BidBox.

Roles

UI/UX Design Full-Stack Development Database Design API Architecture DevOps & Deployment

Problem

Václav Kovář came in with a narrow brief: he collected postcards and wanted an AI tool to catalogue and grade them at scale. What he actually needed — and what became clear two weeks into discovery — was an entire operational platform to run the business he'd been trying to grow around the postcards.

The deeper problem: combining real-time auctions with a traditional e-commerce store. Products needed to flow seamlessly between auction listings and fixed-price sales, with automated inventory management, payment processing, and a comprehensive admin backend for managing thousands of items.

Approach

Ship the narrow AI tool first (six weeks). Watch what Václav reached for next. Iterate on the same codebase rather than spinning up parallel apps. Next.js + Postgres + Prisma + Stripe kept the surface small; every feature lived in the same admin, the same auth, the same billing surface.

Architecturally, I built a dual-mode commerce platform where items can be listed for auction or direct sale. The real-time bidding system handles concurrent users with optimistic updates and conflict resolution. The admin backend automates most of the operational workflow — from product intake and categorization through listing, payment collection, and fulfillment. Stripe handles all payment processing with support for holds, captures, and refunds.

What's in it

• Real-time auction bidding system — concurrent users, optimistic updates, conflict resolution.
• Dual-mode commerce — auction + fixed-price e-shop in one platform.
• Automated inventory management — single source of truth across all surfaces.
• Stripe integration — payment intents, holds, captures, refunds.
• Comprehensive admin backend — product intake, categorization, listing, fulfillment.
• Product categorization and search — full-text search with filters.
• Order management and fulfillment tracking — end-to-end status flow.
• AI postcard analyser — the original feature that started it all, still in active use.

Tech stack

• Frontend: Next.js 15, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS
• Backend: Supabase (PostgreSQL + Realtime + Auth)
• Database: Supabase Postgres
• Payments: Stripe (Payment Intents, Connect)
• Search: Full-text search with filters
• Deploy: Vercel + Supabase Cloud

Outcome

Three years in, BidBox is the spine of Václav's business. The AI postcard analyser is one feature among many — auction workflow, brand asset library, CRM, customer portal — all in one codebase, one hosting bill, one mental model.

Metric	Outcome
Dual commerce model	Auction + fixed-price e-shop in one platform
Real-time bidding	Concurrent users, zero conflicts
Manual operations reduction	~80%
Payment lifecycle	Holds, captures, refunds — complete coverage
Retainer status	Year three, ongoing — survived 2 Next.js majors + 1 stack consolidation