Classifields - General
All about free ads
You are able to submit a FREE ad to over 90% of the categories on Cracker.
The following categories allow for free ads:
- biz.trade.service/Businesses - Hire/sell, Office/art/entertain, Building/repairs, Outdoor/garden & Cleaning/moving
- stuff for sale/For sale - Pets/animals, Computer/Entertain, Sports/leisure, Tickets, Clothing/accessories, Household/furniture, Antiques/collectables & Kids' stuff
- community/Community - Classes/courses, Events/gigs/nightlife, Artists/musicians, Rave/recommend, Lost/found & Thank you
- bargains/Bargains - Garage sales, Auctions, (Flea) markets, Barter/swap, Free stuff & Stuff wanted
- contact.personals/Personals - Friendship/platonic, Relationship/romance, Looking for & Sport/travel/activity
- erotic/Erotic - Toys/accessories, Websites/movies, Escort/adult & Casual encounters/nsa
- cars.bikes.boats/Cars - Used cars, bikes etc & Parts & accessories
- house.unit for rent/Houses for rent - Wanted, Swap & Parking/storage
- house.unit for share/Share accom - Wanted & Offered
- jobs/Jobs - Part-time/evening/weekend jobs & Work wanted/resumes
That's right; you can place an absolutely free ad in any of the above categories. That's free as in you pay zip, zero, zilch monies for your ad!
Free ads run for 28 days; during this time you can edit the ad as much as you want, upload various images and videos to it and of course you can also upgrade it to a premium listing.
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All about non-free (premium and paid for) ads.
In addition to offering free ads, we also offer both premium ads and paid for ads.
Premium ads are ads placed via the Cracker site that appear above the free ads within the same category. They cost from $10 each (the cost varies from category to category and even within some categories). You can place a premium ad in any category in which we allow for free ads. If you have an existing free ad, you can upgrade it to a premium (for the cost of a premium ad in that category) and it’ll then run for the next 28 days as a premium ad.
Paid for ads are different to both free and premium ads in that you can’t place these ads via Cracker. The following categories are our paid for ad categories:
- Jobs - Trades/technology, Hospitality/tourism, Legal/finance, Sales/realty, Media/PR, Admin & cust serv., Teaching/nursing, Manufacturing/mining
- Real Estate - all For Sale (residential, office & commercial), all For Rent (residential, office & commercial)
Cracker paid ads work very simply - if you've got an ad for any of the above paid categories, we'll send you to MyCareer.com.au (for jobs) or Domain.com.au (for real estate). Once you have placed your job or real estate ad, it’ll be displayed on both MyCareer/Domain as well as Cracker at no extra cost! You get two classifieds ads - on two different websites - for the price of one.
Also, if you have placed an ad on Drive (Cars) or within Domain’s Share Accommodation section, your ad will also appear on Cracker, the same as the above - but we also allow for free ads in these sections ;-).
For the costs and details on placing these ads, we recommend you contact either MyCareer (
www.mycareer.com.au) or Domain (
www.domain.com.au). If you have an existing ad on either of these sites, you’ll only be able to edit or remove it via that site as well, not via Cracker. Any changes you make to your paid-for ad can take up to 48 hours before showing on Cracker.
(FYI, we don't make a profit from this arrangement - MyCareer and Domain simply help pay for our survival. It's a 'you-scratch-my-back' kind of deal.)
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Can I place my ad across multiple locations and categories simultaneously?
No, please choose only one category and location for your ad.
If you are advertising a Computer business, then place your ad only within the Businesses>Computers category. If you are located in Darwin, then only advertise in Darwin.
Remember: One ad, one category, one location only!
Cracker is all about local ads for local communities. We understand you want maximum exposure for your ad, but there are other ways of achieving that without flooding the site with your ads. In fact, we consider such practices as a form of spam and remove any ads we find doing so. In addition to spamming our site (which we don’t look kindly upon) it’s also unfair on our advertisers who are playing by the rules. If you keep plaguing the site with numerous ad then we may ban your access.
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How often can I place an ad?
You may place ads on Cracker as often as you like - however every ad must be unique and separate. We do NOT allow users to place the same ad (or even a very similar one) in more than one category or one city.
If you try to submit an ad that is very similar to an existing one, your ad will not be processed. Removing the existing ad first will allow you to place the new ad.
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There are so many ads on this site. How do I get mine noticed?
