# Overhead phone arm > Clamps to the desk and holds your phone above the table. - Phone mount, Best value - Typical UK price: £20 to £35 (a typical band, not a live price) - Platforms: Whatnot, TikTok Shop, eBay - Orders a week: 0–2000 - Not yet checked by a person Card and small-item shows sell on the shot of your hands. An overhead arm holds the phone steady and out of your way while you open packs. ## Kit rankings - #1 in [Best phone stand for Whatnot and live selling](https://sellersetups.com/kit/phone-mount) ## Setups - [Coin and jewellery selling desk](https://sellersetups.com/setups/coins-jewellery-desk): A precision scale, capsules, a light box for close-ups and a careful posting routine, for selling coins and small jewellery from one desk. - [Comic back-issue room for Whatnot shows and eBay](https://sellersetups.com/setups/comic-back-issues-live): Long boxes, bags and boards, an overhead phone and board-stiffened mailers for selling back issues live in the evening and on eBay in between. - [Crystal live-show garage for Whatnot and TikTok Shop](https://sellersetups.com/setups/crystal-live-shows-garage): Bulk tumbled stones in tubs, an overhead phone, LED panels and small boxes for running crystal live sales several nights a week at volume. - [Japanese import reseller with proxy buying](https://sellersetups.com/setups/japan-proxy-import-desk): Prize figures, Japanese-language card boxes and stationery bought through a proxy, then sold on Whatnot shows and eBay listings from a spare room. - [Whatnot card break setup for sports and football cards](https://sellersetups.com/setups/sports-card-breaks): An overhead rip camera, a sorting system for hits per buyer and Large Letter packing, for running football and sports card breaks on Whatnot and eBay. - [Whatnot card setup: £300 starter kit](https://sellersetups.com/setups/whatnot-card-starter): Camera, lights and packing kit for running your first Whatnot card shows from a desk and shipping the orders next morning, for about £300. ## Who an overhead arm suits An overhead arm suits you if your show is your hands on a mat: card breaks on Whatnot, jewellery and crystals on TikTok Shop, or small toys on eBay Live. The phone looks straight down while you open packs or turn items over. It also helps with listing photos of flat items such as cards, comics and prints. For clothing on a rail, use a floor tripod, which reaches the height and distance you need. ## Clamp, reach and joint locks Choose a heavy C-clamp that opens wide enough for your desk edge, with a padded jaw that will not mark the wood. Measure the reach you need: the phone should sit over the middle of your mat, clear of the desk edge. Jointed metal arms with locking knobs hold position better than soft flexible ones. A phone holder that rotates 360 degrees lets you switch between upright framing for TikTok Shop and sideways framing elsewhere. Some arms have a 1/4-inch screw for a small light. If yours does, a pocket LED light can sit on the same arm. ## Framing the mat from above Clamp the arm at the back corner of your desk, away from your writing hand, and swing the phone over the mat. Set the height so the mat fills the frame with a little border, then lock each joint. Turn on the phone's grid and line up the mat edges with it. Put a light on each side so your hands don't throw shadows across the cards. Two LED panels, or a ring light behind the phone, both work. ## Tripod, gooseneck or camera arm instead A 150 cm phone tripod with remote is the fallback, and the better buy if you mostly film clothing or yourself face on. It takes floor space and puts legs in frame for top-down work. A gooseneck phone holder costs less and suits short shows or quick listing photos, though it bounces when you tap the desk. A camera desk arm takes a mirrorless camera or a heavier webcam. Move up to it once you stream from a camera instead of a phone. ## Keeping the arm steady through a long show A wobbly desk shakes the arm and the shot. Clamp it to a solid table, such as a 180 cm folding table with a trestle frame, and keep heavy stock off the arm side so your elbows do not shake the top. Tighten each joint knob before you go live, or the arm sags over an hour and the shot drifts off the mat. If the arm sags under your phone, buy one with a higher weight rating. ## Common mistakes - Clamp to a solid edge, because the arm bounces on a thin or hollow desk top. If the edge is thin, add a spacer under the jaw. - Lock every knob and test before going live, or a loose joint lets the phone sag mid-show. - On your writing side, the arm gets in your way; clamp it to the opposite back corner. - Light from one side throws hand shadows across the cards, so light from both sides or from behind the phone. - A light arm droops under a heavy phone in a big case. Compare the arm's weight rating with your phone before you buy. ## Guides - [How to run football card breaks on Whatnot](https://sellersetups.com/guides/football-card-breaks): Running Premier League and Champions League card breaks on Whatnot: picking a format, filling spots, ripping on camera and posting each buyer’s cards. - [Scams and disputes on Vinted, eBay and Whatnot](https://sellersetups.com/guides/scams-and-disputes): Empty box claims, false not as described cases, off-platform payment tricks, fake courier texts and chargebacks, with the evidence that wins a dispute. - [How to sell on Whatnot in the UK](https://sellersetups.com/guides/sell-on-whatnot-uk): Apply as a seller, sort UK shipping, build a stock list and run your first Whatnot show from a spare room with a phone and a ring light. - [How to sell Pokémon cards on Whatnot: setup and kit](https://sellersetups.com/guides/sell-pokemon-cards-live): The camera, light, sound and card protection a Pokémon seller needs for a first live show, and the order to buy it in. - [Whatnot lighting setup for cards and products](https://sellersetups.com/guides/whatnot-lighting-setup): Place two lights so holo cards show their surface without a white glare stripe, and products keep true colour on a phone camera in a Whatnot show. ## Questions ### Will an overhead arm hold a large phone? Check the weight rating and clamp width in the listing against your phone in its case. ### Can I stream in portrait from overhead? Yes. Rotate the holder so the phone sits upright and frame the mat in portrait, which TikTok Shop and Whatnot both use. ### Does it damage the desk? If your desk has a soft finish, put felt or card under the clamp jaw. ### Overhead arm or gooseneck? A jointed arm holds the phone steady through a long show. A gooseneck costs less and suits short sessions where a small wobble does no harm.