Saturday, November 21, 2009
The Unofficial Kijiji FAQ
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Here's the first iteration of the Unofficial Kijiji FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions).
Let's call it v0.1, as I just cobbled this together tonight. Additions? Corrections? Whatever, put it in the comments and I'll update the list. Enjoy!
| 1. What is Kijiji? Who owns Kijiji? |
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From a Kijiji.com news release:
Kijiji (www.kijiji.com), which means "village" in Swahili, is eBay's free, safe, family friendly, local classifieds website that makes it easy to buy or sell everything from clothes to cars, find a job, adopt a pet, rent an apartment, and do so much more, right in your own neighborhood. Kijiji is currently available in more than 1,000 cities and countries around the world, and the site launched in 220 cities in the U.S. on June 29, 2007. In addition to the U.S., Kijiji has online communities in Canada, Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Japan and Taiwan. Kijiji is part of a broader eBay Classifieds family including Gumtree, Marktplaats, Mobile.de and Loquo, which extends the reach of eBay Classifieds to more than 20 countries.
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| 2. Is it "ad" or "add"? |
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If you mean "advertisement" you should use "ad". As in, "Kijiji banned my ad for modified Xbox 360 consoles!"
If you mean you're contributing to a mathematical sum, use "add". As in, "posting all this spam will ad to my bad karma." If you say "add" when you mean "ad" you will look stupid. Because you are. And I'm alright with that if you are.
I know "alright" isn't a word. I'm alright with that.
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| 3. I am trying to post and ad and am getting a "thanks for posting" with a red "X". WTF? |
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You're banned, sport. You suck.
Take a comprehensive and honest moral inventory. Are you a good person? Have you sinned? Are you trying to post from outside Canada? Have you been posting too many ads in the wrong categories? Are you posting in bad neighbourhoods? Places that aren't your hometown? Are your ads just in the wrong place? Resumes in jobs, jobs in resumes? Lewd offers of hot sex in "just friends"? If you break the rules, you get cut off. It's just like being married.
Your only option now: try to Contact Kijiji and try to get your account back.
Offer to make amends. Consider making a strike against the enemy (rhymes with Craigslist) or volunteering your time as a floorsweeper at the sprawling Kijiji Central Complex in Nunavut.
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| 4. My ad is being held for 24 hours? WTF?! That's stupid! |
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Oh, get over yourself.
There's so much spam and so many scams that Kijiji eventually had to step in and at least appear to be doing something about it. We are told that a dedicated team of unpaid, possibly untrained and perhaps even illiterate ad screeners may or may not be screening ads during that up-to-24-hour period. Some categories put all ads in 24-hour limbo. Some categories grab them "randomly". And by "randomly" we mean "I don't like the look of those low-slung jeans, you hoodlum," or "that stuff you sell smells vaguely like crime and/or shame". Whining won't help. Pouting won't help. Threatening won't help. If you really, really, really need to sell or buy something absolutely immediately, go to a pawn shop or stand on the street-corner and shout. Kijiji is this way and will be for the foreseeable future.
It may suck, but it's the best we have. Yes, the best we have is suck. Learn to love it!
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| 5. Where's my ad? I paid for it to show up right away! |
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Boy, are you a sucker.
Paying for your ad does not exempt you from the "random" 24-hour hold. If it did, any hump with a fake credit card could buy top ad spots all over the place.
You'll have to wait like the rest of us.
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| 6. Why was my ad deleted? |
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Why are you asking me?! I haven't even seen your ad!
Some items are banned. You can't post them. I know, I know, you're a good person and your mommy loves you. But you can't post that shit. Maybe you posted in the wrong category. Cameras, for example, don't go under 'baby items'. Maybe you posted in too many categories. 'Other' is not the category where you post everything a second time. Maybe you posted in the wrong place. People in Calgary should not have ads in Halifax. People in Toronto don't need to advertise in North Bay. Maybe you posted your ad again without erasing the old version of it. We don't need six versions of your crib for sale, dude. We barely need one.
It's even possible that someone flagged your ad because they don't like the cut of your jib. (What's a jib?) Ads get deleted for no obvious reason sometimes.
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| 7. Why can't I post modded gaming consoles? |
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Because Kijiji says so.
Stop asking.
If you see them, flag them.
