Giveaways, Raffles, & Chance: A Deep Dive with History

https://linktr.ee/KarriKennedy

Giveaways seem simple on the surface, but once you start looking at how they’re structured, things get a more complicated.

In this episode, I walk through how giveaways actually work, how they connect to raffles and lotteries, and why platforms like Whatnot are tightening the rules. We talk about mystery items, floor and ceiling pricing, buyer giveaways, and what changes happened in 2025 and 2026.

I also break down the history behind all of this, including how lotteries were handled in the past and why those same ideas still affect how things are run today.

If you’ve ever wondered why certain rules exist, where the line actually is, or how to run your show without accidentally stepping into something you didn’t intend, this will help you see the bigger picture.

#WhyNotWhatnot

 #KarriKennedy

 #WhatnotSellers #ResellingCommunity #LiveSelling #WhatnotTips #ResellerLife #OnlineSelling #EcommerceTips #SellerEducation #Giveaways #Raffles #Sweepstakes #ResellerPodcast #WhatnotCommunity

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:29

Hey there guys. I hope everybody is doing really well. Today's episode is about giveaway rules and how they've changed. And I'm doing kind of a deep dive on this. We're not just talking about what happened, I think, you know, in here in March. We're going back to the history of giveaways. We're gonna talk about lottoes and sweepstakes and rules and regulations and yay, fine, fun, fun. Okay, but um here we go. Um, let's see. Um, so whatnot has changed rules. I think it was like the 16th, 18th, somewhere in there. Um, you are welcome to just ignore this whole podcast and just go look at them. But there is other information here as well. Um, not anything you couldn't find, you know. Gosh, I I don't have anything, you know, that amazing. But uh, anyways, if you're running them, the giveaways the way you always have, then that's fine. Most people don't know, they don't realize. Some people are talking about it. There's a little chatter on social media. Um, and I'll I'll even give you a few examples of that here coming up. But um, really, in a nutshell, it comes down to how you run giveaways, who can enter the giveaways, and then what someone has to do to get into and be entered into a giveaway. So, okay, so we're gonna walk through what's changed, you know, where all this comes from, why it's happening, you know, how to apply it to your show, all of that. And so, yeah, that's where we're going with this. Um, okay, so um, let me see. I've got some notes here. All right, so here's basically what changed. What has changed is who can enter and whether someone has to buy something or not to be included in a giveaway. Okay, so we are mostly talking about card breaks, repackages, mystery boxes, surprise sets, listings like that. And the the big issue is who's listening to this. I mean, who cares about this is the state regulators, um, consumer protection agencies, even the Federal Trade Commission. Yep, yep, yep. And uh whatnot, safety and well, I think it's called safety and trust teams. Um, and they're all all these people, all these different entities, all have a stake in the game, right? They all have a role and a position, and they are there to make sure that everybody's doing the right thing and not breaking the law. Breaking the law. Um, did you guys ever see? Um, okay, never mind. I regress. Anyways, um, so they're watching the same type of setup where the buyer pays first, and then afterwards they figure out what they won, right? That's that's what it is, right? So it's not every show. Um, but also we'll get to the other part where there's giveaways, but mostly this is what we're talking about card breaks, repackaging, mystery boxes, and surprise sets. Okay, so for my people who are not new to whatnot, well, they're new to whatnot, or they're new to the English language. I made this very, very simplistic. So, you guys who know stuff, I'm I'm being very basic just for my English as a second language speakers, because I realize that, well, the English language has a lot of things that if I say it a certain way, they're not gonna understand. So I'm breaking it down slowly. So when I say a card break, that basically means the seller has those sealed packages and it's made up of a bunch of different cards. I honestly don't know how many go in a pack. I think it's maybe five or ten. I'm guessing, guys, I don't know. That's not my area, but it's got multiple items and it's sealed. So what they do is they rip the person buys the pack, the surprise card, and then they rip it open right there on the screen. Or I think there's some people who even just send it that way without it being unopened. I'm not positive on that, but you don't know what's inside. And I'm like, well, they didn't know when they bought it to resell it either, but okay, I once again. Instead of selling each card, they do what's called spots or selling spots. You can purchase a team or a player or random. There's a whole bunch of people in these categories, and it's not just football cards or baseball cards, it's Dungeons and Dragons or Pokemon or whatever you're talking about, okay? Um, and if you're sitting here listening to this and you're like, oh, I don't sell in these categories, this doesn't matter to me. Stick with me. I'm gonna get there, okay? Um, but basically, when they open the packages live, it has to match whatever spots you get. And um, people buy into this because, you know, there's a chance that you could win the the valuable card or get the elusive one that is worth more money, right? And so it's also more fun. It's kind of like gambling. That's why we're having this conversation because there's that element of chance and surprise, right? And when they do that, it usually costs less money than to buy a full box. Like you can buy a whole box, or you can buy a pack, or you can buy a single, whatever. And nobody knows what's behind door number one, if you will. So they get the live experience of it, right? And the pattern is always the same. You have to pay for it first, and then the outcome comes, and the results is after that, right? Like that's just the way it's been going. But I remember it was, I don't know what month it was, it was in 2025. And I know because I was very excited about mystery boxes, and I was like, woo-hoo, I'm gonna do mystery boxes. But whatnot