Craigslistlong (2024)

FAQs

How long does a $5 Craigslist ad last? ›

General Guidelines. Although there are specific guidelines for how long an ad stays on Craigslist based on the type of ad and posting locale, the service has a list of master guidelines that supersede the others. Under these guidelines, all job postings expire after 30 days for paid ads and 45 days for free ads.

Many of the scams start with a generic inquiry asking if the item is still available or if you are the original owner. The reason for this is to quickly test to see if the seller is responsive. There's generally no mention of the item you're selling or any questions specific to the item.

Click "Reply."

To use your default mail program, click the blue response link at the top. If you use one of the listed webmail services, click the corresponding icon.

Permitted Posts

Craigslist permits you to post one ad in one category and in one city every 48 hours. The city that your ad is posted in should be the city that you live in or the city closest to you.

The $5 fee stops spammers from flooding the website. It forces the users to post an item by delivering value to the buyer. If buyers don't like what they see then the sale wont be made.

Your paid listing can appear for 30 days, compared to the 45-day listing period for free ads. The Craigslist terms of service don't allow free job listings, however, so plan on your listing appearing for the 30-day limit.

Do People Still Use Craigslist? Absolutely. You can search your local area on Craigslist and find used furniture, cars, rentals, and even jobs. However, because so many Craigslist alternatives exist, it is no longer a one-stop shopping powerhouse when it debuted in 1995.

In almost all cases, you are best off accepting cash for a Craigslist sale. Personal checks can bounce, and scammers can fake cashier's checks and money orders.

A Craigslist flag marks Craigslist advertising as inappropriate, and if enough people flag the ad, it will be automatically removed. You can also contact Craigslist about inappropriate content – or recommend posts for Best of Craigslist, a kind of Craigslist Hall of Fame.

Craigslist uses email obfuscation to protect your actual email address from exposure. When you click on the response button in the Craigslist ad, the site generates for you a Craigslist email address. When the other user responds to your message using this address, you receive the message into your real email address.

What happens if you flag a Craigslist email? ›

Free classified ads sufficiently flagged are subject to automated removal. Postings may also be flagged for removal by CL staff or CL automated systems.

Craigslist currently offers a two-way relay email feature that helps lower users' exposure to spam and scams. In most cases, you can send emails to people on Craigslist by replying to their postings.

In any Craigslist transaction, never give out personal or financial information. Always meet in person, bring a friend, and deal in cash or use a secured or proxied form of payment such as PayPal to avoid giving your credit card information to the seller.

Day of the Week

Monday is the best of the remaining days of the week, with views dropping until Friday, which is lowest. AllYou.com prefers Friday and Saturday because they've learned that buyers check what's new on those days.

Posting Drafts

Clicking on the title will bring you to the incomplete draft of your posting. Drafts cannot be deleted. You do not have to complete or pay for a draft of a posting. Drafts that are not accessed will be automatically disappear from the "drafts" tab after 48-72 hours.

Encryption. Craigslist uses TLS encryption to protect the web traffic that travels between your electronic device and Craigslist servers. In the rare case you have to pay for an ad, Craigslist uses SSL encryption to transfer your credit card data to the payment processors.

Too-good-to-be-true prices: If a listing offers an item at a price significantly lower than its market value, proceed with caution. Scammers often use unbelievably low prices as bait.

The authors recommend posting during the employee break time slot of 10 am to noon, or at 5 pm Monday through Friday, when the work day ends for most people. During the weekend, mornings work best.