Going Live —
The Full Playbook
Everything you need to go live with confidence — platform strategy, pricing, handling the crowd, and building an audience that shows up.
Live selling is the fastest way to move multiple items at once. No back-and-forth messaging, no waiting on shipping labels, no ghosted meetups. You show something, someone wants it, it's sold. The whole transaction happens in minutes.
The platforms each have their own rules, their own audiences, and their own quirks. Understanding which one to start with — and how each one works — is half the battle.
Which Platform to Start With
Facebook Live — Lowest Barrier, Best Starting Point
Your Facebook audience already knows you. They've seen your posts, they trust you, and they'll show up to support you in a way that cold audiences on other platforms won't. That makes Facebook the best place to do your first live — you're not starting from zero.
The tools are basic, the setup is simple, and there's no approval process. Hit go live, start talking, start selling. It's the most forgiving platform to learn on.
TikTok Live — Bigger Discovery, Bigger Rules
TikTok has massive discovery potential — strangers can find your live and become buyers. But TikTok has strict rules about selling on live, and breaking them will get your live restricted or taken down.
The big one: you cannot mention selling, prices, or transactions directly on TikTok Live. No "this is $20," no "DM me to buy," no "going once, going twice." TikTok will flag it.
The workaround: redirect to DMs. Say something like "If you want this item, send me a DM and we'll chat about it!" Keep the actual transaction off-camera and off-platform. It adds a step but it keeps your live running.
Whatnot — Built for This, But More to Learn
Whatnot is a platform built specifically for live selling — auctions, collectibles, mystery boxes. The audience is there specifically to buy, which means higher intent buyers than any other platform.
The tradeoff is that Whatnot requires more research and time commitment to get started. There's an approval process, specific category requirements, and a learning curve around how their auction format works. Don't start here — but once you're comfortable on Facebook and TikTok, Whatnot is worth the effort to figure out.
What to Say — And When to Say It
One of the most common mistakes new live sellers make is treating the live like a one-time announcement — they introduce themselves once at the start and then never again. The problem is that people are constantly joining and leaving. Someone who joins 20 minutes in has no idea what's happening.
The fix is to re-orient your audience every few minutes. Not a full intro every time — just a quick reminder of what you're doing and why they should stick around.
"And just a quick note for anyone just joining — I'm opening some mystery boxes tonight to show you what could be inside. Thanks for being here, and if you have any questions just drop them in the comments!"
"Hey, just a reminder — I'm a newer seller here and I'd really appreciate a follow. I'll always have mystery boxes and interesting finds for sale in my shows, so bookmark me so you don't miss the next one!"
You don't need a formal opener. The re-orient approach works better than a scripted intro because it fits naturally into the flow of your live. Just keep coming back to it. New viewers always appreciate knowing what they walked into.
How to Price on Each Platform
Facebook Live — Have a Starting Price Ready
Before you go live, know what you want for each item. You don't need to be rigid — there's room to negotiate in the comments — but going in without a number in mind leads to awkward pauses and underselling. Have your floor price ready for every item before the camera turns on.
TikTok Live — No Prices on Camera
As covered above, TikTok restricts pricing talk on live. Show the item, describe it, build interest — then redirect to DMs for the transaction. The DM becomes your sales channel; the live is just the discovery mechanism.
Whatnot — Start Low, Build From There
Whatnot uses an auction format. As a new seller, start your auctions at $1. It feels risky but it's the right move — low starting prices attract bidders, and bidders drive the price up. A $1 start on a desirable item will almost always end higher than you'd expect.
Once you have an established audience and track record on the platform, you can bump starting prices to $3 or higher. But early on, $1 starts build momentum and get your auctions moving.
General rule: Price with energy in mind. A lower starting price creates excitement and bidding wars. A higher starting price creates silence. Silence kills a live. When in doubt, start lower than you think and let the audience take it up.
Lowballers, Trolls, and Tough Comments
Every live seller deals with lowballers — someone in the comments offering a fraction of what you're asking, sometimes publicly. How you handle it sets the tone for your entire live.
The wrong response is to engage, argue, or justify your price. That derails the energy of your live and signals to other viewers that you can be negotiated down.
"Thanks for the offer but I can't go that low on this one."
That's it. Acknowledge it, decline it, move on immediately to the next item or the next comment. Don't dwell, don't explain, don't negotiate in public. The speed of your response and your ability to keep the energy moving is what keeps viewers engaged.
On trolls: Live platforms give you the ability to mute or remove viewers from your stream. Don't hesitate to use it for anyone who is being disruptive or disrespectful. Your live is your space — you don't owe anyone a platform to be rude in.
Why You Need a Schedule
The single biggest difference between live sellers who grow an audience and those who don't is consistency. Random lives don't build followings. Scheduled lives do.
When you go live at the same day and time every week, your audience starts to plan around it. They know Thursday at 7pm is your show. They tell their friends. They show up. That kind of predictability is what turns occasional viewers into regulars — and regulars into buyers.
You don't need to go live every day. Once a week is enough to start building something real. Pick a day and time that works for your schedule, announce it publicly, and stick to it for at least a month before evaluating whether it's working.
- Announce your schedule on your Facebook page and TikTok profile so followers know when to show up
- Evenings and weekends tend to perform best — your audience is home and scrolling
- Post a reminder the day of your live — "Going live tonight at 7pm, opening boxes and pricing everything to sell"
- Start on time. Viewers who show up early will leave if you're late. Respect their time.
- Even if your first few lives are small, stay consistent — the algorithm rewards regular streaming with more discovery
Before your first live: Do a test run with privacy set to "Only Me." Go through your setup, test your audio and lighting, and get comfortable talking to a camera before you do it in front of an audience. One practice run removes most of the nerves.
Module 3 Cheat Sheet
- →Start on Facebook Live — your existing audience is already there
- →TikTok: no prices or selling talk on camera — redirect to DMs
- →Whatnot: start at $1 auctions as a new seller — builds momentum
- →Re-orient your audience every 5 minutes — people are constantly joining
- →FB: have a floor price ready — TT: no prices — WN: start at $1
- →Lowballers: "Thanks but I can't go that low" — then move on immediately
- →Pick a consistent day and time — announce it, stick to it
- →Do one private test run before your first public live