went through and they tightened all the rules around mystery boxes and repacking cards and items or whatever, any kind of surprise element mystery thing, they said, okay, you've got to do this and you've got to do that. And there was a lot more rules and regulations, and they pushed the sellers towards um the surprise sets. And basically, what happened is you had to be very, very transparent about what the items were. So for me, for example, I did these fun themed boxes, and um, like one of them was watermelon, and I spent like all this time. We're talking like four to six months, guys, working on one damn show. It was crazy. I oh, I could kick myself, but uh, anyways, it was watermelon, and inside it might have been a Kate Spade watermelon purse with watermelon lip gloss and uh I don't know, a watermelon drink, or you get the idea. Um, maybe a t-shirt. It was all these items that were watermelon themed. And then I had them for everything. I had a boba one, a strawberry one, a whole bunch. And they were kind of girly, you know, and they had could have purses or makeup, clothes, jewelry, just all kinds of stuff. They were awesome. They were awesome. But then once they started saying you have to take a picture of everything, you have to show them everything in advance. And I just got scared. I mean, to be quite honest. And I realized I was spending way too much time and energy to get all that ready. So I was like, okay, forget it. Fine. I won't, I won't do this. I won't, I don't want to get in trouble. I I'm just gonna give up. And that's exactly what happened. Um, so it it's still random, but it's no longer hidden when you do that, right? Like you would have to take a picture, I would have had to have taken a picture and of all these things and shown what, and I did, I think I did maybe one or two shows afterwards where I did that, but the time and the energy and everything, it was just too much for me. So, anyways, it's it's still random, but it's not hidden as much. Okay. They also had it back in the day where you had a floor, a ceiling, and an average, and they shifted um, you know, towards actual items and actual amounts of money instead of describing what the said item might be worth, which honestly, there's a lot of people still on the platform who do that and they're like, this is worth, you know, blah, blah, blah. And then I've multiple times went and looked up what they say it's worth and what it actually is worth. And they're not lining up, guys. They'll say things like you're the MSRP is and then it's it's wrong, it's incorrect information. So it's it's not on the up and up. Let's just leave it there, right? So whatnot also, um, you know, they they split all this into um a clear policy. Oh, I did say I was gonna tell, oh, I'll say it in a minute, anyways. Uh so basically you you had different sections. Whatnot did this. They said now we have card breaks, surprise sets, giveaways, and purchase-based prizes. Like that's what they were saying. And um, they're actively looking into this stuff. This is not, they're not just adjusting it. This goes back. And I think this goes back from when whatnot very, very first started. But the way I think of it, guys, is kind of like a funnel. And I've talked about this in other episodes. But like when you're pouring something in a funnel, you know, the funnel gets tighter and tighter as it gets down and into the glass or whatever you're pouring it into. And that's really what Whatnot is having to do with all these, you know, entities, whether it's people who are suing them and dealing with lawyers or whether it's the federal government, whatever, uh, safety teams to protect their butts, which I get that. I get that. But they're having to figure out how to be compliant. And the more people that we get on this platform doing different things, the more they have to regulate it. I mean, it's it's just what it's happening, and it's gonna continue happening. Um, they're actively controlling this and not just like, oh, it's a you know, this one guy did it. No, that's not what's happening. Um, so it was, I think it was like the 16th to the 18th of March when all this happened. I heard about it on the 19th, I think. And I did an episode and I was like, guys, I'm gonna do a deep dive on this. Here's where where we go from that, right? They gave this is basically I'm gonna keep going, but they basically said they updated their giveaway wording, they clarified the sellers' responsibilities on and what our expectations are, and they also made entry expectations so that you could like jump in and win something without buying something more specific. Okay. So once again, legal compliance, that's what they're doing. And um, you know, across the social media, whatever, whatnot, um, Facebook groups, whatever, um, discussions are kind of the same things, right? And I've seen this, it just drives me nuts. Um, a lot of people complain that they got a giveaway and it's not what the person said. They're like, this isn't what I ordered, this isn't, you know, whatever. Sometimes the expectations, especially on mystery gifts, aren't, you know, what they thought it was gonna be. And they're like, the valve, the value. Remember, I talked about that, you know, oh, it says it says it's worth this, but it's not really. And so buyers, you know, didn't completely 100% understand what they were getting into. This is that what they say, quote, say, um, and and they are kind of like, hey, this guy, you know, basically screwed me over, or this lady didn't tell me that, or this isn't what I wanted. And then they try to cancel, and maybe the person on the other side is one of those people who say, Oh, we don't accept cancellations. Well, it's when all that happened that it was a big deal. And okay, I did put this in my notes here. Um, this is for my English as a second language people because I I sort of had this up higher, but um, it's basically how the value was explained. Okay, so back in 2025, here's what it is, and these are the terms, right? So sellers have the terms floor, ceiling, and average, right? Now your floor is the lowest value, okay? That's like the least amount it can be. And then you've got your ceiling, which, hello, that's the highest you could receive. And then your average is what the seller says everything comes out to, right? You're trusting the the seller is actually giving you an average when they ask you to bid up to a certain