What We Shipped in March (and What's Actually Working)

Hey everyone,

We don't do these updates often enough, but March was one of those months where we shipped a bunch of stuff and I wanted to give you the unfiltered version of what's new.

The 10% Thing

We cut our commission to 10% across the board. No tiers, no fine print. Whether you're delivering tacos or listing a couch, we take 10% and that's it.

Why? Honestly, we looked at what other platforms charge and it felt gross. 20-30% commissions made sense when these marketplaces were novel, but in 2024? You shouldn't need to give up a third of your earnings just to find customers. We're betting that more people will use Lumo if we're not gouging them. Radical, I know.

Escrow That Actually Moves

Payment drama is the worst part of any marketplace. So we built an escrow system that holds funds until the job is done, then auto-releases after 24 hours unless there's a dispute.

No more chasing people for payment. No more "I'll Venmo you later." The money sits in escrow, the work happens, and boom—it releases automatically. If something goes sideways, either party can flag it and we step in. Simple.

Payouts go straight to your bank via Stripe. Usually hits in 1-2 days. No gift cards, no proprietary wallets, just actual money in your actual account.

Same-Day Everything

This one's getting real traction. You can now request same-day delivery from literally any retailer, restaurant, or individual in your area.

Need something from that hardware store across town but don't want to drive? Someone on Lumo will grab it. Want food from a place that doesn't do delivery? Done. Selling something bulky on marketplace and the buyer wants it delivered same-day? There's a courier for that.

It's messier than the "partner with specific restaurants" model, but it's way more useful. Early data shows people are using this for the weirdest, most specific stuff and I love it.

Real Estate and Autos Are Live

We added dedicated marketplaces for real estate and autos this month. Nothing revolutionary here—we're not trying to replace Zillow or Autotrader overnight. But if you're already on Lumo for other stuff, you can now list your car or rental property in the same place.

Lower fees than the big guys, same escrow protection, and you're tapping into our existing local user base. We'll see if it sticks.

The AI Ad Studio (OK, This One's Cool)

This might be my favorite thing we built. Our AI-powered ad studio lets you generate listing photos, write descriptions, and create promotional graphics in about 30 seconds.

You upload a mediocre phone pic of your couch, the AI cleans it up, writes three different descriptions in different tones, and suggests pricing based on comparable listings. For service providers, it'll generate before/after mockups and promotional posts.

Is it perfect? No. Does it make your listings way better than the "2007 flip phone photo with no description" approach? Absolutely.

What's Next

We're working on in-app messaging (I know, should've been there from the start), better search filters, and some reputation/review features that actually mean something.

If you've been thinking about listing a service, selling something, or picking up gig work, now's honestly a pretty good time to try Lumo. We're small enough to still care about individual feedback, big enough that there's real activity in most markets, and we're moving fast.

Thanks for being here.

— The Lumo Team

P.S. Seriously, if something's broken or confusing, just tell us. We read everything.