The impact of introducing a buyer fee

An analysis of how clarity, perceived value, and end-to-end experience influence monetization acceptance

Project Period

January - July 2024

Role

UX Researcher | Product Designer

Domain

E-commerce | Marketplace

TL;DR

I led the research and experimentation strategy to validate the introduction of a buyer fee in OLX’s transactional marketplace.The key learning was that monetization acceptance is not driven by price alone, but by the combination of clarity, perceived value, and reliability across the entire user journey.This work contributed to product and business decisions, increased transactions (peaking at 2x during campaigns), and influenced structural changes in the organization, including the creation of a dedicated post-sales squad.

OLX primarily operated as a classifieds marketplace, where buyers and sellers transact directly without platform intermediation.As the product evolved, a transactional model was introduced, where OLX intermediates payment, delivery, and dispute resolution.Historically, the cost of this model was fully borne by the seller. As part of a monetization strategy shift, the company began exploring introducing a fee for buyers.

This represented a significant change in the user’s mental model, as buyers were not previously charged for the experience.Recruiters from small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) need an affordable and efficient solution to manage candidates in their open positions. Traditional ATS tools are very expensive for these companies, causing them to resort to using spreadsheets for candidate management.

Context

Evaluate the impact of introducing a buyer fee on conversion and transaction volume, ensuring the sustainability of the transactional model without compromising user experience.

Objective

The project ran from January to July 2024, structured as iterative cycles of research and experimentation.
Throughout this period, we alternated between exploration and validation, using insights from each phase to inform the next.The sequence followed an iterative approach:

- Exploratory Research 1 to understand the concept
- Initial pricing experiments in production
- Research 2 to deepen understanding of behavior and perception
- Product experiments based on early insights
- Quantitative Research 3 with users who had already paid the fee
- Additional product and pricing tests
- Quantitative Research 4 to reassess perception after changes

An important aspect of this process was that, in later quantitative studies, all participants had already experienced the fee. This allowed us to analyze real behavior and perception, rather than relying only on stated intent.This approach reduced the gap between what users say and what they actually do.

Scope and approach

Problem reframing

The initial question was whether users would accept paying the fee.
Through research, it became clear that the issue was not simply price acceptance, but understanding and perceived value. Users did not clearly understand what they were paying for, nor why they should pay.
Monetization does not fail because of price, it fails because of lack of perceived value.

I worked as a Product Designer with strong ownership of research. I defined the research strategy (qualitative and quantitative), translated insights into product hypotheses, designed experiments, and influenced product and business decisions.

My Role

The research uncovered several factors that directly impact fee acceptance.

Lack of clarity about what was being chargedng

Users were unable to clearly explain what the “OLX Guarantee” was and struggled to connect the fee to its benefits. This pattern consistently appeared in qualitative studies with groups of 6 to 20 users.

Mismatch between users’ mental models and the product’s value proposition

Many associated the guarantee with product warranty or product quality, while the actual value was in mediation and refund protection.

Low perceived value of certain benefits.

Refunds, for example, were often seen as a basic consumer right, reducing willingness to pay.

Purchase decisions were based on total cost, not the fee in isolation.

Users evaluated product price, shipping, and fee together, and were more likely to accept the fee for higher-value or higher-risk items.

Friction caused by revealing the fee only at checkout.

Discovering the additional cost late in the journey led to frustration and a perception of lack of transparency.

Research and key findings

With insights spread across the journey, it became necessary to structure the problem more systematically.To achieve this, I created an end-to-end service blueprint covering:
‍
- discovery
- decision
- payment
- delivery
- post-purchase

This artifact made it possible to visualize how friction points were connected and revealed that the main issues were not limited to checkout, but extended into delivery and post-sales.

It also exposed a misalignment between the promise of the guarantee and the actual experience when users needed to rely on it.
‍
Perceived value is not defined at the moment of payment, it is validated throughout the entire experience.

This blueprint helped align multiple squads and reframed the problem from a UI issue to a systemic experience challenge.

Structuring the problem

Solution

The first experiment focused on improving the explanation of the guarantee in the checkout flow. Previously hidden in a low-visibility modal, the explanation was brought directly into the main flow.

As a result, around half of users were able to correctly explain the concept, based on quantitative data. This indicated that the issue was related to visibility and communication rather than naming, leading to the decision not to rename the feature again.

Improve Guarantee Explanation

The second experiment tested embedding the fee into the product price. In qualitative research, this approach was perceived by users as a better experience, as it eliminated surprises at checkout and made the final price clear from the beginning.

However, A/B test results showed a drop in conversion. Users were less likely to click on ads with the embedded fee, likely because the higher upfront price made listings appear more expensive compared to others.

This indicates that while transparency improved the experience later in the journey, it negatively impacted initial consideration, demonstrating that surfacing the full cost earlier can reduce engagement when perceived value is not yet established.

From Adview to Checkout:
-3,8% web;
-8,5% mobile.

From Adview to Created transaction:
-6% web;
-10% mobile.

Embedding the fee into the product price

The third experiment introduced benefits such as free shipping and interest-free installments. This led to a significant increase in transactions, doubling weekly volume during campaigns. This reinforced that users do not pay for the fee itself, they pay for perceived value.

With the free shipping campaing and 10x installments the trasaction doubled from 6k/week> 36k/week.

Benefits campaigns

At the product level, this work contributed to increased transactions and more informed decision-making, avoiding unnecessary structural changes and focusing efforts on improving perceived value.

At the organizational level, research insights revealed critical gaps in the post-sales experience, particularly around dispute resolution and refunds. This led to the creation of a dedicated post-sales squad.

Additionally, findings influenced prioritization in other areas such as delivery and customer support, reinforcing the need for an integrated, end-to-end experience.

From the user’s perspective, product, delivery, and support are part of a single journey.

Impact

Introducing a buyer fee is not just a pricing decision, it is a fundamental shift in the user experience.The learnings showed that superficial changes, such as renaming or adjusting price visibility, are not sufficient to sustain monetization.

Acceptance depends on the combination of clarity, perceived value, and reliability across the entire journey.Monetization is not a standalone feature, it is the result of a consistent and trustworthy experience.

Strategic synthesis

Next steps include improving experience reliability, especially in delivery and post-sales, exploring more adaptive pricing models by category, and further measuring the relationship between user understanding and conversion.

Next Steps