price. It's calculated by, you know, the average is calculated a bit by adding up all the different numbers and dividing it by how many there are, right? You guys know how to do this, but you get it. Okay. So it all sounds fair, right? Said Johnny is selling, you know, genes. He's telling you the average of these jeans, they're mystery. This is for resale, whatever, and you're thinking everything is fine. It makes sense. But here's where the problems come in, okay? So you um you add it all up, you're dividing how many there are, and you get the average. But this is where we have problems because you could have one item worth, let's say, 500 bucks, and then nine items worth 10 bucks. Okay, you see what see how big of a vast difference that is between$10 and$500. So if you add up all those numbers, you're getting an average of like 60 bucks. And most people are getting the$10 thing and not the$500. And, you know, you're assuming that everybody's mathing and thinking and you know, whatever. You wish they were. But, you know, the guy's like, come on, guys, there's a value of$500. And if he misrepresents and says it's here, and people don't realize that they're kind of quotes gambling for the chance, it's a chance that they're buying. Um, then they they're upset. And so then they go to their lawyers or they call, you know, whatnot, and make complaints and blah, blah, blah. And that's pretty much what it is. But for that, it's kind of like saying, everyone has a chance at this beautiful, you know, what's the biggest steak you got? Uh, what is it called? Oh my gosh, guys, I'm even using my hand. It's like the Fred Flintstone steak. Um, big, big, juicy steak, and all they're getting is croutons, you know? And it's just, it's not, it's not fair. So the number sounds balanced sometimes, you know, bit up to 60 bucks. You could win something 500 bucks, but it it isn't. And and I especially know for new sellers that come onto the platform that go into these shows, because this is what I did, and I I've talked to so many people over the last couple of years. You don't realize, you know, you go in and you think everybody's on the up and up, you think things are being monitored. I that's what I believed. I thought everybody's being checked, maybe there's whatnot, you know, professionals coming into your show to check, make sure everybody's on the up and up. I I can trust this. It's online, everybody's there. There's tons of people here. I believed it, you know. Um, and now afterwards, I've I've been burned uh several times, or I've tried it several times. I I I mean, I remember one time I went to this, uh, it was like a mother-daughter or something, and they were selling purses on this L-shaped couch, and it was like their third show, and they were selling out into like hot cakes that everybody was buying, buying, buying. And I ended up getting, I I know it's stupid. I got like five purses from them. I was getting a bag and then they'd open it, and somebody would get a bag. And I ended up getting five purses. And when I got them home, they were like cheap pleather, they're like the kind of cheap play they they were bad. I I never wore them, I never took them anywhere. I did not complain. I did not, I thought they were cute on camera. I didn't know any better. Everybody else was in there. I just trusted. And I feel stupid saying it now, and you guys are probably like, duh. But I was new. I just I didn't know. I was ignorant. Okay. So that's why, you know, somebody like me who's been on here for a few years and has done things like this can talk to the newbies that are listening to the podcast, maybe. But you gotta be careful. That's it. But um, anyways, whatnot has removed the language, floor-ceiling average, and now they're just saying, hey, show the item, tell them what the price is. Don't do that. Don't do the mystery box where nobody has a clue. You've got to put it in your bin. There's like all these rules and regulations. I will say, I know, and I can sit here and give you a list of a ton of different people who are doing this and doing this and doing that. And then I know people who I don't see anymore. And I'm like, hmm, did she get kicked off? I I couldn't remember her name, so I can't go look her up. But she was doing something like that with wallets, and it was late at night, and I I'm not in her show anymore. I guess the algorithm was like, well, you're not buying from her ever, so we're not gonna keep sending you there. But um, yeah, I don't know, guys. Um, but okay, back to to my notes here. So when we're talking about your own show and how this like matters, um, you run a buyer's giveaway. This is this is like another thing that we're talking about here. If you run a buyer's giveaway and someone who didn't even buy, they haven't been in your show the whole time or whatever, they show up at the last minute and they win said item, it sucks. I'm just gonna say, as a seller, it's horrible. Um, I hate the buyer's giveaway. I remember the first time, uh, not the buyer's giveaway, the fact that they can skirt around the system and get it. Uh, because I feel like, and this is just me on my little, you know, rant here for a second, if I want to give something to somebody, I should be able to give it to whoever I want to. And I I'll get to how I get around that in a little bit. But when you put it in the giveaway thing, they have a right to fill out the form because of the government. It's a government thing, not happy with the government here, um, to fill out a form and say, hey, I have a right to purchase this. Okay. And so they can go in and win the item. And it's terrible when you've had like especially a good show. Let's say I had 40, 50 people in my show, and like 16 of us all hung out together. We're friends, we're talking, they're in there most of the time. We're having a good show. And I'm like, okay, now there's you know, 16 people out here who have big boxes. You guys have been buying. This is great. Let's hit the buyer's giveaway. And then, you know, I'm just making up a name. Matilda wins. As a seller, that hurts. As a buyer, that hurts, it just feels like somebody just came in and sucker punched you, and you're like, what the hell? How did that happen? It feels wrong. It just feels wrong. But I did some deep diving, and here's why it is that way. This is the structure, and I'm gonna talk about why. If someone has to buy something to enter, be it a