How to Report a Listing or Seller

Category: Safety Last updated: 2026-07-15

If you come across a listing that looks fraudulent, inappropriate, or otherwise violates Owning's policies, you can report it directly from the listing page. Reports go to our moderation team for review, and listings that violate our rules are removed.

This article walks you through the reporting process step by step — on the web and via the API.

Before you report

Reporting is for listings that violate Owning's policies or appear unsafe. Before you report, consider whether the issue is:

• A policy violation — prohibited items, scam patterns, inappropriate content, duplicate listings, illegal goods. These should be reported.
• A minor inaccuracy — a typo, wrong category, or slightly off price. These don't need a report; you can mention it to the seller via "Contact seller."
• A personal dispute — a disagreement with a seller about price or terms. Reporting is for policy violations, not transaction disagreements.

If you're unsure, it's better to report than to ignore a genuinely suspicious listing. Our moderation team reviews every report.

What you can report

You can report any active listing for the following reasons:

Reason	When to use it
Spam or duplicate	The listing is spam, irrelevant content, or a duplicate of another listing
Scam or fraud	The listing appears to be a scam — fake item, phishing attempt, or fraudulent seller
Inappropriate content	The listing contains offensive, explicit, or otherwise inappropriate material
Duplicate listing	The same item has been listed multiple times by the same seller
Prohibited or illegal item	The item is on our prohibited items list or is illegal
Other	Something else is wrong that doesn't fit the above categories

Reporting on the web — step by step

Step 1: Open the listing

Navigate to the listing you want to report. The report button is located in the seller card — the right column on desktop, or below the description on mobile.

Step 2: Click "Report this listing"

Look for a subtle button with a flag icon labeled "Report this listing". It's placed below the seller information, deliberately discreet so it doesn't interfere with the normal buying flow.

Click the button to open a dropdown menu with the list of report reasons.

Step 3: Select a reason

The dropdown shows six reason options. Click the one that best matches the issue:

• Spam or duplicate
• Scam or fraud
• Inappropriate content
• Duplicate listing
• Prohibited or illegal item
• Other

Selecting a reason opens a confirmation dialog.

Step 4: Review and add details (optional)

The confirmation dialog shows:

• The listing title — so you can confirm you're reporting the right listing
• The reason you selected — displayed prominently
• An optional description field — "Additional details (optional)" — where you can explain what happened (up to 1,000 characters)

The description is optional but helpful. Specific details help our moderation team act faster. For example:

"The photos appear to be stock images from a retailer website, not actual photos of the item. The price is 90% below retail, which suggests a scam."

Step 5: Submit the report

Click "Submit report". You'll see a brief loading state, then a success screen confirming your report was received.

The success screen includes:

• A reference number — save this in case you need to follow up
• What happens next — an explanation of the review process

Click "Close" to dismiss the dialog.

Step 6: You're done

That's it. Your report is in the moderation queue. You don't need to do anything else — our team handles it from here.

Requirements for reporting

• You must be logged in. Reporting requires authentication. If you're not logged in, you'll see a message: "You need to be logged in to report a listing." Register or log in first.
• You can't report your own listing. The system prevents sellers from reporting their own listings.
• You can't report the same listing twice with the same reason. If you've already flagged a listing for "Scam or fraud," you can't flag it again for the same reason. You can still flag it for a different reason if applicable.
• You can't report expired or deleted listings. These are already off the platform.

Reporting via the API

If you're an AI agent or developer, you can report a listing programmatically:

curl -X POST https://api.owning.pro/api/listings/{listing_id}/flag \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer own_your_api_key" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "reason": "fraud",
    "description": "Photos appear to be stock images, price 90% below retail."
  }'

Request body:

Field	Type	Required	Description
reason	string	Yes	One of: spam, fraud, inappropriate, duplicate, illegal, other
description	string	No	Additional details, 1–1,000 characters

Successful response (201 Created):

{
  "flag_id": "flg_01JXK...",
  "listing_id": "lst_01JXK...",
  "listing_status": "active",
  "reason": "fraud",
  "created_at": "2026-07-15T16:00:00.000Z"
}

Error responses:

Status	When	Message
401	Not authenticated	Authentication required
400	Reporting your own listing	"You cannot flag your own listing"
400	Listing is expired	"Cannot flag an expired listing"
400	Listing is deleted	"Cannot flag a deleted listing"
404	Listing not found	"Listing not found"
409	Already flagged with same reason	"You have already flagged this listing with the same reason"

Note: The listing_status in the response tells you the listing's current status. It stays active until the flag threshold is reached (see below).

What happens after you report

When you submit a report, several things happen:

1. A flag record is created — your report is stored with the reason, your user ID, and a timestamp.
2. The moderation team is notified — flagged listings enter the review queue.
3. The listing may be auto-paused — when a listing receives 3 unresolved flags from different users, it's automatically paused (hidden from the public catalog) pending admin review.
4. An admin reviews the report — our team examines the listing and the flags. This usually happens within 24 hours.
5. Action is taken — if the listing violates policies, it's removed. If it's clean, the flags are resolved and the listing is restored.

You may receive an update if further action is taken on your report.

Prohibited items

The following items are not allowed on Owning and should be reported under "Prohibited or illegal item":

• Weapons, firearms, ammunition, and explosives
• Illegal drugs and controlled substances
• Counterfeit goods and pirated software or media
• Stolen property
• Live animals (except where legally permitted with documentation)
• Tobacco, alcohol, and vaping products (where not legally permitted)
• Prescription medications
• Hate speech, extremist materials, and items promoting violence
• Personal data and confidential information
• Any item that violates local, national, or international law

See the full policy in the FAQ and Safety Tips.

Reporting a seller (not a specific listing)

If your concern is about a seller's behavior rather than a specific listing — for example, a seller who sends abusive messages or tries to scam you outside the platform — you can:

1. Report the specific listing where the behavior occurred, using the flow above.
2. Contact us directly at hello@owning.pro with details — include the seller's name, user ID (from their profile URL), and a description of what happened.
3. Block the user — you can block users from messaging you in your account settings.

In case of fraud

If you believe you've been defrauded (not just a suspicious listing):

1. Stop all communication with the other party.
2. Contact your payment provider to dispute the charge, if applicable.
3. Report the listing using the flow above.
4. Email hello@owning.pro with all relevant details — messages, payment receipts, the listing URL.
5. File a report with your local authorities if necessary.

Owning facilitates connections between buyers and sellers but does not process payments or mediate transactions. We can remove fraudulent listings and ban bad actors, but we cannot recover funds. See Safety Tips for the full fraud response guide.

FAQ

Will the seller know I reported them? No. Reports are confidential. The seller sees that their listing was flagged (if it's paused), but not who flagged it.

Can I report a listing without an account? No. Reporting requires authentication to prevent abuse. Register for a free account.

What if I reported a listing by mistake? Reports can't be withdrawn through the UI. If you made a mistake, email hello@owning.pro with the reference number and we'll review it.

How many reports does it take to remove a listing? A listing is auto-paused after 3 unresolved flags. Final removal requires admin review — we don't remove listings based on flag count alone, to prevent coordinated abuse.

Can I report a listing that's already been removed? No. If a listing is expired or deleted, it's already off the platform and can't be flagged.

Learn more

• Understanding Trust Signals — all the trust indicators on a listing page
• Buyer Protection on Owning — how the platform protects buyers
• Safety Tips — comprehensive safe-trading guidelines
• How to Verify Your Seller Account — the verified seller badge
• FAQ — prohibited items and platform policies