Market Research

Market Research is blocked: "Research proxy required", "Research proxy needs attention" or "Research connection unavailable"

ID: research-proxy

Seen as:

• "Research proxy required"
  LV: "Nepieciešams izpētes starpniekserveris"
  RU: "Нужен прокси для исследования"
• "Market Research needs one dedicated proxy of its own. ShopPilot never"
  LV: "Tirgus izpētei nepieciešams savs atsevišķs starpniekserveris. ShopPilot nekad"
  RU: "Для исследования рынка нужен собственный отдельный прокси. ShopPilot никогда"
• "Research connection unavailable"
  LV: "Izpētes savienojums nav pieejams"
  RU: "Подключение для исследования недоступно"
• "Research proxy needs attention"
  LV: "Izpētes starpniekserverim nepieciešama uzmanība"
  RU: "Прокси для исследования требует внимания"
• "Enter the dedicated proxy URL first."
  LV: "Vispirms ievadiet atsevišķa starpniekservera URL."
  RU: "Сначала введите URL отдельного прокси."
• "Research proxy removed. Market Research is now blocked."
• "The proxy URL cannot contain a path, query string, or fragment."
• "The proxy URL is invalid."
• "The proxy URL is too long."
• "The dedicated research proxy must be verified again."
• "The research proxy conflicts with a shop proxy."
• "Add and verify a dedicated research proxy."
  LV: "Pievienojiet un pārbaudiet atsevišķu izpētes starpniekserveri."
  RU: "Добавьте и проверьте отдельный прокси для исследования."
• "Enter a dedicated proxy URL and click Save Market Research Proxy."
  LV: "Ievadiet atsevišķa starpniekservera URL un nospiediet "Saglabāt tirgus izpētes starpniekserveri"."
  RU: "Введите URL отдельного прокси и нажмите «Сохранить прокси для исследования рынка»."
• "Enter a dedicated research proxy URL."
• "Use an HTTP, HTTPS, SOCKS4, or SOCKS5 proxy URL with a host."
• "This proxy exits through the same IP as a shop proxy. Use a genuinely separate research proxy."
• "The research proxy is also present in the shop proxy pool. Replace one of them before researching."
• "The saved research proxy is also present in the shop proxy pool."

People say: "Market Research asks me for a proxy", "the Check idea button is grey and does nothing", "research proxy needs attention", "daily monitoring says the proxy must be verified again"

Why: Market Research uses a proxy of its own, saved on the "Proxies" page under "Market Research Proxy". Until one is saved and verified, the chip shows "Research proxy required" and the search buttons stay off. Other causes: a saved proxy stopped working (plan expired, wrong user name or password, the provider blocks Etsy), so the chip says "Research proxy needs attention" and the text may start with "Proxy required but proxy failed:" followed by the reason; the proxy is also in the shop proxy list, or leaves from the same address as a shop proxy (refused: it must be separate); the proxy address is not written in a form ShopPilot can use (it must be a full URL with a host, with nothing after the port, and not too long); or the saved proxy has not passed a check lately ("must be verified again"), which also pauses the daily re-measuring of saved ideas. "Research connection unavailable" means the page could not read the research state from ShopPilot (lost connection, or a short fault on ShopPilot's side).

Fix:

1. Open "Proxies" (left menu, Setup) and scroll down to "Market Research Proxy".
2. In "Proxy URL" paste a proxy that no shop uses. Use the form your provider shows (host:port:user:password also works, as in the shop list) or http://username:password@host:port; HTTP, HTTPS, SOCKS4 and SOCKS5 proxies are accepted. "Display name" is optional.
3. Press "Save Market Research Proxy". ShopPilot checks the proxy while saving; the pill beside the heading changes to "Verified" and the chip at the top of Market Research changes to the proxy's name followed by "isolated from every shop".
4. If the check fails, read the reason after "Proxy required but proxy failed:" and fix it with your proxy provider (see "A proxy test or save fails: what each proxy error means" in the Proxies section), then press "Re-test saved proxy".
5. If it says the proxy is in the shop list or leaves from the same address as a shop proxy, get a different proxy for research. A shop proxy cannot be used for research, and a research proxy cannot be used for a shop.
6. If the chip says "Research connection unavailable", reload the page and try again.
7. To remove the proxy, empty "Proxy URL" and press "Save Market Research Proxy"; the page then says "Research proxy removed. Market Research is now blocked."

If still stuck: contact ShopPilot support with the exact text shown under the chip, the "Display name" of the proxy and the time (never send the proxy password).

Notes: Searching only reads public information; nothing on your Etsy shop changes. On a free trial this group is not shown, because Market Research is part of the paid plans.

