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Flagged listings and moderation hold

When someone reports an active listing on The Animal Traders, we may temporarily remove it from browse while our moderation team reviews the claim. This page explains that process for listing owners, reporters, and anyone helping a seller manage a listing. For broader safety standards and how to report content, see Moderation & Family Safety.

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What triggers a moderation hold

A moderation hold applies when:
  • A signed-in user submits a Report on a listing that is currently active
  • The report is recorded in our moderation queue with status pending
Reporting a draft, expired, or sold-out listing does not put the listing on hold, because those listings are not publicly browsable in the same way.

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What happens immediately

When an active listing is reported:
  1. The listing is taken down from browse — buyers cannot find it in search, category browse, or other discovery surfaces while the hold is in place.
  2. The listing status changes to Pending review — in Manage, the listing shows a Pending review badge instead of Active.
  3. The listing owner is notified by email — if we have an email address on file for the seller (or the organization owner for org listings), we send a transactional email explaining that the listing is on hold.
  4. Review is queued for platform admins — moderators evaluate the report in the admin Reports queue alongside the reporter’s reason and a snapshot of the listing title.

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What listing owners should expect during a hold

While a listing is on Pending review:
  • It stays hidden from browse while any report on that listing is still pending in the moderation queue, or while an admin has intentionally left it on extended hold after resolving a report with Keep on hold.
  • You can still open Manage for the listing to see its status and review details.
  • You cannot reactivate or change status yourself — only platform admins can clear a moderation hold or take enforcement action. This prevents a reported listing from going back live before review completes.
  • You may receive a follow-up email when an admin dismisses or resolves the report.
If multiple people report the same listing, the hold remains until all pending reports on that listing are closed.

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Email notifications

The Animal Traders may send transactional emails during the report lifecycle: These emails are operational updates about moderation — not marketing. You can manage notification preferences from the link in each email footer.

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How admin review works

Platform admins review reports in the admin console. They can:
  • Open the reported listing (or profile / message context) to evaluate the claim
  • Dismiss the report when it does not violate our policies — this closes the report without moderation action, restores a held listing when appropriate, and credits listing time (see below)
  • Resolve the report as actioned when the claim is upheld or handled — choose whether to reactivate the listing (minor fix), keep it on hold for further review, or cancel it by expiring the listing; admins may also take separate action on the account from the Users admin tools
Review timing depends on queue volume. There is no guaranteed turnaround window, but holds exist so reported content is not publicly visible while review is pending.

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If the report is dismissed (listing restored)

When an admin dismisses a report and no other pending reports remain on that listing:
  1. The listing is restored to the status it had before the hold (typically Active).
  2. Listing time is extended to account for the period the listing was down.
  3. The owner may receive an email summarizing the outcome.

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Listing time credit

If the listing was Active before the hold, we extend its expiration date (expires_at) by at least one full day. If the listing was down longer, we credit one day per full day held, rounded up. Examples:
  • Held for a few hours → at least 1 day added to the listing window
  • Held for 2 days and 4 hours → 3 days added to the listing window
Credit applies to the listing’s active window — it does not create a new paid listing period on its own. If the restored expiration would already be in the past, we set a new window forward from the restore time using the credited days. If the listing was not active before the hold (for example, it was already expired), restoration follows the saved prior status and credit rules may not apply in the same way.

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If the report is upheld or action is taken

When an admin resolves a report as actioned:
  • The report is marked closed in the moderation queue
  • For listing reports, the admin chooses what happens to the listing:
    • Reactivate — put the listing back live (listing time is credited if this was the last pending report on that listing)
    • Keep on hold — leave the listing hidden from browse for further review or seller edits; admins can later reactivate or cancel it from the Reports queue (Extended holds) or Listing Moderation
    • Cancel — remove the listing from the marketplace by expiring it
  • The reporter and/or reported party may receive email when the admin chooses to notify them
Severe or repeated violations can lead to additional restrictions on listings, messaging, or the account. See Moderation & Family Safety for the standards we enforce.

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For people who filed a report

Thank you for helping keep the marketplace safe. After you submit a report:
  • An active listing is automatically hidden pending review — you do not need to follow up for the hold to take effect
  • You may receive an email when an admin dismisses or resolves the report, if the admin chooses to notify you and we have your email on file
  • Dismissing a report means our team did not find a policy violation — it does not mean your report was ignored
You can report a listing from the listing page using Report when you are signed in.
Last modified on July 1, 2026