prize, chance, payment, that's a lottery. And that's why we're having all this issue because whatnot is so aligned with the lottery structure, right? If there's a prize and there's a chance and there's a payment, that's a lottery. Hold on, listen, stick with me. Once you are allowed a free weight to enter, the category changes, the rules change. Okay, so what did I just say? Prize, chance, payment. That's a lottery. Like if I go to Louisiana and I go to the slot machine and I put money in, that's my payment. I now have two, a chance to get three the prize. You guys with me? Well, whatnot doesn't want to be a lotto, but you know, that that that's rough. So that that would be a lot more regulations and a lot more work for them. It would be crazy. There's so many people on the platform, and it's just gonna get there's it's just gonna grow, guys. It's just gonna grow. I I can pretty much guarantee you. Okay. But um, once you allow a freeway to enter, now you've just removed the payment. Okay. Now let's talk about that, right? So when you choose to give something directly, you decide who gets it and who stays. You get to stay in control, right? You're in control. But when it's random, whether it be the little um, what do you call that? Little randomizer, it's a little wheel that they spin that you can put up there. I've also people seeing people spin their own wheels at their own house, whatever. When there's a wheel and it's random, their entries are all collected. Uh, one winner is picked and the outcome is not controlled. Do you see the difference? So, two different scenarios. If you choose, you're deciding and you're staying in control. And the problem with that, I know this is the problem. You have some people who are not on the up and up, and those some people could say, I'm choosing that, I don't know, my my aunt Gertrude gets this, she's gonna win the prize or whatever. You know what I'm saying? They they can manipulate it a little bit more. Okay, so kind of think about this with the analogy, because I always try to give you guys analogies. If you bake cookies and, you know, my kids baked chocolate chip cookies the other day, and uh, he puts salt on them, guys. Sea salt. Just saying, it's so good. Hudson makes uh actually, yeah, it was Hudson. He makes big, big cookies and then he just sprinkles a little sea salt on them. Added bonus in this podcast. There you go, you're welcome. Um, but if you bake chocolate chip cookies, you are in control of your baking, what ingredients go into them and how big they are, all of that, and you get control over who gives gets it. Boom, done. Your cookies, your oven, your recipe, your hands, you get to give it to whoever you want. But if you draw names from a bowl, everybody has a chance. It's like a door prize at a party. If everyone in the room puts their name in, that's one thing. But if only the people who paid get their name in, that's something different. Okay. Same idea, different rules. Now, I did a history dive on this because I don't want to do more episodes and I really wanted to go deep into this. I was like, I don't get it. I don't understand. How come we have this stupid lot? I mean, I get rules and I get government and law, but I wanted to know why do we have this lottery rule? And why does the government have to have such a big hand and thoughts into this? Well, here's your answer. It goes back to the late 1800s when there was this uh Louisiana lottery, which is, I think, one of the reasons Louisiana has such big gambling to this day, because they were one of the very, very first ones, okay? Um, but people in different states were participating in that. And then the states that were, you know, like, hey, wait a minute, our money isn't staying here in our state, it's all going to Louisiana, right? States wanted to keep their money, and it just got to this point where basically operating it this whole deal of the lotto was basically everywhere. And and remember, they didn't have TV back then. They didn't even, I don't even know, most of them didn't even have radio back then. And so no TV, no radio. So how did we communicate? Through paper, right? So they what they did is they had all these pamphlets and papers, and they would send people from across the Louisiana line to into other states, all the way up to like, you know, Maine and then wherever, um, New York, all that area, and they would say, Hey, participate in this lotto. And so the states wanted their money. I get that. I get this part, right? Um, but it it became a problem basically because states wanted their people to give them their money. And it just seems wrong to me there, anyways. Um, so in 1890, Congress passed a law, it was called the anti-Lottery Act. Okay, this is Congress 1890, and it made it illegal to use the mail. Well, they also sent out, you know, through the mail to send lottery tickets to advertise them or promote the anything like the lottery across any state lines. You you get where I'm going, right? They they didn't want it. Um, there was this case, and there was this guy, it was a man, his name was Charles Champion, and he was moving these lottery tickets between states, I don't remember which states, and the federal government, after they passed that law, it was like they passed that law just to get this guy, and um, they charged him, and he argued that states should control it, not the federal government. And this goes back to what's state laws and what's federal laws, right? We have both uh laws. So the case actually went to the Supreme Court in 1903, and the court said um, once something crosses state lines, it now becomes what do you think, federal law. And that's why the federal government had to step in. So you can still see this happen today, which is crazy. So I looked it up. I was like, I know that you can't like I can't mail a lotto ticket to somebody in another state. I knew that, right? Um, but I was wondering, could I go to another state, buy a lottery ticket, come back home, and still win that lotto? So here's where the rules are. You can buy a lottery ticket at any other state. Like I'm in Texas, I could go to Georgia, even if I don't live there, even if I don't have residency, okay? I could buy the ticket. I have to physically be there to buy the ticket because that's where the transaction happened, and that's how the state keeps control of the money. If I win, though, this is the interesting part. I don't have to be there for