Podcast Summary: The New Best Way to Make Money Reselling Online?! ⏐ The Koerner Office – Ep. #245

Host: Chris Koerner
Guest: Shannon Jean
Date: November 10, 2025

Episode Overview

In this engaging episode, Chris Koerner and returning expert guest Shannon Jean dive into innovative, high-potential strategies for making money through online reselling in 2025. They discuss the rising trend of live selling via platforms like Whatnot and compare it to the challenges and opportunities of more established marketplaces. Practical advice, examples, and new tools for resellers are shared, with special focus on liquidation deals, live auctions, and even the wild idea of mystery vending machines.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Liquidation Goldmines & Sourcing Cheap Inventory

• Unnoticed Opportunity:
  Brands like Hanes, and marketplaces such as Amazon and Costco, now liquidate massive quantities of products (e.g., "Five pallets of toddler T shirts. 4,300 units are selling for 5 cents each. $200. That changes everything." – Shannon, 00:00).
• Liquidation Auctions:
  • Major brands throw up huge amounts of overstock for pennies on the dollar.
  • Example: 13,000 pieces of Hanes clothing with an opening bid of $5,000—that’s about 39 cents per unit (01:19).
  • Negotiate offers: Lowballing with 2–3% of MSRP is "in the ballpark, especially for apparel." (05:47)

2. The Rise (and Advantages) of Live Selling

• Shift From Traditional Reselling:
  • Live selling removes the painstaking process of listing, photographing, and prepping individual items for e-commerce.
  • "You don't have to take pictures… It eliminates the prep. It eliminates having to set this thing out, take a picture, take 12 pictures, create a listing… Live selling is a game changer.” (02:11–03:31)
• Platforms Highlighted:
  • Whatnot: Dominating the live sale space ($12B valuation), but also mentions TikTok Shop, Poshmark Live, eBay Live.
  • Learn by watching auctions: "Don't watch Netflix, watch auctions… Start watching people sell a pair of shoes every 25 seconds…" (03:40)
• Building a Seller Reputation:
  • Start small, sell what you own, do giveaways, build up feedback—just like eBay in the early days (09:33).

3. Game-Changing Analytics Tools

• Whatnot Spy Chrome Extension:
  • Tracks sales, buyer info, pricing, and analytics for any Whatnot auction ("It's just a game changer, dude. It's amazing." – Shannon, 07:09).
  • Zero cost: "It's free." (07:36)
  • Resale Bot: The companion paid tool suggested for growing resellers.

4. Strategy: Reverse-Engineer the Best Sellers

• Scrape data from top-performing sellers to determine average sale prices, best categories, and set your own bids/strategies accordingly (07:45–08:57).
• Example: If a seller averages $6.80/item for Hanes t-shirts bought for $0.40/unit, net profit could be $5 each after fees and shipping.

5. Marketplace Comparisons & Community Advice

• Whatnot vs eBay:
  • eBay is now more seller-friendly but remains buyer-centric in disputes—sellers must be pragmatic about occasional losses (10:26–12:13).
  • Whatnot and Poshmark Live: More seller-friendly, encourage direct engagement, fewer returns, exciting auction-like environments (12:13–13:39).
• Building your Team:
  • You might need a skilled streamer; be the operations mind and hire someone charismatic for the camera (13:21–13:39).

6. Mystery Boxes & Vending Machine Business Model

• The German Innovation:
  • Vending machines dispensing “lost” or returned packages—packaged as mystery boxes on street corners ("That is amazing. I want some of those." – Shannon, 00:22 & 15:25).
• US Adaptation:
  • Combine a vending machine with Amazon/Costco/Target returns.
  • Places: Laundromats, malls, outside bin stores ("It's almost like a portable bin store.” – 15:32).
  • Pricing Strategies: Tiered mystery boxes, category labeling, upselling multiples (16:51–17:58).
  • “You could get an iPhone in there. You could get a pack of hair ties. You just don't know.” (16:16)
• Consumer Psychology:
  • The thrill of the hunt and sunk cost fallacy fuel repeat purchases ("They will fool themselves into thinking...This was a great deal though, I got this." – 18:08).

7. Scaling Up with Pallet and Bin Store Models

• Contracts & Scalability:
  • Resellers grow by upping volume from single pallet to truckload contracts, then to recurring supply agreements via platforms like B-Stock (20:44–21:53).
  • eCommerce returns are 20–30% and rising; consistent flow of cheap inventory for savvy resellers.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Mindset & Opportunity:
  "No one's paying attention to it yet. This stuff sells for nothing." – Shannon, 00:11
• On Live Selling Efficiency:
  "You're in front of the camera going, I've got 12. I'm selling boxes of 10. Here's the hoodie...start the bid at eight bucks. And they just go from right there." – Shannon, 03:40
• On Using Analytics Tools:
  "Launch this app, pull all this data, you find out, you even know who they're selling to. You get the buyers, you get everything in a spreadsheet." – Shannon, 07:12
• On the Auction Experience:
  "You want them to buy with Emotion, which is a huge mistake...You want Buy with Emotion. Copyright Shannon Jean." – Shannon, 13:39
• On Consumer Motivation:
  "It's like being at the carnival, you know, and buying the… big stuffed animal that the carnival paid $4 for." – Shannon, 18:43

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:00: Sourcing shockingly cheap liquidated goods
• 01:19: Example breakdown of liquidation Hanes deal
• 03:31: How live selling eliminates tedious prep work
• 05:42: Making bold offers (as low as 2% of MSRP)
• 07:09: Whatnot Spy extension and analytics for auctions
• 09:33: Best way for beginners to get started live selling
• 10:26: Comparison: Whatnot vs eBay and the importance of feedback
• 12:13: How marketplace cultures differ for sellers and live auctions
• 14:45: Introduction to the mystery box vending machine business idea
• 16:51: Price tiering and upselling strategies for mystery vending machines
• 18:43: Why the “treasure hunt” works in bin store and vending machine models
• 20:44: Scaling into larger contracts for consistent profitable inventory

Final Takeaways

• The reselling landscape is being revolutionized by live selling apps and data-driven sourcing.
• Low-risk liquidation deals, the appeal of live auctions, and creative business models like mystery vending machines open fresh avenues for entrepreneurs.
• Community, analytics, and strategic scaling are now as important as hustling at flea markets.
• “You want them to buy with emotion”—the new selling advantage is inventing excitement.

Resources Mentioned:

• Hanes Liquidation Site
• Whatnot App & Chrome Extension (Whatnot Spy)
• Resale Bot
• B-Stock for bulk sourcing
• ShannonJean.com/auctions (Auction starter guide, mastermind info)

For aspiring and seasoned resellers, this episode is a toolkit for surfacing, scaling, and selling in 2025's dynamic online marketplaces.