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Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
Head-to-head

OfferUp Buy & Sell Marketplace vs Whatnot

OfferUp Buy & Sell Marketplace 4.8★ · Free + IAP 60
Winner Tie
Whatnot 4.7★ · Free + IAP 60

Whatnot is better for those seeking live auction experiences and specific collectibles, while OfferUp is a more traditional local marketplace, but both struggle with app performance and scam concerns.

Full reviews: OfferUp Buy & Sell Marketplace · Whatnot

OfferUp and Whatnot both serve as marketplaces, but with different approaches. OfferUp focuses on local buying and selling, often for larger items, while Whatnot specializes in live auctions for collectibles and other merchandise. Both platforms face significant user complaints regarding app issues, scams, and customer service.

Head to head

Features & Marketplace Type edge: WhatnotR7R17R30R31
OfferUp Buy & Sell Marketplace OfferUp is praised for being a good platform for selling large items like cars and mattresses, and for local transactions R17. However, users are frustrated by the removal of shipping options, limiting its reach R30R31. The app is also criticized for being overrun by dealers rather than private sellers, especially for cars R7.
Whatnot Whatnot is highly regarded for its live auction format, particularly for collectibles like Pokemon cards and knives, offering a fast-paced, interactive shopping experience R66. Users enjoy finding deals on various merchandise, including electronics and sports memorabilia . However, some find the auction setup difficult for sellers without a team R66.
Ease of Use & App Performance tieR5R8R18R23
OfferUp Buy & Sell Marketplace OfferUp is described as easy to use for buying and selling, with good communication features R23. However, many users report significant app issues, including lagging, glitches, freezing, and slow performance, especially with the search bar R5R8. Some also experience problems with messages not showing up or sending R18.
Whatnot Whatnot is generally considered easy to use for buyers R66. However, the app is frequently described as buggy, hogging processing power, heating up phones, and crashing . New users may find it confusing or difficult to get started without prior experience .
Reliability & Trust tieR1R2R3R4
OfferUp Buy & Sell Marketplace OfferUp has significant issues with scammers, fake accounts, and stolen merchandise . Users also report a high rate of unanswered inquiries and sellers not responding R2R4. There are complaints about accounts being restricted or closed without clear reasons or proper appeal processes R1R3.
Whatnot Whatnot users report issues with counterfeit items and false advertising, where products are listed at inflated values R67R69R84. There are also concerns about shill bidding in auctions . Some sellers are accused of misrepresenting sales or being rude R85. Buyers have reported not receiving items or missing parts from packages .
Price/Value & Monetization tieR6R7R12R19
OfferUp Buy & Sell Marketplace OfferUp is criticized for an overwhelming number of intrusive ads, including full-screen video ads, which users feel degrade the experience R6R7R12. Many believe that paying for promotion or premium features is necessary to get visibility or send messages, suggesting a paywall for basic functionality R19.
Whatnot Whatnot users frequently complain about high shipping rates, which can make winning auctions for low prices less valuable . Sellers express frustration with the platform's fees and the need to pay for 'boosting' shows, which often only attracts users seeking giveaways R106R109.
Support & Account Management tieR1R3R15R28
OfferUp Buy & Sell Marketplace OfferUp users report difficulties with customer support, including issues with appealing account restrictions R1. Some accounts are closed due to not using VoIP numbers, with no clear resolution R3. Users also complain about irrelevant and misleading notifications designed to look like sales or messages R15R28.
Whatnot Whatnot's customer service is widely criticized as terrible, unhelpful, and automated, with users struggling to get real person support . Many users report being banned or suspended unfairly, often without clear reasons or access to their orders and shipping labels . There are also complaints about not being able to return broken items or get refunds easily .
Pick OfferUp Buy & Sell Marketplace if

Pick OfferUp if you are primarily looking to buy or sell large items locally, such as cars or furniture, and prefer a more traditional classifieds-style marketplace R17.