the drawing, but I would have to go back to the same state to claim it. So I'm I'm guessing that somehow the mail is involved in this as well, and that they're probably checking, you know, somehow to make sure that this isn't happening. But most states have some kind of lottery or place not far from them where you can go. And you've got scratch-off tickets, you know, the big ones in your different states. You can go to 7-Eleven down the road and do the scratch-off stick stickers, I mean scratch-off tickets or whatever. I remember in the day, a long time ago, they only used to be a dollar or five dollars. Now I think they're up to$20 a piece for a ticket, which just blows my mind. Anyways, um, but that's that's how it all happens, states and federal laws and where it goes. So this is not a new thing. It's new for whatnot because it's only been around for what, six years, right? Um, I guess six, seven years. And so back to whatnot, where we're at. Whatnot is drawing a fine line. They're saying we don't want to be a lotto because hello, look at how many lines we're crossing, right? Like you, I I it goes all the way up. I mean, I think there's there's Canadians that are on here. Uh, there's Puerto Rico, there's Hawaii. It's crossing all the states, guys. And so you can't make someone buy something just to have a chance at an extra prize because then you're crossing into gambling and lottery territory. All this makes sense. Okay, so we're we're just going through the deep dive on it. Okay, so the way I want you guys to think about this is companies didn't stop doing promotions, but because this got so bad, and I'm gonna tell you why it got bad, because people got sue crazy. I mean, like S-U-E. They started suing people left and right. I remember years and years ago, you'd have to go look it up, but a lady went through a McDonald's um drive-thru and she got a cup of coffee. And it said they said, Be careful now, it's hot, and she handed it to them, right? And I guess she burned herself. And so she said, Oh, well, the coffee was too hot. I burned myself. Well, then now McDonald's has to write on every single cup, um, you know, be careful, this is hot, whatever. They have to have little disclaimers on everything. I mean, there, if you can go anywhere, go to Best Buy, buy anything, buy a vacuum, buy a dishwasher, buy a microwave. It's going to say things that are so ridiculous and so stupid, but they have to do it to protect themselves legally from the idiots, the blank people. I'm not even gonna say it. I'm trying to be good. I've already said a couple cuss words. Um, they have to protect themselves from the people who are just like, hey, so-and-so has money. Let me sue them so I can get some money. So I think that this is really where the world happened. It wasn't like this in the 50s when we had more honor and integrity and character and whatever. I mean, yes, there were more people that, you know, had that is what I'm saying. Now, you know, fast forward 75 years, and you can't go to Best Buy without buying a uh, what is it, wash a machine that says something like, do not put children in here. I mean, just the most ridiculous language. But I remember the days, okay, you guys know what I'm talking about, when you could go to McDonald's, I don't even know how many years ago this was, but you could go to McDonald's and you could get the um, it was called the Monopoly gameplay or something like that. And you would buy food, like you'd buy a cheeseburger, fries, and a drink, and you would spend X amount of money and you'd get like these little stickers. They were like little play stickers. I guess, I guess you licked them. Honestly, I think you might have licked them. Maybe I'm pretty sure you licked them or taped them on. Um, and I remember thinking, gosh, wouldn't it be great if I won? I we actually played with our kids because back in the day we didn't know how bad McDonald's was for you. And it was a great place to take your kids on a rainy day because they had like that indoor play area. So we we did this thing. Um, but on those game places, it always said um they include a free way to enter without buying anything, because if they did, it would be called a lotto. Do you remember that? It says no purchase necessary to play the game because it can't be a lotto. Coca-Cola did the same thing. You remember that? Coca-Cola had a deal where they had you could win something or whatever on underneath the lid of the top of Coca-Cola. This was a long time ago, guys. Uh, you guys probably don't know what I'm talking about, but um, you could drink it, you'd get your thing, you enter, and then I guess you could maybe send it in or get a free soda or take it uh to maybe your grocery store or something, something like that. Um, you think about it, radio contests work the same way. Um, you can call online and win concert tickets, you can win um, you know, uh, what do you call them? Rodeo tickets here in Houston, whatever, that type of thing. And then the other thing was remember the publisher's clearing house? Publishers clearing house. You would get these magazines to your house. Some of you youngsters don't know what I'm talking about, but it it would be we we didn't have as many channels on TV back in the day, and we didn't have phones back in the day. We didn't have Pinterest, and so we would get magazines. I remember I got Southern Living magazine and I can good good housekeeping, I think I got. Anyways, when you got a subscription, you also got a chance to enter for enter to win this big million dollar sweepstakes, is what they called it, right? And you could enter it for free too, because it said no purchase necessary in tiny little bitty print that nobody ever reads. Okay, so now you're like, Carrie, you're all over the place. You're talking about whatnot, you're talking about sweepstakes, you're talking about lottoes. Stick with me here. I I got it broken down for you guys. A lottery has three parts. We talked about this. It has a prize, a chance, and a payment. Uh your money involved, you're right, like you're giving something. We talked about this. You go, you put your money in the slot machine, you now pull the trigger, you've got the chance, and if you win, the money comes out. Okay. That's the lot that's well, that's a lottery game. You know, like when you get you know what I'm saying. Gambling lottery, same thing. A sweepstakes, okay, it removes that. You still have a