've had we've had some pretty big tragedies that we've helped each other through and day-to-day sometimes if I just, if I have to rant, I have some place I can go and just put out a rant about how something that's not so great in my life that's happening.
Kim: [00:18:26] And it's just like, you're not alone. You realize you're just so not alone. But as resellers too, it's great because we can help each other. Like, do you know what this is? Have you seen it before? What is it someone sold it for, because Whatnot is one of many platforms that are available for resellers. It's the one that I'm using exclusively personally, but others aren't. And, so it's nice to be able to say, you know what? Maybe that should go somewhere else. Maybe that doesn't go on Whatnot. Maybe you want to put that on another platform and see if it sells there first, because you do get bargains on Whatnot. Whatnot's not always high end unless you're crazy lamp lady.
Bex Scott: [00:19:11] Yeah.
Kim: [00:19:12] That's a whole discussion. I have bought from her, I have to admit. I did go.
Bex Scott: [00:19:16] Her stuff is great.
Kim: [00:19:17] Her stuff is awesome. But at the same time there's stuff that she sells that it's like, yeah, I got that.
Bex Scott: [00:19:25] Yeah, yeah.
Kim: [00:19:26] I'm not going to get those prices. But that's okay, she can. She's built a following. She's worked hard to get that following.
Bex Scott: [00:19:32] Yeah. Especially when you have 530 people in a show. And sometimes I have like three.
Kim: [00:19:39] But you know what? All it takes is like one person who starts buying.
Bex Scott: [00:19:43] Yeah.
Kim: [00:19:44] Right? And especially if you do a loaded show, but someone says, hey, do you have any green glass and it's like, well, I don't have anything loaded, but here, walk over with me. You got, you can literally pick up your phone and just walk right over to wherever in your house or in your storage area you have whatever they're asking for. And you can just start loading it and selling it right on the spot to that person who wants it. It's great when there's competition, but you can also set your minimum price too, right? It's not like you have to do a low starting price. And that's what a lot of people do, is they set the minimum amount that they're willing to let the item go for, which I think is totally fair.
Bex Scott: [00:20:26] Yeah. I agree. It's an awesome platform if you're just starting out or if you have years of experience behind you as a reseller. So I'd highly recommend it. Everybody listening, go and find the Red Rooster Shoppe on Whatnot. And then I'm Pyrex with Bex as well. And check out some of our shows. Shameless plug for both of us. So how would you describe thrifting and sourcing in your area? Is it good? Is it bad? Is it..?
Kim: [00:20:59] It's way too good. It's way too good. I'm in a, like in a semi-rural area. Like there's, Belleville's not that far, but I haven't gone there yet, to be honest. Because there's enough. I've got one, two, three local auction companies that I don't even have to give my name. They've already pulled my items. Everything's ready.
Bex Scott: [00:21:24] So fun.
Kim: [00:21:24] I'm on a first name basis. Just hey, Kim, how's it going? Here's your stuff. So, I mean, there's never a lack of items and at decent prices. Plus we have, Peterborough has like multiple thrift stores and so I have my circuit that I do when I go into Peterborough. I sort of plan because I only have a few hours before I've got to be back home to take care of mom. So those during those hours, I make sure I hit all the key places that I need to because there's a value, what I call a valoo vilage, Value Village.
Bex Scott: [00:22:01] That's what I call it too.
Kim: [00:22:03] It sounds so much better when you buy, when you buy a dress and everyone's like, oh my God, I love your dress. Where'd you get it? Value Village. Oh, I haven't gone there yet. I really need to.
Bex Scott: [00:22:13] Very high end.
Kim: [00:22:14] Everyone needs to go to Value Village. So there's the Value Village. There's the Talize, which is nice because when I lived in Oshawa, there was one in Whitby. So now there's one in Peterborough. There's two Restores. So that's Habitat for Humanity. So that's awesome. And they have really expanded their vintage. They used to refuse vintage decor and now they've like really expanded their vintage decor. And they have great sticker sales. So.
Bex Scott: [00:22:42] I was going to say that I didn't know that they did vintage until I walked in maybe two months ago, and they had an awesome section.
Kim: [00:22:49] Yeah. So folks, if you haven't, like if it's been a long time since you've been in a Restore because you walked in and you're like, I do not need the building materials, thank you very much.
Bex Scott: [00:22:59] I don't need a toilet today.
Kim: [00:23:00] It is changed. And they do, they do sticker sales every month. So there's going to be stickers that are like 75% off what they say and their prices are already fair. So, like, I picked up a couple of end tables for my booth and I paid like $12.50 for each one and, you know, put the price tag on it is now $45. So, yeah, it's not bad at all. I just needed to, you know, polish it up a little bit and make it look a little bit prettier than it was, but yeah, Restores are great. Then we have the community care, which is an organization that does community care. Go figure. Like Meals on Wheels and drivers and home health brokerage and that kind of thing. They have one store in Bridgenorth. So that's like after one of my auctions, I can head north to the Bridgenorth one, and then there's one in Havelock where my mum goes to the senior center. So there's another. There's little thrift stores everywhere. There's like a really great thrift store in Madoc that is closed on Wednesdays, so don't go on Wednesdays. I forgot to check before I drove there because it's like a half hour drive, so it's not usually, I don't usually go that way. But then I've got like Trenton, Brighten, oh my gosh, Brighten is amazing. And I haven't even gotten into, I haven't gone into Cobourg or Port Hope yet. Like I haven't, there's so many spots to hit. Campbellford has like three thrift stores that are run by church organizations. There's a Baptist, Catholic, and the Anglican. We got it all covered. We got all the bases.
Bex Scott: [00:24:54] All the bases, yeah.
Kim: [00:24:55] I haven't been to the Baptist one yet because it's never open when I'm available. They have great stuff. And then there's antiquing. So there's like auctions everywhere. There's tons of thrift stores, and it's never, I'm never one of those people who's like, I don't have, I didn't buy anything this week.
Bex Scott: [00:25:12] Yeah. Oh I'm jealous.
Kim: [00:25:15] I'm the one who's like, I have to empty my van so I can go and fill up my van again. That's my problem is I don't have enough space in the van to put more stuff in the van and have my mom and her wheelchair also in the van, you know?
Bex Scott: [00:25:31] Yeah.
Kim: [00:25:32] Leave mom at home, and then I've got plenty more room. Can't always do that. I always have to leave space for that. So sometimes it's like, do I buy groceries? No, because I don't have space. So I have to go home first and then I'll go buy groceries locally, which I guess is good for my local grocery store. They get the benefit of the fact that my van is full of pickups from auctions and thrift stores.
Bex Scott: [00:25:57] I'm very jealous. I wish it was like that here. I thought it was pretty decent here, but... We have some online auctions that I go to weekly. They're in Calgary though, so I have to get my parents to pick up all my items, and then I have to drive them back here. And then most of it's just Value Village and the Salvation Army. But yeah, I wish I had an awesome circuit like you have, because I'd be in a lot better shape with what you're selling.
Kim: [00:26:27] Or you'd be trying to find a bigger house, building another storage shed.
Bex Scott: [00:26:35] Yeah. My husband wouldn't be very happy because we already moved from one house to this one, and he redid the whole basement storage room for me. And I've exploded it recently because of Whatnot, because I keep pulling things out of the inventory system and not putting them back. So I'm not a very organized seller.
Kim: [00:26:55] Yeah. I'm not. I just, things are on shelves and now that I have to put tags on for my, because I got a booth at the local antique market, so now I have to put tags on things. So I'm trying to like tag them as I go so that if I need to, I can just grab them off my shelf of my Whatnot room and take them to the booth without having to think, how much is this? What am I going to charge? All that kind of stuff. I can just do that quickly when when I start, because I don't tend to, like, I tend to just kind of have stuff out and I know general prices, but I don't put prices on things. So when someone asks what's the starting bid? I usually start really low because I'm like, yeah, I don't know. Yeah, I don't feel like Google lensing it. You figure it out, I'll hold it up to the light.
Bex Scott: [00:27:39] It's a moment of panic I have when people ask, I'm like ahh $3 start.
Kim: [00:27:44] Yeah, yeah. I've done it a couple of times where I've said like $2 dollars and I've literally, it's come out of my mouth and I'm like, well, I said it. So that's what it is. That was stupid. But that's what it is. Oh well, and usually people like, there's a lot of buyers who will bid it up a little because you can on, Whatnot you can actually bid against yourself if you keep swiping right, it will bid you up, which is, I actually think it's a it's a nice feature because I like doing it sometimes when a seller makes a mistake or I just feel like, you know what, I should pay a little bit more. I mean, it doesn't, you know, $2 more isn't going to kill me every once in a while. So I like that feature of Whatnot is that the buyer can actually outbid themselves. When I first started at Whatnot, I accidentally did it all the time because I was so used to bidding online. Right? Like you would just up your bid. So that, and I didn't realize the custom, there's a custom bid button, folks. That's what you're supposed to--
Bex Scott: [00:28:49] -- there is?
Kim: [00:28:51] Yes.
Bex Scott: [00:28:51] On Whatnot there is?
Kim: [00:28:52] Right beside swipe right, beside the swipe there's custom bids. So you click on that and then you can type in your max bid. And then the system will do it for you instead of you having to swipe constantly. Especially if it's--
Bex Scott: [00:29:05] -- I learned something new today.
Kim: [00:29:07] I don't do sudden death auctions. I did sudden death during the wigging-out train, but sudden death is basically, sounds horrible, especially if you're in vintage or 'sudden death, you're about to have an estate sale'. There's only 15 seconds, period. So there's no, the timer doesn't reset every time somebody bids, which it does and can take forever, right? If you do like a, even if you do a 15 second auction and people wait until, some people wait to like, they think they're sniping, but you're not sniping if it's going to reset the timer so that people wait and then they bid at the last second, and then there we go, we got another nine seconds. So here we go again. Now we wait another nine seconds. And you got to fill that space with entertainment. Right? So you got to keep talking about the thing. Here it is. Oh and sometimes I'll get distracted because the chat will be about something, right? And I'll start talking to the chat and I'll be like, oh, thanks so much so and so. And then everyone's like, no, someone else bid while you weren't paying attention. This person won. Oh, sorry. I just assumed you were the only one bidding. That's what makes Whatnot fun, is that we're kind of friendly and joking and we just have fun with it. There's no strict rules or anything on how you're supposed to run your shows.
Bex Scott: [00:30:26] You can kind of show your personality and have fun with it. And, yeah, it's different than just throwing up a listing on Facebook Marketplace and that's it.
Kim: [00:30:37] And answering 20 million questions.
Bex Scott: [00:30:39] Yes.
Kim: [00:30:40] Is this still available?
Bex Scott: [00:30:40] And you get the weirdos on there and yeah.
Kim: [00:30:43] Is this item still available? Or I'm interested.
Bex Scott: [00:30:50] Yeah. And then you reply and nothing happens.
Kim: [00:30:52] Can I give you five? I'm coming in five minutes to pick it up.
Bex Scott: [00:30:59] Yeah. I'm outside of your house. I'm here now.
Kim: [00:31:03] I'm here now. Give me your address and your blood group. And the birth dates of all your children and your mother's maiden name. And then I'll pay for it.
Bex Scott: [00:31:15] Yeah.
Kim: [00:31:16] Yeah.
Bex Scott: [00:31:18] So you mentioned that you have a booth coming up, or have you already? You've moved in already. And is it ready for business?
Kim: [00:31:27] I mean, it's open for business. So a new antique market opened up four minutes from my house so I can roll down the hill to it. So it's really convenient. They're only open right now Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. But I'm upstairs, and I grabbed two spots. I keep telling her I need more, and she doesn't believe me. Well, she will see. She will see that I need more. I need to bring her to my house.
Bex Scott: [00:31:58] Send her a picture of the Great Wall in your basement.
