5 Liveselling Tips With Val From @theshoegameco
Based out of Las Vegas, Valentina Zapata, otherwise known as Val from @theshoegameco has been reselling sneakers since she was 15 years old. Starting out, her goal was to flip a few pairs of shoes to buy more for herself. As she grew older, she left the reselling days behind and ventured into the typical 9-5. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she found herself in need of more income and her girlfriend suggested she go back to her roots of reselling sneakers. What started as a side hustle turned into a full-fledged business with an incredible team that has sold 66k items, with 1 day average shipping time, and ~140k followers on Whatnot.
We sat down with Val live on our whatnotsellers account to talk about her business, her story, and her valuable insights and tips for sellers on Whatnot. Check out the full recording for more or read through her top 5 tips for getting started, gaining momentum, and building a sustainable business on Whatnot.
Tip #1 - Consistency is key
Val began her Whatnot journey as a 2 person team of just her and her father. Her first show didn’t go as planned – she sold 250 pairs but did not make the profit she was expecting. As she was close to giving up, her father urged her to keep going as he saw the potential in growing a business on Whatnot. Although she had her doubts, she took her father's advice to push through. With a lot of late nights, staying committed, and support from her father and girlfriend, now her business on Whatnot is thriving. Despite a few bumps in the road, Val and her team were able to find their groove on the app and what works best for them to help them be successful. Her number one tip, whether it’s your show schedule, your attitude, or your marketing, is that consistency is key and is often what sets you apart from the competition.
Tip #2 - Sourcing quality product
We’ve all heard the common saying ‘quality over quantity’ and at theshoegameco, they take that seriously. Val and her team take great care in working hard to find the best quality items for their shows. Immediately after they sell pairs, they hop on calls to replenish their inventory with only the best for their customers.
Tip #3 - Stay in your lane
One of the early challenges for Val was to learn not to compare herself to others. She says you should find the sellers you can look up to for inspiration, community, support, and interaction – but try not to compare your journey to theirs cause everyone is different, and what works for them may not work for you.
“When you’re not worried about somebody else, you have more time to worry about and work on yourself. Plus you don’t know what’s good or bad in somebody else’s business so why compare yourself to what you don’t know?”
Tip #4 - Market yourself
Word of mouth can go a long way when starting a business and finding your audience. Marketing yourself on and off the app can take effort, but it can definitely pay off. Today Val has grown to 140k Whatnot followers and 20k Instagram followers. For marketing on Whatnot, Val uses Promote Tools to get her shows pushed to new audiences but also uses the giveaway feature to offer her viewers the coolest curated items for free as a way to give back. On other social media platforms, Val is adamant about posting her weekly show schedules and using her accounts to vlog her life as a sneaker seller.
Her content is both entertaining and valuable which is appealing to audiences and makes them want to tune in for great shoes and a great show. She also points out that while Whatnot is for shopping, it’s also a social platform, so when you’re not selling items you can still be having fun in your shows with your viewers.
Tip #5 - Foster your community
As you stay consistent, offer top-notch products, invest in your lane, and market yourself, you’ll eventually start to foster and build your own loyal community. It shouldn’t be a one-way street though, so when you have your community, it’s your job to entertain, interact, form a relationship, and keep them coming back. The community on Whatnot is unmatched and when you’re able to find your personal community it’s that much better.
Check out the full recording of our interview with Val from theshoegameco at the link here on your iOS or Android mobile app. Be sure to follow our whatnotsellers account on Whatnot for seller stories, insights, product features, and more.