prize and you have a chance, but there's a free way to enter. Do you get that? So, like all those things I just talked about, McDonald's, Coca-Cola, you know, what all did I say? Publisher's clearing house, whatever. You don't have to do anything. I mean, one of the easiest ones is picking up the phone and being the 12th caller, right? You there, that's a sweepstakes. It's not the lottery, it's not gambling. So you just have a prize and a chance, and there's the free way to enter, right? And then I was thinking about this. You also have raffles because I used to run a school and we did raffles at a lot of our parties. And um, I was the principal, I was the one who had the glass fish bowl and would draw the name of who won the prize. I remember we did uh dinner for two at Taste of Texas, you know, for one of the events and that type of thing. Um, but that's a raffle, and it usually includes a payment and a chance, but that is limited by organizations. Like we were a school, we came under the nonprofit, and churches can do that type of thing too, and that's why it's treated different. So if you're a nonprofit and you do a raffle, even even I think schools, public schools do it too, but it's different. Okay. So what are we talking about? We're talking about gambling/slash lottery, we're talking about sweepstakes, we're talking about the raffle, we're talking about all of it, right? And so when you're running something on whatnot, you're going to fall in one of these categories, guys, because the structure and how you run your show matters. So if someone has to buy something just to have a chance to win something else, uh, what did we say you're doing? You're in gambling lottery territory, and that's why we're in this situation, right? Now, if there's a free way to enter, you're back into sweepstakes territory, right? It's like a raffle, it's sweepstakes, okay? So you're fine. Um, so here's where we're at. You're like, wow, I didn't know I was gonna listen to a podcast about all this. Okay, here's where we're gonna bring it back. You can still give things away. Like I talked about, you can still give your free cookie away, right? You just need to know how to do it. And that's where this is the secret information. I feel like I should whisper this, but I'm not going to, and we'll see how this goes. I think I'm gonna be okay until the government knocks on my door and says, You said something wrong. No, I think I'm gonna be okay. I really truly do because I am an individual and I have my hands, my items. And if I decide to give that to somebody without anything, payment, whatever, whoever, whenever, I can do that. It's like if somebody gives me a present, I'm gonna give you a hug or a kiss and say, thank you. I get to give my hug, kiss, or thank you away for free. I have that right. I'm a human being. I can give whatever I want away for free. So how have I got around this? Okay, here I go. I have been doing what is called tuckaways. I'm pretty sure I'm the one who came up with that name. I don't know if other people have stolen it or not, but a tuckaway, what I call a tuckaway, is where I add something in your box, boxes if you order from me. There was a lady um at a Christmas show recently, and she had like six boxes from me. It was ridiculous. I put a thank you and candy in every single one of her boxes, I think, that I could get out. Um, and so it's a tuck away. Nobody's seeing what they're getting, nobody's reading the thank you. Nobody sometimes it's stickers. Sometimes I the other day I had a show and I did this with 3D printed items, bookmarks, hins on the nest, whatever. Now, the reason I like this is because I get to control who gets it. What not isn't letting somebody come in and say, Oh, they get a free chance. And the government's not knocking on my door going, What? You gave her stickers, you put stickers or a bookmark in there. The government can't micromanage everybody to that level and come to everybody's house and see what's going on. It just they can't. They can't control and monitor all that. So I get to stay in control, I get to choose, and I've never had an issue. I have never, you guys can go look at my reviews under Carrie Kennedy, K-A-R-R-I Kennedy, and you can see my reviews. And a lot of the reviews are, oh, and she gives candy away, or oh, she gives a card away, or whatever. I'm about to change that. But that's me having control of who gets what. Now, I'm gonna say something else, and I I'm admitting it, okay. So I've I've never had any issues with doing that. The one thing I do want to say that I have realized I can't do anymore is this. Um, I used to, and I'm not gonna do it anymore because I don't want to get in compliance issues, but I the other way I got around this is somebody would come into my show and I would say, and I I did this recently, guys. I just have read this and now I'm in compliance, okay? Being very honest and truthful here. People would come into my show and I'd be like, okay, whoever the first six people are are getting these little hens on the nest. I'm gonna give these to the first six purchases. I did this the other day. I mean, like two weeks ago, maybe. We had a ton of them. Hudson made them with a 3D printer. And so every the first few people would get that. Okay. So that works, but I shouldn't have announced it. Number one, not gonna do that anymore. And also, if I had a big giveaway, I would let the first person sometimes get it, and then I'd run the giveaway because then I knew said one person, unless they're one of those people who's gonna come in and we're obviously gonna be called out because it's two people, right? Let's just say Cynthia comes in, she wins the you know, brass platter, and Cynthia's all excited. I'm like, thank you, Cynthia. Click, and I hit the the giveaway, and we all joke and laugh, and everybody thought it was so funny. Gosh, Carrie, that's great. And so we'd all go, Wow, Cynthia, look, you won! And it was kind of a ha ha, you know, moment because we all knew it. And why did I do that? Because I thought if I lay did the giveaways and I had X amount and I wanted to do that for that nice person, whoever made the first purchase, that was my choice and I could do it. Okay. I'm not gonna do that anymore because at the time it felt fine, right? They bought, I rewarded them, I'm happy, they're happy, everybody's happy. But when you actually understand that this is getting into the lottery thing