Validating a vetted MVP marketplace idea, here’s what buyers actually told me

Been testing an idea: a marketplace for MVPs that has to clear a real bar to list, not just get uploaded with a screenshot. Started on Reddit asking sellers if raw code without proof of usage is worth anything. Got a clear yes from about 8 people independently, that became the core rule.

Then asked the other side, buyers, what actually makes them trust a purchase like that. Got a lot back. The clearest pattern: buy first, build later, the real cost of DIY isn’t the weekend it takes to build, it’s the maintenance afterward. Second pattern: the gap between “it works” and “it works for my business” is almost never features, it’s messy real-world data a demo never shows.

Still pre-listing, still validating. But the rules have already changed twice because of direct feedback, most recently to require sellers state what a tool doesn’t do and who it isn’t for, not just a capability pitch, since that’s a costlier, harder-to-fake signal than documentation alone.

If anyone wants to follow along, there’s a waitlist here: https://mvpmarket-production.up.railway.app/

Not asking for anything beyond that, just sharing the process. Happy to answer questions.