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| 8. Can I search nationwide? Why or why not? |
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No, not really. Kijiji is meant for local transactions, like you'd find in a local community newspaper. Searching far away is not what Kijiji is about.
Can it be done? Sort of. You can switch cities and search them individually. When you're searching in a category on Kijiji.ca, you'll find a distance-finder on the right-hand side of the page. You can adjust that to some extent to extend your search. On the results page that comes up after a wider search, look at the end of the resulting URL in your address bar. See if changing the number at the end of the URL extends your search.
"But I'm willing to drive far away!" "I'll pay good money for someone to send this to me!"
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| 9. What should I expect if I post a question on the Discussion Forum, Suggestions & Feedback? |
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It will go like this:
- one community moderator will answer within minutes, telling you that everything's fine, you should know the rules, and you're posting in the wrong place
- another community moderator will answer helpfully, asking for more information in an attempt to find out what the problem really is
- one regular will tell you you're an idiot, stupid!
- another regular will say "+1"
- another regular will write a thoughtful but blunt explanation of why you're an idiot
- yet another regular will post a large graphic that mocks you or shows agreement with the other regulars
- you'll reply and tell people they don't understand, shouldn't be so harsh, and could they please actually help?
- you'll be told again that you're an idiot, stupid, and you should leave if you don't like it
- +1
- read the rules
- stupid
- you'll say you give up, then leave
- the regulars will go one more round of laughing
- you'll go to Craigslist
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| 10. What is Kijiji's phone number? What is Kijiji's Email address? |
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None of your business.
Seriously, there's no customer service telephone number for Kijiji. If you're as obnoxious on the phone as you are in email, who'd want to talk to you anyway? Email? Really? There's be no practical way to sort the spam from the legitimate complaints. Your only hope is to fill out a "Support Ticket" through the Kijiji help page or the Kijiji Contact Us page. It's your only hope but it's far from a sure thing. Frankly, Kijiji is not famous for its customer support. You may not get any resolution. Or you might. You might get a solution but no reply. Or a reply with no solution.
But nobody's going to give you a telephone number.
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| 11. Why is the map address for my add wrong? |
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First of all, it's "ad", not add. You should know that by now.
Secondly, meh, stuff gets screwed up. Everyone knows the map stuff is messed up. They're working on it or something.
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| 12. Can I suggest a new category? |
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Would you even listen if I said no?
Okay, Kijiji says you can say yes:
Yes! Please post your suggestion only in the following thread:
http://forum.kijiji.ca/viewtopic.php?t=6756150
The Kijiji staff monitor this thread and will take the request under consideration. They do not pay attention to one-off new threads requesting new categories- please do not bother creating a new thread for your request.
It may seem like the request will get 'lost' among hundreds of other requests, but this is the best and only place to make such requests.
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| 13. I received a suspicious-looking email. Is it a scam? |
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Yes, it's a scam.
Seriously, it's a scam. No, don't argue with me. It's a scam. Okay, fine, you've convinced me. Maybe it's completely legit. Just don't come whining to me when some Nigerian has emptied out your bank account, stolen your identity and slept with your wife. If you even *suspect* it's a scam, it's probably a scam.
And if it seems like the kind of deal that's so frickin' awesome you have to act on it right away, even if it's NOT LOCAL and NOT IN CASH, then you need to act like an adult and not indulge. No! No touchy! Bad!
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| 14. Kijiji just sent me an email asking me to type in all my user info. Boy, I'm glad I answered it! I'm smart, huh? |
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No, you're a bloody idiot.
It's called phishing. Look it up.
Now go to the real Kijiji and see if you can still log into your account. Can't? Darn. We'll miss you.
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| 15. What's the difference between the categories 'jobs' and 'resumes'? |
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'Jobs' is for employers who are hiring. If you have a job opening and you need to find an employee, post here.
'Resumes' is for people (not companies) looking for work. Have you ever written a resume? Then you understand. If you're job-seeking, post here. Not that it'll do you any good.
'Services' is for companies providing a service. Don't post under 'jobs' or 'resumes' if you're a contractor, babysitter, network installer, prostitute or band.
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| 16. Does Kijiji management know about this blog? |
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Yes, and a little birdy tells me they find it entertaining.
Go to top |
| 17. What is 'ghosting'? |
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I'm not sure. Can you explain?
