The latest articles on DEV Community by aditya gaurav (@aditya_gaurav_c44b773a867). https://dev.to/aditya_gaurav_c44b773a867 https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F4217774%2F2c818331-908e-41e0-804d-b6b28b6a769e.png https://dev.to/aditya_gaurav_c44b773a867 en aditya gaurav Fri, 30 Oct 2026 17:44:23 +0000 https://dev.to/aditya_gaurav_c44b773a867/how-i-built-a-free-marketplace-where-nothing-costs-money-and-what-i-changed-after-launch-4om3 https://dev.to/aditya_gaurav_c44b773a867/how-i-built-a-free-marketplace-where-nothing-costs-money-and-what-i-changed-after-launch-4om3 <p>Every city has the same quiet waste: a perfectly good sofa, a box of kids' books, a working mixer that someone no longer needs. Meanwhile, a neighbour two streets away is about to buy the same thing new.</p> <p>I'm building Trezow to close that gap. It's a marketplace where everything is free. You give away what you don't need, someone nearby asks for it, you hand it over. No payment, no bargaining.</p> <h2> The idea in one flow </h2> <ol> <li>Someone lists an item with photos and a pickup area (never a full address).</li> <li>A neighbour sends a request.</li> <li>The giver accepts, they chat, and agree on pickup.</li> <li>A short handover code confirms the item changed hands.</li> </ol> <p>The handover code is the part I like most. It gives both sides a small, clear "done" moment instead of a vague "I think it went".</p> <h2> Two things that changed how people browse </h2> <p><strong>Reels mode.</strong> Browsing a grid of free items felt like browsing any classifieds site. Switching to a full-screen, one-item-at-a-time feed made it feel closer to discovering than searching. You swipe, you see one thing, you decide.</p> <p><strong>Make a wish.</strong> Sometimes you don't want to scroll. You want something specific: a bicycle, a pressure cooker. A wish lets you ask your neighbours directly, and people can answer with something they already own.</p> <h2> What I got wrong </h2> <ul> <li>I first planned donations on top of the platform. A payment provider rejected the donation flow, so I paused it and focused on the free exchange itself.</li> <li>I underestimated trust. Free sounds too good to be true, so the product has to answer "who is this person and will they show up?" before anything else.</li> </ul> <h2> The stack, briefly </h2> <p>The web app is Next.js, the Android app is Flutter, the API is Node with Postgres through Prisma. Nothing exotic. The hard part wasn't technology, it was making the first screen obvious in a few seconds.</p> <h2> Try it </h2> <p>It started in India and works anywhere: <a href="https://trezow.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">trezow.com</a> (web) and the Android app on Google Play.</p> <p>I'd love to hear one thing: what would make you trust a free marketplace enough to list your first item?</p> startup webdev flutter sustainability