Kim: [00:32:01] This is Great Wall. And here's the selling room. And, like, I could fill up, I said to her yesterday, 20 booths. Give me 20 booths. But I got two, and I haven't totally, like, jam packed it full yet. Like, I'm, every weekend we bring more stuff in. So yeah, it just opened early March, the upstairs part. So I've been moving in since then. It's fairly full now. I think you would walk in and think it was full. It looks full. But I know I can cram more stuff in there, so, and I will, because I still have to bring all my toys. I haven't even done a toy section yet. My collectibles, all the pop culture stuff. But then I'm like, oh, but I also want to sell that on Whatnot. Oh, so I have to--
Bex Scott: [00:32:51] -- that's the tricky part--
Kim: [00:32:52] -- I have to balance that. So I've got like now every box I unbox is like: booth, donate, Whatnot. Booth, donate, Whatnot.
Bex Scott: [00:33:01] Yeah. And do you keep most of the larger items for your booth and then do you--.
Kim: [00:33:07] Yeah, that's what I'm going to do. Because shipping is expensive no matter what platform you're on. I actually find that Whatnot's shipping costs are not that bad when you look at like eBay and some of the Etsy shipping costs that I've seen. For clothing, yeah, we're not competing with Poshmark for sure because Poshmark has made some sort of deal, but because they were doing mostly clothing so it was small, lightweight items. Now that Poshmark is doing vintage decor and stuff, like they're going to have to change their shipping rules because there must be, they must be losing a lot of money on that. Or Canada Post is. Somebody losing money on that. I don't know who it is, but someone's losing money. But yeah, I think Whatnot shipping prices are not too bad. The minimum is what, $11 for Canadians? $11 US. So I have to math that. So $14, $15 bucks, somewhere around there.
Bex Scott: [00:34:07] Which is really good because when I do shipping off of something like Facebook Marketplace, it always ends up being $20, $25 at the cheapest. So it's definitely worth it to shop on Whatnot and get that shipping.
Kim: [00:34:23] Yeah, and a lot of us Canadian sellers have started doing little coupons and that sort of thing that you can use during the show to help with shipping too. So we're doing whatever we can to convince you to buy because our stuff is great and you can see it, you can see it live, you can see all the angles. You can ask to see a close up. You can't do that on an eBay listing, right? It's like you can zoom in all you want, but if the seller doesn't show you the bottom in a way that you want to see it, you're out of luck. Like you buy it and then be disappointed. Or you could just--
Bex Scott: [00:35:00] -- hope for the best.
Kim: [00:35:01] On Whatnot, you be like, can I see it closer? And it's so much easier because you interact with the seller. As a seller, you interact with the buyer right away. So all the questions that a buyer is going to have, you can answer right then and there before they purchase. You don't have to do the back and forth on the messaging of the app. Right? Like eBay. This question, answer, wait two days. Another question, answer. Now ain't nobody got time for that.
Bex Scott: [00:35:34] No, no. It makes it so that you almost instantly have a repeat customer and a faster sale, which is, yeah, it's awesome.
Kim: [00:35:45] And people tend to buy more than one thing in a show, right? Because once you've got that first item paid for with the shipping, the shipping costs go like way down like $0.50. I think if you added another pound worth of stuff, it's only like $4.50. This is all in American dollars, mind you, but still, not too bad. Not too bad. So it means people tend to buy, once they've bought that first item, if your show is continuing on, you're going to get more sales from that person just because they're like, well, I've broken my shipping now, I might as well buy something else. Might not be something they want, or I should say that it would be something they want, they just don't need.
Bex Scott: [00:36:28] Yeah, that's mostly what I buy. I get sucked in because my shipping has been busted and my shopping addiction, it kicks in, and then it's so easy to just swipe and it doesn't even feel like you're spending any money. And then you're like $100 US. No big deal.
Kim: [00:36:45] I mean, you just have to sell some stuff the next day. You just go online and you sell stuff, and then you buy other people's stuff, and then you sell your stuff, and rinse, lather, repeat. But it's fun. It's so much fun. It's fun. I love it, and I love the community. Just because you don't, and you don't have to go on and buy something to be part of the friendships that we have on Whatnot.
Bex Scott: [00:37:11] Exactly.
Kim: [00:37:11] There's a lot of people who are my friends on Whatnot that have never bought anything from me. Yet. But that's okay because they come, they interact, we have fun. We laugh. I can't hear you guys laugh, but I can see it. I can see the emojis. And then I know you're all laughing with me. Or Whatnot also has that fun feature where you can tap twice and it sends hearts up.
Bex Scott: [00:37:36] Yes.
Kim: [00:37:37] Which is very cute. I love just sitting there and like tapping nonstop. I'll just tap. So if there's a show, if anyone's ever in a show and you see that I'm in and all of a sudden the hearts just keep going, it's just me. Like, I'm not bidding on anything, but I love you.
Bex Scott: [00:37:52] Yeah, you'll know Kim's in your show if you see all of the hearts all the time.
Kim: [00:37:56] Yeah. That's me. Sorry. Not bidding, but I'm hearting. It's the same thing. It's considered an, I think it's considered an interaction by the algorithm. So, you know, that's why I'm doing it. I'm trying to, like, pump up that algorithm so that there's more visibility for the show so more people can watch me tap hearts. Although they can't see it. I'm tapping right now and you can see it, but no one else can.
Bex Scott: [00:38:21] Yeah. No, she's tapping the screen right now giving everyone hearts.
Kim: [00:38:24] I'm tapping hearts with my finger nonstop.
Bex Scott: [00:38:28] So do you collect anything vintage yourself?
Kim: [00:38:32] I've collected a lot of things over the years. Right now, I'm very much into Blue Mountain Pottery.
Bex Scott: [00:38:39] Mhm.
Kim: [00:38:39] Too much. And I started and it's, Owl Always Love Vintage Ali. It's her fault because she had this cute little Goebel monk, the Friar Tucks, and she had one piece and I was like that is so cute. And then I got it. And then I saw a set in an auction. And so I bought it. And then I saw another bunch of stuff in someone else's Whatnot show. And now I have, like, a whole windowsill full of these little Friar Tucks. But it turns out there's also a cardinal line, like it's red instead of brown. I got outbid on an online auction that was a full set of it.
Bex Scott: [00:39:24] Wow.
Kim: [00:39:25] I got outbid because I realized thou shalt not spend too much money. So it's like, now I got to stop, I gotta stop, I really want it. But what am I going to do with it? It's just going to go and collect dust. And then I got to dust it. What happens is, is I get really into something and then, okay, I've got enough of it. I feel like I've collected it. Thank you, next. Now Blue Mountain is going to take forever to collect all the different pieces, because they were around from 1953 to 2004, and they did over a thousand molds.
Kim: [00:39:59] So I'm not going to be over that anytime soon. But yeah. And then glass, I love gorgeous glass now that I never appreciated before Whatnot. But then, you know, now I'm like glowy glass, i've got a whole collection of uranium glass, cadmium, anything that like is UV reactive I'm on it like nobody's business, like a dog on a bone. I am on it. And I go around with my, I have a 365 flashlight now because the different wavelengths will show you different amounts. So the 365 is the one that like CSI Las Vegas uses.
Bex Scott: [00:40:42] Yeah.
Kim: [00:40:43] So it shows a lot more UV reactivity with low amounts of like uranium. So there's a lot of old crystal and glass that they added uranium to to make it clear instead of make it green, to make it look clear. So like you can go to the Restore and just be like scanning and there's no noise actually but I'm making the noise. I got to make the noise so you could understand.
Bex Scott: [00:41:11] It should have noise.
Kim: [00:41:12] Scanning the shelves like like an idjit. Because I'm like literally like up there with my flashlight. Nobody has a clue what I'm doing. And then every once in a while, someone will go up and go, oh, are you looking for glowy glass? And I'll be like, yes, yes I am. Let's have a long discussion about it in the middle of the store.
Bex Scott: [00:41:31] Yeah, but if I find any, it's mine. You're not taking it while we're having this discussion.
Kim: [00:41:36] Oh, well, I'll be like, oh, I already have some of that. I have like, I have a whole box of that. Here, let me show you some. So usually I end up being like, you should get this. It's really cute. Look at this. This is also cute. I have a lot of clear glowy glass now, so I have to stop because it is easy to find it. It's out there. There's quite a lot of old glass and crystal that gets donated. Not a lot to Value Village though, interestingly enough in our area.
Bex Scott: [00:42:04] Not here either.
Kim: [00:42:05] Different demographic, Restore versus Value Village.
Bex Scott: [00:42:09] So I just discovered that vintage jewelry has glowy glass in it sometimes.
Kim: [00:42:15] Yes.
Bex Scott: [00:42:16] And that blew my mind. Now I'm going to be shining lights on everybody's earlobes everywhere I go.
Kim: [00:42:22] Well, I'm even diamonds. Different diamonds with different inside them. So like, I have three diamonds on my wedding ring, my engagement ring, and the middle one glows like crazy.
Bex Scott: [00:42:35] Oh, cool.
Kim: [00:42:36] Like, it's like, so cool when you put a 365 against it, it's like wow, I'm like, ooh, that makes it fancier to me. But it means there's something in there that's reflecting. But it's kind of cool. Like, there's so many things that fluoresce and UV react that you can find out there, and it's kind of fun just to like turn off the lights and start scanning around at all the collectibles, go to grandma's house, start scanning and it like, okay, so it's when I like, when people hear uranium glass, they think, oh my God, it's radioactive.
Bex Scott: [00:43:10] Yeah, yeah.
Kim: [00:43:11] The raindrops that are coming down from the sky are more radioactive than this stuff. Yeah, a high amount of it, like I bought from a seller in the States on Whatnot, I bought, like, a lot of uranium glass plates and cups. It was a teacup set with plates and everything. It was a big box. And so, yes, it did get delayed at customs, and it did get opened up because it probably did set off some sort of--
Bex Scott: [00:43:38] -- the uranium detector--
Kim: [00:43:39] -- detector that they have at the border, which I hope, I hope that's why it got, because I hope that they have a good sniffer system. And I have noticed that if I do buy glowy glass from the States, it usually ends up spending a couple of days in customs. Probably they don't usually open it up because it's smaller and you know, they can scan it and see it without having to open it up. But I'm sure they scanned the teacups and the the plates and were like, this doesn't make any... Why? Why are these teacups and plates like giving off a reaction? Something's wrong here. But then they saw what it was, i'm sure. I'm sure they've seen a lot of green glass over the years because of it. Because the the green uranium glass, you can see it from a mile once you know what it is, you know, and you can like, you go into a thrift store and you're just like, yeah, straight to it. I know what that is. And I started also collecting, but then I started selling them. So I kind of like, it's a buy to sell collection, I guess, of like the swung glasses, but the five-fingered ones that look like this, the Sesame Street characters, your favorite. I love when I see those in stores. I'm just like, I'm on an auction platform. I'm just like, got to get those ones because they're so cute. They just have personalities. I have two right now, and one of them leans slightly to the side. So it's kind of like when a character like, hello, I'm falling over.
Kim: [00:45:09] It's really kind of cute. It's super cute. So I like, I don't know, if you look around, I just have every, like I like everything, which is a problem. And so I appreciate the history and the story and what somebody did with that and, you know, what was going on in that era. What's the reason, like, what's the reasoning societal-wise why, you know, women were wearing certain types of brooches, you know.
Bex Scott: [00:45:37] Yeah. Yeah.
Kim: [00:45:38] Why did we start going into this whole like, you know, avocado green and mustard yellow? Like, what was the trends and why the trends and how the trends changed. And it's kind of fun when you can like, I love grabbing something and saying to myself, I think this is like - and I'll try and date it - and I play the like, did I get this, the dating game but it's different. It's like, did I get the date of this right? I pick it up and sometimes you'll see me unboxing, in unboxing shows, and I'll pull something up and I'll go, okay, I think this is 1985-ish. And then I'll flip it over and read what it says and be like, oh no, I was completely wrong on that one. Or yes, I was right, I was right. It was only off by a year. I think that's kind of fun. I just, I really like that. So I'm a generalist. I collect anything that I like, which may not even be pretty. It might be super ugly or super weird.
