Mobile-First Bidding Marketplace for Resellers
Mar - Apr 2023
Source X is a mobile-first, bidding platform for consumers and resellers. It aimed to bring structure and transparency to a process that usually happened over WhatsApp or Instagram DMs.
This project started after first draft of Culture Circle finished up, which targeted selling collectible sneakers and accessories directly to the consumers in the lowest possible rate.
Industry
B2C
What did I do?
Worked on Source X at a very early stage of the product. The team was small and fast moving, which meant my role went beyond just screens.
Why?
A learning-heavy product I designed early in my career
The idea was simple. Create a marketplace where resellers could bid on products directly, instead of relying on informal WhatsApp groups or inconsistent supplier networks.
In a world where consumers increasingly value self-expression and individuality, the market for hard-to-find fashion, collectibles, and electronics has never been hotter.
The most obvious and aspirational competitor was Stock X. It had already set expectations around trust, transparency and price discovery. We instead wanted to solve a similar problem but targeting users Gen-Z and Indian resellers and bidders
The problems
Resellers were facing a few consistent issues:
Research
Understanding the user
We spoke to resellers who were:
- Already buying and selling on Instagram and WhatsApp
- Comfortable with negotiation but tired of back and forth messages
- Extremely price sensitive
A key insight for me was that these users did not want complexity. They wanted speed, clarity and confidence that they were not being cheated. This insight influenced many design decisions, sometimes consciously and sometimes instinctively.
Brainstorming canvas
How?
Browsing and discovery
- Product listing focused on price and availability, it was categorized into popular brands and searches.
- Kept minimal distractions to keep scanning fast, while ensuring modern and clean UI
- The packaging of sneakers would always come with a verified QR code, users could also reverify the product's authenticity via mobile app.
Product detail and bidding
This was the core experience.
- Current bid and time left was part of flow, but we removed it for first phase, to avoid complexity.
- Analytics showed the bidding trend, made it easy to make decisions
- Primary details was kept obvious
Reseller flow and listing experience
Making listings easy for resellers was critical to marketplace supply.
- Listing was broken into small, linear steps instead of a long form
- Required fields were kept minimal to reduce drop off
- Visual previews helped resellers verify details before publishing
At the time, I optimised heavily for speed and completion over polish. If I get a chance, I would improve input validation, guidance text and draft saving to make listing feel even more user-friendly.
Looking back
Source X was one of the first real marketplace products I designed. It was scrappy, imperfect and incredibly formative. I was still learning Figma, still finding my UI footing and figuring out how design decisions translate into shipped product.
What I learned
This project highlighted my gaps as much as my strengths.
- UI polish matters as much as flow clarity
- Documentation and decision context reduce rework
- Designing for constraints is a core product skill
While the execution reflects an early stage designer, the thinking laid the foundation for how I approach product design today. I value this project not because it is perfect, but because it shows real growth earned through real product work.
What went well
- Core flows shipped and were used by real resellers
- Users understood the bidding model quickly
- Early feedback validated the product direction
If you're curious or would like a deeper walkthrough of the design decisions and iterations, I'd be happy to walk you through it over a call.
