Here's the list of most frequently asked questions. Click a question to see the answer:
The Basics
To place an ad or respond to an ad via the CONTACT SELLER link you must REGISTER for a free account.
The only personal information we ask from you during registration is your email address. We don't spam our members or sell or lease our membership list. For convenience's sake, when you register for classifieds, you are also registered to use our online forums. This gives you a single login for Castanet, instead of two separate ones to remember. See our PRIVACY POLICY for more details.
For private individual sales, all ads are free. Pictures are also free with all ads.
Retailers/Merchandise and businesses are not allowed to advertise in our regular classifieds. For them we have a "stores" option. If interested please contact our classifieds staff at classifieds@castanet.net
Depending on the category, there is a minimal charge to highlight your ad. This will also pin it to the top of the category in date order. Please note that all non-paid for ads will appear below the highlighted items.
Merchandise, service, and announcement categories: $5
Wheels, RV, and rentals categories: $10
Real Estate: $20
Real Estate Featured ad: $25 (This will NOT highlight or pin the ad.)
It costs $2.50 to bold your ad in all categories. This does NOT pin it to the top.
All prices are clearly stated at the bottom of ad entry screens.
Get logged into classifieds
• Click on CLASSIFIEDS TAB on our main blue menu bar.
• Click on the PLACE AN AD button on the right side of the page.
• Enter your USERNAME and PASSWORD if you aren't logged on.
• Click on SUBMIT. You should see "login successful."
Place an ad step 1: ad type
• Choose the TYPE OF AD from the drop-down menu under the black arrow.
• Click SUBMIT.
Place an ad step 2: ad category
• Choose the CATEGORY for your ad from the drop-down menu under the black arrow.
• Click SUBMIT.
Place an ad step 3: title, price and description
Enter a title, price, description, length to run and edition. (If you wish to have your ad in more than one edition, you must reenter your ad for each edition). Your ad must have a title to be approved. Price to be entered with no decimals.
For similar type items, please combine into one ad. We try to restrict ads to 5 per person, per category.
Place an ad step 4: images
Click on first BROWSE button. This will be the main picture for your ad. You will be directed to YOUR computer`s file system. Select the picture file from your hard drive and click OK. The filename will now show in the box. Repeat on the other boxes for additional pictures (maximum of six). Pictures should be 8 megabytes, or less, in size each and should be in JPG, PNG or GIF format.
Place an ad step 5: highlighting (optional)
Check appropriate boxes only if you want to pay via PayPal to highlight or bold your ad. PayPal accepts Visa, MC, AMEX and Debit. We do not accept payment through our office.
Click on SUBMIT. Once your ad is uploaded you will see a preview of your ad. Any changes can be made at this point by clicking on the Edit Ad button. Your ad will NOT go on the site until it is approved. This may take several hours.
The seller and buyer assume all risks inherent in a transaction. If you have had difficulty with a buyer or seller, your recourse is to leave feedback on that person on our system and seek redress through the courts.
Anyone can view an ad, but you must have an account to respond to an ad where a phone number or email address is not written in the ad. Why do we do this? Our system protects the seller from getting on a spam list by using our system as a middleman to pass messages through. For buyer's convenience, we advise all sellers to include their phone numbers in ads, but not everyone follows that advice.
To contact a seller:
• Login with your USERNAME and PASSWORD.
• Go to the ad you are interested in.
• Click on the title of the ad to open it.
• Click the CONTACT SELLER link and enter your message.
• Click the SEND MESSAGE button. An email will be sent to the advertiser.
We approve new ads at least three times daily including holidays and weekends.
• Login with your USERNAME and PASSWORD.
• Click on the MY ADS button on the top right of the page.
• Click on the title of the ad you want to change.
• Scroll down to the bottom of the ad. You see a special administrative tool bar.
CANCEL: To cancel an ad, click on the CANCEL link at the bottom of the ad. Your ad will remain in your MY ADS listing but will no longer be visible on the site.
RELIST: To relist an ad, click on RELIST IT. Your ad will automatically go back on the site, bypassing the approval queue and renewing the list date.
