For those who haven’t been following the discussion in the forum, vintage and commercial supplies will remain on the Etsy site, but you will have to deliberately choose to include them (also known as “opt-in”) when you do any kind of search on the site.

However, according to excerpts from the new rules, this compromise, which was hammered out during the turbulent last few months, is not going to go live April 22, when the DOs and DON’Ts go into effect:

# Vintage:

* These items must be placed in the Vintage category and tagged as such.
* In the near future, vintage items will be separated from the handmade items and will not appear in default search results (”opt-in” search status).

# Commercial Supplies:

* These items must be placed in the Commercial Supplies category and tagged as such.
* In the near future, commercial supplies will be separated from the handmade items and will not appear in default search results (”opt-in” search status).

I sincerely hope that “the near future” doesn’t slide too far. I wish the Etsy owners had provided a date - as it is, this is another feature that could stay in limbo, as so many other features have. And then one of the most contentious issues on the site - the ability to search effectively - will continue to cause confusion and frustration for sellers and buyers alike.