Pick Whatnot if

Pick Whatnot if you enjoy live auction experiences, are looking for specific collectibles like trading cards or knives, and appreciate a fast-paced, interactive shopping environment R66.

Evidence note: Both apps have a high volume of negative recent reviews, skewing towards app performance issues, scam concerns, and poor customer service, despite high lifetime ratings. The free-to-paid asymmetry is present in OfferUp, where many complaints about ads and lack of visibility come from non-paying users, while Whatnot's issues are more related to the live auction model and shipping costs.

Frequently asked

Are there many ads on OfferUp?
Yes, many OfferUp users report an excessive number of intrusive ads, including full-screen video ads, which significantly disrupt the app experience R6R12R28R33.
Is Whatnot good for sellers?
Whatnot can be an income-generating resource, but sellers face challenges with setting up auctions, high fees, and the need to pay for promotion which often attracts users only interested in giveaways R66R71R106R109.
Does OfferUp have shipping?
OfferUp has removed shipping options, which frustrates users who previously relied on it for selling and buying items beyond their local area R30R31.
Are there scammers on Whatnot?
Yes, users report encountering sellers who misrepresent items, engage in shill bidding, or sell counterfeit products, leading to a lack of trust R67R69R84R85.

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

  1. [R7] OfferUp Buy & Sell Marketplace 1/5 · US 👎: Demasiado anuncio, y ahora solo dealers se anuncian por aquí, ya nadie vende autos privado
  2. [R17] OfferUp Buy & Sell Marketplace 5/5 · US Perfect app for large item: I sold my car within 3 days and now hopefully I can sell my mattress
  3. [R30] OfferUp Buy & Sell Marketplace 3/5 · US Meh: Bring back shipping seriously. It created a way for so many people to ship and sell and get rid of their things. I understand you want OfferUp to stay local but completely taking off shipping is crazy.
  4. [R31] OfferUp Buy & Sell Marketplace 1/5 · US No shipping: No shipping which super bad if you want from the east coast they can’t ship anymore
  5. [R5] OfferUp Buy & Sell Marketplace 4/5 · US Laggy: Great app, but it lags a lot sometimes overall great however. Maybe no add’s?
  6. [R8] OfferUp Buy & Sell Marketplace 4/5 · US I can’t scroll without glitches: I’m not sure if it’s only happening to me but recently I open the app try to scroll down and I CAN’T it moves so slow and glitches so I can’t even scroll up or down smoothly I thought maybe closing and opening the app would fix it but it keeps happening😕
  7. [R18] OfferUp Buy & Sell Marketplace 3/5 · US Great app: Gr8 app if it would work. Says I have 4 unread messages but nothing shows
  8. [R23] OfferUp Buy & Sell Marketplace 5/5 · US Good app: Good and easy app to buy and sell items.
  9. [R1] OfferUp Buy & Sell Marketplace 2/5 · US App issues: The app was working perfectly fine for me but ever since I started getting a lot of messages on the app my app gets restricted for community guidelines and when I try to appeal it the app tells me that the email i used isn’t available when I’m literally trying to appeal the claim the app is great don’t get me wrong it just needs to get this fixed because it’s not right for the app to b
  10. [R2] OfferUp Buy & Sell Marketplace 5/5 · US Hit & Miss with Sellers: I like the app a lot. It has great dynamics and provides for lots of information and communication. Receiving answer or responses from the sellers can be very difficult I’ve encountered. I’m not sure why paying extra would make a difference.
  11. [R3] OfferUp Buy & Sell Marketplace 3/5 · US What is my account not working because offer up doesn’t use VoIP numbers?: I had my account closed because offer up doesn’t use VoIP numbers when WhatsApp and facebook use any number to verify my account second email cannot get other than a VoIP number verified with so much technology and money made cannot use a VoIP number? Is time to update apps land lines are not coming back the new technology
  12. [R4] OfferUp Buy & Sell Marketplace 1/5 · US No response from seller: I feel the app is dead
