Finde*

Secondhand marketplaces are fragmented by default: categories are unreliable, inventory quality varies wildly, and trust breaks down before purchase intent can form. Discovery is not just a browsing problem. It is a trust problem, and trust at scale is a growth problem.

End-to-end build: concept, brand, UI/UX, and full-stack engineering.

Prove that discovery drives buyer engagement. Then use that demand signal to attract sellers.

I bootstrapped supply through eBay's developer API, launching Finde with real structured inventory from day one. That gave me a live demand signal to validate buyer intent before attracting sellers & building out the supply side.

The brand identity system was built around warmth and familiarity. A serif wordmark, an earthy palette with pops of color, and a custom icon set that made the system feel cohesive.

Typography, color, iconography, UI and motion were designed together from the start, so the brand scaled consistently across all touchpoints.

Early user testing proved that emotional browsing happens before filtering. In response to user research, design focused on discovery first. Curated toggles like 'Date Night' emulate how buying intent forms by season & occasion.

Most marketplaces search within a rigid category. Finde searches across all of them. Enter your size & keyword, and cross-category items are returned together in one tailored view, built around outfits rather than isolated items.

Each iteration of the filter system design was pressure tested against competitive references and specific usability criteria. The final design: horizontal dynamic tabs for fast context switching across the full viewport. UI/UX is consistently effortless, across all devices.

Secondhand browsing is high-volume and low-commitment, so search results update instantly, without page reload, unlike competitors. The backend was built around this foundational decision.

With an initial beta release, organic users reached 28 countries. Session data confirmed high-intent behavior: successful filter and search interactions.

The next phase deepens engagement through editorialized lifestyle content, while direct seller outreach informs onboarding tools to grow the supply side. Invite-only curation keeps quality high as the marketplace scales.