Troostwijk auctions

A TBAuctions brand, Troostwijk, one of Europe’s leading online auction platforms. I’m part of the Buyer Squad, a data-driven, cross-functional team that influences multiple brands across the group.

We focus on improving the storefront experience. From search and filtering to the lot details page, making it easier for buyers to find what they’re looking for and bid with confidence.

Status update stating 'Soon to be released' with a pink background.
A laptop on a round dining table displaying an online auction page for a green John Deere tractor.

User story

Saved search

My role

UI/UX

Team members

7

Year

2025

The challange

A total of 3.15 million searches on Troostwijk ends up with no results. How can we turn a empty page into value?

Overview

User Story

As a buyer, I want to save my searches, so that I can easily re-run them without having to enter the same criteria repeatedly.

Context

Buyers often repeat the same searches (e.g., by brand, category, or seller). Without the ability to save searches, they waste time recreating queries, which reduces efficiency and engagement.

Silver laptop with black keyboard displaying a webpage related to construction equipment on a white background.

Squad priorities

From a user story mapping workshop to a top-priority feature ‘Saved Search’ was shaped by smart structure, clear priorities, and Kevon’s (PM) solid project direction.

Screenshot of a user interface with various labeled action buttons in different colors including Access, Search, Filtration, and Save Searches. The layout appears to be a dashboard or control panel for managing searches, filter options, and saved items.
Screenshot of a digital spreadsheet with columns labeled Outcome/Theme, User Story/JTBD, Impact, Confidence, Effort, ICE Score, MoSCoW, Dependencies, Status. The spreadsheet contains rows with various data entries, some highlighted with colored labels such as "Must Have," "Should Have," "Could Have," and "Complete."

Process - UI/UX Prespective

We began by analyzing similar features from both internal and external brands. Klaravik, one of our in-house brands, already offered a basic version of saved search.

Using data insights, we identified what worked well and explored opportunities to further enhance the experience.

Workflow

  • Wireframes

  • Present to Product manager/team

  • High fidelity

  • Involve UX copy

  • Present to stakeholders

  • Close collaboration with FE

  • Demo product org

  • Launch

A blurred spreadsheet showing alert metrics over a 12-day period, including counts of creating and deleting alerts and percentage changes.
Laptop displaying an online vehicle marketplace with tractor listings and saved search filters on the left side.

Global assets

At TBAuctions, we design for multiple brands. By using brand variables, we can easily switch between color, logos, typo sets and instantly see how a design adapts across brands. It keeps our design system consistent, saves time, and helps us visualize brand differences without duplicating work.

The solution

Save your favorite searches and get updates automatically. Empty search? We’ll help you save it and email you when new results roll in.

Smartphone screen showing saved car search for Volvo with details about location, categories, brands, and price range, on a red surface.
Person holding a MacBook Pro laptop outdoors against a light cloud sky, displaying a search results webpage for John Deere tractors and related items.
A smartphone displaying a list of saved searches for vehicles, including a Volvo car, Porsche 911, and John Deere tractor, with search details and options.
A detailed flowchart illustrating a website search and filter process for John Deere tractors, including search input, filter application, result display, and modal interactions.

Learnings

Introducing new components like Sheet brings fresh interactions and modern patterns that elevate the user experience.
However, they can take more time to implement for the frontend team.

Out of scope

Editing filters in a saved search
Reason: Too complex for this iteration.

Adding saved searches to the dropdown during search
Reason: No significant value for iteration 1.

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