Is Jinu free? What costs money and what does not
Mostly, but not entirely. Jinu takes 0% of a local cash sale and always will, and browsing costs nothing. Some categories charge a flat fee to publish a listing, and paid placement is optional and separate.
The deal itself: 0%, permanently
Jinu never takes a cut of what a buyer pays a seller. There is no commission, no success fee and no listing-sold fee, because Jinu does not handle the payment at all. That is the real free claim, and it is about transactions, not about posting.
Free to use
- Browsing, searching and filtering, with no account.
- Creating an account.
- Messaging, making and receiving offers, saving listings, following sellers.
- Posting in every general goods category: electronics, furniture, clothing, home goods, garden, hobbies, toys and games, sporting goods, musical instruments, office supplies, entertainment, family, home improvement, pet supplies, and the free category. Free for a private seller and for a business alike.
- Posting a vehicle as a private owner.
Categories that charge to publish
You pay once, at publication, and the listing runs for 30 days like any other. The composer shows the exact cost before you submit.
The figure depends on where you post. On the website the fee is charged through our payment processor. In the iPhone and Android apps it is an in-app purchase, and those prices are slightly higher because the app store's commission comes out of what you pay. The two apps charge the same.
| Category | On the website | In the apps |
|---|---|---|
| Jobs | $20 | $23.99 |
| Services | $5 | $5.99 |
| Property | $3 | $3.99 |
| Stays | $3 | $3.99 |
| Vehicles, posted as a dealer or business | $3 | $3.99 |
| Vehicles, posted as a private owner | Free | Free |
| Everything else | Free | Free |
The same table, with the category list spelled out, is in What it costs to publish, by category.
The seller-type question, Posting as a dealer or business?, appears only in Vehicles, because Vehicles is the only category where the answer changes the price.
Boost: optional paid placement
Any seller can pay to move a live listing up the feed. A boosted listing sorts first in browse, appears in Featured near you, and always carries a visible Promoted label.
- Bump, 1 day. $1 on the website, $1.29 in the apps.
- Boost, 3 days. $3 on the website, $3.99 in the apps.
- Spotlight, 7 days. $5 on the website, $5.99 in the apps.
- A custom amount from $6 to $50, on the website only. The iPhone and Android apps sell the three fixed tiers, because neither app store can charge an amount you type in. Days are worked out from the Spotlight rate, so $10 buys 14 days.
The app prices are higher for the same reason the publishing fees are: the app store's commission comes out of what you pay. The days you get are identical.
Boost sells position and nothing else. Jinu does not sell reach, does not promise views, and does not show estimated impressions.
What is not charged for
There is no subscription, no fee to message anyone, no fee to accept an offer, and no fee tied to the value of what you sell. A publishing fee is not refunded for a listing that is later removed, held or rejected under our policies. Your receipts and invoices are in Settings, under Your account, Billing.