🔎 [i]>Founder — Bio
✩ Curious Collector ✩
🌍 Treasure Tale Curator Since 2008
James Massey’s lifelong love of treasure stories began with his grandparents, who favored thrifting adventures and Antiques Roadshow over cartoons. That spark led him to build What Sells Best in 2008 — a treasure-tracking website that would grow into a vast, international archive of real-life discovery stories.
🧩 Despite having no formal training, James used his puzzle-solving mindset — shaped by dyslexia and ADD — to research and share resale finds from around the world. Armed with only curiosity and YouTube tutorials, he taught himself how to build a website, document resale cases, and connect readers with helpful tools and specialists.
📺 In 2012, he began refining his archives and preserving his favorite discoveries through storytelling, outrageous headlines, and even videos.
🎬 Watch James’s first hilarious treasure video
💡 One standout tale involved a $100 bronze Buddha found at a garage sale — later revealed on Antiques Roadshow to be a rare 15th-century sculpture worth $2.1 million.
🛠️ During the pandemic, James rebuilt the site for mobile use. After a $50M painting inquiry, he realized the public needed easier ways to find reputable appraisers — so he built directories to help.
📬 Today, James documents finds through Bulldog Bulletins — fast, fun previews of discoveries shared by media and venues around the world.
💬 He says, “It’s the story that makes a treasure priceless.”
🧭 Explore More
🔎 Want the full backstory?
📖 2–3 Minute Founder Bio
Curating Treasure Tales Since 2008
Since 2008, James Massey has been collecting, curating, and cataloging a fascinating record of treasure tale history from around the world while exploring fair market resale options for top discoveries. As he assembled an online directory as a treasure-hunting tool for mobile phones, offered publicly on WhatSellsBest.com, he began focusing on tracking daily discoveries and treasure legends. This shift in 2012 led him to identify five key steps used by first-timers who have uncovered some of the world’s top fortunes using fast, free resources from reputable specialists.
Documenting Discoveries with Bulldogs
Today, as a generative artist—with assistance from talented contributors and AI—he creates bulldog bulletins to preview and document extraordinary discovery stories shared by media and venues worldwide. His primary aim is to gather treasure-hunting clues while preserving an informal record of treasure tale history for storytelling purposes. Favorite stories from his collection serve as examples throughout the website. He continually collects, refines, and field-tests resources for news, tools, and lists featured on the map.
Helping Democratize Fortune Finding
The platform aggregates and highlights examples of experts, companies, and organizations within the treasure-hunting community that democratize the discovery of fortune for everyone. This effort is notably collaborative and ever-evolving, drawing upon the knowledge of talented contributors worldwide to create guides that benefit both novices and experienced treasure seekers.
A Blend of Riches and Humor
This initiative repurposes a wealth of resources from a rabbit hole of riches, blending history, humor, how-to, and hullabaloo—all centered around the world’s most sought-after resale treasures. Designed to both inform and entertain, it emphasizes the importance of independent research and consulting with reputable specialists, making the pursuit of fortune accessible to all.
Shared Knowledge in Discovery
As a collective achievement, this project highlights the value of shared knowledge in the exploratory journey of discovery.
🐇 Ready for a funny story? 📚 Read his deep-dive biography →
🎨 From the Vaults
• 🖼️ Early Artwork Sample — digital collage
• 🗞️ Bulldog Bulletin Example — daily clues preview
• 🎬 Early Video / YouTube 🔗 — narrated discovery clip
🧰 Tools & Resources
• 🔗 Treasure Map Directory — connect with specialists
• 📚 Free Valuation Tools — get started