Bring Ebay to Cardano: Decentralized Real Product Auction Platform

[GENERAL] Name and surname of main applicant

[GENERAL] Are you delivering this project as an individual or as an entity (whether formally incorporated or not)

[GENERAL] Please specify how many months you expect your project to last (from 2-12 months)

[GENERAL] Please indicate if your proposal has been auto-translated into English from another language

[GENERAL] Summarize your solution to the problem (200-character limit including spaces)

We are building an auction e-commerce platform utilizing Smart Contracts on Cardano to help users auction their products transparently and without being controlled by a third party.

[GENERAL] Does your project have any dependencies on other organizations, technical or otherwise?

[GENERAL] If YES, please describe what the dependency is and why you believe it is essential for your project’s delivery. If NO, please write “No dependencies.”

No dependencies

[GENERAL] Will your project’s output/s be fully open source?

[GENERAL] Please provide here more information on the open source status of your project outputs

Fully open source

[SOLUTION] Please describe your proposed solution

The E-commerce’s Problems:

Currently, e-commerce plays an indispensable role in people's lives, with almost everyone making purchases on e-commerce platforms. However, these platforms still face several significant issues:

• E-commerce platforms concentrate substantial power in the hands of leading organizations. They have the authority to delist products or delete buyer data if there are issues that need resolution, potentially leading to unhealthy competition and negatively impacting buyer rights.
• Sellers on e-commerce platforms may incur high shipping costs when buyers fail to pay for their purchased products.
• Buyers find it challenging to reclaim funds when they receive low-quality products from unreliable sellers.
• The absence of cryptocurrency payment options limits access to secure and decentralized payment methods.
• The auction system on e-commerce platforms is not truly transparent and is controlled by a third party

The Cardano Ecosystem’ Problems:

• Cardano is lacking a lot of dApps in the field of RealFi (Cardano applications in life).
• The Cardano ecosystem does not yet reach a large number of users on e-commerce platforms who make a lot of transactions every day.
• ADA is currently only being used to buy and sell on CEXs and DEXs and is not used to buy or sell actual products.

Solution:

We are establishing a decentralized auction e-commerce platform (like eBay) on the Cardano blockchain that uses Smart Contract to automatically buy and sell products without the need for third-party control. This platform aims to:

• Be the world's first decentralized auction e-commerce platform. People can list their products and others can bid to buy them.
• Allow buyers to make direct payments on the platform using ADA or Cardano-based stablecoins.
• Manage buyer and seller activities through Smart Contracts on Cardano without third-party intervention

How Smart Contracts will manage the auction process:

When sellers want to auction their products, they will have to upload their product images to the platform to mint them into an NFT for that product. Shoppers will lock money into Smart Contract for auction. If the price is higher, the money will be returned to the previous buyer at the lower price who locked the money in the Smart Contract.

After finding the highest bidder in a certain period of time, the output of the above Smart Contract will become the input for the second Smart Contract. The second Smart Contract will have the additional participation of the delivery company. . This Smart Contract will connect with an Oracle to obtain shipping data from a reputable and verified shipping company. The Oracle will continuously update the shipping information. Sellers will also have to lock shipping costs into a Smart Contract with the shipping company. When the delivery company confirms that it has delivered the goods to the buyer and the buyer has no dispute, the product money will be transferred to the seller's wallet and the shipping fee will be transferred to the delivery company's wallet.

When the goods have problems such as: unsuccessful delivery, wrong products, poor quality products, damage due to transportation, etc. Smart Contract will automatically resolve them with pre-programmed conditions. does not require intervention or control by any third party, including project owners.

[IMPACT] Please define the positive impact your project will have on the wider Cardano community

Our solution has the potential to bring hundreds of millions of users to Cardano, considering the massive user base of current e-commerce platforms (billions of users). This is an exceedingly crucial application for today's users. Furthermore, integrating Cardano blockchain into e-commerce can significantly boost transaction volumes on Cardano, given that e-commerce platforms typically handle substantial daily transaction volumes.

We are providing an outstanding utility for Cardano users. People can conveniently buy and sell goods using ADA. Users have complete autonomy in decision-making and personal information management, and issues in purchasing are automatically resolved through Smart Contracts.

Our solution aims to minimize risks in buying, selling, and shipping in current e-commerce, thereby enhancing the overall user experience. The complete open-sourcing of our project's code allows other projects to use and develop their related applications.

This initiative not only addresses current challenges in e-commerce but also contributes to the broader adoption and utilization of blockchain technology, particularly on the Cardano platform. It aligns with the principles of decentralization, transparency, and user empowerment. As the project progresses, it will be fascinating to see how it evolves and contributes to the growing ecosystem of blockchain-based solutions.

