When our Community Guidelines are violated, we consider how serious it is, whether it's part of a pattern, and if other rules have been broken in the past. The action we take next is applied based on our policies. For most violations, that means a warning and a chance to improve. For serious or repeat issues, it means stronger action, up to permanent removal. Either way, you can appeal – and we'll take another look.

Most people don’t come to Whatnot to break the rules. Maybe they missed a fulfillment deadline because order volume increased or they listed something in the wrong category. 

We believe that sellers we coach today build the businesses that buyers come back to tomorrow. That’s why in many cases we aim to explain what happened, point to our policy, and give people the chance to do better.

The data tells us this works. About 92% of active sellers who received their first-ever warning in H1 2025 did not escalate to a temporary suspension, ban, or loss of selling access through year-end. That's what effective coaching looks like.

When the violation is more severe or someone is breaking the same rule after we've already warned them, our enforcement action escalates. 

Two things shape our enforcement decisions:

• How severe the violation is: A late shipment isn't the same as a listing meant to mislead buyers. Our response scales to match.  

• Whether there's a track record: A first violation gets handled differently than a third or fourth. A seller's history matters – positive and negative – and we weigh both when we decide what's fair.

Putting those together, the action we take might be:

• A warning: We tell you what happened and point to the policy so you can learn what to do next time.

• A feature restriction: Temporary or permanent loss of access to features like DMs or Giveaways if those features are connected to the issue.

• Reduced discovery: For sellers, we may temporarily lower visibility in feeds and recommendations. 

• A temporary suspension: Two or seven days off the platform. Access comes back automatically when the suspension ends.

• An account hold: For issues that require deeper investigation, we may pause account access while we review what's going on. 

• Loss of selling access: You can no longer sell or host shows on Whatnot. 

• A ban: You can no longer buy or sell on Whatnot. 

We believe for most actions a past mistake shouldn't follow you forever if you've done the work to improve. That's why most violations expire after 180 days. Permanent actions – bans and loss of selling access – don't expire.

Sellers shouldn't have to guess where they stand. The information we use to make enforcement decisions is the same information we put in front of you, in your Account Health dashboard. You can see where you stand and why – so you can focus on what matters: moving your business forward.

We make millions of enforcement decisions, and we know that it’s impossible to get every one of them right.

If you think we got an enforcement decision wrong, reply to the email you received from our Trust & Safety team, or appeal directly from the violation listed in your Account Health dashboard. A different team member will take a fresh look with the context you've added and – if we got it wrong – we reverse the decision and clear it from your record.