Second-Hand Book Exchange Marketplace

Every semester, juniors pay full MRP for textbooks that seniors sell to scrap dealers for a tenth of the price — simply because no trusted marketplace connects them. Generic classifieds mix students with strangers and add shipping friction for a 200-rupee book, while informal WhatsApp selling has no price transparency or seller accountability. This project builds a campus-only book exchange: college-email-verified sellers, structured listings with condition grades and MRP comparison, in-app chat that keeps phone numbers private until a deal is struck, and handover by campus meetup. The transaction stays offline by design — the platform handles discovery and trust, not payments.

1. A seller verifies with a campus email and creates a listing: ISBN auto-fills title/author/edition, then condition grade, price and photos are added.
2. The listing goes live in the browsable marketplace with search by title, author or ISBN and filters by branch and condition.
3. A buyer opens the detail page, compares the price against MRP, and messages the seller through in-app chat.
4. The two agree on a campus meetup spot and time; the buyer inspects the book before paying (cash/UPI in person).
5. Either party marks the deal complete; the listing leaves browse results and the buyer rates the seller.
6. Wishlist owners get alerts when matching books are listed, closing the discovery loop.

Tech stack:

• Python (Django/Flask) or Node.js backend
• PostgreSQL/MySQL relational database
• HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript (mobile-first frontend)
• Media storage for listing photos
• In-app messaging
• Email service for verification and alerts
• Campus-email domain verification
• Responsive web UI

• [Structured book listings] Title, author, edition, ISBN, condition grade (like-new/good/fair) and photos, with ISBN-based auto-fill.
• [Verified sellers] Campus-email verification; profiles show department, year and seller rating from completed handovers.
• [Price transparency] Every listing shows the asking price against MRP with the discount percentage and condition-adjusted guidance.
• [Private in-app chat] Buyer and seller negotiate and coordinate meetups without exposing phone numbers prematurely.
• [Wishlist alerts] Save wanted books; get notified the moment a matching listing appears.
• [Seller dashboard] Active listings with views and chats, sold history, earnings total and rating breakdown.
• [Safety rails] No advance-payment flows anywhere; buyer-protection guidance is embedded at listing, chat and checkout steps.

• Complete marketplace source code (browse, listings, chat, dashboards)
• Database schema and migration scripts
• Campus-email verification flow
• In-app chat implementation
• Wishlist and alert system
• Setup and deployment guide
• Test scenarios for the buyer to verify listing-to-sale flows
• Project report PDF (background, trust model, marketplace design, methodology)
• PPT presentation for final review
• Viva Q&A preparation document (marketplace design, verification, safety, search)

• Payments stay offline by design — there is no escrow, refund or dispute-resolution for money.
• Trust depends on campus-email verification; it deters but cannot eliminate bad actors.
• Condition grading is the seller's self-assessment; buyers verify at meetup before paying.
• The marketplace is only as useful as its liquidity — adoption across batches matters more than features.
• ISBN auto-fill depends on an external book-data source being reachable.
• Rental and donation flows are future scope, not in the base build.