Craigslist automatic relisting

Why doesn’t Craigslist allow you to automatically relist an item? The current system simply removes your item from the site seven days after you post it. You’re never informed that the item is about to expire, nor are you told when it’s ultimately removed. I sell a lot of stuff on Craigslist (mostly to circumvent eBay + PayPal fees)1, and on more than one occasion I’ve failed to remember that I had an item on the system until days after it had been removed. The worst part is that if after it’s been removed, you let too much time slide, the link sent to you by Craigslist to edit/delete the item will no longer work and you will have to rewrite your description from scratch.

Why can’t Craigslist simply let me know by e-mail that my item is about to be removed and provide a link that I can use to extend the life of the listing (not unlike the link it sends me right after I initially list something)? Everyone wins. I know, I know, you get what you pay for, but…

It doesn’t hurt that I live in Silicon Valley where there’s always someone who wants to buy the techie things I’m selling; were I in any other section of the country it’s doubtful that I would (or could) rely so heavily on the service. In other news, I can’t believe I actually put this in a footnote. ↩