u/StaxHouse

I’m a software developer and former financial analyst, and over time I’ve built some personal tools that I use to analyze Pokémon market data, pricing trends, sales history, movement between sets/cards, etc.

I’d like to start contributing some more data driven posts here when I find something interesting, because lately, the numbers have been dead on, but I want to make sure I’m not crossing the line into self promotion.

Basically, some of the charts/data I’d share would be generated or compiled using my own software.

I would not link the app, advertise it, tell people where to get it, or use the posts as a funnel for the product.

The intention would strictly be to share the actual findings/data and have discussions around them.
I’d also be transparent about where the information came from rather than pretending I manually compiled everything.
Would the community/mods generally consider that acceptable as long as:
The data itself is relevant and accurate
Sources/methodology are explained when necessary
I disclose that I built the software used to analyze it
There are no links, calls to action, sign ups, or promotion of the app
I’m asking before posting anything because I’d rather make the boundary clear upfront than accidentally come across like I’m trying to advertise something.

I’ve always wondered about this hotel room clip of Oli and Jordan (and Lee Malia) practicing sTraNgeRs. At the very end, Oli looks toward Jordan and says something like “like that, yeah?”

Considering Oli has talked about Jordan teaching him how to sing, was Jordan actually coaching him through the song here? Or am I reading way too much into a completely normal rehearsal moment lol

First, I know this **isn’t why Oli wrote** ***Doomed***, and I’m not claiming the song is secretly about *Requiem for a Dream*.

(Please excuse the awkward formatting, I’ve been writing this up in my notes for a while now so it’s copy & paste)

This is just an interpretation I’ve
developed as a huge fan of both.
We already know *Doomed* directly samples *Requiem*. Once I started viewing the lyrics through the movie, though, I noticed some surprisingly specific parallels, particularly with Harry and
Marion.

I’m going to use bold text for lyrical references & italics to reference the song and movie.

**“Cut off my wings” / “come lock me up”**
This immediately makes me think of Harry’s ending. His infected arm, destroyed by injecting, is eventually amputated. His “wing” is literally cut off. That same arm causes Harry and Tyrone to seek medical attention, ultimately leading to their arrest.
The following imagery about being torn apart fits Harry’s physical destruction, while the “vampires” could represent addicts/dealers feeding off one another. Harry and Tyrone sell heroin while simultaneously being destroyed by it themselves.
**“The world’s a funeral” / “skin and bone”**
By the final act, *Requiem* basically is a funeral. Everyone is still alive, but they’re ghosts of who they were.
The line about someone kicking the chair while **“we helped tie the rope”** makes me think of Harry and Tyrone’s role as dealers. They aren’t necessarily kicking the chair, but they’re supplying the “rope” destroying other addicts while being caught in that same rope themselves.
**“My head is in overdrive” / “over the edge”**
This is one of the strangest parallels.
Harry repeatedly retreats into his mind and the imagery of Marion at the pier. Near the end, he tries to reach her there, realizes she’s gone, moves backward and **literally falls over the edge.**
