Exclusive sneakers, without crossing the pond

SCROLL

Own came from a simple question: why isn't there a European platform for buying and selling exclusive sneakers? Sneaker culture was growing fast, but getting a good pair meant importing from the US, overpaying, or taking a chance on a Facebook group. I designed an app that brings buying, selling, and raffles together in one place, built for the casual collector and the full-time reseller alike.

Client: Personal project
Year: 2022
Team: 1 person

Challenge and goals

There was no dedicated online option for this in Europe, so people made do however they could. Facebook groups haggling over price, pairs nobody could actually vouch for as authentic, and extra costs from bringing everything over from the US. Buying from a stranger with zero backup created real distrust, especially for first-time buyers.

The goal was to design a platform that solved all three things at once: buying, selling, and entering raffles, all in one place, built for the occasional buyer and the reseller who already makes a business out of it.

We sold out... of wireframes

Opportunities identified

No European platform

Sneaker culture was growing fast, but there was no dedicated place to buy and sell in Europe

No authenticity guarantee

The fear of buying a fake held back more than one first-time buyer

Unprotected purchases

Negotiating between strangers, with no moderator or protection, created real distrust

Import markups

Bringing an exclusive pair over from the US drove the final price way up

Results

I designed two user personas, the buyer and the reseller, and followed the full process through to a working prototype in two versions: app and web. Complete with raffle navigation, size suggestions, and a "swipe to buy" button designed so no one buys by accident.