As of 2023, the number of active buyers on eBay is recorded to be 134 million. Monthly traffic of 2.98 trillion was recorded on the eBay website in the year 2022. In 2023, there are over 18.3 million seller accounts on eBay. Over 1.7 billion listings are active on eBay.

The above statistics show that e-commerce has a very large number of regular users. With the advantages of an e-commerce auction system automatically operated by Cardano's Smart Contract, this project can bring transparency, uncontrollability and ensure benefits for participating parties on the platform.

[CAPABILITY & FEASIBILITY] What is your capability to deliver your project with high levels of trust and accountability? How do you intend to validate if your approach is feasible?

We have successfully completed 4 funded proposals in fund 8 and 9:

• Haskell Book Vietnamese Translation: https://cardano.ideascale.com/c/idea/62683. Link download: https://bit.ly/Real-World-Haskell
• Haskell Book Vietnamese Translation: https://cardano.ideascale.com/c/idea/63881. Link download: https://bit.ly/Learn-You-A-Haskell-Vietnamese
• Haskell Course for Beginners: https://cardano.ideascale.com/c/idea/62320

• Haskell Course for Developers: https://cardano.ideascale.com/c/idea/63880

We also have 2 funded proposals in fund 11:

• The decentralized e-commerce platform utilizes Smart Contracts on Cardano: https://cardano.ideascale.com/c/idea/113059
• Live-Coding Haskell: https://cardano.ideascale.com/c/idea/112982

We are one of the greatest team in Developer Ecosystem Challenge in fund 8 & 9

All members of our team are experienced and skilled individuals with a background in building and operating banking systems as well as large-scale e-commerce platforms.

Therefore, we are fully capable of executing this project.

[PROJECT MILESTONES] What are the key milestones you need to achieve in order to complete your project successfully?

Design System Architecture (2 months)

Output 1: System Architecture of the Auction E-commerce platform

Acceptance criteria:

• The process of buyers placing auction orders through Smart Contract.
• The process of sellers auctioning their products on Smart Contract
• Process of receiving and shipping products of the shipping company
• Develop Smart Contract conditions for common issues like non-receipt of items, low-quality products, and disputes.
• Identify key functionalities to be executed through Smart Contracts.

Evidence: Diagram on Figma of System Architecture of the Auction E-commerce platform

Output 2: User Flows 

Acceptance criteria:

• Define user flows for various scenarios involving buyers, sellers, and shipping companies.
• Detail the process from product listing to payment, shipping, and order confirmation.

Evidence: Diagram on Figma of Buyer flow, Seller flow and Shipping company flow

Buyer Prototype (2 months)

Output: Constructing User Operation and Data Processing Flows (Highlight how Smart Contracts handle various situations, such as dispute resolution and order fulfillment) - Buyer Prototype

Acceptance criteria: Buyer prototype will include:

• Login, Sign up and import wallet
• Product detail
• Feedback + refund process
• Tracking order
• Check out + payment
• Searching product
• Bid at auction

Evidence: Prototype of Buyer Interface (Figma)

Seller Prototype (2 months)

Output: Constructing Seller Operation and Data Processing Flows (Highlight how Smart Contracts handle various situations, such as dispute resolution and order fulfillment) - Seller Prototype

Acceptance criteria: Seller prototype will include:

• Product Management
• Product listing
• Setting auction
• Shop information
• Customer service
• Order management

Evidence: Prototype of Seller Interface (Figma)

Privacy Policy and Close-out (1 months)

Output 1: Privacy Policy for the Auction E-commerce Platform

Acceptance criteria:

• Collecting and Using Personal Data
• Tracking and Cookies
• Retention of Personal Data
• Transfer of Personal Data
• Disclosure of Personal Data
• Security of Personal Data
• Detailed Information on the Processing of Personal Data

Evidence: Document for Privacy Policy for the Auction E-commerce Platform (PDF Document)

Output 2: Project close-out report

Acceptance criteria:

• List of project KPIs and how the project addressed them
• Key achievements
• Key learnings
• Next steps for the product or service developed
• Final thoughts/comments
• Links to other relevant project sources or documents.
• Link to Close out video

Evidence: Project close-out report (PDF)

Output 3: Project close-out video

Acceptance criteria:

• The problems and our solutions
• Demonstration of the project outputs
• KPI that we've achieved
• The issues when we doing this proposal
• What have we learn after doing this proposal
• What next? (after we complete this proposal)

Evidence: Project close-out video (link youtube)

[RESOURCES] Who is in the project team and what are their roles?