He’s inside his own head, desperately trying to reach Marion, and goes over an edge.
**“I think we’re doomed” / “there’s no way back”**
I associate this with Harry and Marion’s phone call.
Harry promises he’s coming back. Marion wants to believe him. But both seem to understand that the future they’re describing probably doesn’t exist anymore.
The **“we”** is what gets me. Not *I’m* doomed. *We’re* doomed.
Their addictions have become so intertwined with their relationship that they’re both reaching the point of no return.
**“I asked for death, but instead I’m awake”**
Harry doesn’t die.
He wakes up after losing his arm.
The nurse tells him Marion will come visit, but Harry knows she won’t and breaks down. In that context, being “awake” isn’t hopeful. He’s survived long enough to understand everything he’s lost.
**“Leave a light on, I’m coming home”**
Probably my favorite connection.
Harry keeps telling Marion he’s coming back while seemingly knowing that he probably isn’t.
“Home” doesn’t even have to mean their apartment. **Home is Marion and the future Harry believed they would have together.**
It’s almost: *Please keep something waiting for me. Let me believe there’s still somewhere I can return to.*
**“It’s getting darker, but I’ll carry on”**
That’s basically Harry’s entire progression.
Drugs become harder to get. Keep going.
Money disappears. Keep going.
His relationship collapses. Keep going.
His arm becomes horribly infected. Keep going.
In *Requiem*, “carrying on” isn’t heroic. **Continuing is what destroys him.**
**“The sun don’t shine, but it never did”**
Even during the happier “Summer” section, Harry and Marion’s future is already built on heroin.
They’re using. Harry and Tyrone are dealing. Their supposedly bright future is being financed by the thing destroying them.
Maybe the sun didn’t disappear.
**Maybe it never actually shined.**
**“When it rains, it pours” / “I think I like it”**
This part is more speculative, but I hear another drug metaphor.
*Requiem* repeatedly shows the ritual of craving, preparing, taking the drug and then experiencing the rush. I sometimes hear the “rain” as that anticipation and the **pouring** as the drug hitting.
And that leads into what I think is the most important connection:
**Being “in love with the mess.”**
*Requiem* isn’t about people repeatedly choosing something that gives them nothing.
The drugs give them pleasure, relief and escape. **They like the thing that’s destroying them.**
Marion’s ending captures this perfectly.
Harry has lost his arm. Tyrone is imprisoned. Sara is institutionalized. Marion has degraded herself to obtain heroin, and her relationship with Harry is effectively gone.
Yet Marion gets home with the drugs, curls up with them and, for that moment, seems okay.
Everything has been destroyed.
**But she has what she wanted. She’s comfortable inside the mess.**
That’s basically my theory.
Not that *Doomed* secretly tells Harry’s story, but that ***Requiem for a Dream*** **works almost perfectly as a visual framework for the emotions** ***Doomed*** **is expressing**: addiction, self-destruction, hopelessness, temporary escape and loving the very thing that’s destroying you.
Maybe the individual parallels are coincidences. But considering *Doomed* deliberately opens with *Requiem* audio, I find the number of connections really interesting.
Once I started hearing the song this way, I couldn’t unsee Harry and Marion.
**The sample almost feels like a lens through which you can watch the rest of the song.**

