Listings
Listings are the core of your marketplace. Users create listings to sell items, and other users browse, search, and message about them. Each listing can include photos, a price, a category, a location, and a description.
Creating a listing
Logged-in users can create listings by clicking the Post a listing button (visible on the homepage and listings page) or by navigating to /listings/create.
What users provide
| Field | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Title | Yes | A short title for the listing |
| Description | Yes | Details about the item or service |
| Price | No | The price in dollars (optional — leave blank for "free" or "contact for price") |
| Category | No | Select from your marketplace's categories |
| Location | No | Where the item is located (city, neighborhood, etc.) |
| Photos | No | Photos of the item (20MB each) |
Custom fields
In addition to the default fields above, marketplace admins can create custom fields to collect extra information — like Brand, Condition, Year, or Bedrooms. Public custom fields appear on the listing form alongside the default fields, and may be limited to specific categories.
See Listing fields to create and manage custom fields for your marketplace.
Photos
Users can upload as many photos as they like per listing, with a maximum of 20MB per photo. Photos are displayed in a carousel on the listing detail page, with the first photo used as the listing's thumbnail on cards and grids.
Photo tips for your users
Encourage your users to upload clear, well-lit photos. Listings with photos get more views and messages than those without.
Automatic expiration
When a listing is created, it's automatically set to expire after 30 days. This keeps your marketplace fresh and prevents stale listings from cluttering search results.
See Listing expiration for details.
Viewing a listing
Clicking on any listing card opens the listing detail page, which shows:
- Photo carousel — All photos for the listing, navigable with arrows
- Title and price — The listing title and formatted price
- Category badge — The listing's category (if assigned)
- Location badge — The listing's location (if provided)
- Description — The full listing description
- Custom fields — Any public custom fields the seller filled in (and metadata fields the admin has chosen to display), including embedded YouTube videos for video fields
- Seller card — The seller's avatar, name (linking to their public profile), and bio
- Message form — A text box where logged-in users can send a message to the seller
- Edit button — Visible only to the listing owner
Public seller profiles
Clicking a seller's name or avatar opens their public profile page, which shows their bio and all of their active listings in a grid.
Closed and expired listings
When a listing is closed or expired, a warning notice appears on the detail page and the message form is hidden. Users can still view the listing but cannot message the seller about it.
Editing a listing
The listing owner can edit their listing at any time by clicking the Edit button on the listing detail page or from the My Listings page.
What can be edited
Users can update:
- Title
- Description
- Price
- Category
- Location
- Photos — Add new photos or remove existing ones
Deleting a listing
From the edit page, users can also delete their listing. Deleting a listing:
- Removes all photos associated with the listing
- Removes all conversations and messages about the listing
- Cannot be undone
Deletion is permanent
When a user deletes a listing, all related messages and conversations are also deleted. Users should be certain before deleting.
Closing and reopening a listing
Sometimes a seller wants to take a listing down temporarily — for example, when an item is being picked up or has been sold pending payment. Closing a listing does this without deleting it.
Close
Closing a listing:
- Hides it from the homepage, browse page, and search results
- Blocks new messages from other users about the listing
- Keeps the listing, its photos, and its existing conversations intact
Reopen
A closed listing can be reopened at any time by the seller (or by an admin from the moderation tools). Reopening makes the listing visible and messageable again.
Close vs. delete
Close is reversible and preserves messages. Delete is permanent and removes everything. When in doubt, close first.
My Listings
The My Listings page shows a user all of their own listings in a table, with badges indicating whether each listing is active, closed, or expired.
From this page, users can:
- Edit any of their listings
- Close or reopen any of their listings
- Delete any of their listings
- See at a glance which listings are still active, which have been closed, and which have expired