Some customers (and sellers) were unable to view Etsy listings starting on Tuesday (November 16). Etsy blamed the problem on ad-blocking programs.
On Wednesday afternoon, Etsy said its engineers identified the problem after sellers began reporting the problem of missing Etsy listings on Tuesday, including on the Down Detector website.
An Etsy moderator announced on the Technical Issues board: “Many ad-blocker tools utilize the same list of third-party rules when it comes to blocking ads and a rule was introduced yesterday that heavily impacted the visibility of Etsy listings. As of this morning, that rule has been removed but it will take some time for all ad-blockers to update to reflect this change and stop blocking Etsy listings.”
The Etsy moderator advised people experiencing problems to disable and then re-enable their ad-blocker and clear their cache and cookies.
Etsy sellers reported several problems on Ecommerce EKG on Wednesday, but it’s not clear if the problems are related to the ad-blocking issue. One problem was related to viewing Favorited items. The other report said thousands of shops had been forced into Vacation mode. Sellers also reported problems with their Etsy ads starting on Monday.
Etsy did not report how traffic and sales on its site might have been impacted due to “missing listings” caused by the ad-blocking issue.
GOOD !
If the Ad Blockers Block, then Etsy’s cash grab is Stopped :o)