1. Create your organizer account
Go to theraidorganizer.com/signup and create an account with your email and a password. You'll get a confirmation email — click through to activate.
Prefer no password? Use the magic-link login instead — we email you a one-tap sign-in link every time. No password to forget.
2. Create your first train
From your dashboard, click + New train. Fill in:
- Name, the show name buyers and sellers will see (example: “TheOther49 - June 28”).
- Your Whatnot handle, a required field. Shown on the public train page and manage view as Conducted by @you, linking to your Whatnot profile. Prefills next time from your account.
- Date and start time, when the first slot goes live.
- Reference time zone, pick the zone you host from (usually Eastern or Central). Every seller and buyer sees times converted to their own local zone automatically.
- Slot length, typically 30 minutes; 20 and 45 also common.
- Number of slots, total slots. You can reserve any of them for hosts on the manage view later.
- Rules, the field starts prefilled with a sensible default (30-minute show run, $10 buyer's giveaway, 15 items minimum). Edit it to match your show before saving.
The system generates all slots automatically from the start time + slot length. You'll land on the manage view.
3. Add branding and rules
From the manage view click Edit to add polish before you share your signup link:
- Logo, drag your image onto the uploader (or click to browse). It's auto-resized in the browser to Whatnot's 1080x1920 cover format so the same file can double as your Whatnot show cover. Appears at the top of your public signup and lineup pages.
- Tagline, the italic subtitle under your show name (example: “250 years of freedom - to shop!”).
- Show rules, edit the rules block. Sellers must acknowledge every rule before their signup submits. This is where you set giveaway minimums, item-load deadlines, pacing expectations, and any category-specific requirements.
4. Open signups and share the link
Trains start as draft — hidden from the public. To accept signups:
- Open the Train status dropdown in the top right and pick Open. That switches the public pages on. Setting it to Lineup closed or Completed asks for a confirm click first.
- Tap the big Signup link for sellerscard at the top of the manage view. The whole card copies the URL to your clipboard and shows “Copied!” for a couple seconds. The Shopping link for buyers card next to it copies the public lineup URL the same way.
- Share it in Whatnot seller Discords, Facebook groups, on Instagram, or DM sellers directly.
Sellers pick up to 3 preferred slots. Whichever preference is still open when they submit is what they get. Race-condition-safe — two sellers grabbing the same slot at the same second? Only one wins; the other automatically moves to their second choice.
5. Show day management
From the manage view during (and after) signups open:
- Move a seller, click Move on any slot, pick a new open slot, confirm. Their signup data comes with them.
- Reschedule the whole train, need to push the show to a different day or time? Change the date or start time on the Edit view. Every slot shifts together so the lineup order and gaps stay intact, existing signups keep their spots, and every signed-up seller is automatically emailed their new time.
- Reserve a slot (replaces the old Lock action). Click Reserve on any open slot and pick a mode: Reserve for me (prefills your handle and renders your slot exactly like a real signup), Reserve for another seller (type their handle and display name, we create a signup on their behalf), or Just hold (a bare hold, no name). Reserved rows show as Reserved: @handle on the public lineup with the same Shop @handle link a real signup gets.
- Upload your own items, selling on your own train? After you Reserve for me, an ★ Items button appears on your slot row. It opens the same private slot dashboard your sellers use, so you can add featured item photos, titles, prices, and Whatnot listing links exactly as they do. Your items show on the public lineup and share cards just like any seller's.
- Add co-organizers, invite a helper by email. They inherit access to your train.
- Seller Contact Sheet (conductor-only), a CSV with every seller's contact info (handles, emails, phones, referral links, giveaway values, notes). Enforced server-side so only conductors and their co-organizers can download.
- Print Show Sheet(public, safe to share), a printable one-pager with slot #, time, seller display name + @handle, and a note strip under each row for handwritten tallies. Contains no contact info, regenerates from live data on every open, and prints a “Lineup as of…” timestamp at the bottom.
- Close the lineup, switch the Train status dropdown to Lineup closed (the label in the UI, stored internally as locked) once the lineup is final. Requires a confirm click. The public signup form closes; the lineup page stays visible.
The public lineup page updates live — any change you make is visible to sellers and buyers within seconds.