Be funny and outrageous. Attach an image or video. Basically, try anything to grab people's attention.
Remember that all Cracker users can vote on the quality of your ad using our star rating. So the better your ad is, the more likely it will be given a 5 out of 5 stars, naturally enough an ad with a 5 star rating sounds better than an ad with only 1 or 2 stars.
Another technique to increase your free ad's prominence is to delete your ad daily (yes, that's right), then re-submit it again immediately. This will move your ad up in the list. (The most-recently submitted ads appear at the top.) It's a pain in the butt to do it daily - but it will get results if you want your ad to stand out. (When re-submitting, make sure you have deleted the existing ad first – otherwise we might see you as spamming the site)
Note: Whatever you do, don't submit your ad in multiple spots at the same time (eg, the same ad in Sydney, Melbourne or Adelaide). It annoys the hell out of our users and your ads will get deleted.
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Why can't I place a mobile number in my ad?
Unfortunately not all users on Cracker are top notch true blue genuine advertisers like you and occasionally we get fraud, fake and prank ads being placed. As an added security measure against these lowlifes, we don’t allow for mobile numbers to be included within the body of ads. When creating your ad, if our system detects a mobile number in your ad, it will not allow for your ad to be placed.
Of course we do allow for your mobile number to be displayed along with your ad; however it’ll need to be validated first. To validate your mobile number, select the 'manage my mobiles' option within your profile page. Here you'll have the option to add new numbers to your profile via the 'add new mobile' button. Once you have entered in a new number, a text will be sent to it containing a unique validation code. Once you have the text, log back into your profile page and select the validate option next to the appropriate mobile number, enter in the code and you're good to go ahead and use that number with your ads.
We also require all email addresses you use to be confirmed as well. In this case, an email is sent to the address entered containing a confirmation link. Just click the link and your address will be confirmed and available for use.
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Can I add media (images or video) to my ad?
Yes, and it's a smart move – images and videos absolutely draw attention to your ad.
To include an image just follow these steps:
When placing your ad you'll have the option to include an item from either your bucket (not sure what your bucket is? Check out
General help section), upload a new item to your bucket or to include a reference to an external site. Once you have made your selection, the media item will be included with your ad. When uploading images, you have the option to select an image to be the main image; this is the image that displays on the search results page after a search is conducted.
If uploading an image, ensure that the image is no bigger than 2MB and saved as either a JPG, GIF, JPEG or PNG file type.
If uploading a video, it'll need to also no larger than 2MB and saved as one of the following file types: AVI, WMV, MPG or MPEG.
Ensure that the media is relevant to your ad context and it complies with our
Terms and Conditions.
If your media is within the required specifications and you are still having issues with uploading or including it on your ads, contact us at video@cracker.com.au.
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I know HTML - can I use it in my ad?
No, Cracker doesn't let you use HTML in ads.
Even if you know how to <b>
bold</b> or <i>
italicise</i> your text, save yourself the effort - it won't work.
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How do I manage my Ads?
To manage all your pending, active and recently expired ads from a single page simply login to your profile page. On your profile page you have full access to editing, removing, upgrading, re-publishing any ads you have placed on Cracker. Just login to access your profile page.
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I edited my ad but I can't see the changes
Patience is a virtue, as the saying goes.
It can take a little time for the changes you made to your ad to be reflected on Cracker, so if the changes are apparent immediately, leave it for 15 minutes and check again. If the changes haven’t gone through by then, try deleting the cache on your browser and forcing the browser to reload/refresh the page, you can normally do this by holding Control (Ctrl) and pressing the F5 key. If you made changes to your MyCareer or Domain ad and they aren't yet showing on Cracker, just remember any changes to those ads can take up to 48 hours before showing on Cracker.
If that doesn't work, then the problem be with your ISP. Please check with them first (and make sure you did in fact save your changes properly) before contacting us.
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I edited my ad but the date stayed the same
That's right. We do this to keep the ads on our site fresh and current. All ads will show the date they were originally submitted. There are a few exceptions to this rule though:
If you upgrade an active or expired free ad to a premium ad, the date on the premium ad will display as the date the upgrade occurred (when payment was made),
If you renew a premium ad, the date on the new ad will display as the date it was renewed
We display our ads according to when they were published, with the most recent ads always appearing before older ads. If you have a free ad, you can always remove it and then republish it to get it at the top of its category.
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How long before my ad is taken off Cracker?