Go to top |
This post was written by: Gord McCord
Gord McCord, webmaster at You Suck at Kijiji, makes fun of funny things on Kijiji. Do not take him too seriously. Also do not take yourself too seriously. Follow him on Twitter
14 Responses to “The Unofficial Kijiji FAQ”
November 23, 2009 at 4:50 PM
ghosting: a form of identity theft, where by a person takes on the identity of a deceased person.
sounds fun.
November 23, 2009 at 5:23 PM
Thanks, but I think that's a different context. A lot of the spammer-for-hire ads out there re: Kijiji say the spammed ads have to stay live for x number of hours without being ghosted. Insight?
April 30, 2010 at 9:08 AM
I pay for a Kijiji ad in Toronto, my ad gets held for 24 hours and when it gets posted I'm on page 8. Fantastic! Just where I wanted to be! Page 8! Yay! Page 8. OMG I'm so excited.
March 9, 2011 at 3:47 PM
here's is a question for you. My account got banned from Kijiji for some unknown reason by some unknown person and thus could not post ads.
I created a new email address and a new account on one of my friends computer and now can place ads.
When I logged into that account from my old lap top from the coffee shop (different IP address but the same computer I used to use for my old account that got banned) somehow kijiji recognized me and would not allow me to post an ad. I thought "oh no they must have somehow put a cookie or something (virus) on my computer telling them that I was banned"
I went back to my friends house and logged on to the new account again from his computer and it let me post the ad.
Any idea of what they have done? Is it a cookie, virus, or something else they have put on my computer?
Is big brother coming to get me?
March 9, 2011 at 6:58 PM
Good question. And you know what they say -- just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not after you.
I don't know how they'd be on to you, but you *have* gone about this the wrong way.
People don't get banned by nobody for no reason. Sometimes you get banned by somebody for the wrong reason. The way to handle that is to submit a support ticket explaining your situation. Kijiji should then write you back with details of your alleged offense, and you may or may not be able to get reinstated. Just creating a new account may end up getting you *and* your friend banned.
As for how they'd track you -- yep, I'd guess cookies. Virus, naw. That wouldn't be effective, and at the very least would be bad PR and bad karma for the Kijiji folks.
November 7, 2011 at 3:24 PM
Kijiji is unprofessional. Do we not live in the 21st century ? What business has no phone number ? they have no phone number because they don't want to resolve your issue. Esspecially the "Deals" website, they took my money the vendor bailed and now they wont return my messages for a refund. SCAMMERS ! no worries though I will be taking legal action against them and since I am a lawyer it will cost me nothing ! See you soon Kijiji.
August 29, 2012 at 10:42 AM
THEIR ARROGANTS & UNCOMPROMISING ATTITUDE WILL BE THE DEATH SOME DAY! And there wonder why?
SAME GOES FOR FACEBOOK!
September 28, 2012 at 10:57 AM
WOW!!! WHY IS KJIJJI RUNNING AS A BUSINESS THEY SHOULD BE OUT AND FOR THAT GUY THAT WAS TALKING NO SIR YOU ARE NOT MARRIED
WHAT A JOKE
February 20, 2013 at 3:06 PM
Contact Kijiji at 1-416-841-5154
July 11, 2013 at 11:28 AM
Any one know how to retrieve an Ad that I put on Kijiji that I have deleted?
July 30, 2013 at 9:21 PM
Kijiji treats everyone like absolute shit, because they are the biggest game in town. Used to be an ok site when it started, although it was full of porn and lots of other sleaze. Now it's full of ads. They charge car dealers now because it's probably the only income they can get. I hope some smart web designers are working on a classified site that isn't so greedy.
August 19, 2016 at 10:18 AM
lol really you're a "lawyer" and you value your time so low. If your going to make idle threats then at least put some effort into it.
July 31, 2017 at 3:10 AM
Thanks for making this Frequently Asked Questions page. Kijiji is not that bad I guess if you know how to use it. And as far as I know it works pretty good on most of the devices. You can use it on your Laptop, Desktop computer if you want. Browse on your tablet or in your smartphone web browser. Or you can download the official app which is available on both Android and Apple iOS devices. If you have a blackberry smartphone, you can Download an APK File as well. https://www.apkduke.com/kijiji-free-local-classifieds/ is the download URL. Just go to the link given above from your BlacKBerry OS Smartphone and you're good.
August 25, 2020 at 1:33 AM
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