Mi Craigslist (2024)

FAQs

Can I just reply to a Craigslist email? ›

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.

Craigslist is generally designed to target local areas, so this enables you to place your post while most people are actively online. Ideally, publish your post in the morning or during early afternoon hours. Additionally, place the ad on the weekend to increase the ad's overall exposure.

Always use a proxy email address or phone number

Craigslist provides proxy email addresses to sellers, and it's a good idea to use them so browsers can't spam your actual email address.

When you reply directly from Craigslist, your email address will be visible to the recipient. To reply anonymously, you need to create a free Web-based email address, which does not contain identifiable information.

You can reply to any post on Craigslist — just click the "reply" button at the top left of a post, and complete the Captcha puzzle if you're asked to. Some Craigslist listings will offer a phone contact to call or text, though most listings will only offer an email contact.

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.

Make a new ad and repost the information from the old ad. Craigslist doesn't offer an option for you to repost the original listing automatically, hence the need for you to manually redo the ad. Once you have submitted the new ad it will appear at the top of the listings again.

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.

Scammers are getting pretty sneaky and are collecting personal phone numbers through Craigslist Ads. Case in point, when you're placing an ad or responding to an ad, avoid using your personal phone number to communicate with buyers or sellers.

Does Craigslist show my name? ›

Whatever name appears on your emails to other people will be what shows in your response to a Craigslist ad. Your email address will not.

The “buyer” claims to be very interested in your item, but they want to make sure you are legitimate first. The scammer asks for your phone number, so they can text you a verification code. They instruct you to reply with the 6-digit code on the platform where your item is listed.

If the buyer's email fails to make any specific reference to the item you're selling but rather refers to "the item" or uses other generic terms, there is a good chance that the reply to your ad is the work of a scammer copying and pasting replies to as many potential victims as possible.

To reply to a Craigslist post, just click the reply button. To use your device's default email app, select the first link. Otherwise, select the web-based email you use (like Gmail or Yahoo) or copy and paste the email address at the bottom of the window into a new email manually.

Never send payment in advance for a Craigslist item

Sellers should be willing to meet in person and bring the item they are selling. If a seller encourages you to send a down payment or any form of money before receiving your item, this is a strong indication that they are trying to scam buyers.

Craigslist provides a "cover" email address that is forwarded to the recipient's actual email address. Only Craigslist knows the real email addresses of both parties. This way, if one of the people involved turns out to be untrustworthy, they don't have the other person's email address.

To respond to a job listing on Craigslist you must email the poster. You can navigate to the email from the job posting. In your email, you should introduce yourself, express your interest in the job, and briefly touch on the skills, experience, and qualifications that you possess.

Be familiar with Craigslist

Scammers often create lookalike sites to lure buyers into paying for items that don't exist. Always confirm the URL before finalizing a purchase. Craigslist does not back any transaction on its site. If you're offered purchase protection at a price, you're looking at a scam.

While there is no accurate way of tracking views on your Craigslist ads without violating Craigslist's rules, that's totally fine because views are not what you should be worried about anyway.