How Often Can I Post on Craigslist?
By Aaron Charles
Craigslist staff want you to get the most out of the classified ad site, but not so much that you overpost and look like a spammer. The rules on how often you can post depends on whether you're posting a free or paid ad, such as job postings or ads for therapeutic services, which all cost money.
Free
Most free posts stay active on Craigslist for seven or 30 days, depending on the ad type and your location, so there's no need to repost a free ad while it's active. Free job postings stay active for 45 days. But in order to keep your ad "fresh" and toward the top of the most recent listings, you can renew your ad -- which is different than reposting it -- once 48 hours have passed since your initial posting or your last renewal. After seven, 30 or 45 days have passed since your initial posting, you'll have to post a new ad, depending on your ad type and location.
Paid
If you're posting a paid ad, you cannot simply renew the ad like you can for free ads. You can, however, repost the paid ad either after the initial post expires, or create a duplicate post while the original's still active. Craigslist does not limit the number of times you repost a paid ad. But each time you repost, you'll be charged the same amount it cost you to post the initial ad -- a natural way to deter spammers or anyone from overposting. All paid job postings expire after 30 days; ads for therapeutic services expire after seven days.
Consequences
If Craigslist staff think they detect overposting or other spamming behavior in your Craigslist activity, they may prevent you from posting or renewing a certain ad. They also have been known to "ghost" an ad. This happens when a free ad you post or renew appears to duplicate other ads, and therefore looks like spam. The ad is then "ghosted," or barred from actually going live on the site, even though all other indications say that the ad is indeed live.
Tips
To fix a ghosting problem, or if you want to be extra-careful to prevent ghosting, take a few simple steps. First, if you've already posted an ad that you think has been ghosted, delete that ad. Then delete any Craigslist cookies from your computer. And finally, post a new ad. Follow this procedure, too, if you simply want to prevent any chance that your free ad will be ghosted after renewing it. In this case, you won't be renewing the free ad, but deleting it and posting a new ad.
References
Writer Bio
Aaron Charles began writing about "pragmatic art" in 2006 for an online arts journal based in Minneapolis, Minn. After working for telecom giant Comcast and traveling to Oregon, he's written business and technology articles for both online and print publications, including Salon.com and "The Portland Upside."