EDIT: Click EDIT to edit the ad. Click SUBMIT CHANGES when done. Please allow 24 hours for a Classifieds Moderator to review your ad before it goes on site.
DELETE: To delete an ad forever, such that it never shows up in your MY ADS listing, check the MOVE/DELETE add button. Next, go to the bottom of the ad and check off the "delete this ad" box and click SUBMIT CHANGES. Note that once the ad has been deleted, it is not recoverable by Castanet.
The WATCH-LIST is a feature that allows you to easily return to ads that you are interested in. Think of it like a bookmark for classifieds.
Say you were shopping for a car. You searched through 50 cars, and found five you were interested in. When you were on each of your five favorites you would click ADD TO WATCH-LIST. At any time you can view your watch-list by clicking MY WATCH-LIST in the light blue menu at the top of the screen. Watch-list makes it easier to compare items and find them again in the future.
Common Problems
1. Click on main CLASSIFIEDS tab.
2. Click on LOGIN in top right-hand side corner of screen.
3. Click the appropriate link under the USERNAME and PASSWORD boxes:
• I forgot my password
• I forgot my username
• Resend activation e-mail
The appropriate information will be emailed to you. For new passwords you must click on the password activation link.
If it appears that you have logged in, but you keep getting sent back to the "unlogged in" classifieds page, there is a strong possibility that your browser has been set to not accept cookies. Our classifieds system needs cookies turned on in order to work. (Don't worry, we don't track personal information or sell data used by cookies.) To turn cookies back on in Internet Explorer, click TOOLS, then INTERNET OPTIONS. Click the PRIVACY tab. Move the slider to the MEDIUM HIGH or lower position. Sometimes cookies are blocked by third party security software such as Norton.
If that doesn't work, pleased click the DELETE MY COOKIES link on the login page and try again.
Our site uses cookies to track which edition of classifieds you are using: Kelowna, Vernon, Penticton. If your browser's security settings are set to block cookies, you won't see any ads as our system won't know what edition to show you. To allow cookies in Castanet classifieds, in Internet Explorer do the following:
1. Click TOOLS then INTERNET OPTIONS. Select the SECURITY tab. Click the DEFAULT LEVEL button.
2. Next click the PRIVACY tab, click the DEFAULT button and then click OK.
We typically receive this question from users who have just submitted their first ad, expecting it to show up immediately on the site. All new ads or modified ads must be a approved by the Classifieds Moderator before it shows on site. Chances are the ad has not yet been approved. Let us review your ad and within 24 hours or shorter it will be put on the site.
If you still can't find your ad, are you looking for it in the right edition? Kelowna? Penticton? Vernon? Be sure that your ad, via the MY ADS link, is in the right edition you would like it to appear.
Also note, depending on the category, the number of ads may be substantial. Many users choose to highlight their ad which pins it to the top of a category. Please remember that non-paid for ads are placed below the highlighted ad and then in date order.
In order to use Castanet Classifieds you must verify your email address with us when you register. After your registration, you should receive an email from us within minutes. The email will have a link that you must click on to activate your account. If you didn't receive this email, let us know in your email and we will manually activate your account. Our email address is classifieds@castanet.net
If you are using a webmail email address service like Yahoo, Hotmail, or Gmail, we strongly advise you to add "@castanet.net" to your service's spam filter whitelist before you sign-up. Otherwise, email from potential buyers could be blocked and you may not receive our verfication email to activate your account. Users of ISP accounts or corporate accounts like shaw.ca and telus.net are not affected by this.
You may upload up to six images with your ad. Any one individual picture can't be larger than one megabyte in size. Photos must be in a JPG, GIF, or PNG format. No other photo file type will work.
The file size limitation is in place to save you from having to wait an inordinate amount of time in uploading your ad. To take smaller sized photos, reduce the megapixel setting on your digital camera and shoot again.
If you have repeated trouble with a photo, try renaming the picture's filename before uploading. If the problem still persists, try uploading one picture at a time in the EDIT ad screen.
To change your email address or password, login to classifieds and click PROFILE to change these settings. You'll see a link at the top called Click here to change your password or email address on file.
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