All Cracker classifieds expires 28 days after first being published. This is because our users want ads to be up-to-date.
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Where's my ad? I can't find it.
Lost your free or premium ad?
To find your ad, just login to your profile page and all the details of your ad (plus its category location and region) will be displayed.
If you've checked here and you can't find it and there are no problems with your internet browser or ISP, then your ad may have expired (remember ads only run for 28 days) or been flagged and deleted by other Cracker users. If it was a premium ad, then we will have likely contacted you before removing it.
Note: Free ads take approximately 15 minutes to register in our search engine.
Lost your paid-for (MyCareer or Domain) ad?
Once your ad appears on Jobs @ MyCareer or Real Estate with Domain, it may take up to 48 hours before your ad content is published live to Cracker. Changes to MyCareer and Domain are sent through to us nightly and are then uploaded onto Cracker.
If your ad is no longer on Cracker, then it may have been removed from either MyCareer or Domain? Ads on MyCareer and Domain don't run for the same period of time that ads placed via Cracker do, so the 28 day ad life we give Crackers doesn't apply here. Ensure first that your ad is still in fact on either MyCareer or Domain before contacting us.
Note: Paid ads take approximately 30 minutes to register in our search engine.
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My ad was deleted. WTF?
There are several reasons why your ad may no longer display:
- It may have expired - all ads die 28 days after first being published.
- It may have been deleted - or moved to a different ad category - if your ad was heavily flagged by other users.
- Yours ads were reported to us to be across various categories and regions. We consider this as a form of spam and any spam found on Cracker is deleted.
- We found you to have various accounts all posting identical and near identical ads.
Note: If a large number of Cracker users flag your ad inappropriate then we may recategorise your ad or remove it entirely.
Contact us if you feel you've hard done by. If you really feel that your ad adheres to our Ad Guidelines and you can convince us with good reasons why, your ad may be reposted.
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Can I place an ad anonymously?
You bet. When placing your ad, select the
Anonimise my email address (Recommended) option in the Contact details section. This is the default seeting when when you first submit your ad. We will anonymise your email address to the public. When the
Contact now box is filled it, at no time are your contact details displayed, any messages sent will be forwarded through to your actual email address.
Of course you can select to use your email address as well. If you select this option, then your address (and phone number if you have provided one) will be displayed above the
Contact now box.
Tip: We actually recommend you choose the Anonymous Email option - it'll protect your personal email address from any unwanted spammers or web trolls.
If you'd prefer to be contacted by phone (or not at all), choose the Don't show my email address option. If it’s a mobile number you’re supplying, it’ll first need to be verified before we can allow it on Cracker, to verify your number go to our
mobile number verification steps.
And before you ask, we NEVER give your personal email address to anyone (unless legally required). If you receive an email requesting your private email address, please ignore it. It won't be from us.
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Why does Cracker charge money for some ads?
Let's be straight up about this: Most ads on Cracker are FREE. We only charge for a fraction of our total ads - because that's all it takes to pays for the rest of the community's free ads.
A lot of our business advertisers have asked us to offer premium ads: Firstly people selling goods or providing services on an ongoing basis have requested a mechanism to allow them to post an ad and have it run for a long period of time. Secondly some advertisers have requested a mechanism to help them stand out in the busier categories. Thirdly, most things in life aren’t free, including servers, computers, hard drives, databases and the like, bottom line is folks, we have to pay for it some how. Team Cracker has to eat on occasion too.
Don’t forget: All ads are sorted by date, with premium ads appearing before free ads, so as others post newer Premium Ads, your ad may move down the page.
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How to reply to an ad
To reply to an ad via email, you may fill in your details in the
Contact now box appearing on the ad.
If the advertiser has selected to display their contact details (phone number and email address), then you'll see them above this box. If there are no details appearing above the box, it means they have selected the option to keep their details from view, so just fill in the contact now box your message will get to them.
In some cases, the advertiser will select to have no contact details available. In this case, just for other means of contact inside the ad details (such as a phone number, address or a link to another site).
If there are no other contact details, please do not contact us - there is nothing we can do (we can't disclose an advertiser's contact details except in circumstances outlined in our
Privacy Policy.)
Tip: Consider using a web-based email address
To remain anonymous and avoid potential spam, you may like to use a web-based email account with in-built spam filters such as Gmail, Yahoo or Hotmail. This is a useful technique that can help prevent junk mail and disclosure of your identity.
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