  13. [R6] OfferUp Buy & Sell Marketplace 3/5 · US Ads: Too many Ad pop-ups and very interruptive to the app.
  14. [R12] OfferUp Buy & Sell Marketplace 3/5 · US Click Bait: Besides the annoying video ads for cheap Chinese junk, the search engine is pretty much worthless. You have to pay for a full subscription if you wanna knock out the video ads. Heaven forbid if you tap on one of the ads, because you literally have to close the app and start all over again
  15. [R19] OfferUp Buy & Sell Marketplace 1/5 · US No good: It’s annoying how you notify about things I like but not even planning on buying. Also looks like if you dont pay for promoting your listing dont get any promotion at all and last, ads are extremely annoying
  16. [R15] OfferUp Buy & Sell Marketplace 3/5 · US Too many notifications: Overall, I think the app is ok. however, I have been having issues with the notifications for this app where regardless of what settings you have set, the app will ignore those settings and send the notifications anyway
  17. [R28] OfferUp Buy & Sell Marketplace 1/5 · US ‼️Shady waste of time. Used to be great. Spammy and constant insane full screen video ads: ‼️Shady waste of time. Used to be great. Spammy and constant insane full screen video ads. Most inbox notifications are their IRRELEVANT nagging annoying spam.
  18. [R33] OfferUp Buy & Sell Marketplace 1/5 · US Too many ads: Way too many ads now. No point in putting up with it when you can just use Facebook marketplace instead.
  19. [R66] Whatnot 3/5 · US Ok App: What an app for buyers, easy to use to buy items especially Pokemon cards. But for sellers the tools suck for each auction you have to pre-create them or have a team of people to make it for you. And don’t let me get started with how to set everything up and explanation of how everything works is severely lacking, also there is no set-up guide or premade auctions or any copy auctions. So,
  20. [R71] Whatnot 5/5 · US Sell: One of the best app to grow your income
  21. [R106] Whatnot 1/5 · US Whatnot steals money: Please whatever you do, do not sell on this app. I’ve started selling a couple months ago on this app, and everything was going well, I have a 4.7/5 rating and rarely ever receive complaints. Recently, I’ve sold the most amount of products I’ve ever sold and had a whopping $45,000 in my account, I really needed this money because it was all the money I had. I needed it to buy
  22. [R109] Whatnot 1/5 · US SELLERS BEWARE: This app is 100% rigged. Everything they do is in favor and to benefit the bigger steamers on the platform. Smaller streams they make you pay to “boost your show”. They call it promoting. Realistically all it does is bring in small bursts of people trying to only enter giveaways and win free stuff. We call them hobby goblins because they are good for nothing except just hounding yo
  23. [R67] Whatnot 1/5 · US No help with purchase: Counterfeit items
  24. [R69] Whatnot 3/5 · US Don’t be gullible: The whole point of this app is to SAVE money. But yet you run into these creators/sellers who are there to make a quick buck. Trust sellers who list the retail value of things. Because they will 100 percent sell you an item with the script that it’s worth 3x what it actually is. It’s an expensive temu. Some sellers are actually legit and awesome. I’ve gotten some great deals, bu
  25. [R84] Whatnot 3/5 · US Some good some bad: Have bought coins on app and had good luck then bought a couple of coins from some other sellers and they were advertised as original with a certain mint mark when received they were cleaned coins with different mink marks. Sooooo many sellers screaming and getting mad cause they are not selling their auction items for retail prices or for the same amount EBay is, go on EBay a
  26. [R85] Whatnot 1/5 · US Some vendors shouldn’t be allowed to continue selling: A vendor who I dealt with he misrepresented his sales, lied and tried to fix the transaction. But in reality he was just buying himself time so that I couldn’t leave him a bad review or report him. Since then my interactions with this app have dramatically decreased. I blocked him but NO repercussions were given to the vendor. If he did this t

Synthesized from 120 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store