Mr. Thanh Ngo - Advisor:

• PhD in Economics from Massey University in 2015.
• Works at the School of Aviation, Massey University.
• Expertise in efficiency and productivity analysis in various sectors, including banking, finance, agriculture, and transportation economics.
• Editorial Board member for the International Journal of Financial Studies.
• https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Thanh-Ngo-14

Mr. Vo Minh Tuan - Financial and Legal Expert, Project Financial Manager:

• Over 20 years of experience in US/JP listed and multinational companies.
• Deep knowledge of finance, accounting, IFRS, US-GAAP, SOX, tax, customs, labor, investment, and business law.
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/tuan-vo-8a1557151/

Mr. Tran Thanh Thien - Project Director, System Process Analyst and Designer:

• Software Developer with expertise in Database Warehousing and ERP.
• Specialized in Einvoice solutions and business management software.

Mr. Nguyen Van Minh - Technical Design and System Programming Leader:

• Software developer and design programmer.
• Proficient in various technologies, including Servlets, SOAP, Microservices, CI/CD, Apache Kafka, Spring Framework, and more.
• https://github.com/nvminh
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/nvminh-gmail-com/

Mr. Dinh Duong Ha - UI/UX Design, Application Programming:

• Specializes in software design, microservices, C#, C++, Qt, Go, Rust, embedded Linux programming, blockchain, SmartContract, REST, and PostgreSQL.
• https://github.com/dinhduongha

Mr. Truong Hoai Quoc - UI/UX Design, Application Programming:

• Project Management and Software Development expertise.
• Proficient in C#, SQL, PHP.
• Involved in electronic invoice and business management software solutions.
• linkedin.com/in/truong-hoai-quoc-041519148

Mr. Arnaud Spiwack - Haskell Developer:

• Has 6 years of Haskell programming experience.
• Github: https://github.com/aspiwack.

[BUDGET & COSTS] Please provide a cost breakdown of the proposed work and resources

Milestone 1: (2 months)

• Research and design the architecture system.
• Design flows for various scenarios between buyers, sellers, and shipping entities.

Resources:

• 1 Project Leader: Cost $4,000 (2 months)
• 1 System Analyst and Designer: Cost $4,000 (2 months)
• 1 Blockchain Developer: Cost $3,000 (2 months)
• 1 UX/UI Developer: Cost $3,000 (2 months)
• Total: $13,000

Milestone 2: (2 months)

• Output: Constructing User Operation and Data Processing Flows (Highlight how Smart Contracts handle various situations, such as dispute resolution and order fulfillment) - Buyer Prototype

Resources:

• 1 Project Leader: Cost $4,000 (2 months)
• 1 Blockchain Developer: Cost $3,000 (2 months)
• 2 UX/UI Developer: Cost $6,000 (2 months)
• Total: $13,000

Milestone 3: (2 months)

• Output: Constructing User Operation and Data Processing Flows (Highlight how Smart Contracts handle various situations, such as dispute resolution and order fulfillment) - Seller Prototype

Resources:

• 1 Project Leader: Cost $4,000 (2 months)
• 1 Blockchain Developer: Cost $3,000 (2 months)
• 2 UX/UI Developer: Cost $6,000 (2 months)
• Total: $13,000

Final Milestone: (2 months)

• Finalize UX/UI and Prototype of the platform
• Privacy Policy for the Auction E-commerce Platform
• Project close-out report
• Project close-out video

Resources:

• 1 Project Leader: Cost $2,000 (1 months)
• 1 Blockchain Developer: Cost $1,500 (1 months)
• 1 System Analyst and Designer: Cost $2,000 (1 months)
• 1 UX/UI Developer: Cost $1,500 (1 months)
• Total: $7,000
• 
  

Total Budget:

• Total budget in USD: $46,000
• Total budget in ADA: 100,000 ADA (rate: 1 ADA = $0.46)

[VALUE FOR MONEY] How does the cost of the project represent value for money for the Cardano ecosystem?

Paypal is a payment system used to buy and sell goods on eBay. According to statistics, the number of transactions on e-commerce platforms using Paypal alone reached 6.2 billion transactions during the third quarter of 2023. Our decentralized auction e-commerce platform only needs to reach 1% of paypal, we have been able to generate more than 240 million transactions per year for Cardano (transaction fees can reach 40 million ADA per year). Therefore, with only 100,000ADA for this proposal, we have the potential to bring 8 million ADA per year to Cardano's Treasury (transaction fees will become staking reward and Cardano's Treasury accounts for 20% => 40 million x 20% = 8 million ADA).

A decentralized auction project like this can eliminate third-party control and greatly reduce sellers' product listing costs. Buyers can purchase goods at lower prices but sellers still make a good profit

The number of users buying and selling on e-commerce platforms today is very large. This proves that people's need to buy and sell goods online today is a huge number. When we can use ADA to buy and sell goods, it will increase the demand for holding ADA => ADA price will increase in the future