Hi Mike -
We need to make this more clear, but Vela communicates with Etsy by automating the sync process in the background, rather than forcing you to have to wait through extensive loading times. That said, new listings created, existing listings renewed and/or updates performed directly in Etsy will not be reflected in Vela until the next timed sync, which occurs roughly every 4-6 hours.
However, if you were to perform an update in Vela and click "Sync Updates", then we would initiate a complete sync with Etsy and at that time pull in any new sections, listings, tags, photos, etc... that have been created in Etsy since the last automated sync.
Hopefully, this provides a little clarity, but please feel free to reach out at any time :-)
Best,
Justin