SwapSpot is a designed-and-built concept for a hybrid item exchange where users can list goods, propose trades, mix barter with cash, and rate each other after a successful transaction. This page walks through the architecture, scope, and implementation as a code-review-ready portfolio piece.
Most marketplaces force a choice: you either sell, or you trade. SwapSpot imagines a single surface where neighbors can do either, or both — and actually trust each other afterwards.
People accumulate things they no longer need. Selling them outright is friction-heavy, and pure barter platforms struggle when one side wants cash and the other wants goods.
SwapSpot blends listings, proposals, and reviews into one flow. Users can post an item, send a proposal that mixes barter with cash, and build a verifiable rating after each transaction.
Every feature below ships in the source code: views, models, serializers, and templates. It runs locally; it just doesn't run in production.
Two-step signup, profile editing, avatar uploads, and an automatic average rating on every profile.
Create, edit, and delete items with title, description, category, condition, price, listing type, and photo.
Keyword search, category filtering, and a homepage feed of available items powered by ORM queries.
Send, accept, or reject exchange and purchase proposals. Hybrid offers with goods, cash, or a mix of both.
5-star ratings with average recalculation handled by Django signals after each new review lands.
Per-user notifications for transaction updates, new proposals, and proposal status changes.
Full CRUD endpoints for every resource, exposed via Django REST Framework ViewSets and routers.
This portfolio site is served from site/ on GitHub Pages, validated by GitHub Actions on each push.
Pinned in requirements.txt for reproducibility. The repo runs locally on SQLite with zero extra setup.
Every resource is exposed via a DRF ModelViewSet with full CRUD: list, create, retrieve, update, partial_update, destroy.
| Endpoint | Resource |
|---|---|
/api/users/ | Users — accounts, profiles, and average rating. |
/api/items/ | Items — marketplace listings (sale, swap, or hybrid). |
/api/proposals/ | Exchange or purchase proposals between users. |
/api/transactions/ | Transactions completed from accepted proposals. |
/api/reviews/ | Post-transaction reviews and 5-star ratings. |
/api/notifications/ | In-app notifications for proposal and transaction events. |
/api/tags/ | Item tags for categorization and discovery. |
/api/item-tags/ | Through-table associating items with tags. |
/api/payment-methods/ | Per-user payment methods. |
A user's lifecycle, from listing an item to closing a deal and reviewing the other side.
User creates an Item with category, condition, listing type.
User sends a Proposal referencing items and an optional cash amount.
Notification is fired.
Proposal becomes a Transaction with type and amount.
Review tied to the transaction with a 1–5 rating.
average_rating automatically.
The whole project, including models, serializers, signals, tests, and templates, lives on GitHub. Clone it, install the deps, and you have a working local app in under five minutes.