How am I blocked?

[APOPofColorByMichele]

Hi there! I received a message today from a potential buyer and when I attempt to respond back, I'm receiving a notice that I can't message them because I'm blocked. So strange! I updated the Etsy Seller app, deleted the app and redownloaded, and it's still giving me the same error message. 

Has this happened to anyone else?

[OmasFabricStash]

Have you tried without the app? I don’t know if it will make a difference but it’s always worth a try. 

[APOPofColorByMichele]

Hmmm, let me try using my computer, thank you! 

[APOPofColorByMichele]

So I just tried on my computer, and it also is telling me that I can not message the person. 

[BagmakerSupply]

@APOPofColorByMichele: If you are getting this only with this one buyer, it is possible that they or Etsy closed their account. Have you tried looking at their profile?

[NanaLetha]

Use a browser and not the app

[ThreeEyedLine]

Im having the same issue on the browser

[vintageNCtreasures]

@NanaLetha 
I use the Edge browser with W11 on a desktop and got that dreaded "You're blocked page" last night.
I was in the middle of sending a message to 2 friends last night (got 1 sent, but the 2nd message I got that Etsy blocked you page just came up.

I did NOT a message from a scammer.
I was not sending spam messages either, nor had either friend blocked me.

I didn't clear my cookies/cache last night and this morning when I turned the computer on, I didn't have any problem on Etsy.
Others reported they didn't do anything either and the issue resolved itself.

Last night I had to use Chrome.

@ThreeEyedLine 
Seems this has been happening at least since Aug (others said for a few years) on this thread:
You Have Been Blocked - Welcome to the Etsy Community

[ColorfulCastAndCrew]

Have you by any chance been sending unsolicited messages to prospective buyers? Etsy can and will block sellers from sending messages, if they believe a seller has been doing that.

If you haven't been doing that then I would reach out to support to find out what's going on. 

[michellepatterns]

What exactly does the message say? It might not be that you are blocked and that was a scammer contacting you and etsy has deleted their account. Does it definitely say "you are blocked" or something along those lines?

There are also many, many glitches and technical problems here lately so it could be one of those problems.   

[APOPofColorByMichele]

Oh I see, maybe it is a scammer, but honestly I can't tell by the message. She inquired with me about an accommodation for one of my cupcake toppers. This isn't anything out of the ordinary. 

The message I get when attempting to respond back says " Sender is blocked by recipient"

[OneEyeCatStudio]

There is an ongoing issue ....

https://community.etsy.com/t5/Technical-Issues/You-Have-Been-Blocked/m-p/146634068/highlight/true#M8...

[APOPofColorByMichele]

Oh wow, thank you!

[FallenAngelBrass]

---

@APOPofColorByMichele wrote:

I received a message today from a potential buyer and when I attempt to respond back, I'm receiving a notice that I can't message them because I'm blocked.

---

The "potential buyer" might be a spammer that has been banned.  What happens when you click on the  link to the sender's profile page? 

[NanaLetha]

Try a different browser.

[hopeandjoystudios]

They may have been flagged as a scammer? If it is a repeat customer their email is on their order. May be general Etsy SSDD though.

[APOPofColorByMichele]

Hi there, thank you for the comment. I'm not sure what an SSDD is, can you explain please?

[hopeandjoystudios]

Same Sh!t different day

[SewlyButtons]

@APOPofColorByMichele 

Just happened to me too on Tuesday when I clicked send to reply to a customers message (happened to a number of us). Here's how to fix it!

Turned out I had to clear the cache and cookies for etsy.
I was using chrome, so it was in chrome that I had to do it. Here are the instructions that worked for me:

1. On your computer, in Chrome.
2. At the top right where the verticle 3 dots are, click Settings .
3. Click Privacy and security.
4. Click Third-party cookies. ...
5. Click See all site data and permissions.
6. At the top right in the search box, search for etsy.
7. To the right of the site, click Delete .
8. To confirm, click Delete.

Good news is, once I cleared the etsy cache and cookies... and restarted my computer... all was well again. AND, the message I had written to a customer WAS sent.

[APOPofColorByMichele]

OMG thank you! Ill do the steps right now. I was so scared I was going to miss out on this sale. Thank you!

[OMASBEADS]

Yep just happened to me.. a buyer and I were messaging back and forth about the hurricane damage as I'm in Atlanta. I went to answer her and it says I'm blocked .. 

[NancyQstudio]

This problem has been recently reported by a lot of sellers in the forums and on social media Etsy support sites.  Some sellers have had some luck (sometimes temporarily) with clearing history or using another browser and/or shutting units off and on.  Since this is impacting so many sellers with various backgrounds who aren't doing the same thing along with using various devices and browsers  the issue is a problem with Etsy's programing.  An exception would be if a seller is sending out solicitation messages and their messaging privileges have been temporarily revoked.

It seems Etsy is currently making a lot of changing to their site which may also be temporarily creating problems.  This issue will hopefully be resolved while they are working on programming.  

[Chrysalism]

This just happened to me- I am halfway through answering messages I got over the weekend. I was 3/4 of the way through a very long and complicated message when this happened and I lost all of my work. Very annoying! Etsy just keeps coming up with new ways to make running our shops more difficult.

[Chrysalism]

Annnnd it just happened again in a different browser!! WTF Etsy, I am literally just answering my customer's inquiries! I was almost finished with a long message about a complicated custom order. I guess I need to compose my messages in a notepad now until Etsy sorts this out.