Product design question

Create a product to monetize Facebook Marketplace.

Practice this question out loud. An AI interviewer asks it, follows up like a real interviewer would, and scores your answer. Type or speak.

What this question tests

Whether you can design a monetization model that fits a specific marketplace's users without breaking trust.

Clarify today's state: Marketplace is largely free peer-to-peer listings, so monetization must not scare off casual sellers.
Segment sellers: casual individuals selling used goods versus small businesses and resellers listing in volume.
Identify where willingness to pay exists, mainly with higher-volume or business sellers wanting more reach or trust signals, not casual users.
Propose targeted monetization: paid promoted listings and a verified business seller tier with lower fees for casual users.
Address the tradeoff: any fee on casual listings risks pushing supply to free alternatives like Craigslist.
Define success metrics: revenue per business seller and listing volume retention among casual sellers as a guardrail.

Segments sellers by intent and volume instead of proposing one flat fee for everyone.
Protects the casual, high-volume supply side that makes Marketplace useful, keeping it free.
Gives an illustrative number, assuming the top 10 percent of sellers by volume could fund most revenue through promoted listings.
Names the guardrail explicitly, casual listing volume, to prevent monetization from killing the marketplace's core liquidity.

Proposing a universal listing fee that ignores the risk of driving casual sellers to free competitors.
Failing to distinguish business sellers from casual sellers when designing pricing.

How would you price promoted listings without favoring only the largest sellers?
What would make you roll back a monetization feature after launch?