Product Sense: Designing a Two-Sided Online Marketplace for Antiques
Company: Meta
Role: Product Manager
Category: Product Design & Strategy
Difficulty: medium
Interview Round: Other
Design a product that lets people buy and sell antiques online. Explain whom it serves on each side of the transaction, which of their problems you would solve first, what the first version would include, and how you would tell whether it is working.
```hint What makes antiques different
Compare an antique with a new item sold online. Every piece is one of a kind, and its worth rests on facts a buyer cannot check through a screen. Ask which steps of an ordinary buy-and-sell flow break because of that.
```
### Clarifying Questions
- What counts as an antique here: only items past a strict age threshold, such as a century, or also vintage pieces and collectibles?
- Is this a standalone product, or a new category inside an existing marketplace that already has buyers, sellers and payments?
- Which sellers matter most: professional dealers with large inventories, or individuals selling a few inherited pieces?
- Which country launches first, given that shipping, export rules and restricted materials differ by market?
### What a Strong Answer Covers
- A clear goal and a reasoned choice of one segment on each side of the marketplace, with a plan for the cold start.
- Pain points that follow from what antiques are: unique items, authenticity and condition that cannot be inspected online, unclear prices, and fragile or bulky shipping.
- A prioritized first version with its trade-offs, including how far the product itself goes in vouching for authenticity.
- A north-star metric based on completed transactions, with guardrails for disputes, returns, damage and fraud.
- Risks such as counterfeits, stolen or restricted goods, liability, and deals moving off the platform.
### Follow-up Questions
- A buyer says an expensive piece turned out to be a reproduction, and the seller disputes it. How should the product settle the case, and who absorbs the loss?
- After a first sale through the product, a dealer and a buyer could simply deal directly next time. How would you keep them transacting on the platform?
- When and how would you add large furniture, which needs freight delivery, to the categories you support?
Overview: A product design interview prompt asking a product manager to create an online marketplace where people buy and sell antiques. It tests choosing a segment on each side of the marketplace, handling trust and authenticity for one-of-a-kind items, prioritizing a first version, and picking success metrics with guardrails.