Some of the best inventory on our Whatnot shows doesn’t come from wholesalers or online orders. It comes from the hunt — digging through storage units, estate sales, and bin stores to find items that most people walk right past.

The Sourcing Game

Finding great inventory is half the fun of running a Whatnot channel. Here’s where we look:

Bin Stores

Bin stores (also called liquidation stores) sell returned and overstock merchandise at steep discounts. Items rotate constantly, and the prices drop throughout the week. You have to dig through bins of random stuff, but the finds can be incredible — electronics, tools, brand-name clothing, and random collectibles that nobody else noticed.

Estate Sales

Estate sales are treasure troves for collectors. When someone passes away or downsizes, their entire household goes up for sale. This is where we find:

  • Vintage jewelry from decades past
  • Old coin collections tucked away in drawers
  • Crystal and mineral collections
  • Random boxes of trading cards from the 80s and 90s
  • Electronics and tools in great condition

Storage Units

Storage unit auctions are the wildcard. You’re buying blind — you can peek inside but you can’t dig through boxes until you’ve won the bid. Sometimes you get amazing finds. Sometimes you get boxes of old clothes. That uncertainty is what makes it exciting, and it makes for great content on live shows.

Why Sourced Inventory Hits Different

When you buy from a traditional distributor, every seller has the same stuff. When you source from storage units and estate sales, your inventory is truly unique. Nobody else has the exact same items, and every piece comes with a story.

Our buyers love hearing where items came from. Was this ring from a 1940s estate? Did these coins sit in a safe deposit box for 30 years? That history adds character that manufactured inventory can’t match.

What We’ve Found

Some of our best finds have included:

  • Complete Garbage Pail Kids collections from the original 80s run
  • Signed comics that the previous owner probably didn’t even know were valuable
  • Vintage costume jewelry that looks way more expensive than what we paid
  • Electronics in original packaging that retail stores can’t stock anymore
  • Boxes of mystery items that become the most entertaining live show segments

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Browse Our Storage Finds

Check out our current storage unit finds, jewelry, and other unique inventory — all sourced from real-world treasure hunting.

Follow us on Whatnot to watch us open storage unit boxes live, share estate sale hauls, and sell bin store finds at great prices.

— TechBinBytes