WSJ What’s News - The Live-Shopping App That’s Got Some Users in Over Their Heads

Episode Date: August 5, 2026

P.M. Edition for Aug. 5. Seven-year-old Whatnot is gaining popularity among people drawn to its high-energy live auction sales on everything from fashion to trading cards. But as WSJ retail reporter Hanna Krueger discusses, some users say they’re hooked even when they feel like they should walk away. Plus, progressive candidate Abdul El-Sayed clinched the Democratic senate nomination in a closely-watched race in Michigan. We hear from Journal reporter Terell Wright about what this means for the Democratic party’s future. And Google shakes up the leadership of its AI operations as it struggles to keep pace with competitors’ top models. Alex Ossola hosts. Whatnot, the Live Shopping App Where Some People Bid Until They’re Broke  Sign up for the WSJ's free What's News newsletter. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A progressive candidate won in a closely watched Democratic Senate primary in Michigan. But what that means for the party's future is still unclear. Plus, Google shakes up the leadership of its AI operations as it struggles to keep pace with competitors' top models. And users are flocking to the live auction app Whatnot, but some are getting in over their heads. In over 43 days, he spent $1.4 million on Whatnot. and not for cards that he could resell. It's Wednesday, August 5th. I'm Alex Oslo for the Wall Street Journal.

This is the PM edition of What's News, the top headlines, and business stories that move the world today. A winner has been declared in the closely watched Senate primary in Michigan, its progressive Abdul El-Said. With 99% of the expected vote tallied, El-Syed beat out four-term representative Haley Stephen, to win the Democratic nomination by a mere 1% margin. So whether you voted for me or voted for my opponent or didn't vote at all,

we're inviting you to that movement to get money out of politics so we can put money back in pockets and finally guarantee the promise of health care through Medicare for all. For more on what these results mean for the party, journal reporter Terrell Wright joins us now from the Capitol. Terrell, as we've been talking about on the show, Democrats were really looking to this race as a way to understand their path forward, whether the more progressive or moderate wings of the party would be resonating more with voters.

El-Sayed, who was on the more progressive side, has won, but by a margin that was smaller than some expected. So what message does this send to Democrats? It sends a message that this internal battle is far from over. This morning's results are indicative that there is still a lot of hesitance with this insurgent left-wing message. But at the same time, his win-siguergist. that even in battleground states like Michigan, there is a desire for a new direction for the Democratic Party.

There's a lot of dissatisfaction with House leadership, with Senate leadership. And we're seeing that play out throughout the country with voters, even in states that potentially are not going to be safe seats for Democrats. So El Sayad will now face off against former Representative Mike Rogers in the November election. El Sayyad's victory is a key part of Democrats' plan to. retake the Senate. So how good a chance does he stand to win? A Democratic win in Michigan is by no means a guarantee. This is a purple state that President Trump has won twice, both in 2016 and in 2024. El-Sayed really did capture his strongest support from college-educated and wealthier Democratic voters in urban pockets outside of Detroit. In Detroit, he did not do as well.

Stevens performed a bit better, and it really shows that El-Sayette has some weakness among black voters. And Mike Rogers is a formidable candidate. President Trump appeared rather happy that Al-Sayat did win, but that's not to say that he does not really stand a chance of winning this race. There is a lot of dissatisfaction throughout the country of the Trump administration and Republicans broadly. So while there is hesitance from some moderate Democrats and some celebration from Republicans who think that this will be a victory for them, Mike Rogers has lost before and embraced that President Trump won. And President Trump is not on the ballot this time. I'll say it is going to have to really prove that while, yes, he does come from a progressive

background. He also understands and can capture the needs of more independent and moderate voters who might not want that same sort of fervor energy from their senators. That was WSJ reporter, Terrell Wright. Thank you, Terrell. Thanks. Separately, in Washington, North Carolina Republican Chuck Edwards said he wouldn't seek re-election for his House seat. His announcement comes two days after an investigation from the House Ethics Committee concluded that the Congressman had made unwelcome sexual advances to female staffers and recommended that he be censured by the full House. A spokesman for the Edwards' campaign declined

to comment on the House Committee findings, but Edwards has previously denied any wrongdoing. Edwards said he would finish out his current term, and it wasn't immediately clear who would replace him as the Republican candidate on the November ballot. Today, Google announced an overhaul of the leadership of its AI operations. In a post on X, Google's CEO Sundar Pichai said Demis Hasabis is stepping aside as chief executive of Google DeepMind to become chairman and chief scientist. Google DeepMind Technology Chief Khorai Kavichulu is taking on responsibility for all AI model development. Meanwhile, Jeff Dean, Google's current chief scientist, is leaving with three other company veterans to co-found a new AI startup. The announcement follows a wave of high-profile departures and delays in releasing a model that

competes with top offerings from rivals Anthropic and OpenAI. Alphabet stock fell 4% on the news. And Meta today announced a new AI coding agent called Muse Code to compete with OpenAI and Anthropic. It's pitching the tool as a cheaper alternative to competitors as investors press Meta to make money from AI. Coming up, the fast-growing live shopping app that some users say they have. a love-hate relationship with. That's after the break.