and that, you know, you could get in trouble. Um, even if it feels like a buyer's giveaway, the moment buying, um, the you know, it determines who can enter. And you're now getting into that area where it starts to look like a purchase-based entry. Like I'm having favoritism for Cynthia, which hello, I'm okay with having favoritism. I don't have a problem with favoritism. I think it's okay for us to have that, but according to the law and the lotto, and I get how it could be, I get how it could be abused. Okay, I I get it. So I'm not gonna do that anymore. I'll probably just stick with my tuckaways. But my when I very first started doing this episode, actually, I was gonna tell you you don't have to let the, you know, thing run five minutes, and you don't. You can click that button, you do not have to wait for it. Um, there shouldn't be any problem with that. You just need to make sure that you're not showing favoritism in your shows. And I mean, it's fairness, it's just the rules. If someone else comes into the show, they don't even have a chance to enter because they, you know, chose not to, but it's because of how it was run, right? They they want a chance. And I don't understand. I mean, I'm sure there's psychology wrapped around all this, and that they figured out social science, psychology, how to get people highly addicted, how to get them on whatnot all day, every day, that type of thing. I get it. But there are a lot of people who are just spending their lives sitting on whatnot trying to win free stuff. Like, that's it. I was in a uh coin show earlier today. I had a headache and I was just like, okay. And I was in this guy's coin show and he was giving a morgan, which is worth like 25, 30 bucks, something like that. Um, and he was like, Yeah, I'm giving this Morgan away. Get me a hundred people in here. And he this this giveaway was taking five minutes, and he wasn't selling anything else. He was just sitting there for five minutes holding the morgan. And I thought, well, this isn't fun. What are you selling? And I asked, and then his mod came in and said, Oh, he's doing slabs and he's doing this and that. And um, you know, I get it how some people are doing this where they just hold the giveaway and they're not selling. To me personally, I think it's boring. If you're running a giveaway, keep selling, show us other stuff, do something else. I ended up leaving the coin guy because I was like, I don't want to sit here for five minutes waiting for you just to he wasn't moving it. He was just like, Give me a hundred people in here, give me a hundred people in. And I went to a show the other day, and the guy he did two giveaways back to back. So his first 10 minutes of the show were just sitting there waiting to get people in. And all he was doing was showing the item. And I just thought, oh, I mean, that's their choice. It's their, I mean, I'm not telling people how to run their show. If he wants to do that, if that brings them, you know, people into the room, that's fine. My thoughts on it are if you're doing that though, really, you're not getting buyers, buddy. You're getting giveaway people who are just coming in there to win get the chance. And that's fine. I'm, you know, different strokes for different folks, that's fine. But personally, I don't like it. I run my giveaway and I keep talking, I keep selling, I keep moving. That's more of a side thing. I feel like when you make the giveaway like this big gambling lotto chance thing, and it's all that, it kind of is like, eh, you know, I'm not, I don't know. That's just me. Um, but I'm having to shift how I think about it, right? I can still reward my buyers, I can still, you know, have quick giveaways. I don't have to do the whole timer, but I'm not gonna structure it in a way where buying is the only way that they can get something if I do giveaways, right? Um, and I might, you know, I've been thinking about this. I've always clicked buyers or followers, you know, that can enter. I might just do it where everyone can and just see how it works. Because I I've been on this app for two years and I've never done that. I I I pretty much can think I've never done that because I didn't think it was fair. I and I still don't. I don't think I'll ever it it to me, it isn't fair, but whatever. Um, if but if we have to follow these rules, we're gonna have to, right? So more than one person needs to have entered for it to be a real chance. You can't limit it to only one person like I did. And I can control I I can't control who wins. I can't, I was manipulating it and I know that. So the way I run it has to be fair and it has to be open and it has to be, you have to show what the item is. So the simple takeaway from all of the, you know, this part is when you choose the person you're staying in control. When it's random, the rules apply. So um, if you're wondering where this is going, here's where this is going. The more people that jump on the app, and personally, I think ever since Mr. Beast came on, we got a whole bunch more people. I mean, I don't I don't even remember how many people I did a whole episode on him, but it was a ton of people. I I don't remember the numbers. It was insane. And I think his demographic on who he has watching him are probably like, I don't know, 13 to 16 year olds, all the way up to, I don't know, 30, 35 year olds, somewhere in there. Um, maybe younger. I don't know. My husband watched him, I don't know. But I feel like since that happened, the app has really grown, and more and more people are coming onto the app. More and more money is moving, more and more chances for things to go wrong, for compute, for confusion, for complaint. For bad people who are trying to scam, all of that, right? So, what night not needs to funnel that a little bit more, tighten it, you know? That's what I'm talking about. It might have had some language that might have been a little bit more ambiguous, and now they're gonna pull it down and have more structures, more rules, more clarity. And you should definitely expect more of this. It's it's gonna keep coming, guys. I promise you, when there's a ton of people, that's just what happens. And and I want you guys to go check for yourself. If you don't believe me on this, um, and or you want to see it in black and white, go to the seller hub or the help center, you know, type in, you know, giveaway rules and requirements, type in surprise sets, type in um