Bex Scott: [00:46:39] As long as it's vintage.
Kim: [00:46:42] Well, as long as it's, well, I like newer things, but I like sustainability. I like the fact that what we do helps the planet at the same time, because we are encouraging people to take something that otherwise would have gotten thrown away. A lot of the stuff that gets donated, a lot of people don't realize that the things that get donated to places like Value Village end up either in the trash or they get sent down to South America. And they have like huge, especially clothing's the worst, but like, they have these huge markets in South America where you can go. They're usually called gringos markets because it's stuff from us North Americans. Wasteful. And you can buy like you would have a field day because there's tons of Pyrex down there.
Bex Scott: [00:47:38] Yeah.
Kim: [00:47:38] You could just, you just like, just go in and because there's just too much that gets donated and they don't have enough space on the floor. So they just, they put it into household bales. So like bales of clothing, but they put them in big pallet boxes and they may or may not make it all the way to South America without getting broken. But there's just tons of stuff that just ends up getting sold down there. People buy it for super cheap and then they resell it in their community in these big open space markets. Part of that is also wasteful because the shipping, the carbon footprint of the shipping of all that stuff to go down south so that it can be resold, why don't we just stop that cycle? So when someone says to me, oh, you're a reseller in this disappointed way, when I'm in a thrift store, I'm like, yeah, yeah, I take this stuff and I resell it, but I clean it up first.
Kim: [00:48:35] I am the one who has to run around and source it. I have to look it up and find out information about it. I've got to present it somehow, which right now is Whatnot. I got to take the time to then pack it and ship it like, I don't see you doing any of that. So yeah, my time is valuable and so I'm going to charge more than I paid for this. But the whole point of thrift stores is to keep whatever organization that they're supporting, to keep it, to keep the doors open. Right? So like when I go into Habitat for Humanity store or Restore, I know that when I buy stuff from there, if I walk out with a box load, they're thrilled. Like, they know that I'm a reseller and they're absolutely thrilled because that's the money that they need in order to build that next house for someone, right?
Bex Scott: [00:49:22] Yeah.
Kim: [00:49:22] And with community care, it's the money that they need to be able to provide that Meals on Wheels service. So I don't, when people try to guilt me I'm like, no, sorry. I don't do a lot of shopping at Value Village. I talk a lot about it because I like saying it. I like going to the small charity shops. I have so many in the area. I'm very blessed that there's so many. There's, like a cute one in Omemee that's run by this little Baptist church. We did get into a little bit of a conversation about trans rights, but, you know, I think we came to an understanding about that, and it was a little bit uncomfortable at first, but then it was okay. But yeah I wasn't going to back down on that.
Bex Scott: [00:50:11] Yeah.
Kim: [00:50:12] My kids are important. So I'm gonna defend their right to be. But you know what? There's so many cute little places that I'm lucky enough to be able to go into. And then I know I'm supporting. It's the money is going back into the community to help people. So I'm always happy with that. That's also a great excuse to buy more.
Bex Scott: [00:50:28] Yeah, I think so.
Kim: [00:50:30] It's for a good cause, honey, I couldn't help it. They really need the money. They're building a new house. I had to get it. It's not my fault. Totally not my fault.
Bex Scott: [00:50:41] I love all of the reasoning behind buying things. I have so many different reasons that I give people to that I just have to keep adding new ones to the bottom of my list and recirculating them.
Kim: [00:50:53] Yeah, it's like reseller math if you buy something for $2 and you sell it for $10, that's good reseller math. But sometimes you buy something for $2, but you also buy like ten other things. So you know, you have a cart full, but one of those things is worth ten bucks. You're going to sell that one for ten bucks. So you've covered most of it. So yeah, maybe there's extra in there, but eventually you'll sell that stuff. So it's all okay. It's all just an investment. It's all fine. But there was one really good piece in there.
Bex Scott: [00:51:30] Yeah. What's the worst thing you've ever ended up buying? And worst in terms of you thought it was going to make good money or that it was something special and it ended up being just the opposite.
Kim: [00:51:44] Oh, gosh. I don't think there's a lot of worst. I don't, because I don't spend a lot. I'm, I am super cheap. I've had some things where I get them home and I break them while I'm washing them or cleaning them. There's a lot of Blue Mountain pottery that's the big long egret neck, like swan necks, and they are so easy to break. And that's just like, that's one of those sad moments. I have, I have like a little burial ground for pottery in the garden. So when there's a really nice piece, I put it in the garden and it becomes like, you know, a little, I just think of it as a new house for a bug. So there's a lot of vases and stuff that, you know, now they're a house for a bug or spider or something.
Bex Scott: [00:52:37] It's the bug amusement park.
Kim: [00:52:39] So there's, yeah. So I have to plan my garden now around my vintage cemetery that I have, but I don't want to get rid of the stuff because it was like, you know, the glaze was super pretty or there was just something about it that I really liked. So it goes in the garden where I know eventually it's going to break apart. And, you know, winter takes its toll on it. But I don't know, there's just something about the circle of life, of just bringing it back and making my garden pretty somehow. But yeah, I think the most disappointing for me is when I buy something, whether I spend a lot or I spend a little on it, and I break it before I even have a chance to buy it. Sell it, I mean. Buy it, I already bought it to sell it.
Bex Scott: [00:53:21] That's been my issue lately, but it's because my daughter takes it off the floor and she drops it because she thinks it's fun to break things. Right now she's in that awkward, breaking age, and I had a Blue Mountain Pottery candy dish that I just got, and she picked up this old butter dish and she threw it on top of the candy dish. And that was the end of that.
Kim: [00:53:43] Yeah, yeah. Well, eventually they they grow up and they go to kindergarten. So you've got some time eventually, eventually they start.
Bex Scott: [00:53:52] Four more years, four and a half more years of breaking my things.
Kim: [00:53:56] Yeah. My mom likes to grab stuff. And because of her dementia. And she uses the wheelchair for mobility, so she tends to stick things down her top or down her pants. And because, so if she goes through one of my boxes, there's usually a few things that go missing that I don't get to sell. And then the other day, there was this gorgeous Nippon candy dish that was really, it had a beautiful, beautiful hand-painted scene on it. Like, it was just gorgeous. It was going to be a keeper. And yeah. Mum actually put it underneath her boob.
Bex Scott: [00:54:39] Oh no.
Kim: [00:54:40] That was her storage spot, was up her top and and let her boob hold on to it because you know, they, as you get older ladies, they sag. So, but then she forgot that it was there. And then she stood up to go to the bathroom and it just smashed all in the bathroom floor. I heard the crash and I went, another beautiful thing has bit the dust.
Bex Scott: [00:55:03] Yeah.
Kim: [00:55:04] But mum loves, still loves going through all the boxes and seeing what I got and looking at the things and I've done a couple of live shows with her. I don't do it as much now because she is much worse. But when I first started on Whatnot, I would do shows with mum and sometimes I'd say, you know, oh, this is starting bid is $10 and she would be in the background going, it's not worth that much, two bucks. I'm like, please ignore my mother. Thank you for bidding.
Bex Scott: [00:55:34] And then you'd find it in her shirt later on. Because she secretly really loved it.
Kim: [00:55:38] I was really careful that if I sold something, it went up where she couldn't reach. That is a benefit of having her in a wheelchair. She can only reach so high. And she can't get down the stairs into the basement, so if it makes it to the basement it's safe. Safe from her, not necessarily safe from me dropping it or something, but yeah, every once in a while when I break vintage, I cry a little.
Bex Scott: [00:56:05] Yeah.
Kim: [00:56:06] An angel in heaven cries too. It's a sad moment.
Bex Scott: [00:56:14] So do you have any advice for resellers who are just starting out? Or if they want to get on Whatnot or find a booth close to them, or just start out in general?
Kim: [00:56:28] Well, you need inventory and you need to spend money to make money. That's reality, is you have to buy stuff. I would be careful about when you first start out about buying things at high prices. Go, I would say start with your local auctions. Like online auctions where you can pick up if possible. There's HighBid.com has a lot of Canadian and US auctions. There's Max Sold does a lot all over Canada. Maxsold.com. And then of course you can just Google to find out where there's your local auction house. And usually they'll have a website. And if they do online auctions or if they do in-person auctions. If you can go to in-person auctions, oh my gosh, there are deals to be had because people have gotten away from going to live auctions.
Bex Scott: [00:57:26] I've never been to one.
Kim: [00:57:27] Oh, they're fun. They're, you just need to behave yourself. You need to say, you know, I have a maximum and I'm going to stick to it because it starts to get personal. Like you don't want the other person to win kind of thing.
Bex Scott: [00:57:39] Yeah, I could see that.
Kim: [00:57:41] So you have to be careful with that. But if you're if measured at the beginning, look for deals. Pick what you like. Don't try and follow any trends. Don't try to follow what you think is going to sell. If you like it, if you see it on the shelf or you see it online, a picture of it online on an online auction, and it speaks, like if you're like, if you get excited about it, then that's the stuff you should sell. Don't try and just sell anything to turn a profit, because it won't be successful, because you won't have that enthusiasm for it. It'll start to become more of a chore and less enjoyment. That's my first recommendation. When it comes to being on Whatnot and selling, I would suggest, first of all, that you get on Whatnot and watch shows for a while, watch a lot of shows, different shows in different categories. Get to know people, start following people, start interacting in other sellers shows, just, you know, even just saying, oh, that's really pretty, I really like that. You don't have to buy, just come in and chat. We love chatting with everybody. We love hearing, you know, don't come in and be negative, nobody wants that anywhere. But just come in and say hi. And you know, when we say, how's your day? You can answer or not answer, it's up to you. I'd say 80% of the people who are in shows are quiet in any show, big sellers or small sellers, 80% of the people are quiet and that's okay too. But if you're going to be a seller, you need to be interactive because it's a social, it really is a social network platform. It's all about collaborate.
Kim: [00:59:32] Collaboration is the key. So once you get started, you need to let people know, I'm, you know, I'm going to have my first show. Book your show as soon as you're approved to be a seller. I would recommend going through and getting a referral from somebody who's already selling on Whatnot. Not only does that seller get a bonus if you do start selling on Whatnot, they get some, they get some money for it, but you are more likely you'll be put up higher on the list to be looked at, because there is a wait list for certain categories, but they want to see inventory. So you need to build your inventory. Because if you just say, I really, really like cards or I really, really like glass, they're going to be like, that's great, but show us what you got. And they want to see a lot of inventory because they want sellers who are going to sell volume, right? The more you sell, the more they make because they take 8% of the cut, which is not bad. It's not bad at all. And then there's the payment processing fees. But they have to pay that to somebody else. They're just passing that cost along to us. But they're taking 8%. So they want you to make as much money as possible. They want you to be successful. So they're not going to pick people that don't have inventory. So you need to take lots of pictures and do a collage of, like, use your little Google Photos to make a collage because I think you're only allowed, like, when I applied, I think you were only allowed like eight pictures to attach.
Bex Scott: [01:01:10] I think when I did it was two.
Kim: [01:01:13] Oh gosh. So like I did collages. I went around and like took pictures of everything. And at that time I did not have a 10th of what I have now. I have an issue, but I think I applied for handmade category because that's what I had the most of at the time in inventory, but then once you're approved as a seller, you can go just about anywhere. And I've been approved to sell at luxury bags. Not that I have any to sell, but I made sure that I got approved for that. There's a quiz.
Bex Scott: [01:01:45] Oh boy, I would fail that quiz.
Kim: [01:01:47] You would not fail the quiz. It's a pretty obvious quiz. Like, should you sell something fake?
Bex Scott: [01:01:55] Okay. Yeah, I thought it was gonna be on luxury bags.
Kim: [01:02:00] That's, you know, that's a really hard one.
Bex Scott: [01:02:03] Yeah.
