Whatnot Looks To Seller Base To Recruit Customer Service Stars
Fresh off a new funding round and explosive growth in 2024, livestream shopping platform Whatnot is investing in expanding their support teams in 2025 with an emphasis on looking to their existing pool of sellers to find breakout customer service stars.
This novel recruiting strategy was detailed in a recent company blog post encouraging sellers to apply for open support positions and featuring several sellers who have joined the company as employees - revealing Whatnot requires all employees to both buy and sell on the platform themselves.
Kaitlyn Montano
Our first and most important value at Whatnot is always listening to customers. It’s at the heart of everything we do, from the products we build to the policies we create to the categories we launch. This focus on being customer-first has guided us since day one; it’s shaped how we’ve grown and adapted to bring you the best experience.
Our commitment to being user-first is reflected in our hiring and employee policies. Not only do we require all employees both buy and sell on Whatnot, several of our full-time employees started their Whatnot journey as sellers themselves.
These employees exist across many of our teams and have a unique perspective on what sellers need from our platform. Starting from their first day as a seller and eventually growing their businesses, they bring insights and actions to improve the overall platform experience.
Expanding our Seller to Seller Support Program
One area where we’ve seen an impact is bringing on sellers to Whatnot as customer support agents, which are some of the best examples of great, fast service. By bringing their own experience as a seller on Whatnot, they are able to empathize with sellers and their questions on a different level.We’re excited to share that we’re expanding the team in 2025 by opening a number of new Seller Support Agent roles specifically geared towards existing sellers on Whatnot.
These sellers turned support agents are encouraged to keep their Whatnot businesses going as well, making the offer particularly enticing for those who want to continue building their own businesses while having the stability of a regular paycheck and direct impact on the development of the platform.
And unlike rival eBay's now abandoned Experts program which sought to leverage seasoned sellers for customer service tasks, this isn't some third party managed, piecemeal gig economy deal - Whatnot is offering real full time jobs with the company, including benefits and equity.
Interested sellers can apply here and Whatnot says location and prior experience requirements are waived for seller applicants.
What do you think of Whatnot's customer service recruitment strategy and would you work for the company while building your own online selling business on their platform? Let us know in the comments below!