giveaway overview, any of those will help you once you're in the help center. You just go to your seller hub and then the help center. Okay, so let me try to wrap this up. Okay, so now you can see what changed, why it changed, how it applies, even the history of it, right? Um, so now that you get it, it's all more clear, right? So here's here's what's happening. Whatnot started tightening the rules around anything that involves money, chances, or prizes. And that includes mystery items, repacks, giveaways, all of that. So, what you need to know is it's not just about doing a giveaway, it's about how it's set up, who can enter, who can buy, what's required, and that's gonna determine how it's treated. So, what do you need to do as a person? Here's the following things you gotta remember. I'm sitting here holding my hands up, like you guys can see me. It's hilarious. Okay, number one, yes, I'm holding up a number one. Um, make sure that more than one person can enter. You can't do what I was doing and click the button real quick to make sure Cynthia gets it. Okay, don't limit it to buyers only, right? You can't. I one girl on here said, I uh I actually in my giveaways, this is another thing I did. I'm admitting, I wrote in my giveaways, hey, if you're not a get a real buyer, please don't enter. I was trying to be nice, but I did put that. I'm not gonna do that anymore. And I saw another girl, she wrote in her show notes and on her giveaway, she said, if you are not an actual buyer, you will receive a sticker and the other buyers will receive a good gift, you know, like I'll run it again or something. She was like, wanting to be in control. Trust me, I'm a type A personality. I'm an uh firstborn child. I get wanting to be in control. I get that. But the whole point of this is we don't get the control, right? So, number one, make sure that more than one person can enter. Number two, don't limit it to just buyers only. Number three, you don't control who wins in any way, really. Okay. Like I can't go, oh, I'm gonna give this to so and so because she spent the most money. That was something that they used to be able to do too, and they stopped that with the legal talk back in 2025. You can't say whoever gets the, you know, spends 500 bucks gets this because they say that's not fair, right? So as long as you run it in a way that's fair and open and transparent, you have to make sure that you're showing the item, even with the giveaway, guys. You're supposed to have it in the picture and you're supposed to hold it up. This has been going on for over a year that they say that's what you're supposed to do. So I personally think my best practices, that's what we talk about here. My best practice suggestion is that you do that. You show them what it is, okay? Don't just say, you get a prize, you get something. Be compliant with this so you don't run into any issues, right? You can still run the show how you want, but you can't block people from entering. You can't rush it in a way, and you can't write, I mean, you can, but you're probably gonna get in trouble. Write little comments that are snarky and rude and say, Oh, you guys can't do it. You know what I mean? So if you do all that, you're gonna be in a good place, you're gonna be fine, there's no issues. But I I did spend a lot of time on this on this episode because I wanted to tell you the history. I wanted you to think about, you know, sweepstakes and lottoes and raffles and the difference and who's all looking into this and what whatnot's doing, and you know, think about everything from the Monopoly game pieces to, you know, can you buy a lotto ticket in Georgia and still win? You know, you guys uh got a big deep haul into this, and I'm hoping that you learned something and that you are going to comply with this and do a good job. Um, honestly, I also just think it's good for all of us to do this. I'm not in any of those card categories or mystery surprise things, but if you are in one of those categories, I highly, highly, highly suggest that you guys do what you're supposed to do. State regulators, I mean, Federal Trade Commission, the trust and safety teams, and I know, I know that this has happened. People have got put on probation. Sellers have been kicked off for a month or three months or whatever it is, and told you cannot participate because you're like in timeout. What not timeout? So I'm not saying that's gonna happen to you. I'm not saying somebody's, you know, gonna send you a letter or not allow you to participate on the platform or anything anymore. I'm just saying, you guys, you gotta follow the rules. You you gotta do the best, the best you can with complying with all this. So, anyways, if this was helpful to you, if you learned anything, please give me a five-star rating. Please give me a good review. I definitely need more reviews on my Apple Podcast. Also, there are more interviews, more um times where I'm gonna scroll through whatnot and give you my ideas and my feedback. I also do consultations. I charge just$20 for 30 minutes. If anybody wants to consult with me, my phone number is in my whatnot profile. And also, I have had a lot of personal things going on lately. Um, I'm not gonna say that right here. I might have a whole episode and talk about it, but a lot. And so my last two shows, or my last two times I was supposed to have a show, like I moved it and then I moved it back again. And I I just physically, mentally, emotionally, energy-wise could not do it, guys. And so I did not want to fake it till I could make it. I've been doing a lot of crying, to be quite honest, and very stressed out, lots going on in my life, and uh not fun, fun, happy, happy. Um, I'm not on vacation. So I'm going to try to be there. I'm going to try to have a show. I think it's tomorrow morning, uh, Thursday morning, I have a show. Um, so hopefully you guys will come in and say hi to me. I would love to help you if you need any kind of help. And um, yeah, the link to my store if you guys are interested in where I bought, I mean, like what thermal printer I get or what lipstick I use or what tape or any of that kind of supply stuff for the office. There's all kinds of stuff in the store. It's in the show notes. So all you have to do is click that link and it'll take you right there. I think that is it. So have a good day, guys. Have fun buying and selling on whatnot, and we will see you next time. Take care. Bye bye.