DirkMattSWE/c2c-marketplace

Full-stack C2C marketplace for South Africa's informal economy — escrow payments, SA ID verification, in-app messaging, and admin dispute resolution. # SwapZA — C2C Marketplace Platform > A consumer-to-consumer marketplace built for South Africa's informal economy. Designed to combat scams, reduce friction, and enable safe, structured trade between everyday buyers and sellers. **Live Demo:** swapza.freehosting.dev --- ## The Problem South Africa's informal economy is estimated at over R900 billion annually. Yet the people who operate within it face significant barriers when trading online: - Facebook Marketplace scams are rampant, with no payment protection - Buyers pay upfront with no guarantee of receiving goods - No SA-specific platform designed for low-data environments - Users must juggle multiple apps for messaging, payments, and listings SwapZA was built to address these gaps directly. --- ## Solution A full-stack C2C marketplace with built-in escrow payments, SA ID verification, in-app messaging, and an admin dispute resolution system — designed to make informal trade safer and more accessible. --- ## Screenshots --- ## Architecture SwapZA follows a **modular monolithic, three-tier MVC architecture**: ``` ┌─────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Frontend (Views) │ │ HTML · CSS · Bootstrap 5.3 · JS │ └────────────────┬────────────────────┘ │ ┌────────────────▼────────────────────┐ │ Backend (Controllers) │ │ Plain PHP — MVC Pattern │ │ Auth · Listings · Orders · Escrow │ │ Messages · Reviews · Reports · Admin│ └────────────────┬────────────────────┘ │ ┌────────────────▼────────────────────┐ │ Database (Models) │ │ MySQL · PDO · 13 Tables │ └─────────────────────────────────────┘ ``` **Key architectural decisions:** - **MVC with include-based views** — controllers handle all business logic; views are pure presentation with no inline logic - **Shared components** — reusable PHP partials (`listing_card.php`, `order_card.php`, etc.) eliminate duplication across views - **PDO with prepared statement …