Seller Spotlight
Gift Express
From Fragrance Wholesale to 24/7 Live Selling
160K+ Items Sold
|
200K+ Followers
|
2K+ Hours Livestreamed
|
⭐️ 4.9 Rating
|
45K+ Reviews
|
160K+ Items Sold | 200K+ Followers | 2K+ Hours Livestreamed | ⭐️ 4.9 Rating | 45K+ Reviews |
Meet the Seller
Founded in 2016, Gift Express is a family-owned business based in New Jersey that specializes in discounted perfumes and colognes.
One of the first sellers to launch in the fragrance category, Gift Express gained popularity by hosting dynamic, auction-based shows—giving shoppers access to designer scents below MSRP.
Prior to Whatnot
They built a reputation as a leading online perfume seller across retailers, marketplaces, and their own website.
As discounters, their competitive pricing brought in volume, but growth was limited by constant “price wars” where the lowest deal won and it was hard to stand out outside of price.
Their customer base was scattered across multiple platforms, which made it hard to build repeat buyers and loyalty.
They had little control over customer engagement, often waiting for shoppers to come to them.
“Having momentum on the platform is crucial… you’ve got to keep doing shows, keep running items.”
- Abhay, Gift Express
When considering Whatnot
They first recognized Whatnot’s potential in 2024 and went live to test it—immediately sensing it could become a powerful high-volume channel.
They were unsure if fragrances would resonate with live shopping audiences, as there were no prominent fragrance sellers on Whatnot.
At the same time, they saw an opportunity to be first to market and break into unchartered territory on Whatnot.
With hundreds of thousands of products in their warehouse and zero followers on Whatnot, their first priority was to build their audience and demand..
“We realized that even if we don’t break even on a piece, the customer gets a great deal—and that keeps them coming back to shop with us again and again.”
Growing on Whatnot
They launched with $1 start auctions and leveraged giveaways to build early traction—even if it meant taking losses on some items.
Their earliest buyers became regulars, tuning into shows multiple times per week.
They scaled to multiple daily shows, growing their team to include four Whatnot streamers and a dedicated shipping team to manage over 600 shipments per day.
Audience growth has been rapid—they now have over 200k followers.
They still consider giveaways to be a key investment to boost viewership, attract buyers, grow followers, and drive sales.
“If I were to start a Whatnot page today, I would have the same philosophy, give people the best experience, feel free to take losses on some items knowing that those customers will end up being the ones who spend the most with you.”
Abhay, Gift Express