First, I know this **isn’t why Oli wrote** ***Doomed***, and I’m not claiming the song is secretly about *Requiem for a Dream*.

(Please excuse the awkward formatting, I’ve been writing this up in my notes for a while now so it’s copy & paste)

This is just an interpretation I’ve
developed as a huge fan of both.
We already know *Doomed* directly samples *Requiem*. Once I started viewing the lyrics through the movie, though, I noticed some surprisingly specific parallels, particularly with Harry and
Marion.

I’m going to use bold text for lyrical references & italics to reference the song and movie.

**“Cut off my wings” / “come lock me up”**
This immediately makes me think of Harry’s ending. His infected arm, destroyed by injecting, is eventually amputated. His “wing” is literally cut off. That same arm causes Harry and Tyrone to seek medical attention, ultimately leading to their arrest.
The following imagery about being torn apart fits Harry’s physical destruction, while the “vampires” could represent addicts/dealers feeding off one another. Harry and Tyrone sell heroin while simultaneously being destroyed by it themselves.
**“The world’s a funeral” / “skin and bone”**
By the final act, *Requiem* basically is a funeral. Everyone is still alive, but they’re ghosts of who they were.
The line about someone kicking the chair while **“we helped tie the rope”** makes me think of Harry and Tyrone’s role as dealers. They aren’t necessarily kicking the chair, but they’re supplying the “rope” destroying other addicts while being caught in that same rope themselves.
**“My head is in overdrive” / “over the edge”**
This is one of the strangest parallels.
Harry repeatedly retreats into his mind and the imagery of Marion at the pier. Near the end, he tries to reach her there, realizes she’s gone, moves backward and **literally falls over the edge.**
He’s inside his own head, desperately trying to reach Marion, and goes over an edge.
**“I think we’re doomed” / “there’s no way back”**
I associate this with Harry and Marion’s phone call.
Harry promises he’s coming back. Marion wants to believe him. But both seem to understand that the future they’re describing probably doesn’t exist anymore.
The **“we”** is what gets me. Not *I’m* doomed. *We’re* doomed.
Their addictions have become so intertwined with their relationship that they’re both reaching the point of no return.
**“I asked for death, but instead I’m awake”**
Harry doesn’t die.
He wakes up after losing his arm.
The nurse tells him Marion will come visit, but Harry knows she won’t and breaks down. In that context, being “awake” isn’t hopeful. He’s survived long enough to understand everything he’s lost.
**“Leave a light on, I’m coming home”**
Probably my favorite connection.
Harry keeps telling Marion he’s coming back while seemingly knowing that he probably isn’t.
“Home” doesn’t even have to mean their apartment. **Home is Marion and the future Harry believed they would have together.**
It’s almost: *Please keep something waiting for me. Let me believe there’s still somewhere I can return to.*
**“It’s getting darker, but I’ll carry on”**
That’s basically Harry’s entire progression.
Drugs become harder to get. Keep going.
Money disappears. Keep going.
His relationship collapses. Keep going.
His arm becomes horribly infected. Keep going.
In *Requiem*, “carrying on” isn’t heroic. **Continuing is what destroys him.**
**“The sun don’t shine, but it never did”**
Even during the happier “Summer” section, Harry and Marion’s future is already built on heroin.
They’re using. Harry and Tyrone are dealing. Their supposedly bright future is being financed by the thing destroying them.
Maybe the sun didn’t disappear.
**Maybe it never actually shined.**
**“When it rains, it pours” / “I think I like it”**
This part is more speculative, but I hear another drug metaphor.
*Requiem* repeatedly shows the ritual of craving, preparing, taking the drug and then experiencing the rush. I sometimes hear the “rain” as that anticipation and the **pouring** as the drug hitting.
And that leads into what I think is the most important connection:
**Being “in love with the mess.”**
*Requiem* isn’t about people repeatedly choosing something that gives them nothing.
The drugs give them pleasure, relief and escape. **They like the thing that’s destroying them.**
Marion’s ending captures this perfectly.
Harry has lost his arm. Tyrone is imprisoned. Sara is institutionalized. Marion has degraded herself to obtain heroin, and her relationship with Harry is effectively gone.
Yet Marion gets home with the drugs, curls up with them and, for that moment, seems okay.
Everything has been destroyed.
**But she has what she wanted. She’s comfortable inside the mess.**
That’s basically my theory.
Not that *Doomed* secretly tells Harry’s story, but that ***Requiem for a Dream*** **works almost perfectly as a visual framework for the emotions** ***Doomed*** **is expressing**: addiction, self-destruction, hopelessness, temporary escape and loving the very thing that’s destroying you.
Maybe the individual parallels are coincidences. But considering *Doomed* deliberately opens with *Requiem* audio, I find the number of connections really interesting.
Once I started hearing the song this way, I couldn’t unsee Harry and Marion.
**The sample almost feels like a lens through which you can watch the rest of the song.**

First, I know this isn’t why Oli wrote Doomed, and I’m not claiming the song is secretly about Requiem for a Dream.

(Please excuse the awkward formatting, I’ve been writing this up in my notes for a while now so it’s copy & paste)

This is just an interpretation I’ve
developed as a huge fan of both.
We already know Doomed directly samples Requiem. Once I started viewing the lyrics through the movie, though, I noticed some surprisingly specific parallels, particularly with Harry and
Marion.

I’m going to use bold text for lyrical references & italics to reference the song and movie.

