FAQ
What does 'Shuk' mean?
The meaning of the word Shuk is a "commercial quarter in a middle-eastern city". The shuk is a place where people congregate to buy and sell, seek advice, and interact with each other. Personal relationships developed in these marketplaces are the foundation of the business environment and belonging to the right community is critical. The Shuk Community Marketplace aims to replicate this social and commercial environment and become the commercial hub of our community. As a seller you can load as many ads as you wish, all for free, and reach the entire community! If you want your ad to stand out from the rest, you can promote it via our Featured Ads option for a small fee. For those looking for a bargain you have come to the right place! Browse through the many pages of relevant and up to date ads in our collection. All our ads are moderated and neatly sorted per category. You can contact the seller over email directly from the ad! Go ahead, participate in the The Shuk Community Marketplace!
Why are non-commercial ads FREE?
The Shuk Community Marketplace is a website created for our community. The Shuk aims to bring the community together so that we can all leverage off the very powerful network that we belong to. In order to ensure that everyone benefits from The Shuk, we intend to keep everything free, for all community members, forever. Go ahead and load as many Ads as you wish, all for free. Note: In order to ensure that The Shuk remains a community based site rather than a Yellow Pages we will be charging businesses a fee once our launch period is over.
What is a Featured Ad?
A Featured Ad ensures that your ad is seen by everyone coming to The Shuk. On the top of the site, under The Shuk's banner, there is a scroller that shows all our Featured Ads. All Featured Ads are included in this promoted scroller. Your Featured Ad will enjoy prominence on our site for 7 days. After 7 days your ad will stay online as a regular ad. This feature is ideal for sellers who want to raise awareness of their ad for urgent sales or big bargains!
How do I Advertise my company on The Shuk?
The Shuk is a community marketplace. Therefore, there must be a mix of commercial and non-commercial content on the site. In order to ensure that the marketplace is not flooded with business ads we charge businesses to post on the site. However, we don't want businesses that are part of the community to be disadvantaged by this business charge, so we have decided to allow all businesses to post for free until the end of our launch campaign. There are three ways to list your business on The Shuk:
1. Post classified ads containing details of services or goods that your company sells.
2. Buy a panel/banner ad that will be displayed on the website. We offer competitive rates and you get exposure to a community that you know. sales@theshuk.co.za for more information.
3. Include your business in our Business Directory which will be launched shortly. Keep checking the site for launch details.
How do I pay for my Featured Listing?
Currently the only method to make payment is via Payfast. You will find the link and instructions on how to pay when you select a Featured Ad when you submit your listing.
How to Protect yourself from Fraud?
The Internet is an easy place to scam people, and as The Shuk community grows, the incentive to try and defraud users is also growing. The Shuk does not guarantee or take responsibility for any user who posts on the site, and we have no way of knowing whether any post is legitimate or not. The golden rule is trust your instincts. If you get a bad feeling from someone, don't give him money without first making sure that the product or service is what you expect. It is better to walk away from a good deal than having to deal with a case of fraud. We're always looking to find ways to block scammers from posting. If you have been scammed please do the community a favour and email us at fraud@theshuk.co.za. Your action will make the power of the community even stronger. The Shuk and its moderators take no responsibility for any damages related to frauds of any sort.
Why doesn't my advert show on the site immediately?
Posts to The Shuk must be approved by a moderator before they appear on the site. That can take up to a few hours. If more than 12 hours have passed since you posted your message (except on Saturdays and holidays, when we don't moderate as regularly), your message may not have gone through. Please feel free to repost it. Once your advert has been moderated and accepted onto the site you will receive an email informing you that it has been posted. If your post has been rejected, you will receive a rejection email informing you that the post has been rejected, and the reason for the rejection. We will not reject a posting without informing the user.
