Setting up your Kaarakauppa profile
Your profile details appear next to every listing you publish, and your default location decides where your listings show in buyer searches. A few minutes filling out the profile raises buyer trust and earns more replies.
The profile settings are the same for private-account and business-account users. A business account's own settings (description, locations) live separately in the company dashboard.
1. Open your profile
Sign in and choose Profile from the avatar menu in the top bar. This opens /user/profile, where every account setting lives on the same form: Profile Information, Default location, Profile Picture and Notification preferences.
2. Check your profile information
The Profile Information block has these fields:
- Email — read-only. The email comes from Kaarakauppa's identity service and cannot be changed here.
- Full name — this appears on your listings as the seller name and on your messages as the sender.
- Phone number — optional; shown on your listings so buyers can call.
Use your real, full name. Nicknames or a first name only make serious buyers hesitate.
💡 Tip: Use the name field to enter the same form of your name that appears on your official documents (for example the vehicle registration). When the names match at hand-over, the buyer has no reason to second-guess the deal.
3. Set a default location
In the Default location field, type your postal code or town and pick the right entry from the suggestions. The location is used as the default for your new listings and as the default for your own searches, so the closest results show first.
⚠️ Heads up: A location is required on every listing. If you leave the default empty, you have to fill it in again each time you publish.
4. Upload a profile picture
In the Profile Picture block, click Upload new picture and pick a file. JPG, PNG and GIF are supported, max 5 MB. The picture appears next to your listings and on your messages. You can also remove the current picture with Remove picture — the removal shows immediately in the preview, but it isn't saved until you press Save Changes.
💡 Tip: As a private user, choose a clear face photo or a neutral image that represents you. Avoid logos and pictures of cars — they make the account look generic and harder to recognise.
5. Adjust notification preferences
The Notification preferences block has an Email notifications toggle. When it is on, you get an email when someone messages you on Kaarakauppa or when a saved search has new matches.
Keep it on unless email is disruptive — notifications also appear in the in-app bell when you are signed in.
⚠️ Heads up: Account-security mail (account closure, suspension, company invitations) is always sent regardless of this toggle — those messages are required for account safety.
6. Save your changes
Click the Save Changes button at the bottom of the page. A confirmation toast appears when the save succeeds.
⚠️ Heads up: No field saves on its own — not the name, phone, default location, profile picture, or the
Email notificationstoggle. Flipping the toggle sends nothing right away: it stays pending, and if you leave the page without pressingSave Changes, the change is lost.
Account type
You choose your account type — private or business — the first time you create your account, and it can't change afterwards, which is why the profile page has no account-type setting. A private account and a business account are separate accounts with different email addresses. For the differences, see Private vs business accounts.
What happens next?
Once saved, you can move on to publishing a listing or browsing as a buyer. Your name and picture appear immediately on the next listings and messages you send, and your default location pre-fills when you start a new listing. You can return to edit the details at any time from the same menu.
Read next
- How to create an account — creating an account for the first time
- How to publish a listing — publishing your first listing