Kim: [01:02:04] I think I should say yes. Yes, you should sell fake stuff. Like most of the questions are pretty, pretty easy. It's pretty easy. But they want to make sure that they don't approve you until you've already been a regular seller, that they can see a track record for because they don't want people getting scammed. They don't want scam artists. So they want to see that you got a decent inventory and that you've got some experience selling. So if you don't, even if you tell them about how you sold the most Girl Guide cookies when you were ten, right? Like, whatever it is, Boy Scout, whatever Boy Scouts sell, I don't know, apples, one of apples in our neighborhoods, but like they want to see that. And then once you get approved, just have fun. Like just make it fun. Forget about trying to sell. The selling will happen as you get more experience and you build your following. Like, I'm getting close to 2000 followers now after a year.
Bex Scott: [01:03:04] That's amazing.
Kim: [01:03:05] But that's also because of the collaborations that I've done, like organizing Raid Trains and the people that I've met and through them meeting other people. So, you know, always trying to go into other people's shows as much as possible, even if it's just say hi. Hi, love you, I hope you have a great show. Isn't that a cute item? Oh, that's so pretty. And then I may not be able to stick around, but I try to at least say hi whenever I can. But it's the collaborations that make it happen. It's going on, getting to know people, and getting on the Raid Trains or make up your own Raid Train. That's what I did. I wanted to do a Raid Train, so I just started openly inviting the world to it. And now it's like, it's totally full. I think April, we're almost full. So March is already full. April's almost full. And it's fun, just monthly for anybody who's a seller to sell anything they want, as long as it's sustainable. Because it's all about sustainability, right, my Raid Trains. I'm big on that.
Bex Scott: [01:04:13] Mm. I'm gonna have to join one of those.
Kim: [01:04:15] Yes. You should. How you sign up.
Bex Scott: [01:04:20] Sounds good.
Kim: [01:04:21] It's fun, it's fun. It's sellers from all over the world. Most of them are US sellers. So it's great for Canadian sellers to get introduced to their buyers because with a Raid Train, for those who don't know, basically one person starts their show and then when they're finished at a certain period of time, so they have usually it's an hour, they then raid, which sounds like a pirate thing, when I first started, I was like, what are we doing? We're raiding? I don't like, what, I don't want to raid somebody. I, what, I don't want to steal someone. Like, because I thought stealing, that's what I thought. I though raid/stealing. But it's basically you just take all of your viewership and bring it to someone else's show. And when they're done, they bring it into someone else's show, etc., etc. And a train is where you organize it so everything's on a schedule and everybody goes, basically, it's like you start at the engine and you move everybody back to the caboose at the end of the day, that's how I like to think of it, is everyone moves along the cars in an orderly fashion, buying all day long. And having fun.
Bex Scott: [01:05:33] Mhm. Yeah. In our next one, by the time this episode comes out we will already have had the Linens Raid Train coming up on Friday.
Kim: [01:05:42] Very excited about, I have so much to go.
Bex Scott: [01:05:46] You're kicking that one off, right? And then I go right after you.
Kim: [01:05:49] Yes. Yeah. I'm starting at 9 a.m., so I don't mind kicking it off. It's probably the toughest spot in any Raid Train.
Bex Scott: [01:05:59] Yeah, I was going to say.
Kim: [01:06:00] Like because it's just, there's no expectations of me selling too much. So like, oh, you were the first on the train, it's fine. It's okay, she was first, that's why. No, I'm just kidding. People buy all day long on Whatnot. That's the great thing, right? You never know who's going to come in. And linens is so hot right now. People are really interested in it. And ephemera is getting hot again. The thing is, there are trends on Whatnot that are fascinating to watch because you can see, you can actually see this, like it flow from the sellers through the buyers. And then a lot of buyers are also sellers. So then they start building a collection. And then all of a sudden they're selling and I've just watched it like, a lot of like ephemera especially, has moved through so many categories now because people are starting to realize how cool it is, how exciting it is. And linens. I love linens, I love little linens and big linens and pretty linens.
Bex Scott: [01:07:06] I like the sheet sets. That's my favorite. Anything with like a nice floral pattern. Love it.
Kim: [01:07:12] Yes, I have a lot of that, but it's on beds. I tend to use it, not store it.
Bex Scott: [01:07:18] That's good. You should.
Kim: [01:07:20] Yes, but it's so pretty that sometimes I feel guilty. You know, every time I put it in the laundry, I think it's shortening its life just a little more. But it's made it this far. I've got sheets from the 70s, from my like, from my bed, from my parents bed, from the 70s. So yeah, that's one of the benefits of living with your mother is all her linens came with her.
Bex Scott: [01:07:45] Mhm. Awesome. Well those were some perfect tips if you're starting out as a reseller on any platform, especially Whatnot. But thank you so much, Kim, for joining me today. And everybody go and find Kim on Instagram at the Red Rooster Shoppe and on Whatnot as well. And check out some of her shows. They are super fun. So thanks so much, Kim.
Kim: [01:08:07] Thanks for having me. Love you.
Bex Scott: [01:08:09] Love you. Have a great day.
Kim: [01:08:12] You too. Bye.
Bex Scott: [00:00:02] Hey everybody, it's Bex Scott and welcome to the Pyrex with Bex podcast where, you guessed it, I talk about vintage Pyrex, but also all things vintage housewares. I'll take you on my latest thrifting adventures, talk about reselling, chat with other enthusiasts about their collections, and learn about a bunch of really awesome items from the past. Subscribe now on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you love listening to podcasts so you don't miss a beat. Hey, everybody, this is Bex Scott and you are listening to the Pyrex with Bex podcast. On today's episode, I'm going to be chatting with my reseller friend Kim, also known as the Red Rooster, all about Whatnot, what we love about the app, and how to get started on it as a new reseller.
Bex Scott: [00:00:49] Thanks for tuning into another episode of the Pyrex with Bex podcast. Today I have the pleasure of introducing you to Kim from the Red Rooster Shoppe. Welcome, Kim.
Kim: [00:01:00] Hello. How are you?
Bex Scott: [00:01:02] Good, thanks. How are you?
Kim: [00:01:03] I'm good. I'm good, very good.
Bex Scott: [00:01:06] So I met Kim through a fun little platform called Whatnot, and we'll get into Whatnot a bit later. But I wanted to start off with you telling us a little bit about you.
Kim: [00:01:17] So my name's Kim. I live in Hastings, Ontario, Canada, or just outside of Hastings, technically. I'm a full time dementia caregiver, but I used to be an auctioneer and my parents were big collectors and resellers. So when I was a kid, that's all we did as vacations was go to flea markets and meets, and weekends were spent in some gym, in some school somewhere in Ontario selling things. So it's just kind of what I'm used to, and I enjoy doing it now as kind of like a fun activity.
Bex Scott: [00:01:56] That is very cool. I didn't know that about you. Did you love doing that as a kid when you were growing up? Was that something that you really enjoyed doing or what were your feelings around that?
Kim: [00:02:07] I was an only child. I am an only child. So I don't think I knew anything different. Right? Just this was my normal. It was a little boring sometimes. But then mum would get me making crafts in the background, which of course we'd sell. You know, we had these pencils you could rub between your hands and they were your frustration releasers and they would go all funny hair. So I would sit there and--.
Bex Scott: [00:02:31] -- oh I remember those.
Kim: [00:02:32] Yeah, yeah, I forget what they were called, but, or the anger busters, I think we used to put labels on them sometimes is that. The only problem with them was because I used to take them to school with me, they were my fidget toy, but the eraser gets covered up by the hair and it's really hard to correct your mistakes. So you can't make any mistakes when you have that as your pencil. Yeah, but it was so normal that in grade seven I did speech arts, which I don't know if you did, but where everybody has to write a speech and then everybody goes in front of the classroom. It's probably too anxiety driven to be done anymore for kids.
Bex Scott: [00:03:12] Yeah. That was my worst. Fear.
Kim: [00:03:14] Yeah, it's it probably ended in like the late 80s, early 90s. But in the 70s and 80s, it was the thing you, every single kid had to do it. And I was good at it. I was, I was good. I could memorize and I could perform a little bit, but then I would get up on stage, and usually I would do a five minute speech in 2.5 minutes, because I would get really nervous and I would just go through it really, really fast, which took away from points. So I never went to like regionals or anything. Anyways, in grade seven, I wrote a speech. The first line of it is, have you ever gone to Pennsylvania for a screw? And it was so normal to me and I, and I was, I was like 13. I had no idea what a screw like that, what the connotation of that was until I was up on stage in front of the entire school. And the moment it came out of my mouth, like a millisecond later, I'm like, oh, I know what I just said, but I have to carry on. I have to carry on. But we would go like, we went every year to this swap meet for classic cars because my dad, who never finished building it, but he was building a 1928 model A coupe, which is kind of like a truck.
Bex Scott: [00:04:32] Very cool.
Kim: [00:04:33] But he never finished it because he wanted it to be 100% original, which meant every single part down to screws. Which is why we would go all the way to Pennsylvania, because that's every October at Hershey, Pennsylvania there's a meet for classic cars, antique car enthusiasts. And it's just, it's mud. It's an entire field of mud that you trudge through because it always rains, it always rains and there's so many people and everyone's pulling their wagon with their car parts in it, and I would have to trudge along in the mud holding on to a precious screw or something. But I just thought it was normal. So I wrote, in grade seven I asked the entire school if they'd ever gone to Pennsylvania for a screw.
Bex Scott: [00:05:25] I love it. That's very cute.
Kim: [00:05:27] It's a little embarrassing now.
Bex Scott: [00:05:30] Oh, so you had the childhood of flea markets and auctions and being an auctioneer. So how did the reselling side of what you do now begin?
Kim: [00:05:41] I had to close my business as an auctioneer. Auctioneering was actually like the last career I had before I got sick. I have what's called central sensitization syndrome. And so it's like fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue put together into one. So I was pretty much laid up in bed for a few years. And then the pandemic hit. And then my mother started to have the signs of moderate dementia. And so it got to the point where I had to move her in with me. So we moved here to near Hastings on the Trent River. And it's beautiful here and there's lots of activities for her to do. But I was looking for another outlet and mom and I always loved thrifting. It was our thing to do was to go thrifting. And I love that treasure hunt. But then you get the stuff home and it's like, oh, I don't really need this. And I had a huge, I had when I was sick and laid up at home, I had started trying to, like, ADHD really, because I never really completed anything, but I would get into a whole bunch of different crafts. So I had a whole like room full of craft supplies, and I was on Instagram and it wasn't even related to reselling, the woman that I was following.
Kim: [00:07:06] But she posted that her son and daughter-in-law were doing some, you know, Funko Pop sale on Whatnot. And I went, what's Whatnot? Like, I need to Google this. So I didn't use the referral code or anything, so I didn't get my little your bonus of using a referral code from a seller or another Whatnot or... But I looked into it and I was like, this sounds cool. This is fun. I think I want to do this. So first it was just to kind of get rid of my craft section, and then it was like, nah, you know what? I like these vintage decor people. The people who do vintage decor are fun. And I love these sellers and I love that community. So that's where I want to start, I started buying from there and then I was like, you know what? I think I want to, I want to sell in this category too. And next thing you know, I've got an entire basement full of stuff.
Bex Scott: [00:08:04] I understand that fully. Yeah, that's what my basement looks like as well.
Kim: [00:08:09] It's bad. It's really bad. But it's all inventory as far as I'm concerned. It's all inventory. So it's just a matter of when I manage to get time to sell it.
Bex Scott: [00:08:22] That's what I say every time I bring a new box home. Like this will be sold one day and it's going to make me a lot of money. So that's why I bought it. And then it's the slippery slope of the next box is the same thing.
Kim: [00:08:34] Yes. My husband just, he just shakes his head because he likes everything new, so he doesn't understand it. But he likes me being thrifty. He likes that. He likes that I can always find a way to save money somewhere. I will figure out a way.
