Ads flagged on Craigslist?

[SuburbanHomesteader]

I posted some ads on Craigslist this weekend - same ad posted to several cities within driving distance. Logged back in to update what was available and found that most of the ads have been "flagged" and thus removed. Seems that anyone can flag an ad as inappropriate and there is no means for appeal.

I haven't done anything different than what I've been doing for years. I sell meat rabbits and it says so in the ad - don't know if AR folks are doing it but rather doubt it since it's being done in several cities.

Anybody else have this problem?

SEE UPDATE BELOW>>>>

 

[arachyd]

It's the AR folks, usually. Here are some tips: Don't put meat rabbits in the ad. Put them in the farm & garden section. Don't post in the pet section unless you state there is a 'rehoming fee' (they will flag because anyone wanting snake food might answer your ad and think a rehoming fee would stop that). Post a pic of the rabbits near something to show size. Meat rabbit people will pick up on that.

 

[SuburbanHomesteader]

I post in the farm section. Just checked and now even my local ad has been deleted.

Our rabbits are NOT advertised as pets - that word isn't in the ad anywhere. I've had essentially the same ad posted for years with no problems. Other ads in the farm section openly advertise meat and pet rabbits and they're still posted. If it's AR people, then they are going to a lot of trouble. <br /><br /> __________ Sun Mar 16, 2014 12:23 pm __________ <br /><br /> UPDATE: Just spend a bunch of time on the Craigslist User's Help Forum. Ouch!

The short version is that the CL rules say you are limited to one ad per item at a time and then only for your local area. You may not post to multiple cities. Also, I was informed that since I sold 1) more than one or two rabbits, or 2) sold rabbits more than once every year or so, I was considered a dealer, and therefore posting as an "owner" in the farm section was a no-no.

It seems that CL had a software upgrade and that the system now does a lot more policing of the ads and will automatically delete anything it thinks violates the rules.

For years, I had resisted posting on CL because of the sex ads and murders and other stuff. Finally, one day I caved in and was surprised at the number of sales that resulted, so I've been using it for a couple of years now. The "users help forum" is a user-helping-user kind of thing - similar to Rabbit Talk. One glaring exception being the attitude of those folks offering "help". (I even got lectured about selling rabbits for meat.) People are much nicer here.

Not sure what I'm going to do. I am sure I'll be looking for another / different online selling option.

 

[ckcs]

It is so ridiculous. More than 2 rabbits or more than once a year makes you a dealer, good grief. For the most part I couldn't sell my rabbits without craigslist

 

[JohnMc]

My first question would be -- what's wrong with posting as a dealer? Yes its nuts considering the section in CL, but if its what is needed to post your ads its probably the way to go.

CL has had the multi city restriction from day one. No surprise there. Now there is a way around it. Use multiple email accounts. I won't but I know people who do to get around that restriction.

 

[akane]

See if hoobly.com is popular in your area. Also check your local arba and breed specific groups(if you aren't breeding complete mutts) for free classifieds or yahoo groups that will help you sell to other rabbit breeders. There are also some yahoo groups for helping people find raw diets for their dogs and cats. You can post as a distributor there.

I only use cl for the odd animal that doesn't sell otherwise. When I'm marking something down considerably for some fault and only have 3 or less animals. I do change the city I post to so no one catches on that I'm posting several times a year for the same species but I don't post in multiple cities anymore. Occasionally I do a very vague post of just I have acquired extra of x animal and either for sale in the farm section or rehoming in the pet section. I don't say much about them at all. I leave that up to email so there's nothing in the ad to flag.

 

[SuburbanHomesteader]

I never knew about the "local posting only" restriction. Heck, it let me post to multiple cities and I've done it for quite some time so didn't think anything of it. I was more concerned about violating the rules about selling pets. If I can only post in one city, so be it. Less for me to manage.

As for posting as a "dealer", I can do that - I don't care. (But then, I don't understand why they should care, either.) Would have been nice to have them explain what difference it made. Instead, I just got a heavy dose of attitude.

Right now, I don't have any ads on CL. They've all been deleted. Will wait another week or so and try it again. Hopefully, I'll still be able to use it.

 

[cmfarm]

I know about the rules but do it anyways. I sell a lot of chicks and have people drive 2 to 3 hours to pick them up, because a lot of people don't want them shipped and can't find them locally. Sometimes the adds get removed but most of the time not. I just word the title a little differently on each post.

 

[akane]

In Iowa local means you are this side or that side of des moines lol Everything requires several hours of driving. If we are going on a trip or visiting my husband's family a lot over the next month I will post to a bigger town in that area instead and then delete it and repost closer to home if I didn't get everything sold.