The advert type, category, situation and location become fixed as soon as you submit the advert for review. From that point onwards, these four basic details can no longer be changed through the standard advert management functions.
This restriction applies from the moment you submit the advert for review. It does not, therefore, only come into effect once the advert has been published and is displayed as ‘Active’. You should therefore check all the details thoroughly before submitting the advert.
Which details cannot be changed?
- Advert type: This determines the basic purpose of the advert, for example ‘Lost’, ‘Found’, ‘Give away’, ‘Incidents’, ‘Services’, ‘Marketplace’ or ‘Events’.
- Category: This describes the specific subject matter within the selected advert type.
- Situation: This describes whether, for example, something is being sought, offered, sold, given away, lost or found.
- Location: This assigns the advert to a geographical location. Depending on its content, this may be the place where an item was lost or found, the collection point, the service location or the event venue.
The title, description, images or additional search terms do not alter this technical classification. For example, if you mention a different location or category in the description, the advert will still remain assigned to the originally selected location or category.
Why are these details determined at the time of submission?
Advert type, category, situation and location are not merely descriptive text. They determine where on the platform the advert is classified and which searches and filters may include it.
These basic details are also taken into account when the advert is reviewed. Changing them at a later stage could significantly alter the purpose and classification of the advert that has already been submitted. Therefore, the selection fields must match the title, description, images and the actual purpose of the advert from the outset.
How do I choose the right advert type?
The decisive factor is not just the item in question, but what you hope to achieve with the advert.
A bicycle, for example, can fall under different advert types:
- If you have lost your bicycle, select ‘Lost’.
- If you have found someone else’s bicycle or know where it was found, select ‘Found’.
- If you wish to give your bicycle away free of charge, select ‘Give away’.
- If you wish to sell, buy or swap the bicycle, select ‘Marketplace’.
- If you are looking for or offering a bicycle repair service, select ‘Services’.
- If you are looking for witnesses to an incident involving a bicycle, ‘Incidents’ may be appropriate.
The same keyword can therefore appear in several types of advert. The actual purpose of the advert determines the correct choice.
How do I determine the appropriate category?
The available categories depend on the previously selected advert type. A category you expect to see may therefore be missing if you have selected the wrong advert type.
When selecting a category, check the following:
- What is the main item or service?
- Which category describes this content most accurately?
- Is it about an item or a service provided in connection with it?
- Is the main item, or merely an accessory, the subject of the advert?
- Do several components actually belong to a single set?
- Is there a more specific category than ‘Other’?
Do not select a category that is only roughly appropriate or one that is particularly popular simply to gain additional reach. An incorrect category may result in the advert appearing in irrelevant search results, not being found by the desired target audience, or being flagged during the review process.
Further guidance is available in How do I choose the right category for my advert on suchen.expert?
How do I choose the right situation?
The situation must describe the actual circumstances. In particular, check who is looking for or offering something and exactly what has happened.
- An item that you yourself have lost does not belong in a ‘found items’ situation.
- If you have not taken an item with you but know where it was found, select the appropriate situation.
- A sales offer must not be classified as ‘Give away’ if payment is required.
- An offer of a service requires a different situation to a request for a service.
- Select a situation for stolen items only if there are specific grounds for doing so. An advert does not replace any report to the police that may be required.
- For ‘Incidents’, it must be clear whether you witnessed something yourself or are looking for people who may have witnessed an incident.
What do I need to check regarding the location and the map marker?
The selected location determines the advert’s geographical classification. It may determine whether the advert is considered in a search using a location or radius filter.
Before submitting, check the following:
- Has the correct town or city been selected?
- Does the location correspond to the actual place where the item was lost or found, the collection point, the service location or the event venue?
- Is the map marker in the correct position?
- Has a recently used or automatically suggested location been selected by mistake?
- Do the location details, title and description all match?
- Is the selected location still correct if you also offer shipping or other handover options?
Adding a list of other town or city names to the description does not replace selecting the correct location. Nor does it guarantee that the advert will appear in search results for those towns or cities.
Do not include any unnecessary private addresses or other personal details in the title or description.
Why is making the correct selection important for search?
The search function on suchen.expert operates within the currently selected advert type. It does not automatically search all advert types simultaneously.
For example, if someone is in the ‘Services’ advert type, the search will include only adverts of that type. An advert from ‘Marketplace’ will not appear in that search even if its title and description contain the same search term.
This means, for example:
- A bicycle listed in the ‘Marketplace’ will not appear in a search within ‘Lost’.
- A gardening service listed under ‘Services’ will not appear in a search within the ‘Marketplace’.
- A found bag will not appear in a search within ‘Lost’.
- An event will not automatically appear in the ‘Incidents’ advert type.
Within the selected advert type, further details can narrow down the results list:
- category
- situation
- location and search radius
- search term
- time period
- other available filters
- the advert’s current status and public availability
An appropriate search term cannot compensate for an incorrectly selected advert type, an incorrect category, an inappropriate situation or an incorrect location. Nor do hashtags or the repeated use of keywords alter the technical classification.
Further explanations can be found in How can I make sure my advert is easy to find in the search results? Can I use hashtags or keywords? and What can I do if I can’t find my advert in the search results?
What should I check immediately before submitting?
Compare the four basic details with the full content of the advert:
- Does the advert type match the actual main purpose?
- Does the category describe the main item or service?
- Does the situation accurately reflect the actual circumstances?
- Is the location correct?