Bex Scott: [00:08:52] That's perfect.
Kim: [00:08:52] He doesn't think that way. So he's always like, oh, good, like we don't have to buy a brand new fridge. We can go to the restore and get a fridge that's pretty much brand new because it came out of some remodeled house, you know, those sort of things. He likes that. But he doesn't like all the boxes right now. We call it the Great Wall of Hastings, because they're all lined up and built up into basically a wall that divides part of the basement. So.
Bex Scott: [00:09:24] That's awesome. I'd like to come and shop in your basement.
Kim: [00:09:27] Yeah. You'd have to unbox everything. I always say if someone was to come here and rob the place to try and get my treasures, first of all, it's all stuff that's going to take you a while to resell, so good luck with that. Second of all, there's a dog that will bite you. But third of all, you're going to have to go and like clean up first to find all the stuff and go through about 150 boxes. So guaranteed, I'll be home before you get through a third of it.
Bex Scott: [00:09:56] So really, it's a security system. That's a whole new way of looking at it.
Kim: [00:10:01] Yeah, it's it's a way of, you know, hiding your valuables in about 150 boxes. It's a little treasure hunt. It's like an Easter egg hunt for robbers. To figure out which box it is that's got the best stuff. Might be at the bottom. Might not be, I don't know. I don't know, actually, because I can't remember what's in everything. I never label the boxes, which I should probably do, but then it's always usually just whatever comes from the latest auction. And, you know, I accidentally fall into a thrift store on the way home from an auction pick up. That's not my fault. That the car just--
Bex Scott: [00:10:42] -- it just happened to be there.
Kim: [00:10:43] The car has a self-driving system that drives itself to different thrift stores on the way to the grocery store. Or like when I do my blood work, I make sure I do it in Trenton because the parking lot for the blood work place is the same parking lot as for the Missions Bible Thrift store. You know, so it's not my fault that after I get blood taken, I have to go into a thrift store to recover. That's the only way to recover from a loss of blood, really. Is to buy somebody.
Bex Scott: [00:11:20] It definitely helps.
Kim: [00:11:21] Yeah.
Bex Scott: [00:11:22] That's how I feel about Costco. I send my husband to Costco because Value Village is on the way to Costco, and he can drop me there and then go do the grocery shopping and then come and get me after he's done.
Kim: [00:11:35] I think what I'm going to start doing is bringing, once my husband's semi-retired, I'm going to get him to come with me thrifting, because then he'll get the 55 plus discount because I don't qualify yet. And I was thinking of becoming a student just so I could get the student discount because I buy so much, especially from the one place, Vinnies. I love them. But every time they always ask, they just automatically ask everybody do you qualify for a discount? Every time I'm like, no, not old enough yet. I wish I was old enough. It would save tons of money. I spend way too much there.
Bex Scott: [00:12:15] So from your perspective, I've tried to explain Whatnot to people before, and I'm not very good at it. So how would you explain Whatnot to somebody who's never heard of it?
Kim: [00:12:26] They call themselves a social selling platform, but basically it is entertainment plus thrifting put together. It's a way to get social and meet new people. There's friendships there, but it is... Whatnot is Whatnot. It's just, it's everything under the sun. They're even looking at the possibility of doing, in the next year or so, doing like vehicles and stuff, like.
Bex Scott: [00:12:56] Wow.
Kim: [00:12:57] Yeah. Which would obviously be local pickup not shipping. But they were talking about that in a product development show. So Whatnot is, it's like eBay but it's live. It's entertaining. There's still the auction part. But you can go in and you can just search for things at any time. But there's always a show on somewhere with something that you're probably going to like and want.
Bex Scott: [00:13:22] Mhm.
Kim: [00:13:23] And it's just fun. You can just come in and watch because there's, you know, there's goofs like me doing trivia and like I was just on the wigging-out train where we all were, there was 22 sellers, so that was like 11 hours solid of sellers who were wearing silly wigs and being silly for 11 solid hours. Yeah. It was pretty amazing. It's I mean, whatnot is just, it's entertainment, but it's also value because you can get some really good deals on Whatnot. And as a seller, it's just, it's a fun way to sell your stuff. I find it quick and easy and it's on my schedule, right? Like, I don't have to, if I can't do it because with mom having dementia, she's my priority, so if she's not having a good day or because she's not having a good day, I'm too tired to do a show because I don't want to be blah on a show. I want to be fun. I want to be myself. So I need to feel rested, so I can move it. I can move my shows when I need to.
Kim: [00:14:33] Consistency is important, but it's do as I say, not as I do. If you have the time, and, you know, one day when mum's not with us anymore, then I hope that Whatnot will be something that I do like, you know, 3, 4, or 5 times a week. That I'm doing short Whatnot shows or long Whatnot shows. And that's the other thing, you don't have to do one hour or, you know, three hours. You can do as much as you want or as little as you want, which I really like. So, it's so flexible for sellers and they are asking us to do more detailed listings. But if you do an unboxing. You can just lift it up and show it and turn it around and give some descriptions and mention any issues with it, and hit the button and start the auction and sell it like right there and then. So, which is great because I got a lot of boxes to unbox. So I love that part. But yeah, it's, I mean I think it's more, it's like it's entertainment and shopping all in one for just about anything you could think of.
Bex Scott: [00:15:40] Yeah, I think that's the perfect way to describe it. And I'm a very introverted person. I kind of keep to myself, and I've always been shy and starting off on Whatnot, having to - you don't necessarily have to show your face, you can flip it around and just show your product - but having to talk to yourself the whole time at the beginning was very challenging for me, but you kind of get into it and you start to have fun, and you have your regular followers and shoppers that come in to your shows all the time, and you start to build friendships and community. And I think four of the Canadian sellers, you've been a huge part of building that community and those friendships. And when I found all of you guys, it was kind of like a little built-in friend pod that you go along your daily life, but you guys are always there and you can ask questions and shop from each other's lives, and it's perfect.
Kim: [00:16:38] Yeah, I love the fact that there's like this group and it's, you know, mostly women in our category. So it's this really awesome, supportive group of women that are all Canadians who all love to buy and sell. And yeah, we're just so supportive of each other and just going into each other's stores. And there's been major things that have happened. Friday was my one year of selling on Whatnot anniversary, so--
Bex Scott: [00:17:07] Congratulations.
Kim: [00:17:08] It's only been one year and like three days. So, and it's not easy at first. You got to kind of get your own rhythm and groove and find the vibe that works for you. And that took some time for me to figure out because I didn't, I didn't really know, like I'm like an introverted extrovert, I guess. So like, I start off really shy and then I get stupid, or else I'm like extremely extroverted and I talk to every single person in the store, and then I just say, I don't get out much. That's my excuse. I don't get out much. But there's that Canadian group of women and we chat with each other offline, off of Whatnot, about our lives, and we're supportive of each other in our own lives and what's going on because, you know, as resellers there's so much else that goes on in our lives other than just listing product and selling it. And, you know, we've had we've had some pretty big tragedies that we've helped each other through and day-to-day sometimes if I just, if I have to rant, I have some place I can go and just put out a rant about how something that's not so great in my life that's happening.
Kim: [00:18:26] And it's just like, you're not alone. You realize you're just so not alone. But as resellers too, it's great because we can help each other. Like, do you know what this is? Have you seen it before? What is it someone sold it for, because Whatnot is one of many platforms that are available for resellers. It's the one that I'm using exclusively personally, but others aren't. And, so it's nice to be able to say, you know what? Maybe that should go somewhere else. Maybe that doesn't go on Whatnot. Maybe you want to put that on another platform and see if it sells there first, because you do get bargains on Whatnot. Whatnot's not always high end unless you're crazy lamp lady.
Bex Scott: [00:19:11] Yeah.
Kim: [00:19:12] That's a whole discussion. I have bought from her, I have to admit. I did go.
Bex Scott: [00:19:16] Her stuff is great.
Kim: [00:19:17] Her stuff is awesome. But at the same time there's stuff that she sells that it's like, yeah, I got that.
Bex Scott: [00:19:25] Yeah, yeah.
Kim: [00:19:26] I'm not going to get those prices. But that's okay, she can. She's built a following. She's worked hard to get that following.
Bex Scott: [00:19:32] Yeah. Especially when you have 530 people in a show. And sometimes I have like three.
Kim: [00:19:39] But you know what? All it takes is like one person who starts buying.
Bex Scott: [00:19:43] Yeah.
Kim: [00:19:44] Right? And especially if you do a loaded show, but someone says, hey, do you have any green glass and it's like, well, I don't have anything loaded, but here, walk over with me. You got, you can literally pick up your phone and just walk right over to wherever in your house or in your storage area you have whatever they're asking for. And you can just start loading it and selling it right on the spot to that person who wants it. It's great when there's competition, but you can also set your minimum price too, right? It's not like you have to do a low starting price. And that's what a lot of people do, is they set the minimum amount that they're willing to let the item go for, which I think is totally fair.
Bex Scott: [00:20:26] Yeah. I agree. It's an awesome platform if you're just starting out or if you have years of experience behind you as a reseller. So I'd highly recommend it. Everybody listening, go and find the Red Rooster Shoppe on Whatnot. And then I'm Pyrex with Bex as well. And check out some of our shows. Shameless plug for both of us. So how would you describe thrifting and sourcing in your area? Is it good? Is it bad? Is it..?
Kim: [00:20:59] It's way too good. It's way too good. I'm in a, like in a semi-rural area. Like there's, Belleville's not that far, but I haven't gone there yet, to be honest. Because there's enough. I've got one, two, three local auction companies that I don't even have to give my name. They've already pulled my items. Everything's ready.
Bex Scott: [00:21:24] So fun.
Kim: [00:21:24] I'm on a first name basis. Just hey, Kim, how's it going? Here's your stuff. So, I mean, there's never a lack of items and at decent prices. Plus we have, Peterborough has like multiple thrift stores and so I have my circuit that I do when I go into Peterborough. I sort of plan because I only have a few hours before I've got to be back home to take care of mom. So those during those hours, I make sure I hit all the key places that I need to because there's a value, what I call a valoo vilage, Value Village.
Bex Scott: [00:22:01] That's what I call it too.
Kim: [00:22:03] It sounds so much better when you buy, when you buy a dress and everyone's like, oh my God, I love your dress. Where'd you get it? Value Village. Oh, I haven't gone there yet. I really need to.
Bex Scott: [00:22:13] Very high end.
Kim: [00:22:14] Everyone needs to go to Value Village. So there's the Value Village. There's the Talize, which is nice because when I lived in Oshawa, there was one in Whitby. So now there's one in Peterborough. There's two Restores. So that's Habitat for Humanity. So that's awesome. And they have really expanded their vintage. They used to refuse vintage decor and now they've like really expanded their vintage decor. And they have great sticker sales. So.
Bex Scott: [00:22:42] I was going to say that I didn't know that they did vintage until I walked in maybe two months ago, and they had an awesome section.
Kim: [00:22:49] Yeah. So folks, if you haven't, like if it's been a long time since you've been in a Restore because you walked in and you're like, I do not need the building materials, thank you very much.
Bex Scott: [00:22:59] I don't need a toilet today.
Kim: [00:23:00] It is changed. And they do, they do sticker sales every month. So there's going to be stickers that are like 75% off what they say and their prices are already fair. So, like, I picked up a couple of end tables for my booth and I paid like $12.50 for each one and, you know, put the price tag on it is now $45. So, yeah, it's not bad at all. I just needed to, you know, polish it up a little bit and make it look a little bit prettier than it was, but yeah, Restores are great. Then we have the community care, which is an organization that does community care. Go figure. Like Meals on Wheels and drivers and home health brokerage and that kind of thing. They have one store in Bridgenorth. So that's like after one of my auctions, I can head north to the Bridgenorth one, and then there's one in Havelock where my mum goes to the senior center. So there's another. There's little thrift stores everywhere. There's like a really great thrift store in Madoc that is closed on Wednesdays, so don't go on Wednesdays. I forgot to check before I drove there because it's like a half hour drive, so it's not usually, I don't usually go that way. But then I've got like Trenton, Brighten, oh my gosh, Brighten is amazing. And I haven't even gotten into, I haven't gone into Cobourg or Port Hope yet. Like I haven't, there's so many spots to hit. Campbellford has like three thrift stores that are run by church organizations. There's a Baptist, Catholic, and the Anglican. We got it all covered. We got all the bases.
