Craigslist alerts not working?

Craigslist search alerts are emails, and they fail the way emails fail: the alert was never actually switched on, the search has no new results so nothing is sent, Craigslist's timing is slow for broad searches, or the message is sitting in spam. Here is Craigslist's own description of how alerts work, the checklist in order, and the way to get a buzz on your phone when a Craigslist listing is posted instead of in an inbox you check twice a day.

How Craigslist alerts actually work

From Craigslist's help page, read October 26, 2026:

• Search alerts are emails sent automatically when a saved search has new results.
• You turn one on by logging in, opening the searches tab of your account, and ticking the box in the alert column. You get a welcome email when it is on.
• Timing depends on how many results the previous alert had: "Fewer results will cause more frequent searches." A tight search is checked more often than a broad one. There is no setting.
• Each email shows at most 20 results, newest first, and includes renewed, reposted and edited posts, not only new ones.
• A search containing "&" only searches the text before the symbol.
• To stop an alert: unsubscribe from the email, untick the alert column, or delete the saved search.

Source: craigslist, Search Alerts.

The checklist

1. Is the alert ticked? Saving a search does not turn on the alert. Log in at accounts.craigslist.org, open searches, and look for the tick in the alert column next to that search. Did you get the welcome email? If not, it was never on.
2. Is the search producing new results? Run it by hand. No new posts, no email. A search with a typo, the wrong city, or a filter that excludes everything sends nothing forever.
3. Spam and filters. Search your mail for "craigslist". Add the sender to your contacts. Gmail's Promotions tab swallows them too.
4. Which email? Alerts go to the address on the Craigslist account, which may not be the one you check.
5. Too broad? Craigslist checks broad searches less often. Narrow the search (a model instead of a category, a price range) and the alerts come more often.
6. The "&" problem. "bike & rack" searches "bike". Use Craigslist's search operators instead.
7. Renewals. If the "new" results are the same posts renewed, the alert is working; the seller is reposting.

What a working Craigslist alert gives you

An email, with up to 20 results, on a schedule Craigslist decides, that you see when you next open your mail. For the free section and slow-moving items that is fine. For the Milwaukee kit that sells in an hour, the email arrives to tell you what you missed. There is no push notification, no text, and no way to speed it up.

Deal Scanner watches Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace and OfferUp for a search you set, on our servers, around the clock, and buzzes your phone when a listing is posted, with the time we found it on every alert. You type your town; it picks the Craigslist area and applies the radius you choose. A low price limit and a relevance filter keep the junk out, and a Deal Score on each find says how far under the typical price near you it sits. No Craigslist account needed. $3.99 a month for three searches, cancel anytime. Full details on Craigslist alerts.

FAQ

Why am I not getting Craigslist search alert emails?

The alert column is not ticked on the searches tab of your account, the search has no new results, the emails are in spam or Promotions, or they are going to a different address than the one you check. Craigslist also checks broad searches less often.

How often does Craigslist send search alerts?

There is no fixed timer. Craigslist says the frequency depends on how many results the last alert had: fewer results, more frequent checks.

Can I get Craigslist alerts as a text or push notification?

Not from Craigslist; alerts are email only. Deal Scanner sends a push notification to your phone when a Craigslist listing matches your search.

Why does my Craigslist alert keep sending the same posts?

Alerts include renewed, reposted and edited posts. The seller is renewing the listing.

How do I turn off a Craigslist alert?

Click unsubscribe at the bottom of the alert email, untick the alert column on your searches tab, or delete the saved search.

Sources checked

craigslist, "Search Alerts" help page. Checked October 26, 2026.