TradeOut

Description

Conducting transactions in an online marketplace can be risky, and, unfortunately, scams and falsely advertised products are quite common. TradeOut is a platform that gives people greater transaction security by providing a quick and simple way to generate a digital contract between buyer and seller. Whether you’re the buyer or the seller, in TradeOut you can:

• Initiate a contract for a transaction, including uploading item images
• Send the contract to the other party
• Sign the contract once you agree with the terms
• Always access a copy of the final, signed contract
• View all accepted, pending, and declined contracts

Screenshots

Create a Contract

Review a New Contract

Send a Contract to a Recipient

Review a Contract as the Recipient

User Dashboard

View the PDF of an Accepted Contract

Prerequisites

• Node.js
• PostrgeSQL
• Nodemon
• SendGrid
• AWS S3
• PDFMake

Installation

1. Create a new database named tradeout, and execute the queries from database.sql to create the needed tables.
2. Within a code editor, open a terminal window and install the dependencies by running: npm install.
3. Create a .env file with values for the following variables:

SERVER_SESSION_SECRET=random string containing more than eight characters

SENDGRID_API_KEY=key provided with SendGrid account
SENDGRID_EMAIL=verified sender email

AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=access key id from AWS
AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=secret access key from AWS
AWS_REGION=your AWS region
S3_BUCKET_NAME=your AWS S3 bucket name

4. Note: This tutorial by Sam Meech-Ward can be referenced to create the S3 bucket with correct access levels.
5. Run npm run server to start the server in one terminal window. Open a second terminal window, and run npm run client to start the client. The application will open at localhost:3000/#/dashboard in the browser. TradeOut was tested and designed for compatibility with Google Chrome.

Usage

Registering

1. To register as a new user, click Register and enter an email, legal name, and password.

Logging In

1. To log in, enter the email and password associated with the account and click Log In.

Creating a Contract

1. To create a contract, click New Contract from the Dashboard. Select Buyer or Seller and click Next.
2. Within Create New Contract, enter the required informaton in the fields marked with a * and any other relevant information. Click Choose File to upload an image of the item being purchased or sold. Type the signature in the signature field. Click Review Contract to proceed.
3. Review the contract details. Make any changes by clicking Edit Contract Details or proceed by clicking Recipient Contact Information.
4. Within Send To Recipient, enter the email address of the other party in the contract. Click Generate Contract Token to generate a unique key that the recipient will receive to be able to securely view the contract.
5. Click Create Contract and Send to Recipient to send an email to the recipient letting them know a contract is pending.

Receiving a Contract

1. Click the link in the email sent from TradeOut to be taken to Recipient View. Recipient View shows the status of the contract. If pending, review the contract details and click Accept or Decline. (Note: Clicking Decline does not require an account.)
2. Clicking Accept requires an account and will navigate to Registration. Once registered, the contract appears in the Dashboard.

Accepting or Declining a Contract

1. Clicking a contract card from the Dashboard shows its details. If a contract is pending and awaiting an action, a signature field and buttons will appear at the bottom of Contract Details.
2. To accept the terms of a contract, type the signature in the signature field and click Sign and Finalize Contract. The contract will then appear under the Accepted heading in the Dashboard.
3. To decline a contract, click Decline. The contract will then appear under the Declined heading in the Dashboard.

Accessing a PDF for an Accepted Contract

1. Click an accepted contract card from the Dashboard to view its details.
2. Click the View Contract PDF button to access the finalized PDF of the contract.

Built With

Node.js | Express.js | React.js | Redux | Redux-Saga | JavaScript | PostgreSQL | Passport | Material UI | SendGrid | AWS S3 | PDFMake