Bex Scott: [00:24:54] All the bases, yeah.
Kim: [00:24:55] I haven't been to the Baptist one yet because it's never open when I'm available. They have great stuff. And then there's antiquing. So there's like auctions everywhere. There's tons of thrift stores, and it's never, I'm never one of those people who's like, I don't have, I didn't buy anything this week.
Bex Scott: [00:25:12] Yeah. Oh I'm jealous.
Kim: [00:25:15] I'm the one who's like, I have to empty my van so I can go and fill up my van again. That's my problem is I don't have enough space in the van to put more stuff in the van and have my mom and her wheelchair also in the van, you know?
Bex Scott: [00:25:31] Yeah.
Kim: [00:25:32] Leave mom at home, and then I've got plenty more room. Can't always do that. I always have to leave space for that. So sometimes it's like, do I buy groceries? No, because I don't have space. So I have to go home first and then I'll go buy groceries locally, which I guess is good for my local grocery store. They get the benefit of the fact that my van is full of pickups from auctions and thrift stores.
Bex Scott: [00:25:57] I'm very jealous. I wish it was like that here. I thought it was pretty decent here, but... We have some online auctions that I go to weekly. They're in Calgary though, so I have to get my parents to pick up all my items, and then I have to drive them back here. And then most of it's just Value Village and the Salvation Army. But yeah, I wish I had an awesome circuit like you have, because I'd be in a lot better shape with what you're selling.
Kim: [00:26:27] Or you'd be trying to find a bigger house, building another storage shed.
Bex Scott: [00:26:35] Yeah. My husband wouldn't be very happy because we already moved from one house to this one, and he redid the whole basement storage room for me. And I've exploded it recently because of Whatnot, because I keep pulling things out of the inventory system and not putting them back. So I'm not a very organized seller.
Kim: [00:26:55] Yeah. I'm not. I just, things are on shelves and now that I have to put tags on for my, because I got a booth at the local antique market, so now I have to put tags on things. So I'm trying to like tag them as I go so that if I need to, I can just grab them off my shelf of my Whatnot room and take them to the booth without having to think, how much is this? What am I going to charge? All that kind of stuff. I can just do that quickly when when I start, because I don't tend to, like, I tend to just kind of have stuff out and I know general prices, but I don't put prices on things. So when someone asks what's the starting bid? I usually start really low because I'm like, yeah, I don't know. Yeah, I don't feel like Google lensing it. You figure it out, I'll hold it up to the light.
Bex Scott: [00:27:39] It's a moment of panic I have when people ask, I'm like ahh $3 start.
Kim: [00:27:44] Yeah, yeah. I've done it a couple of times where I've said like $2 dollars and I've literally, it's come out of my mouth and I'm like, well, I said it. So that's what it is. That was stupid. But that's what it is. Oh well, and usually people like, there's a lot of buyers who will bid it up a little because you can on, Whatnot you can actually bid against yourself if you keep swiping right, it will bid you up, which is, I actually think it's a it's a nice feature because I like doing it sometimes when a seller makes a mistake or I just feel like, you know what, I should pay a little bit more. I mean, it doesn't, you know, $2 more isn't going to kill me every once in a while. So I like that feature of Whatnot is that the buyer can actually outbid themselves. When I first started at Whatnot, I accidentally did it all the time because I was so used to bidding online. Right? Like you would just up your bid. So that, and I didn't realize the custom, there's a custom bid button, folks. That's what you're supposed to--
Bex Scott: [00:28:49] -- there is?
Kim: [00:28:51] Yes.
Bex Scott: [00:28:51] On Whatnot there is?
Kim: [00:28:52] Right beside swipe right, beside the swipe there's custom bids. So you click on that and then you can type in your max bid. And then the system will do it for you instead of you having to swipe constantly. Especially if it's--
Bex Scott: [00:29:05] -- I learned something new today.
Kim: [00:29:07] I don't do sudden death auctions. I did sudden death during the wigging-out train, but sudden death is basically, sounds horrible, especially if you're in vintage or 'sudden death, you're about to have an estate sale'. There's only 15 seconds, period. So there's no, the timer doesn't reset every time somebody bids, which it does and can take forever, right? If you do like a, even if you do a 15 second auction and people wait until, some people wait to like, they think they're sniping, but you're not sniping if it's going to reset the timer so that people wait and then they bid at the last second, and then there we go, we got another nine seconds. So here we go again. Now we wait another nine seconds. And you got to fill that space with entertainment. Right? So you got to keep talking about the thing. Here it is. Oh and sometimes I'll get distracted because the chat will be about something, right? And I'll start talking to the chat and I'll be like, oh, thanks so much so and so. And then everyone's like, no, someone else bid while you weren't paying attention. This person won. Oh, sorry. I just assumed you were the only one bidding. That's what makes Whatnot fun, is that we're kind of friendly and joking and we just have fun with it. There's no strict rules or anything on how you're supposed to run your shows.
Bex Scott: [00:30:26] You can kind of show your personality and have fun with it. And, yeah, it's different than just throwing up a listing on Facebook Marketplace and that's it.
Kim: [00:30:37] And answering 20 million questions.
Bex Scott: [00:30:39] Yes.
Kim: [00:30:40] Is this still available?
Bex Scott: [00:30:40] And you get the weirdos on there and yeah.
Kim: [00:30:43] Is this item still available? Or I'm interested.
Bex Scott: [00:30:50] Yeah. And then you reply and nothing happens.
Kim: [00:30:52] Can I give you five? I'm coming in five minutes to pick it up.
Bex Scott: [00:30:59] Yeah. I'm outside of your house. I'm here now.
Kim: [00:31:03] I'm here now. Give me your address and your blood group. And the birth dates of all your children and your mother's maiden name. And then I'll pay for it.
Bex Scott: [00:31:15] Yeah.
Kim: [00:31:16] Yeah.
Bex Scott: [00:31:18] So you mentioned that you have a booth coming up, or have you already? You've moved in already. And is it ready for business?
Kim: [00:31:27] I mean, it's open for business. So a new antique market opened up four minutes from my house so I can roll down the hill to it. So it's really convenient. They're only open right now Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. But I'm upstairs, and I grabbed two spots. I keep telling her I need more, and she doesn't believe me. Well, she will see. She will see that I need more. I need to bring her to my house.
Bex Scott: [00:31:58] Send her a picture of the Great Wall in your basement.
Kim: [00:32:01] This is Great Wall. And here's the selling room. And, like, I could fill up, I said to her yesterday, 20 booths. Give me 20 booths. But I got two, and I haven't totally, like, jam packed it full yet. Like, I'm, every weekend we bring more stuff in. So yeah, it just opened early March, the upstairs part. So I've been moving in since then. It's fairly full now. I think you would walk in and think it was full. It looks full. But I know I can cram more stuff in there, so, and I will, because I still have to bring all my toys. I haven't even done a toy section yet. My collectibles, all the pop culture stuff. But then I'm like, oh, but I also want to sell that on Whatnot. Oh, so I have to--
Bex Scott: [00:32:51] -- that's the tricky part--
Kim: [00:32:52] -- I have to balance that. So I've got like now every box I unbox is like: booth, donate, Whatnot. Booth, donate, Whatnot.
Bex Scott: [00:33:01] Yeah. And do you keep most of the larger items for your booth and then do you--.
Kim: [00:33:07] Yeah, that's what I'm going to do. Because shipping is expensive no matter what platform you're on. I actually find that Whatnot's shipping costs are not that bad when you look at like eBay and some of the Etsy shipping costs that I've seen. For clothing, yeah, we're not competing with Poshmark for sure because Poshmark has made some sort of deal, but because they were doing mostly clothing so it was small, lightweight items. Now that Poshmark is doing vintage decor and stuff, like they're going to have to change their shipping rules because there must be, they must be losing a lot of money on that. Or Canada Post is. Somebody losing money on that. I don't know who it is, but someone's losing money. But yeah, I think Whatnot shipping prices are not too bad. The minimum is what, $11 for Canadians? $11 US. So I have to math that. So $14, $15 bucks, somewhere around there.
Bex Scott: [00:34:07] Which is really good because when I do shipping off of something like Facebook Marketplace, it always ends up being $20, $25 at the cheapest. So it's definitely worth it to shop on Whatnot and get that shipping.
Kim: [00:34:23] Yeah, and a lot of us Canadian sellers have started doing little coupons and that sort of thing that you can use during the show to help with shipping too. So we're doing whatever we can to convince you to buy because our stuff is great and you can see it, you can see it live, you can see all the angles. You can ask to see a close up. You can't do that on an eBay listing, right? It's like you can zoom in all you want, but if the seller doesn't show you the bottom in a way that you want to see it, you're out of luck. Like you buy it and then be disappointed. Or you could just--
Bex Scott: [00:35:00] -- hope for the best.
Kim: [00:35:01] On Whatnot, you be like, can I see it closer? And it's so much easier because you interact with the seller. As a seller, you interact with the buyer right away. So all the questions that a buyer is going to have, you can answer right then and there before they purchase. You don't have to do the back and forth on the messaging of the app. Right? Like eBay. This question, answer, wait two days. Another question, answer. Now ain't nobody got time for that.
Bex Scott: [00:35:34] No, no. It makes it so that you almost instantly have a repeat customer and a faster sale, which is, yeah, it's awesome.
Kim: [00:35:45] And people tend to buy more than one thing in a show, right? Because once you've got that first item paid for with the shipping, the shipping costs go like way down like $0.50. I think if you added another pound worth of stuff, it's only like $4.50. This is all in American dollars, mind you, but still, not too bad. Not too bad. So it means people tend to buy, once they've bought that first item, if your show is continuing on, you're going to get more sales from that person just because they're like, well, I've broken my shipping now, I might as well buy something else. Might not be something they want, or I should say that it would be something they want, they just don't need.
Bex Scott: [00:36:28] Yeah, that's mostly what I buy. I get sucked in because my shipping has been busted and my shopping addiction, it kicks in, and then it's so easy to just swipe and it doesn't even feel like you're spending any money. And then you're like $100 US. No big deal.
Kim: [00:36:45] I mean, you just have to sell some stuff the next day. You just go online and you sell stuff, and then you buy other people's stuff, and then you sell your stuff, and rinse, lather, repeat. But it's fun. It's so much fun. It's fun. I love it, and I love the community. Just because you don't, and you don't have to go on and buy something to be part of the friendships that we have on Whatnot.
Bex Scott: [00:37:11] Exactly.
Kim: [00:37:11] There's a lot of people who are my friends on Whatnot that have never bought anything from me. Yet. But that's okay because they come, they interact, we have fun. We laugh. I can't hear you guys laugh, but I can see it. I can see the emojis. And then I know you're all laughing with me. Or Whatnot also has that fun feature where you can tap twice and it sends hearts up.
Bex Scott: [00:37:36] Yes.
Kim: [00:37:37] Which is very cute. I love just sitting there and like tapping nonstop. I'll just tap. So if there's a show, if anyone's ever in a show and you see that I'm in and all of a sudden the hearts just keep going, it's just me. Like, I'm not bidding on anything, but I love you.
Bex Scott: [00:37:52] Yeah, you'll know Kim's in your show if you see all of the hearts all the time.
Kim: [00:37:56] Yeah. That's me. Sorry. Not bidding, but I'm hearting. It's the same thing. It's considered an, I think it's considered an interaction by the algorithm. So, you know, that's why I'm doing it. I'm trying to, like, pump up that algorithm so that there's more visibility for the show so more people can watch me tap hearts. Although they can't see it. I'm tapping right now and you can see it, but no one else can.