Major U.S. indexes ended the day mixed after a morning rally lost steam around midday. The Dow added half a percent, closing at a record for the third straight day. The NASDAQ fell 0.8 percent, and the S&P 500 fell 0.2%. SpaceX beat Wall Street expectations when it reported earnings yesterday, but rattled investors by sharing plans for massive AI spending. Its stock fell 14%. Meanwhile, Brent Crude, the international oil benchmark, fell slightly to $79.29 and 23 a barrel on reports that Middle East mediators are working on a temporary fix to reopen this trade of Hormuz. The U.S. has indicated a deal might be near, though continued attacks on shipping and Iran's insistence on collecting fees cast uncertainty on its prospects. In earnings news, pharma company Eli Lilly reported higher net income and revenue for the quarter.

Surging demand for its GLP1 weight loss drugs fueled those earnings. Revenue for Moundaro rose 91% from the year before, while that for Zepbound was up 46% from last year. The company also raised its prediction for how much revenue it's going to make for the year. In a separate announcement today, CVS Health said that it would revamp its weight loss management program through a partnership with Lilly. CVS Health said that patients will be able to use its app to see transparent pricing for Zepbound and Foundeo, another LiliW weight, drug, and that those drugs may also be available for same-day pickup. And Disney's revenue rose in the most recent quarter, boosted by domestic visitors to its theme parks and the huge box office performance of Toy Story 5.

That shows that traditional and in-person entertainment are still important to Disney's bottom line, even as it shifts more of its focus to streaming. The company said during its earnings call today that it's considering launching free ad-supported channels on its streaming portfolio and will add more sports content. to Disney Plus, as it looks to expand its reach to customers. If you're one of those people who bids on old coins or collectible Pokemon cards, there's a new site like eBay that might be on your radar. It's called What Not, and it's one of the fastest growing shopping platforms in the U.S.

The company added 20 million new accounts last year alone and is on track to surpass $1 billion in revenue this year. The app allows people to bid around the clock on all kinds of things, including trading cards, squishy toys, designer fashion, and instant ramen. And they're sold in this high-energy live auction format. Yeah, here we go. Only two available. Very rare. We'll not have it again. Three, two, one, go. Here we go, guys. It's our room sprint. It's absolutely amazing. Guys, let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go. Remember. Look. There are two ways to make a bid for items. First is a single sale. The seller will show an item like a Pokemon card,

and users can bid a dollar amount on it with a single swipe. But the most feverish kind of sale comes from what are called breaks. Journal Retail Reporter Hannah Kruger has been exploring the app, and I chatted with her about it. This is a format that is extraordinarily popular on whatnot. It's also treacherous because it's a little bit like gambling in the sense that you buy in for X amount of dollars, say there's an unopened pack of cards and they're opening them live on the screen. No one knows what's inside them.

You are entering a spot in that pack for $100. You could win a card worth $1,000. You could also win a card worth $10. So that's where the chance and the excitement and the thrill really comes into play. Sounds a lot like gambling. That is an allegation many have made. What Not disputes this because they say that you always walk away with something. Even if you're walking away with a card that's worth 25 cents, you still have something physical to show for your money.

Some folks try to use What Not to snag bargains, but Hannah says that's, That's not always easy. You can get lucky, but because of the countdown, it's really hard to do research on the broader market. By the time you've even opened your Google tab, the sales over. So there is not a ton of diligence that goes into purchasing on these live streams. But that's part of the thrill. And you could be really excited if you walk away and you type in and you find out that it's worth less. It's just not a guarantee.

These sales are effective in getting buyers to keep using the platform. But some users say that the features that make it easy to use can also sometimes make it hard to walk away, even when people think they should. We spoke to dozens of folks who have described really what they call unhealthy experiences with the app. I spoke to this guy, his name is Sean Harding. He's an accountant. He was a baseball card collector as a kid, kind of got back into the hobby. And when he got to whatnot, it really just metastasized into something pretty ugly. Over 43 days, he spent $1.4 million on whatnot. And not for cards that he could resell.

He describes it much like someone who has gambled a ton would. So that's like as dire as it probably can get. Whatnot said that this does not register as a major problem to them. They say they look regularly at reviews on Google, on Apple, on Trust Pilot, and they don't notice that addiction, gambling, or overspending, as they call it, is a massive problem. When we have talked about the cases that we have found, they say they're a young company and they're still figuring out their way. And they have slowly introduced certain account controls. You can set a spending limit on your account.

You can also change that limit. To read more about whatnot, you can check out Hannah's story. We'll leave a link in the show notes. And that's what's news for this Wednesday afternoon. Today's show is produced by Anthony Bansy and Danny Lewis with supervising producer Matthew Walls. I'm Alex Ocelo for the Wall Street Journal. We'll be back with a new show tomorrow morning.

Thanks for listening.