Project Overview Advanced Sports Card Monitoring & Arbitrage System - A professional web application that monitors Spanish marketplaces (Vinted, Wallapop) for sports cards and compares prices with eBay to identify profitable arbitrage opportunities. CURRENT PROJECT STATE (90% Complete) ✅ FULLY IMPLEMENTED & WORKING: Core Infrastructure: ✅ Production Server: Deployed on DigitalOcean (Ubuntu 22.04) ✅ Database: MySQL with optimized schema for sports cards ✅ Web Dashboard: Professional Bootstrap 5 interface ✅ API Integration: eBay Production API for price comparison Scraping System: ✅ Real Data Scraping: Live marketplace data from Vinted & Wallapop ✅ VPN Integration: Surfshark VPN support for better success rates ✅ Safe Scraping: SSH-preserving method (no server downtime) ✅ Anti-Detection: Proxy rotation, user-agent rotation, rate limiting ✅ Success Rate: 15-30% without VPN, 70-85% with VPN Business Logic: ✅ Price Comparison: Real-time eBay price matching ✅ Profit Calculation: Automatic arbitrage opportunity detection ✅ ROI Analysis: 50x-250x return potential identification ✅ Sports Focus: Baseball, Basketball, Football, Soccer cards Alert System: ✅ Email Notifications: SMTP integration for opportunities ✅ Threshold Alerts: Configurable profit margin alerts ✅ Real-time Monitoring: Continuous price tracking Dashboard Features: ✅ Card Catalog: Browse all discovered cards ✅ Profit Opportunities: Sorted by potential return ✅ Price History: Track price changes over time ✅ Export Functions: CSV/Excel data export ✅ Mobile Responsive: Works on all devices Technical Features: ✅ Automated Deployment: One-click server setup ✅ Database Management: Automated cleanup & optimization ✅ Error Handling: Robust error recovery ✅ Logging System: Comprehensive activity tracking ✅ Cron Automation: Scheduled scraping & alerts REMAINING WORK (10% - Final Polish) WHAT NEEDS TO BE COMPLETED: 1. Enhanced VPN Stability (Priority: HIGH) Issue: Current VPN integration occasionally causes SSH disconnections Solution Needed: Implement bulletproof VPN rotation without server interruption Impact: Increase scraping success rate from 30% to 85% 2. Advanced Data Parsing (Priority: MEDIUM) Current: Basic HTML parsing with 70% accuracy Needed: Enhanced parsing for card details (condition, year, player) Impact: Better data quality and more accurate profit calculations 3. Performance Optimization (Priority: MEDIUM) Current: Processes 50-100 cards per session Needed: Scale to 500+ cards per session Impact: More opportunities discovered 4. Final Testing & Documentation (Priority: LOW) Needed: Comprehensive testing across all features Needed: Client handover documentation FINAL VERSION SPECIFICATIONS WHAT THE COMPLETED SYSTEM WILL DELIVER: Business Results: Daily Opportunities: 20-50 profitable arbitrage opportunities Profit Margins: €10-€500+ per card opportunity ROI Potential: 50x-250x returns on investment Market Coverage: 100% of Spanish sports card listings Success Rate: 85%+ data retrieval with VPN Technical Capabilities: Real-time Monitoring: 24/7 automated marketplace scanning Instant Alerts: Email notifications within 5 minutes of opportunity Professional Dashboard: Client-ready web interface Scalable Architecture: Handle 1000+ cards per day Zero Downtime: Bulletproof VPN integration Production Ready: Fully deployed and automated Client Benefits: Passive Income: Automated opportunity discovery Competitive Edge: First to market on new listings Risk Reduction: Data-driven investment decisions Time Savings: No manual marketplace monitoring Professional Tools: Export data, track performance Enterprise Features: Secure Deployment: Production-grade security Automated Backups: Data protection Performance Monitoring: System health tracking Client Support: Comprehensive documentation Maintenance: Automated system updates PROJECT INVESTMENT & RETURNS Development Investment: €200 (one-time) Monthly Operating: €20 (server + VPN) Expected Monthly Profit: €1,000-€5,000+ (based on arbitrage opportunities) ROI Timeline: 1-2 weeks to break even FREELANCER REQUIREMENTS Looking for an experienced developer to complete the final 10%: Required Skills: ✅ PHP/MySQL: Advanced level ✅ Web Scraping: Anti-detection techniques ✅ VPN Integration: OpenVPN/Surfshark experience ✅ Server Management: Linux/Ubuntu deployment ✅ API Integration: eBay API experience preferred Project Details: Timeline: 1 day (4-8 hours total work) Budget: $50-70 (negotiable based on experience) Delivery: Fully functional, production-ready system Support: 1 week post-delivery support included What You'll Receive: ✅ Complete Codebase: 90% finished, well-documented ✅ Server Access: DigitalOcean production environment ✅ API Credentials: eBay Production API access ✅ VPN Account: Surfshark subscription provided ✅ Documentation: Comprehensive setup guides SUCCESS CRITERIA The project will be considered complete when: ✅ VPN Integration: 85%+ scraping success rate w