What is it?
Markit is your go to app for selling and purchasing used goods within a college community. Users can search, sell, purchase and track items via Android, iPhone or on your favorite web browser. Markit has a dynamic chat and offering system which provides great communication between the buyer and seller. Worried about being robbed or cheated? Markit allows users to rate each other! Are you looking for an item but it's not available? Markit will track that for you! Markit is your one stop app for buying and selling used goods!
Features
- Profile
- login
- student verification
- reviews
- listings
- tags
- payment preferences
- Posting
- tags
- geographic location
- Buying
- list view
- map view
- card view
- sharing
- tagging
- Chat
- direct communication
- dynamic offering system
- Notifications
- new chat messages
- item availability
- price changes
- Payment
- send/receive
- incentives
Why Use It?
Tagging
Users will be able to reduce their search time when they have tagged an item. They will get a notification if an item that they have tagged is now being sold somewhere near them.
Exclusivity
This app is strictly for students with a .edu e-mail which makes it safer and also guarantees a market.
Offers
Unlike other selling/purchasing websites and applications, the user will have the ability to make an offer within the chat system and the seller can then accept or decline that offer.
How to use it
Android/iOS
Login/Register
When using the app for the first time, the user will be greeted by a Login/Register screen. To login, the user will be prompted to enter in their username or email in the first field and their password in the second. To register, the user will be asked to provide a username, academic email, and password. The user will then be asked if the app is allowed to get their current location. The user will then be given a quick tour of the app.
College Hub
Markit is designed to be used by college students in populated areas. If the particular item a user is looking for is unavailable at their school, or they know they will be visiting a friend who goes to another school, the user can easily filter their search by area and look for items available at specific college campuses. Finding items should be at the convenience of the user, and Markit should be a tool to bring college students together.
In the hub view, the user can see an overview of what is being sold in your area. The user can view different trends of commonly sold items in the area, general price changes and list of items on your watchlist. The user is also able to switch to different areas to see information in that area.
Searching
There are two views which the user can use to view items being sold. Under map view, the user will be able to view a map with multiple markers signifying the seller's general area. Above each marker is a small photo of the object that is up for sell. By clicking the marker, the map centers around the marker and a larger box replaces the photo. This box displays the seller's name, a photo of the item, the name of the item, the approximate distance from the user's current location, the price it is being sold for, and the option to add the item to the user's watchlist. By clicking it again the user is then redirected to the buying page. In the search bar above, the user can type in a location to see what items are being sold in that location.
In list view, a list of items being sold in the immediate area is shown. Each listed item shows a picture of the item, the name of the seller, the name of the item, the approximate distance from the user's current location, the price it is being sold for, and the option to add the item to the user's watchlist. By clicking the list the user is redirected to the buying view. At the top of the screen is a search bar where the user can type in a location to only show items in a certain location. Alternatively the user can enter an item name which will filter items that don't match the tag that was provided.
Buying
In this view the user can see more details about the product including the name, a photo, and a price. The user can also see the seller's name, their photo, their rating, and their preferred method of payment. Underneath the photo of the product there are two buttons named chat and offer. When the user clicks either of these buttons, the user will be taken to a chat session with the seller.
Selling
The user is shown a list of past sold items. At the end of the list a user can click a button to post a new item. The user is then prompted to add the name of the item being sold, a photo of the item, and tags for the item. By clicking 'next' they are taken to the next page where the user will enter the price of the item and the duration of how long the item will be posted.
Profile
The profile view shows the user's profile picture, the user's rating, the user's perferred payment, a list of items the user is currently selling, and a button to report the user.
Chat
Allows a buyer and a seller to communicate with each other. Along with a button to send messages, the buyer is allowed to send an offer with a price. The seller is able to accept or decline the offer. If it is declined the seller can choose to continue or end communication with the buyer. If the offer is accepted, both parties can continue talking but the item being discussed is considered sold.
Payment System
In most of the competing applications, payment is done via communication between the buyer and seller. Markit will allow the buyer to pay the seller through the app once an offer has been accepeted either through Venmo or PayPal. This will depend on the preferred method of payment of the seller.
Notifications
Users will be sent notifications when they receive a message, when an item on their watchlist is sold or changes in price, and when tagged items become available in their area.
Web App
Differences from mobile
While the web app will perform functionally the same as both of the mobile apps, it will feature a more open user interface not possible with the limited screen space of mobile devices. This will be the preferable way of using Markit for many users.
Minimum Software Requirements
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Android
-
Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean)
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iOS
-
iOS 10
Tools used to develop
web - Cloud9, Rails
iOS - Xcode 8 (Swift 3), Cocoapods
Android - Android Studio
Teams
- Web App
- Joel Homan
- Adrian Lu
- Victor Frolov
- iOS
- Trixie Roque
- Bryan Ku
- Android
- J.B. Morris
- Anna Gotsis
- Mike McAuley
- Peyton Cross