🎁 Liquiboxes: Mystery Boxes, Unbox Excitement!

Liquiboxes is an innovative platform that revolutionizes how businesses manage inventory and how customers shop. We connect small and large vendors looking to liquidate stock quickly with buyers seeking quality products at irresistible prices through personalized Mystery Boxes. 🛍️

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🧑‍💼 About Us

Liquiboxes was founded by three passionate programming students: Miguel, Michell, and Elis. Our mission is to help businesses efficiently liquidate their stock while connecting them with customers looking for high-quality products at unbeatable prices.

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🎯 Our Mission

We aim to transform the way businesses manage their inventory while offering customers a unique shopping experience. The excitement of receiving a Mystery Box is combined with the satisfaction of discovering products tailored to their preferences. 🎉

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👥 User Types

🛍️ Customers

Those who make purchases on the platform.

🏪 Stores

Those who create and sell mystery boxes.

👨‍💼 Administrators

In charge of website management and technical support for the platform.

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🛠️ How Liquiboxes Works

For Stores 🏪:

• 📦 Create Mystery Boxes of various sizes and prices.
• 🛒 Select potential products for each box and specify the number of items it will contain.

For Customers 🛍️:

• 📋 Register and choose preferences (sizes, colors, product types, categories).
• 🎁 Purchase Mystery Boxes from participating stores.

Behind the Scenes 🔄:

• 🤖 Liquiboxes randomly generates the contents of each box from available inventory.
• 📨 Stores receive notifications with user preferences to confirm stock availability.
• 🔄 Stores can adjust the box contents if necessary (subject to admin approval).

Delivery 🚚:

• 📄 Stores receive a PDF with the shipping order, selected items, and user data.

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🌟 Key Features

• ⚡ Seamless connection between vendors and buyers.
• 🎁 Personalized Mystery Boxes based on user preferences.
• 📊 Efficient stock management for businesses.
• 🛍️ Exciting shopping experience for customers.
• 💳 Secure payment processing.
• 🖥️ User-friendly interface for both vendors and buyers.

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🧰 Technologies Used

• Frontend: React.js ⚛️
• Backend: Python 🐍 & Flask 🔥
• Database: SQLAlchemy 🗄️
• Responsive Design: Bootstrap 📱
• Payments: Stripe 💳
• Images: Cloudinary ☁️

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⚙️ Installation and Setup

Tip: If you use Github Codespaces (recommended) or Gitpod, the template will come pre-installed with Python, Node, and a PostgreSQL Database.

Backend Installation 🛠️:

1. Ensure you have Python 3.10, Pipenv, and a database engine (PostgreSQL recommended). 🐍

2. Install Python packages:

   $ pipenv install

3. Create an .env file from the example:

   $ cp .env.example .env

4. Set up your database and configure the DATABASE_URL environment variable:

Engine	DATABASE_URL
SQLite	sqlite:////test.db
MySQL	mysql://username:password@localhost:port/example
Postgres	postgres://username:password@localhost:5432/example

5. Run database migrations:

   $ pipenv run migrate

6. Apply migrations:

   $ pipenv run upgrade

7. Run the application:

   $ pipenv run start

Note: Codespaces users can connect to PostgreSQL by typing:

$ psql -h localhost -U gitpod example

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Undo a Migration 🔄

You can also undo a migration by running:

$ pipenv run downgrade

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Backend: Populate the Database 🗃️

To insert test shops and mystery boxes into the database, run:

$ pipenv run flask init-db

To create the first superuser to access admin methods, run:

$ pipenv run flask create-superuser

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Frontend Manual Installation:

• Make sure you're using Node version 14+ and have already installed and started the backend.

1. Install the packages:

   $ npm install

2. Start coding and launch the webpack dev server:

   $ npm run start

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💻 Contributors
This project was built as part of the 4Geeks Academy Coding Bootcamp by Alejandro Sanchez and other contributors. Explore the Full Stack Developer Course and Data Science Bootcamp.

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🔗 Live Demo
Experience Liquiboxes in action: Liquiboxes Demo

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🤝 Contributing
We welcome contributions! Make a pull request without a doubt!