Bex Scott: [00:38:21] Yeah. No, she's tapping the screen right now giving everyone hearts.
Kim: [00:38:24] I'm tapping hearts with my finger nonstop.
Bex Scott: [00:38:28] So do you collect anything vintage yourself?
Kim: [00:38:32] I've collected a lot of things over the years. Right now, I'm very much into Blue Mountain Pottery.
Bex Scott: [00:38:39] Mhm.
Kim: [00:38:39] Too much. And I started and it's, Owl Always Love Vintage Ali. It's her fault because she had this cute little Goebel monk, the Friar Tucks, and she had one piece and I was like that is so cute. And then I got it. And then I saw a set in an auction. And so I bought it. And then I saw another bunch of stuff in someone else's Whatnot show. And now I have, like, a whole windowsill full of these little Friar Tucks. But it turns out there's also a cardinal line, like it's red instead of brown. I got outbid on an online auction that was a full set of it.
Bex Scott: [00:39:24] Wow.
Kim: [00:39:25] I got outbid because I realized thou shalt not spend too much money. So it's like, now I got to stop, I gotta stop, I really want it. But what am I going to do with it? It's just going to go and collect dust. And then I got to dust it. What happens is, is I get really into something and then, okay, I've got enough of it. I feel like I've collected it. Thank you, next. Now Blue Mountain is going to take forever to collect all the different pieces, because they were around from 1953 to 2004, and they did over a thousand molds.
Kim: [00:39:59] So I'm not going to be over that anytime soon. But yeah. And then glass, I love gorgeous glass now that I never appreciated before Whatnot. But then, you know, now I'm like glowy glass, i've got a whole collection of uranium glass, cadmium, anything that like is UV reactive I'm on it like nobody's business, like a dog on a bone. I am on it. And I go around with my, I have a 365 flashlight now because the different wavelengths will show you different amounts. So the 365 is the one that like CSI Las Vegas uses.
Bex Scott: [00:40:42] Yeah.
Kim: [00:40:43] So it shows a lot more UV reactivity with low amounts of like uranium. So there's a lot of old crystal and glass that they added uranium to to make it clear instead of make it green, to make it look clear. So like you can go to the Restore and just be like scanning and there's no noise actually but I'm making the noise. I got to make the noise so you could understand.
Bex Scott: [00:41:11] It should have noise.
Kim: [00:41:12] Scanning the shelves like like an idjit. Because I'm like literally like up there with my flashlight. Nobody has a clue what I'm doing. And then every once in a while, someone will go up and go, oh, are you looking for glowy glass? And I'll be like, yes, yes I am. Let's have a long discussion about it in the middle of the store.
Bex Scott: [00:41:31] Yeah, but if I find any, it's mine. You're not taking it while we're having this discussion.
Kim: [00:41:36] Oh, well, I'll be like, oh, I already have some of that. I have like, I have a whole box of that. Here, let me show you some. So usually I end up being like, you should get this. It's really cute. Look at this. This is also cute. I have a lot of clear glowy glass now, so I have to stop because it is easy to find it. It's out there. There's quite a lot of old glass and crystal that gets donated. Not a lot to Value Village though, interestingly enough in our area.
Bex Scott: [00:42:04] Not here either.
Kim: [00:42:05] Different demographic, Restore versus Value Village.
Bex Scott: [00:42:09] So I just discovered that vintage jewelry has glowy glass in it sometimes.
Kim: [00:42:15] Yes.
Bex Scott: [00:42:16] And that blew my mind. Now I'm going to be shining lights on everybody's earlobes everywhere I go.
Kim: [00:42:22] Well, I'm even diamonds. Different diamonds with different inside them. So like, I have three diamonds on my wedding ring, my engagement ring, and the middle one glows like crazy.
Bex Scott: [00:42:35] Oh, cool.
Kim: [00:42:36] Like, it's like, so cool when you put a 365 against it, it's like wow, I'm like, ooh, that makes it fancier to me. But it means there's something in there that's reflecting. But it's kind of cool. Like, there's so many things that fluoresce and UV react that you can find out there, and it's kind of fun just to like turn off the lights and start scanning around at all the collectibles, go to grandma's house, start scanning and it like, okay, so it's when I like, when people hear uranium glass, they think, oh my God, it's radioactive.
Bex Scott: [00:43:10] Yeah, yeah.
Kim: [00:43:11] The raindrops that are coming down from the sky are more radioactive than this stuff. Yeah, a high amount of it, like I bought from a seller in the States on Whatnot, I bought, like, a lot of uranium glass plates and cups. It was a teacup set with plates and everything. It was a big box. And so, yes, it did get delayed at customs, and it did get opened up because it probably did set off some sort of--
Bex Scott: [00:43:38] -- the uranium detector--
Kim: [00:43:39] -- detector that they have at the border, which I hope, I hope that's why it got, because I hope that they have a good sniffer system. And I have noticed that if I do buy glowy glass from the States, it usually ends up spending a couple of days in customs. Probably they don't usually open it up because it's smaller and you know, they can scan it and see it without having to open it up. But I'm sure they scanned the teacups and the the plates and were like, this doesn't make any... Why? Why are these teacups and plates like giving off a reaction? Something's wrong here. But then they saw what it was, i'm sure. I'm sure they've seen a lot of green glass over the years because of it. Because the the green uranium glass, you can see it from a mile once you know what it is, you know, and you can like, you go into a thrift store and you're just like, yeah, straight to it. I know what that is. And I started also collecting, but then I started selling them. So I kind of like, it's a buy to sell collection, I guess, of like the swung glasses, but the five-fingered ones that look like this, the Sesame Street characters, your favorite. I love when I see those in stores. I'm just like, I'm on an auction platform. I'm just like, got to get those ones because they're so cute. They just have personalities. I have two right now, and one of them leans slightly to the side. So it's kind of like when a character like, hello, I'm falling over.
Kim: [00:45:09] It's really kind of cute. It's super cute. So I like, I don't know, if you look around, I just have every, like I like everything, which is a problem. And so I appreciate the history and the story and what somebody did with that and, you know, what was going on in that era. What's the reason, like, what's the reasoning societal-wise why, you know, women were wearing certain types of brooches, you know.
Bex Scott: [00:45:37] Yeah. Yeah.
Kim: [00:45:38] Why did we start going into this whole like, you know, avocado green and mustard yellow? Like, what was the trends and why the trends and how the trends changed. And it's kind of fun when you can like, I love grabbing something and saying to myself, I think this is like - and I'll try and date it - and I play the like, did I get this, the dating game but it's different. It's like, did I get the date of this right? I pick it up and sometimes you'll see me unboxing, in unboxing shows, and I'll pull something up and I'll go, okay, I think this is 1985-ish. And then I'll flip it over and read what it says and be like, oh no, I was completely wrong on that one. Or yes, I was right, I was right. It was only off by a year. I think that's kind of fun. I just, I really like that. So I'm a generalist. I collect anything that I like, which may not even be pretty. It might be super ugly or super weird.
Bex Scott: [00:46:39] As long as it's vintage.
Kim: [00:46:42] Well, as long as it's, well, I like newer things, but I like sustainability. I like the fact that what we do helps the planet at the same time, because we are encouraging people to take something that otherwise would have gotten thrown away. A lot of the stuff that gets donated, a lot of people don't realize that the things that get donated to places like Value Village end up either in the trash or they get sent down to South America. And they have like huge, especially clothing's the worst, but like, they have these huge markets in South America where you can go. They're usually called gringos markets because it's stuff from us North Americans. Wasteful. And you can buy like you would have a field day because there's tons of Pyrex down there.
Bex Scott: [00:47:38] Yeah.
Kim: [00:47:38] You could just, you just like, just go in and because there's just too much that gets donated and they don't have enough space on the floor. So they just, they put it into household bales. So like bales of clothing, but they put them in big pallet boxes and they may or may not make it all the way to South America without getting broken. But there's just tons of stuff that just ends up getting sold down there. People buy it for super cheap and then they resell it in their community in these big open space markets. Part of that is also wasteful because the shipping, the carbon footprint of the shipping of all that stuff to go down south so that it can be resold, why don't we just stop that cycle? So when someone says to me, oh, you're a reseller in this disappointed way, when I'm in a thrift store, I'm like, yeah, yeah, I take this stuff and I resell it, but I clean it up first.
Kim: [00:48:35] I am the one who has to run around and source it. I have to look it up and find out information about it. I've got to present it somehow, which right now is Whatnot. I got to take the time to then pack it and ship it like, I don't see you doing any of that. So yeah, my time is valuable and so I'm going to charge more than I paid for this. But the whole point of thrift stores is to keep whatever organization that they're supporting, to keep it, to keep the doors open. Right? So like when I go into Habitat for Humanity store or Restore, I know that when I buy stuff from there, if I walk out with a box load, they're thrilled. Like, they know that I'm a reseller and they're absolutely thrilled because that's the money that they need in order to build that next house for someone, right?
Bex Scott: [00:49:22] Yeah.
Kim: [00:49:22] And with community care, it's the money that they need to be able to provide that Meals on Wheels service. So I don't, when people try to guilt me I'm like, no, sorry. I don't do a lot of shopping at Value Village. I talk a lot about it because I like saying it. I like going to the small charity shops. I have so many in the area. I'm very blessed that there's so many. There's, like a cute one in Omemee that's run by this little Baptist church. We did get into a little bit of a conversation about trans rights, but, you know, I think we came to an understanding about that, and it was a little bit uncomfortable at first, but then it was okay. But yeah I wasn't going to back down on that.
Bex Scott: [00:50:11] Yeah.
Kim: [00:50:12] My kids are important. So I'm gonna defend their right to be. But you know what? There's so many cute little places that I'm lucky enough to be able to go into. And then I know I'm supporting. It's the money is going back into the community to help people. So I'm always happy with that. That's also a great excuse to buy more.
Bex Scott: [00:50:28] Yeah, I think so.
Kim: [00:50:30] It's for a good cause, honey, I couldn't help it. They really need the money. They're building a new house. I had to get it. It's not my fault. Totally not my fault.
Bex Scott: [00:50:41] I love all of the reasoning behind buying things. I have so many different reasons that I give people to that I just have to keep adding new ones to the bottom of my list and recirculating them.
Kim: [00:50:53] Yeah, it's like reseller math if you buy something for $2 and you sell it for $10, that's good reseller math. But sometimes you buy something for $2, but you also buy like ten other things. So you know, you have a cart full, but one of those things is worth ten bucks. You're going to sell that one for ten bucks. So you've covered most of it. So yeah, maybe there's extra in there, but eventually you'll sell that stuff. So it's all okay. It's all just an investment. It's all fine. But there was one really good piece in there.
Bex Scott: [00:51:30] Yeah. What's the worst thing you've ever ended up buying? And worst in terms of you thought it was going to make good money or that it was something special and it ended up being just the opposite.
Kim: [00:51:44] Oh, gosh. I don't think there's a lot of worst. I don't, because I don't spend a lot. I'm, I am super cheap. I've had some things where I get them home and I break them while I'm washing them or cleaning them. There's a lot of Blue Mountain pottery that's the big long egret neck, like swan necks, and they are so easy to break. And that's just like, that's one of those sad moments. I have, I have like a little burial ground for pottery in the garden. So when there's a really nice piece, I put it in the garden and it becomes like, you know, a little, I just think of it as a new house for a bug. So there's a lot of vases and stuff that, you know, now they're a house for a bug or spider or something.
Bex Scott: [00:52:37] It's the bug amusement park.
Kim: [00:52:39] So there's, yeah. So I have to plan my garden now around my vintage cemetery that I have, but I don't want to get rid of the stuff because it was like, you know, the glaze was super pretty or there was just something about it that I really liked. So it goes in the garden where I know eventually it's going to break apart. And, you know, winter takes its toll on it. But I don't know, there's just something about the circle of life, of just bringing it back and making my garden pretty somehow. But yeah, I think the most disappointing for me is when I buy something, whether I spend a lot or I spend a little on it, and I break it before I even have a chance to buy it. Sell it, I mean. Buy it, I already bought it to sell it.
