Tebr — A Digital Marketplace for Gold Jewelry in Saudi Arabia
Tebr is a marketplace designed for your phone. It brings the old-school gold jewelry market in Saudi Arabia right into the digital space, focusing on trust, clear information, and how easy it is to use. This connection makes buying and selling gold simpler for everyone.
Many buyers just don't trust buying gold online, and sellers have a hard time finding good places to sell it. This makes the whole gold jewelry market really disjointed and unclear. I built Tebr because I saw a need for a better way to handle gold jewelry. I wanted to make buying, selling, and renting it out something everyone could feel good about.
The Market Challenge
Gold jewelry in Saudi Arabia has this really deep connection to their culture and how they do business. But even with all that, a lot of the actual buying and selling still goes on in person, which is fascinating. It's interesting to see how much people here love shopping online, yet gold, particularly those really special pieces, just hasn't made its way to the internet easily.
The core user problems were:
Trust issues, especially for high-value purchases
Fragmented discovery, with no central catalog of sellers
No clear rental process, despite market interest
Limited tools for sellers to manage inventory
These weren't merely user experience problems; they truly became barriers to adoption in what could be a really lucrative product category.
Understanding Users and Business Needs
From early research and stakeholder conversations, it became clear that users wanted:
Confidence that a piece of jewelry is authentic
A marketplace that feels safe to use
Simplicity in browsing and purchasing high-value items
Tools that support both individual sellers and shops
At the same time, the business needed:
A scalable platform that could support multiple seller roles
Features that encourage both browsing and conversion
A product that could eventually expand beyond buying to include rentals
Shaping the Product Experience
Instead of launching with everything at once, we focused first on high-impact behaviors:
When it comes to something as precious as gold, you need to know you can trust what you’re getting. That trust isn't just nice to have; it's what makes people ready to buy. We identified the following points:
Certified authenticity badges
Seller verification status
Detailed product specifications
Tebr needed to support:
Individual sellers
Professional shops
Buyers looking for either purchases or rentals
Instead of a one-size-fits-all experience, we deliberately designed flows for each role so users always saw actions relevant to their intent.
Gold rentals involve:
Dates and duration
Return expectations
Pricing clarity
This work was not like a standard online shop. It depended on tight coordination between timing and pricing so the value stayed aligned with when it was delivered.
We shaped the rental process to feel simple and familiar, closer to booking a reservation than going through a standard purchase checkout.
Design decision that mattered
1) Prioritized Core Features for MVP
We focused on:
Listings & browsing
Secure checkout
Seller verification
Advanced filters, wishlists, and reviews were planned as expansions, but not essential to launch.
Business learning: Early focus on trust and transaction worked better than overload.
2) Balanced Simplicity and Complexity
Marketplace platforms can become cluttered. We optimized:
Navigation from discovery to purchase
Clear separation between browsing, buying, and renting
No unnecessary clicks before decision points
This reduced friction and supported faster conversions.
3) Trust Across the Funnel
From home screens to product pages and checkout, trust signals were consistent.
This was especially important because jewelry buyers are:
Emotionally invested
Financially sensitive
The trust cues weren’t just there for looks; they were put in place to help people feel confident enough to take the next step and convert.
The User Journey (Simplified)
With that in mind, the experience had to feel effortless.
The flow became simple:
Browse listings with trust badges
Drill into a product with clear specs
Check verified seller history
Choose to buy or rent
Complete secure checkout
Enjoy clear, predictable rental process
The updated flow eased user anxiety and made it easier for hesitant buyers to browse and compare options.
Outcomes & Business Impact
Testing was limited by outside limits, but the early product signals still pointed to initial validation.
Increased Confidence Signals
Stronger Engagement Paths
Owners and sellers returned to manage listings, not one-off posts.
Role-Based Conversion
Buyers and sellers each found a fit, rare in marketplaces.
Business takeaways:
Trust increases both engagement and conversion
Supporting different user goals (sell/buy/rent) expands marketplace utility
Early investment in clarity sets up future growth
UX PROCESS
Working closely with the Product Manager, I mapped out user epics into comprehensive flows. The major challenge was balancing marketplace browsing simplicity with complex rental date selection and backoffice asset management depth.
Framework Used
User Story Mapping - I organized 44 user stories across 11 epics, prioritized MVP features with CEO and PM, and created dependency maps for engineering.
01
Sketching & Wireframing
02
Design System Creation
Primary: Purple (#586AF5) - Standard color for this
type of business (Lean to women)
Secondary: Gold (#FFAB00) - Gold elegance
Accent: Dark blue (#1E3A5F) - Professionalism
Buttons (5 variants)
Form inputs with Arabic support
Product cards & shop profiles
Navigation & modals
03
High-Fidelity Design - Marketplace
04
Prototyping & Testing
High task completion rate
Positive feedback on trust indicators
Buying, selling, and rental flow praised for simplicity
Simplified rental date picker based on feedback
Enhanced certification badge visibility
Added quick-view on product hover
Improved filter discoverability on mobile
“
I feel safe buying gold here. Everything is clear, and I can see the certificates right away. The rental option is perfect for my daughter's wedding!
— Female Buyer, 34 years old
"Tebr taught me that being a good designer isn't about having perfect research or unlimited time, but it's about being resourceful, asking smart questions, and making thoughtful decisions even when you don't have all the answers."