The archive on suchen.expert is used to manage adverts whose active publication period has expired. An archived advert is not deleted. It remains in your user account, where it can be checked, updated and, if necessary, resubmitted for publication.
While an advert is in the archive, it is not publicly visible as an active advert. It therefore does not normally appear in public search results or within the relevant advert type.
When is an advert archived?
An advert remains active for 28 days after it is published. Once this period has expired, it is automatically moved to the ‘Archived’ section.
You do not need to deactivate or delete the advert yourself. Automatic archiving prevents older offers, requests or events from being displayed as current indefinitely.
Check the status under ‘My Adverts’ if a previously active advert is no longer publicly visible. It may now be in the archive.
Where can I find my archived adverts?
Follow these steps:
- Log in using the user account with which the advert was created.
- Open ‘My Adverts’.
- Select the ‘Archived’ tab.
- Search for the advert you want using the title, image or advert ID.
- Open the advert or the management functions available for it.
If the advert is not under ‘Archived’, please also check the other status sections.
What do the different status sections mean?
The sections under ‘My Adverts’ have different meanings:
- ‘Active’ contains published adverts that are currently visible to the public.
- ‘Pending’ contains adverts whose editing or review has not yet been completed.
- ‘Rejected’ contains adverts that have not been approved for publication.
- ‘Deactivated’ contains adverts that have been temporarily removed from public view but are still present in the user account.
- ‘Archived’ contains adverts whose active publication period has expired.
- ‘Deleted’ means that the advert has been permanently removed from the standard advert management system.
An advert is not automatically archived or deleted simply because it no longer appears under ‘Active’. Always check the status actually displayed.
Further guidance is available in What should I do if my advert is not on the ‘Active’ tab?
Is an archived advert still publicly visible?
Whilst archived, the advert is not displayed as an active offer, request or event.
In particular, this means:
- It does not appear in public search results as normal.
- It is not displayed as an active advert within the selected advert type.
- Interested users should not assume that the offer is still available.
- Previous public approval does not make the archived advert permanently visible.
- Changes made whilst the advert is archived will not automatically bring it back online.
If you wish to make the advert publicly visible again, you must use the provided function for editing and resubmitting it.
Why are adverts archived after 28 days?
Information in adverts may become out of date over time. This applies, for example, to:
- availability,
- price or reward,
- condition of an item,
- dates,
- collection or service options,
- event details,
- contact details,
- images,
- external links,
- mandatory legal or business information.
Due to the time limit, older adverts are not displayed as current indefinitely. Before republishing, you can check whether the content is still accurate and complete.
What is retained in the archive?
An archived advert remains available as an existing entry in your user account. You can open the saved content and use the management functions provided.
Depending on the advert and the functions currently available, the following may still be visible or editable:
- title,
- description,
- images,
- price or reward,
- availability,
- dates,
- further details,
- advert ID,
- previously selected advert type,
- category,
- situation,
- location.
The fields and functions that are actually displayed for the specific advert are decisive.
Nevertheless, do not regard the archive as a permanent backup of your data. You should also store your own important texts, images and documents outside the platform.
What can I do with an archived advert?
Depending on the management functions displayed, you can:
- open and check,
- update in editable fields,
- prepare for republishing,
- resubmit for review,
- delete permanently if you no longer need it.
Only reactivate an advert if the offer, request or event is still current.
What should I check before republishing?
Check the entire content and do not copy over older details without checking them first.
In particular, check the following:
- Is the item, service or event still available?
- Is the title still accurate?
- Is the description complete and up to date?
- Are the price or reward still correct?
- Are the condition, features and known defects described correctly?
- Are the collection, dispatch, delivery or service area details up to date?
- Are dates and timeframes still valid?
- Do the images show the current condition?
- Do any links still work?
- Are the contact details and business information up to date?
- Does the advert still match the selected advert type?
- Are the category, situation and location still correct?
- Is there already another active or pending advert with the same content?
Remove any out-of-date information and add any new essential details before resubmitting the advert.
Which details cannot be changed in an archived advert?
The advert type, category, situation and location are fixed at the time of the original submission. These four basic details cannot be changed using the standard editing function, even for an archived advert.
A note in the title or description does not alter the technical classification.
If any of these details are now incorrect:
- do not reactivate the old advert without checking it first,
- save any text and images you need,
- check which basic details would be correct,
- delete the incorrect entry only if you no longer need it at all,
- then, if necessary, create a new advert with the correct classification.
Further information is available in Fixed advert details.
How do I republish an archived advert?
Open the desired advert in the ‘Archived’ section and use the edit or reactivation function provided there.
The basic procedure is as follows:
- Open the archived advert.
- Check all the details.
- Update the editable fields.
- Remove any out-of-date content.
- Add any missing information.
- Check the images, price, reward, dates and availability.