Bex Scott: [00:53:21] That's been my issue lately, but it's because my daughter takes it off the floor and she drops it because she thinks it's fun to break things. Right now she's in that awkward, breaking age, and I had a Blue Mountain Pottery candy dish that I just got, and she picked up this old butter dish and she threw it on top of the candy dish. And that was the end of that.
Kim: [00:53:43] Yeah, yeah. Well, eventually they they grow up and they go to kindergarten. So you've got some time eventually, eventually they start.
Bex Scott: [00:53:52] Four more years, four and a half more years of breaking my things.
Kim: [00:53:56] Yeah. My mom likes to grab stuff. And because of her dementia. And she uses the wheelchair for mobility, so she tends to stick things down her top or down her pants. And because, so if she goes through one of my boxes, there's usually a few things that go missing that I don't get to sell. And then the other day, there was this gorgeous Nippon candy dish that was really, it had a beautiful, beautiful hand-painted scene on it. Like, it was just gorgeous. It was going to be a keeper. And yeah. Mum actually put it underneath her boob.
Bex Scott: [00:54:39] Oh no.
Kim: [00:54:40] That was her storage spot, was up her top and and let her boob hold on to it because you know, they, as you get older ladies, they sag. So, but then she forgot that it was there. And then she stood up to go to the bathroom and it just smashed all in the bathroom floor. I heard the crash and I went, another beautiful thing has bit the dust.
Bex Scott: [00:55:03] Yeah.
Kim: [00:55:04] But mum loves, still loves going through all the boxes and seeing what I got and looking at the things and I've done a couple of live shows with her. I don't do it as much now because she is much worse. But when I first started on Whatnot, I would do shows with mum and sometimes I'd say, you know, oh, this is starting bid is $10 and she would be in the background going, it's not worth that much, two bucks. I'm like, please ignore my mother. Thank you for bidding.
Bex Scott: [00:55:34] And then you'd find it in her shirt later on. Because she secretly really loved it.
Kim: [00:55:38] I was really careful that if I sold something, it went up where she couldn't reach. That is a benefit of having her in a wheelchair. She can only reach so high. And she can't get down the stairs into the basement, so if it makes it to the basement it's safe. Safe from her, not necessarily safe from me dropping it or something, but yeah, every once in a while when I break vintage, I cry a little.
Bex Scott: [00:56:05] Yeah.
Kim: [00:56:06] An angel in heaven cries too. It's a sad moment.
Bex Scott: [00:56:14] So do you have any advice for resellers who are just starting out? Or if they want to get on Whatnot or find a booth close to them, or just start out in general?
Kim: [00:56:28] Well, you need inventory and you need to spend money to make money. That's reality, is you have to buy stuff. I would be careful about when you first start out about buying things at high prices. Go, I would say start with your local auctions. Like online auctions where you can pick up if possible. There's HighBid.com has a lot of Canadian and US auctions. There's Max Sold does a lot all over Canada. Maxsold.com. And then of course you can just Google to find out where there's your local auction house. And usually they'll have a website. And if they do online auctions or if they do in-person auctions. If you can go to in-person auctions, oh my gosh, there are deals to be had because people have gotten away from going to live auctions.
Bex Scott: [00:57:26] I've never been to one.
Kim: [00:57:27] Oh, they're fun. They're, you just need to behave yourself. You need to say, you know, I have a maximum and I'm going to stick to it because it starts to get personal. Like you don't want the other person to win kind of thing.
Bex Scott: [00:57:39] Yeah, I could see that.
Kim: [00:57:41] So you have to be careful with that. But if you're if measured at the beginning, look for deals. Pick what you like. Don't try and follow any trends. Don't try to follow what you think is going to sell. If you like it, if you see it on the shelf or you see it online, a picture of it online on an online auction, and it speaks, like if you're like, if you get excited about it, then that's the stuff you should sell. Don't try and just sell anything to turn a profit, because it won't be successful, because you won't have that enthusiasm for it. It'll start to become more of a chore and less enjoyment. That's my first recommendation. When it comes to being on Whatnot and selling, I would suggest, first of all, that you get on Whatnot and watch shows for a while, watch a lot of shows, different shows in different categories. Get to know people, start following people, start interacting in other sellers shows, just, you know, even just saying, oh, that's really pretty, I really like that. You don't have to buy, just come in and chat. We love chatting with everybody. We love hearing, you know, don't come in and be negative, nobody wants that anywhere. But just come in and say hi. And you know, when we say, how's your day? You can answer or not answer, it's up to you. I'd say 80% of the people who are in shows are quiet in any show, big sellers or small sellers, 80% of the people are quiet and that's okay too. But if you're going to be a seller, you need to be interactive because it's a social, it really is a social network platform. It's all about collaborate.
Kim: [00:59:32] Collaboration is the key. So once you get started, you need to let people know, I'm, you know, I'm going to have my first show. Book your show as soon as you're approved to be a seller. I would recommend going through and getting a referral from somebody who's already selling on Whatnot. Not only does that seller get a bonus if you do start selling on Whatnot, they get some, they get some money for it, but you are more likely you'll be put up higher on the list to be looked at, because there is a wait list for certain categories, but they want to see inventory. So you need to build your inventory. Because if you just say, I really, really like cards or I really, really like glass, they're going to be like, that's great, but show us what you got. And they want to see a lot of inventory because they want sellers who are going to sell volume, right? The more you sell, the more they make because they take 8% of the cut, which is not bad. It's not bad at all. And then there's the payment processing fees. But they have to pay that to somebody else. They're just passing that cost along to us. But they're taking 8%. So they want you to make as much money as possible. They want you to be successful. So they're not going to pick people that don't have inventory. So you need to take lots of pictures and do a collage of, like, use your little Google Photos to make a collage because I think you're only allowed, like, when I applied, I think you were only allowed like eight pictures to attach.
Bex Scott: [01:01:10] I think when I did it was two.
Kim: [01:01:13] Oh gosh. So like I did collages. I went around and like took pictures of everything. And at that time I did not have a 10th of what I have now. I have an issue, but I think I applied for handmade category because that's what I had the most of at the time in inventory, but then once you're approved as a seller, you can go just about anywhere. And I've been approved to sell at luxury bags. Not that I have any to sell, but I made sure that I got approved for that. There's a quiz.
Bex Scott: [01:01:45] Oh boy, I would fail that quiz.
Kim: [01:01:47] You would not fail the quiz. It's a pretty obvious quiz. Like, should you sell something fake?
Bex Scott: [01:01:55] Okay. Yeah, I thought it was gonna be on luxury bags.
Kim: [01:02:00] That's, you know, that's a really hard one.
Bex Scott: [01:02:03] Yeah.
Kim: [01:02:04] I think I should say yes. Yes, you should sell fake stuff. Like most of the questions are pretty, pretty easy. It's pretty easy. But they want to make sure that they don't approve you until you've already been a regular seller, that they can see a track record for because they don't want people getting scammed. They don't want scam artists. So they want to see that you got a decent inventory and that you've got some experience selling. So if you don't, even if you tell them about how you sold the most Girl Guide cookies when you were ten, right? Like, whatever it is, Boy Scout, whatever Boy Scouts sell, I don't know, apples, one of apples in our neighborhoods, but like they want to see that. And then once you get approved, just have fun. Like just make it fun. Forget about trying to sell. The selling will happen as you get more experience and you build your following. Like, I'm getting close to 2000 followers now after a year.
Bex Scott: [01:03:04] That's amazing.
Kim: [01:03:05] But that's also because of the collaborations that I've done, like organizing Raid Trains and the people that I've met and through them meeting other people. So, you know, always trying to go into other people's shows as much as possible, even if it's just say hi. Hi, love you, I hope you have a great show. Isn't that a cute item? Oh, that's so pretty. And then I may not be able to stick around, but I try to at least say hi whenever I can. But it's the collaborations that make it happen. It's going on, getting to know people, and getting on the Raid Trains or make up your own Raid Train. That's what I did. I wanted to do a Raid Train, so I just started openly inviting the world to it. And now it's like, it's totally full. I think April, we're almost full. So March is already full. April's almost full. And it's fun, just monthly for anybody who's a seller to sell anything they want, as long as it's sustainable. Because it's all about sustainability, right, my Raid Trains. I'm big on that.
Bex Scott: [01:04:13] Mm. I'm gonna have to join one of those.
Kim: [01:04:15] Yes. You should. How you sign up.
Bex Scott: [01:04:20] Sounds good.
Kim: [01:04:21] It's fun, it's fun. It's sellers from all over the world. Most of them are US sellers. So it's great for Canadian sellers to get introduced to their buyers because with a Raid Train, for those who don't know, basically one person starts their show and then when they're finished at a certain period of time, so they have usually it's an hour, they then raid, which sounds like a pirate thing, when I first started, I was like, what are we doing? We're raiding? I don't like, what, I don't want to raid somebody. I, what, I don't want to steal someone. Like, because I thought stealing, that's what I thought. I though raid/stealing. But it's basically you just take all of your viewership and bring it to someone else's show. And when they're done, they bring it into someone else's show, etc., etc. And a train is where you organize it so everything's on a schedule and everybody goes, basically, it's like you start at the engine and you move everybody back to the caboose at the end of the day, that's how I like to think of it, is everyone moves along the cars in an orderly fashion, buying all day long. And having fun.
Bex Scott: [01:05:33] Mhm. Yeah. In our next one, by the time this episode comes out we will already have had the Linens Raid Train coming up on Friday.
Kim: [01:05:42] Very excited about, I have so much to go.
Bex Scott: [01:05:46] You're kicking that one off, right? And then I go right after you.
Kim: [01:05:49] Yes. Yeah. I'm starting at 9 a.m., so I don't mind kicking it off. It's probably the toughest spot in any Raid Train.
Bex Scott: [01:05:59] Yeah, I was going to say.
Kim: [01:06:00] Like because it's just, there's no expectations of me selling too much. So like, oh, you were the first on the train, it's fine. It's okay, she was first, that's why. No, I'm just kidding. People buy all day long on Whatnot. That's the great thing, right? You never know who's going to come in. And linens is so hot right now. People are really interested in it. And ephemera is getting hot again. The thing is, there are trends on Whatnot that are fascinating to watch because you can see, you can actually see this, like it flow from the sellers through the buyers. And then a lot of buyers are also sellers. So then they start building a collection. And then all of a sudden they're selling and I've just watched it like, a lot of like ephemera especially, has moved through so many categories now because people are starting to realize how cool it is, how exciting it is. And linens. I love linens, I love little linens and big linens and pretty linens.
Bex Scott: [01:07:06] I like the sheet sets. That's my favorite. Anything with like a nice floral pattern. Love it.
Kim: [01:07:12] Yes, I have a lot of that, but it's on beds. I tend to use it, not store it.
Bex Scott: [01:07:18] That's good. You should.
Kim: [01:07:20] Yes, but it's so pretty that sometimes I feel guilty. You know, every time I put it in the laundry, I think it's shortening its life just a little more. But it's made it this far. I've got sheets from the 70s, from my like, from my bed, from my parents bed, from the 70s. So yeah, that's one of the benefits of living with your mother is all her linens came with her.
Bex Scott: [01:07:45] Mhm. Awesome. Well those were some perfect tips if you're starting out as a reseller on any platform, especially Whatnot. But thank you so much, Kim, for joining me today. And everybody go and find Kim on Instagram at the Red Rooster Shoppe and on Whatnot as well. And check out some of her shows. They are super fun. So thanks so much, Kim.
Kim: [01:08:07] Thanks for having me. Love you.
Bex Scott: [01:08:09] Love you. Have a great day.
Kim: [01:08:12] You too. Bye.
