Modernizing Record Store Trade-Ins: A Power Platform Case Study
Crooked Beat Records, a well-established independent record store in Alexandria, VA, needed a better way to handle vinyl trade-in requests. Their existing process required customers to fill out a Google Doc and manually email it to the store. It was a disjointed experience that lacked structure and transparency. To modernize the process, I designed and developed a responsive digital platform using Microsoft Power Pages, Power Automate, and the Discogs API. This new system allows customers to submit trade-ins online, receive automated updates, and gives the store owner a streamlined way to evaluate and respond to offers while reinforcing the store’s professional identity.​
Timeline: March–June 2025
Role: UX Designer / Researcher / Developer
Tools: Power Pages, Power Automate, SharePoint, Dataverse, Discogs API, Figma
Design Process
I followed a human-centered design approach:
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Empathize: Observed customer/store interactions and gathered pain points.
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Define: Framed the core problem around wasted time and lack of transparency.
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Ideate: Sketched multiple solutions, from basic forms to integrated lookups.
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Prototype: Built a Power Pages submission portal and approval system.
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Test: Ran usability tests, iterated based on feedback to streamline flow and clarify visual hierarchy.
The Users
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Customers (Collectors and Sellers): They needed a simple, guided way to submit record info remotely and understand what their collection might be worth, without wasting a trip.
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The Store Owner (Bill): He needed a faster way to screen submissions, filter out low-value offers, and maintain the store’s curated identity without being overwhelmed.
1. Research/Empathize
To better understand collector behavior, I ran a survey with 17 vinyl enthusiasts. Two key questions revealed patterns that directly informed the design:​
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Q1: How do you decide the value of your records?
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58.8% of respondents use online marketplaces like Discogs or eBay to assess value.
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Only 35.3% rely on record store offers or personal sentiment, showing a strong preference for digital pricing validation.
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​Q2: What would make you more likely to trade in records?
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The top answer was better trade-in value (70.6%), followed by pricing transparency (52.9%). Only 29.4% said speed mattered most, indicating that fair and transparent evaluations outweigh the speed of the process for most users.
2. Define
Customers who want to trade in vinyl records at Crooked Beat Records currently face a fragmented and outdated submission process that requires filling out a Google Doc and emailing it to the store. This creates confusion, lacks pricing transparency, and does not align with the store's curated identity. On the store side, the owner has no streamlined way to screen submissions or pre-filter unqualified offers.
3. Ideation - User Flows
4. Prototype
I built a functional prototype using Microsoft Power Pages to host the customer-facing submission form. The form allowed users to enter record details, upload photos, and receive confirmation emails. I connected this to Power Automate, which triggered backend workflows to notify the store owner, store the submission in SharePoint and Dataverse, and attempt to fetch pricing data from the Discogs API. This working prototype mimicked a real trade-in experience from both the customer and business perspectives , allowing for immediate user testing and feedback.
5. Testing/Iteration
I conducted two rounds of user testing with both store staff and vinyl collectors. Feedback from a long-time employee at Crooked Beat led to key suggestions, including the ability to add multiple records to a single submission, introduce a variant dropdown (to differentiate pressings), and include an optional field for the Discogs Release ID. He also emphasized how helpful it was to allow customers to attach files or images, which he loved.
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Additional feedback from two vinyl collector friends surfaced UX improvements like the need to:
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Offer a counter-offer response to accepted submissions
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Remove the “Status” field from the user form (implemented)
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Add inline help tooltips or pop-up hints for form fields
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Loading icon for results waiting page
✅ Final Solution
The final platform:
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Lets users submit trade-in info and upload record photos
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Automatically checks Discogs for recent sale data
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Sends confirmation emails to users and alerts to the owner
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Allows the owner to approve/reject offers with a comment
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Replaces the unstructured email system with a guided, professional submission flow
VIDEO DEMONSTRATION COMING SOON!
Technical Challenges
Integrating the Discogs API via Power Automate introduced data-matching issues. While the flow reliably pulled artist information, it sometimes failed to find the exact record version, which made price estimates inconsistent. I also set up automated email notifications for both customer confirmation and owner approval, and added logic for tracking submission status through SharePoint and Dataverse.
Reflection/Next Steps
This project gave me the opportunity to apply the full UX process to a real-world business problem — from research and ideation to technical implementation and iteration. I learned how to balance customer needs with operational constraints, work within a low-code development environment, and troubleshoot API integration issues in real-time.
One of the biggest takeaways was how much value even small UX improvements (like hiding unnecessary fields or clarifying button visibility) can deliver when they’re grounded in user feedback. The Discogs integration, while technically challenging, helped validate the importance of price transparency for both customers and store staff.
Next Steps:
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Improve Discogs API result handling to better match individual records
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Add logic for multiple records per submission
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Explore a counter-offer response option for accepted trades
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Add contextual tooltips or help pop-ups to guide form completion
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Conduct a final round of usability testing before live deployment