“Cut off my wings” / “come lock me up”
This immediately makes me think of Harry’s ending. His infected arm, destroyed by injecting, is eventually amputated. His “wing” is literally cut off. That same arm causes Harry and Tyrone to seek medical attention, ultimately leading to their arrest.
The following imagery about being torn apart fits Harry’s physical destruction, while the “vampires” could represent addicts/dealers feeding off one another. Harry and Tyrone sell heroin while simultaneously being destroyed by it themselves.
“The world’s a funeral” / “skin and bone”
By the final act, Requiem basically is a funeral. Everyone is still alive, but they’re ghosts of who they were.
The line about someone kicking the chair while “we helped tie the rope” makes me think of Harry and Tyrone’s role as dealers. They aren’t necessarily kicking the chair, but they’re supplying the “rope” destroying other addicts while being caught in that same rope themselves.
“My head is in overdrive” / “over the edge”
This is one of the strangest parallels.
Harry repeatedly retreats into his mind and the imagery of Marion at the pier. Near the end, he tries to reach her there, realizes she’s gone, moves backward and literally falls over the edge.
He’s inside his own head, desperately trying to reach Marion, and goes over an edge.
“I think we’re doomed” / “there’s no way back”
I associate this with Harry and Marion’s phone call.
Harry promises he’s coming back. Marion wants to believe him. But both seem to understand that the future they’re describing probably doesn’t exist anymore.
The “we” is what gets me. Not I’m doomed. We’re doomed.
Their addictions have become so intertwined with their relationship that they’re both reaching the point of no return.
“I asked for death, but instead I’m awake”
Harry doesn’t die.
He wakes up after losing his arm.
The nurse tells him Marion will come visit, but Harry knows she won’t and breaks down. In that context, being “awake” isn’t hopeful. He’s survived long enough to understand everything he’s lost.
“Leave a light on, I’m coming home”
Probably my favorite connection.
Harry keeps telling Marion he’s coming back while seemingly knowing that he probably isn’t.
“Home” doesn’t even have to mean their apartment. Home is Marion and the future Harry believed they would have together.
It’s almost: Please keep something waiting for me. Let me believe there’s still somewhere I can return to.
“It’s getting darker, but I’ll carry on”
That’s basically Harry’s entire progression.
Drugs become harder to get. Keep going.
Money disappears. Keep going.
His relationship collapses. Keep going.
His arm becomes horribly infected. Keep going.
In Requiem, “carrying on” isn’t heroic. Continuing is what destroys him.
“The sun don’t shine, but it never did”
Even during the happier “Summer” section, Harry and Marion’s future is already built on heroin.
They’re using. Harry and Tyrone are dealing. Their supposedly bright future is being financed by the thing destroying them.
Maybe the sun didn’t disappear.
Maybe it never actually shined.
“When it rains, it pours” / “I think I like it”
This part is more speculative, but I hear another drug metaphor.
Requiem repeatedly shows the ritual of craving, preparing, taking the drug and then experiencing the rush. I sometimes hear the “rain” as that anticipation and the pouring as the drug hitting.
And that leads into what I think is the most important connection:
Being “in love with the mess.”
Requiem isn’t about people repeatedly choosing something that gives them nothing.
The drugs give them pleasure, relief and escape. They like the thing that’s destroying them.
Marion’s ending captures this perfectly.
Harry has lost his arm. Tyrone is imprisoned. Sara is institutionalized. Marion has degraded herself to obtain heroin, and her relationship with Harry is effectively gone.
Yet Marion gets home with the drugs, curls up with them and, for that moment, seems okay.
Everything has been destroyed.
But she has what she wanted. She’s comfortable inside the mess.
That’s basically my theory.
Not that Doomed secretly tells Harry’s story, but that Requiem for a Dream works almost perfectly as a visual framework for the emotions Doomed is expressing: addiction, self-destruction, hopelessness, temporary escape and loving the very thing that’s destroying you.
Maybe the individual parallels are coincidences. But considering Doomed deliberately opens with Requiem audio, I find the number of connections really interesting.
Once I started hearing the song this way, I couldn’t unsee Harry and Marion.
The sample almost feels like a lens through which you can watch the rest of the song.

EDIT~ Appreciate the love! But also wanted to see others thoughts on this🥲

I was at a card show this week where I met a lot of other sellers specifically selling on whatnot, some even did it while vending. The table next to us started up a conversation about whatnot & vending and all that fun stuff.

Anyway, this seller who’s account is just barely bigger than mine follower wise started to talk about how before the shows start sometimes if they’re set up before everyone gets there & they need quick cash that he will just sell a few higher end cards and use “instant payout” on whatnot, not early payout but instant. So he started to do it, pulled in $36 and then while watching him do it, right on whatnot he chose a debit card payout method & the money hit his card in about 15 minutes… how is this possible?

I tried asking later on while packing up but all he had said was “you just have to use Stripe!” Which is obviously very broad… Anyone have any insight on this?

