Flea market for verifiable textbooks in NYUSH

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  Repl.it2

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  Repl.it3

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  Repl.it1

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  Github

Inspiration

As freshmen from NYUSH, we have found our textbook policies rather inconvenient. NYUSH is extremely strict with the verification of textbooks, so we only have a limited option, which is buying second-hand textbooks from other students in order to save money. Therefore, we aim at designing a transparent platform for sellers and buyers to communicate and relieve students from their financial burdens.

What it does

Our platform is open to all NYUSH students. For sellers, all they need to do is posting detailed information about their books on our webpage and buyers will contact them to make the transaction. For buyers, they can easily find the books they are looking for on our buyer page and contact the sellers directly. No third party will be involved in any money exchange to ensure both the sellers and the buyers will be able to save as much as possible.

How we built it

First, we designed our own websites. Using HTML and CSS, we were able to design a home page, a seller page, and a buyer page. We created links on all three pages. HTML was used to put index and CSS was used for styling. On the seller page, we used a form to input info by referring to Codepen. On the buyer page, we built a search box by using google custom search to search through the books. Second, we used Django to create a local server to save all the data from sellers and read and upload the data onto the buyer page.

Challenges we ran into

We only know Python and took ICP. Since we wanted to build a website, we had to learn how to use HTML and CSS from the beginning. After we created the website, we realized that we weren't able to save the data and upload them. We have no idea how to use Django.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We knew nothing about any of the skills we need in the first place, but in the end, we learned about all of them. So hackathon is a very good way to learn new things.

What we learned

First, none of our group members have had any experience working with HTML and CSS, so we spend a whole day learning and using HTML and CSS right on site. Second, building a local server was the most challenging. We familiarized with the Django by learning from online resources and managed to create a local server for the first time.

What's next for Flea market for verifiable textbooks in NYUSH

Calling for more people to use our websites to save money and customize more similar websites for other universities to help more students to have a manageable budget.

Built With

• css3
• django
• html5
• localserver
• replit