- Is the map pin positioned correctly?
- Do the title and description match the advert type, category, situation and location?
- Do the images show the same item, service or event?
- Do the price, reward, dates and availability match the selected purpose?
- Have details been accidentally carried over from a previous advert?
- Is there already an advert with the same or almost the same content?
- Are all the details up to date, truthful and consistent?
As long as you have not yet submitted the advert, you can go back in the creation form and correct your selections. Do not submit it until the advert type, category, situation and location have been firmly decided.
Which details can potentially be edited later?
Depending on the status of the advert and the management functions available at the time, other content may still be editable. This may include, for example:
- title
- description
- price or reward
- images
- availability
- dates or other time-dependent details
- other detail fields enabled in the edit form
The functions and fields actually displayed for the advert in question are always decisive. Not every field can be edited in every status.
A change may require a further review. After saving, check the current status under My Adverts.
Use editable fields to correct or update the existing content. Do not replace the item, service or purpose originally described in the advert with something substantially different.
What should I do if there is an error in the title, description, price or images?
If the error relates solely to an editable field, use the edit function provided for the existing advert where possible.
When doing so, check the entire advert:
- Correct the incorrect content in full.
- Remove any inconsistencies between the title, description, price and images.
- Update any details that are no longer accurate.
- Do not change the actual purpose of the advert.
- After saving, check which status section the advert is displayed in.
Do not create a second advert simply because of a text, price or image error if the existing entry can be corrected.
What should I do if the advert type, category, situation or location is incorrect?
If the advert has already been submitted for review, these four basic details can no longer be changed. A note in the title or description will not correct the incorrect technical classification.
In this case, proceed as follows:
- Open ‘My Adverts’ and check the actual status of the incorrect advert.
- Check whether it is listed as ‘Pending’, ‘Rejected’, ‘Active’, ‘Deactivated’ or ‘Archived’.
- Save any text and images you need off the platform before deleting the advert.
- Double-check that the values for advert type, category, situation and location are correct.
- Remove the incorrect advert using the delete function provided if it is no longer required.
- Then create a new advert with the correct basic details under Place an advert.
- Check the new version thoroughly before submitting it for review.
An advert that has been permanently deleted cannot be restored or reactivated through standard advert management. The newly created advert goes through the publication process again.
Before deleting, read the guidance in How do I delete my advert? The process for creating it again is explained in How can I recreate and republish a deleted advert?
What happens if an advert is rejected?
A rejected advert should not automatically be replaced by a new copy. First, read the reason for rejection displayed.
- If the rejection relates to the title, description, price, images or other editable details, correct the existing entry where possible and resubmit it.
- If the rejection relates to an incorrect advert type, category, situation or location, you may need to create a new advert with the correct basic details.
- If the item, service or content itself is not permitted, the problem cannot be resolved by changing the category or wording.
- If the reason for rejection is unclear or a required function is missing, contact support.
Do not attempt to circumvent a rejection by submitting multiple slightly altered copies, artificially altered images or an inappropriate category.
Further guidance is available in How do I edit a rejected advert and resubmit it?
How do I avoid parallel or duplicate adverts?
Before creating a new advert, check whether an identical or nearly identical one already exists.
To do this, check all relevant sections under ‘My Adverts’:
- ‘Active’
- ‘Pending’
- ‘Rejected’
- ‘Deactivated’
- ‘Archived’
An advert has not been deleted simply because it is not publicly visible or does not appear under ‘Active’.
Avoid:
- creating a second version whilst the first advert is still being reviewed,
- identical adverts across multiple advert types or categories,
- multiple versions with only slightly altered titles,
- the same images in several almost identical adverts,
- repeatedly deleting and re-posting to increase visibility,
- a new copy, even though the existing advert can be edited, activated or republished.
Identical adverts running in parallel can make search results confusing, confuse interested users and falsely make the same item appear to be available more than once.
If a new advert is genuinely required because fixed basic details are incorrect, make sure the incorrect version does not remain active in parallel or get resubmitted.
When should I contact support?
Use the contact form if:
- you are unsure which advert type, category or situation applies,
- an expected category cannot be found within the correct advert type,
- you cannot clearly determine the status of an advert,
- a required editing, deactivation or deletion function is not technically available,
- an error message appears when saving, deleting or resubmitting,
- a booked additional service might be affected by deletion or re-creation,
- no clear reason for rejection is displayed,
- an active advert cannot be found despite searching within the correct advert type and despite the filters having been checked,
- the displayed status does not match the steps previously carried out.
Please provide support with the following information where possible:
- advert ID
- exact title
- current status
- selected advert type
- selected category and situation
- selected location
- brief description of the problem
- desired correct classification
- time the problem occurred
- wording of any error message
- a redacted screenshot, where applicable
Do not send passwords, one-time codes, session cookies or full activation and reset links. Remove or obscure any unnecessary personal data from screenshots.
Support can investigate the issue and any possible technical causes. However, do not assume that unchangeable basic details can be manually altered retrospectively, that deleted adverts can be reliably restored, or that newly created adverts will be automatically approved.
Final check
Before you submit the advert for review, check the following once more:
- correct advert type
- appropriate category
- correct situation
- correct location and map marker
- consistency between title, description and images
- up-to-date price, reward, date and availability details
- no duplicate or nearly identical adverts
When you submit an advert for review, its advert type, category, situation and location become fixed. Checking them carefully beforehand prevents incorrect classification, unnecessary recreation and problems with discoverability.