So, tonight I had one of my most active & fun streams in a long time and had asked my chat to share the show and see if we can get 100… well, they didn’t stop and by the end of the stream we had 1,526 shares total which was just in general a cool fun moment. Unfortunately the OBS file wouldn’t open and is corrupted somehow which makes me think just how useless the clip feature is. What’s the point if you can’t see when a sale happens… can’t see the chat, can’t see stream statistics etc.

If you do use or like this feature, why & what do you personally use it for?

​SO, I sold a pretty big card over $300 & because it had a factory error and I knew this person had really wanted it, I sold it to them for $215. One reason being because they couldnt tell over stream if it was a true scan line or a scratch. My show description tells buyers to check the notes before purchases where it then says - All sales are final, i move quickly sometimes so PLEASE ask to see the condition as I do not do cancellations or refunds. WELL our friend didnt like the card and without photo evidence, said the entire front of the card was scratched. Now, after showing proof of me showing the scan line and the front of the card having zero scratches, the stream was reviewed where my notes still said the same thing. i try to work w the buyer but he escalates it to WN support and somehow, they ruled in his favor without letting me once respond. I asked how they possibly ruled in his favor after seeing the evidence i provided and this is what i got....

EDIT - GUYS… I’m on a roadtrip atm… it also says in the post that he thought the scanlines were scratches indicating I showed him the full condition over and over, I have the video evidence that’s the whole point of the post.

Whatnot has a massive moat because live selling psychology is incredibly powerful... nothing beats the high contrast, high energy adrenaline of a live "hit" culture stream. But right now, the platform is treating itself like a short-term acquisition play rather than a premium, scalable marketplace.

They are dumping ungodly amounts of cash into advertising and onboarding massive influxes of new users (Example - David Dobrik is being paid to run whatnot ads) while completely starving the infrastructure that keeps veterans and dedicated communities alive.

Look at what they are completely ignoring to fund those ads -

Community Hubs - Why do I have to send my community to a separate app to build an identity, share inside jokes, and build anticipation for future drops? We need an in-app feed, a collectible showcase profile, or a way to keep the culture alive when the camera is off.

Professional Seller Dashboards - If you want premium sellers to treat this like a real business, stop giving us elementary-school tier financial data. Give us granular, actionable performance metrics directly in the dashboard.

HUMAN Support for High Value Ecosystems - Copy & paste macros don't cut it when thousands of dollars in high end collectibles are on the line...

They have the money to fix this. They are just choosing to spend it on ad impressions instead of product engineering. It's a massive missed opportunity for a platform that could easily dominate the future of ecommerce if they actually listened to the people keeping the lights on.

Again, I say this all with love for Whatnot. I WANT to see these things happen and see the app thrive because it sucks seeing big names moving to more generalized live selling on places like ebay. Im unsure which platform it was so here a "trust me bro" statement, I've already seen users on other live selling platforms receive things like a trophy or plaque for reaching the 10k follows milestone or 1k sales etc.

Hello hey hi friends of whatnot! Im a software developer & also a seller on whatnot (Pokemon mainly). Recently, it seems sellers especially are getting fed up with some of the platforms missing features.

Those things consist of - A dedicated area on the platform where sellers can post a message to ALL of their followers to update them on multiple things. Postponing a stream, announcing youll be away for a few days, let your followers know if you have ran into shipping issues etc.

(Not self promo)

So recently, I made a personal app that consists of features like chat lounges for my mods, another area for the mods to choose a gift just for being good mods. They can be paid but they seem to like the gift idea, I send out "Mod Mail" once a week. a lounge just for viewers who have become pals from my chat lol. There's an area on the app for card requests to see on stream, it asks you the name of the card youre looking for or cards, asks your budget for what they'd pay for the requested card(s). Front page is just big announcements for upcoming streams and much MUCH more...

The reason I don't do these things with discord or instagram & asking my followers to go find my socials is because a lot of my viewers are not on social media at all. We also need much MUCH better analytics and tracking of finances. You get the idea, there's plenty of other things i personally believe is missing but... I want to create a demo app specifically made for whatnot & pitch it to them. Ive shown my personal app to some very large streamers who keep telling me I need to pitch the idea and id do it for free.

Should i propose to whatnot that I want to make them something a lot of sellers have been asking for? or do I build out the app first and THEN pitch it to WN?