Trusted Circle Marketplace
Design a local resale flow where people discover items through friends while preserving clear ownership, price, and transaction safety.
The brief
Understand the problem
Background
Buying secondhand goods through friends can feel safer than an anonymous marketplace, but social familiarity does not replace accurate listings, secure payment, or boundaries around private connections.
User context
Tariq needs a used bicycle. He prefers buying from a friend or a friend of a friend, but wants to compare condition and price before starting an awkward conversation.
Product problem
The product must reveal useful social context without exposing a person's full network or implying that a mutual connection guarantees the item.
Objective
Create discovery, listing detail, inquiry, and handoff planning for a trusted-circle resale marketplace.
What to design
Define the experience
Required experience
- Network-aware item discovery
- Condition and seller detail
- Private inquiry and safe exchange planning
Screens and states
- Marketplace feed and filters
- Item detail
- Buyer and seller conversation
- Exchange plan
Core user flow
Follow the critical path
- 01
Tariq searches for bicycles
- 02
He sees how a seller is connected with limited context
- 03
He reviews condition evidence and asks a question
- 04
They agree on payment and a public pickup location
Product rules
Requirements and constraints
Requirements
- Make relationship visibility opt-in
- Require useful condition and defect information
- Keep offers and payment status explicit
- Provide safe meetup guidance and reporting
Constraints
- Users may not want friends to see every listing
- Items can be sold outside the app
- Mutual connections must not expose private contact lists
Reality check
States worth considering
Ready-to-use content
Mock data
Use this content to test hierarchy and realistic data states. You can expand it when the concept needs more depth.
Bicycle listing
- Metro Commuter 7, $280
- Seller: Dani, connected through Noor
- Condition: used, rear brake serviced in August
- Pickup: public locations only
Finish line
What to deliver
- Four mobile screens
- A privacy treatment for social connection context
If you want more
Optional extensions
Optional direction
Visual resources
Use these as a starting constraint if you want one. They are not part of the required solution.
Playfair Display & Museo Sans
Clear interface writing gives people the confidence to understand what changed and decide what to do next.
Playfair Display & Museo Sans
Clear interface writing gives people the confidence to understand what changed and decide what to do next.