- Resubmit the advert for review.
- Then check the current status under ‘My Adverts’.
Full instructions are available in How do I repost an archived advert on suchen.expert?
Will the advert be visible immediately after reactivation?
A resubmitted advert may be reviewed again. During this time, it may be displayed under ‘Pending’.
Once the review has been completed successfully, the advert will be listed under ‘Active’ again and become publicly visible. Previous approval does not guarantee that content later changed or resubmitted will be approved automatically.
There is no generally guaranteed fixed processing time for the review. Do not create a second version of the same advert while it is being reviewed.
Does a new active period begin after the advert is republished?
Once republished successfully, the advert is listed as an active entry again. Check the ‘active until’ date displayed to see when the current publication period ends.
Do not rely on the archived advert’s previous expiry date. The date displayed for the active advert following renewed approval is the one that applies.
Should I create a new advert or use the archived one?
Where possible, use the archived advert if:
- the same item is still being offered or sought,
- the same service is still available,
- the event or offer is continuing in substance,
- the advert type, category, situation and location are still correct,
- the necessary changes can be made using the fields provided.
A new advert may be required if:
- the actual item or service has changed significantly,
- a different advert type is required,
- the category, situation or location no longer apply,
- a previous event has been replaced by a completely new one,
- the old advert can no longer be updated appropriately.
Do not create a new copy simply because the original advert is in the archive.
Why should I avoid duplicate adverts?
Before creating a new advert, check all status sections under ‘My Adverts’.
Avoid:
- creating a new advert when the archived entry can be reactivated,
- having both an active and a resubmitted version of the same offer,
- multiple copies in different categories,
- slightly altered titles for the same content,
- repeatedly creating new adverts to circumvent the publication period,
- parallel adverts with the same images and the same description.
Parallel or nearly identical adverts can confuse interested users and falsely make the same item appear to be available more than once.
If a new advert is required due to incorrect, unchangeable details, ensure that the old version is not republished as well.
What should I do with an advert that is no longer current?
Do not reactivate an archived advert if the item, service or event is no longer available.
This applies, for example, if:
- the item has already been sold or given away,
- a lost item has been found,
- a found item has already been returned,
- the service is no longer being offered,
- the service you were looking for is no longer required,
- the event has already taken place,
- the specified date is no longer valid,
- the offer no longer exists in the form described.
You can leave the advert in the archive or delete it permanently if you no longer require it. Please note before deleting that this action cannot usually be undone.
Can I delete an archived advert?
If you no longer require an archived advert, you can use the delete function provided for this purpose.
Before doing so, please check:
- whether you may still need the text or images at a later date,
- whether there are still any important messages or arrangements relating to the advert,
- whether the correct advert has been selected,
- whether you simply wish to keep it for the time being,
- whether you plan to create a new one with different basic details.
Before deleting, save any content you need from the advert outside the platform.
Further guidance is available in How do I delete my advert?
Does an advert remain permanently in the archive?
Do not assume that the archive replaces an unlimited or permanent data backup. Technical, legal or organisational retention rules may change.
You should therefore also keep your own important content in a separate location:
- texts,
- original images,
- price and service information,
- event details,
- your own supporting documents,
- other documents that you might need later.
Only save data that you are authorised to retain and use.
What should I do if an advert has been archived unexpectedly?
First, check:
- whether the 28-day publication period has expired,
- what date was previously displayed under ‘Active until’,
- whether you are logged in with the correct user account,
- whether the advert is actually listed under ‘Archived’,
- whether it may have been deactivated, rejected or deleted,
- whether a resubmission already appears under ‘Pending’.
If the status displayed does not match the expiry date or your most recent actions, contact support via the contact form.
What should I do if I encounter a technical issue in the archive?
Contact support if:
- the ‘Archived’ tab does not load,
- an expected advert does not appear there,
- the advert cannot be opened,
- an available editing function does not respond,
- changes are not saved,
- resubmission does not work,
- an incorrect status is displayed,
- an error message appears.
Please provide the following where possible:
- advert ID,
- exact title,
- status displayed,
- original publication and expiry dates, if known,
- device used,
- browser and browser version,
- time the problem occurred,
- steps taken,
- the exact wording of any error message,
- a redacted screenshot, where applicable.
Do not send any passwords, one-time codes, full payment details or full activation and reset links.
Quick check before reactivation
Finally, please check:
- Is the advert still up to date?
- Is the content still complete and accurate?
- Are the price or reward correct?
- Are the images and description up to date?
- Are the dates and availability correct?
- Do the existing links work?
- Are the advert type, category, situation and location still appropriate?
- Is there no active or pending duplicate?
- Has the advert been fully checked?
- Can it now be resubmitted for review?
The archive allows you to store expired adverts in an organised manner and reuse them if necessary. However, always check and update the content before republishing an archived advert.