6. Seller-side tools (what your sellers see)
When a seller signs up, they get:
- Auto-generated share card — a 1080×1080 PNG they can save and post to their Instagram story to advertise their slot
- Confirmation email — with slot details, show reminders, and a private edit link
- Edit link — a magic link (no login needed) to upload a featured item photo, caption, and Whatnot listing URL. Shows up on the public lineup next to their slot.
- Countdown + Add-to-Calendar — the public lineup page has a live countdown to show start and an Add-to-Calendar button (Google, Outlook, Office 365, .ics)
7. After the show wraps
Trains auto-complete overnight — a scheduled job flips your train from open or locked to completed the morning after the show ends.
Completed trains move to /trains?view=past (the public archive) and stop appearing in your active lineup. The direct URL theraidorganizer.com/t/[slug] still works — great for sharing your finished lineup as evidence/portfolio for future shows.
Don't rebuild from scratch. On your dashboard, hit Duplicate on any train — completed ones included — to spin up a fresh draft that copies the name, rules, branding, host-slot reservations, and full timing setup. Only the seller signups reset. The date jumps to next week by default; adjust it on the edit page and open signups.
Frequently asked questions
Is TheRaidOrganizer free to use?
Yes — free for organizers to create trains and for sellers to sign up. We don't charge fees on transactions; Whatnot handles the actual selling. The platform is funded by Whatnot referral programs and small affiliate revenue from tool recommendations.
Do sellers need to make an account to sign up for a slot?
No. Sellers fill out a short public form at your train's signup URL and instantly claim a slot — no login, no password. They receive a confirmation email with a private edit link they can use to add a featured item photo later.
How do co-organizers work?
From the manage view, invite anyone by email. If they don't have an account yet, they get an invite email; when they sign up, they inherit access to your train automatically. Co-organizers can manage slots, edit signups, and see everything except your billing settings.
Can I edit a train after signups have opened?
Yes. Name, description, rules, branding, and the URL slug stay editable. You can also reschedule the whole train to a new date or start time from the edit view — every slot shifts together so the lineup order and gaps stay intact, existing signups keep their spots, and everyone signed up is automatically emailed their new time. Slot length and total slot count lock once the train is open; use the manage view to add slots (opens new spots) or trim empty trailing ones.
I run the same train every week — do I have to rebuild it each time?
No. On your dashboard, click Duplicate on any train, completed ones included. It creates a fresh draft that copies the name, description, rules, branding, conductor handle, time zone, slot length and count, item-load deadline, and your host-slot reservations — everything except the seller signups, which start empty. The date defaults to the next occurrence (a week out, same weekday and time), and you land on the edit page to confirm or change it before opening signups.
How do I reschedule a seller?
From the manage view, click 'Move' on their signup, pick a new open slot, confirm. Their original signup information (email, phone, custom invite link, featured items) is preserved. They don't have to re-fill anything.
How do sellers add photos of their items?
Every signup confirmation email includes a private 'edit your slot' magic link. Sellers can attach up to 5 featured items per slot, each with a photo (auto-compressed in-browser), title, optional price, and optional Whatnot listing URL. Featured items display next to their slot on the public lineup and get baked into their auto-generated share card.
How do I reserve a slot for a host, or manually sign someone up?
On the manage view, click Reserve on any open slot. Pick 'Reserve for me' to prefill your own handle, 'Reserve for another seller' to type their handle and display name (creates a signup exactly as if they'd signed up themselves), or 'Just hold, no name' for a bare hold. All three replace the old Lock action.
Can I sell on my own train and upload my own items?
Yes. Reserve a slot for yourself from the manage view (click Reserve, then Reserve for me), and an ★ Items button appears on your slot row. It opens the same private slot dashboard your sellers use, where you can add featured item photos, titles, prices, and Whatnot listing links. Your items appear on the public lineup and your share card exactly like any seller's — no separate flow to learn.
Where's the CSV export? What happened to Lock the lineup?
The old 'Export CSV' button was renamed to Seller Contact Sheet (still conductor-only, still contains contact info). Alongside it is a new Print Show Sheet, a public printable one-pager safe to screenshot into any Discord. The 'Lock' train status was relabeled Lineup closed in the UI for plain language; the database column is still called locked.