Live shopping platform Whatnot is implementing a new policy to regulate the sale of repacks and other surprise products on its app and website, the company announced Wednesday.
Under the new policy, which will go into effect Nov. 3, manufacturers of surprise products will need to meet a series of requirements for their products to be sold on the platform. Whatnot considers these products to be items professionally packaged and sealed by a manufacturer where neither the buyer nor the seller know the contents of any specific package.
Whatnot’s policy will require manufacturers of repacks and surprise products to complete an application to vet the business and its history. Approved manufacturers will then be required to work with an independent auditor to ensure trustworthy operational procedures are used during the creation of any surprise product.
Each manufacturer will also be required to make checklists for each series of surprise product or repack publicly available. Sellers will not be allowed to have any non-public knowledge about the contents of any surprise product or repack.
Whatnot will keep a list of approved products that meet each requirement. Surprise products and repacks not included on the list will not be eligible to be sold on the platform.
“I think one of the key pieces here is a separation across the business entity — how’s that entity structured, what does the team look like, how are they running their operation?” Eric Shemtov, head of collectibles at Whatnot, told cllct. “They’ll need to have clear standard operating procedures in place to ensure that, as an example, a checklist can be provided.
“Do they have that infrastructure? That is not a trivial thing in manufacturing, especially when there’s a volume of units being produced. Having a clear understanding of that separation and then trust criteria, manufacturing criteria allows us to better understand that [business].”
Whatnot’s policy arrives as the popularity of repacks and other third-party manufactured surprise products continues to balloon despite concerns from many members of the community.
For some hobbyists, repacks and surprise products represent an unregulated form of gambling with little or no transparency. Other collectors believe the products offer better value compared to traditional releases, including those created and sold by the major trading card manufacturers.
The lack of transparency for the category has resulted in major brands within the space pushing new products with transparency as the key selling point.
Fanatics launched its own Instant Rips repack line in March with what the company calls “real-time valuations” in partnership with data tool Card Ladder. The product features a living checklist to track what has already been pulled and what cards are still available.
Third-party grading company PSA launched its repack certification program in July in an attempt to serve as an independent auditor for the category. Under the program, PSA hopes to provide authentication and infrastructure for repackers who might not otherwise have the resources needed to sell at scale.
“We’ve been monitoring this for longer than the last handful of months, and even prior to some platforms and companies popping up that are dedicated to this, and thinking about how to evolve what is happening on the platform to ensure trust and transparency remain present for consumers,” Shemtov said.
Whatnot's policy change represents one of the biggest shifts for the platform since its launch in 2019. Among the industry leaders for live selling, Whatnot passed $2 billion in gross merchandise volume in October 2024.
In January, Whatnot announced $265 million in Series E funding to bring the company’s valuation to $4.97 billion. Whatnot reported at the time it had doubled the number of new sellers and first-time buyers on the platform over the past year.
“I think that being the market leader in the category comes with an additional level of responsibility,” Shemtov said. “We’re evaluating these things. We’re members of the community. We are deep in it and seeing it the way that other folks are as well.
“When we feel there’s a change that’s required, we will do it in a calculated and fair way, but that is our responsibility as a platform. So I think in some ways, there are components of this change that may seem more complex and cumbersome on the operations, but I do think that is part of the process and part of our responsibility and the role we play in the industry.”
Ben Burrows is a reporter and editor for cllct, the premier company for collectible culture. He was previously the Collectibles Editor at Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on X and Instagram @benmburrows.