ASU Marketplace

Inspiration

College students constantly buy and sell items - from textbooks to furniture to electronics - but platforms like Facebook Marketplace expose them to safety risks when meeting strangers. We wanted to create a trusted, campus-only marketplace where ASU students could safely trade with fellow Sun Devils they can meet on familiar ground.

What it does

ASU Marketplace is an exclusive platform for Arizona State University students to buy and sell items within their campus community. Students can list items with AI-generated descriptions, browse by categories, and communicate through real-time messaging. The platform ensures all transactions happen between verified ASU students, creating a safer alternative to public marketplaces.

How we built it

We built ASU Marketplace using Next.js 15 with TypeScript for the frontend, Supabase for real-time database and authentication, and Tailwind CSS for responsive design. The platform features AI-powered item analysis and description generation, real-time messaging with conversation threading, and a clean, mobile-first interface optimized for student use.

Challenges we ran into

The biggest challenge was implementing real-time messaging while maintaining data consistency across conversations and user profiles. We also had to design a user authentication system that could work without complex verification while still maintaining the trusted community aspect.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We plan to add user verification through ASU email domains, implement a rating system for trusted sellers, add push notifications for new messages, and expand with features like item wishlists and advanced search filters. We're also exploring integration with ASU's campus map for safe meetup locations