Research asks you to wait ("Try again in ...")

ID: research-wait

Seen as:

• "That is {…} research searches in the last hour. Try again in {…}."
• "That is {…} measurements in the last hour. Try again in {…}."
• "That was measured a moment ago. Try again in {…}."

People say: "it says try again in 12 minutes", "too many searches", "Find ideas says wait some seconds before the next scan", "scoring is cooling down, try again shortly"

Why: ShopPilot spaces out research so it stays quick for every seller: there is a limit on searches per hour, a short pause after the same idea or shop was measured, and a short pause between "Find ideas" or "Compare" scans. The message says how long to wait ("... seconds" or "... minutes"). Nothing is wrong with your account or proxy.

Fix:

1. Wait for the time in the message, then press the button again.
2. Do not press the button repeatedly; each press counts.
3. For ideas you want to follow over time, press "Monitor" once: saved ideas are measured again every day automatically.

If still stuck: if the same message keeps coming back after an hour with no searches in between, contact ShopPilot support with the exact text and the tool you used.

Notes: Waiting is safe. Nothing is lost, and a refused search costs nothing.

A search failed: "Market research could not finish", "Etsy research request failed", "Etsy categories could not be loaded right now"

ID: research-failed

Seen as:

• "Market research could not finish. Nothing was saved. Please try again."
• "Etsy research request failed"
• "Etsy categories could not be loaded right now."
• "Etsy returned no public sample for those categories through the dedicated research proxy."
• "Etsy research request failed (ProxyError)."
• "Etsy did not return a public discovery sample through the dedicated research proxy."
• "Etsy returned nothing measurable for this category."

People say: "Check idea shows an error", "Find ideas returns nothing", "Etsy research request failed", "market research could not finish"

Why: ShopPilot asked Etsy and did not get a usable answer: Etsy was slow or busy, the Market Research Proxy was too slow or dropped the connection, or ShopPilot had a short fault. A word in brackets at the end of "Etsy research request failed" names the kind of connection problem: for example (ProxyError) points to the Market Research Proxy, and a name with Timeout in it means the proxy or Etsy took too long. "Nothing measurable" means Etsy gave no usable listings for that category or filter.

Fix:

1. Wait a minute and press the button again. Searching only reads, so trying again is safe.
2. Open "Proxies" and press "Re-test saved proxy" in "Market Research Proxy". If it fails, fix or replace the proxy (see the Proxies section).
3. Make the search smaller: remove filters, choose "All categories", or open "Change" and read fewer listings.
4. For "Etsy categories could not be loaded right now": reload the page and try again later.

If still stuck: contact ShopPilot support with the exact message (including the word in brackets), the tool ("Check an idea", "Find ideas", "Find niche through category" or "Analyze a shop") and the time.

Notes: "Nothing was saved" in the message is true: a failed search leaves your saved ideas and tracked shops as they were.

A result says some figures are missing or only part of the listings were read

ID: research-partial

Seen as:

• "Etsy stopped answering part-way through, so fewer listings were read than asked for."
• "Etsy stopped answering part-way through, so fewer listings were read than planned."
• "Etsy returned some listings without their shop, image or view details, so a few figures are missing."
• "Etsy returned some listings without their shop or photos, so a few could not be checked against the shop filters."
• "Etsy stopped returning catalog pages part-way, so this reads only the listings collected before it did."
• "Etsy stopped returning review history part-way, so listing review counts are a floor rather than a total."
• "Some listing review counts were unavailable; coverage is shown."
• "Some recent shop-review counts were unavailable; coverage is shown."
• "Some related niche opportunities could not be measured."
• "One discovery sample page was unavailable."
• "Some candidate niches could not be measured."

People say: "fewer listings than I asked for", "some numbers are blank", "review counts are unavailable", "some nearby ideas could not be measured"

Why: Etsy stopped answering part-way through, or returned some listings without their shop, picture or view details. ShopPilot shows what it did get, and the yellow note says what is missing. A "floor rather than a total" means the real number is at least what is shown. Scores and the verdict are still worked out from the listings that were read, but they rest on fewer of them.

Fix:

1. If the missing part matters, press the button again after a minute; a second read usually completes it.
2. If it keeps happening, make the read smaller (open "Change" and pick fewer listings or fewer exact review counts) or use fewer filters.
3. Blank cells in the table are not zeros; read them as "not available".

If still stuck: contact ShopPilot support with the note's exact text and the idea, category or shop you checked.

Notes: These are warnings, not failures. Nothing on your Etsy shop is touched.

A tracked shop says "Some units sold could not be tied to a listing"

ID: research-units-note

Seen as:

• "Some units sold could not be tied to a listing — stock restocked between snapshots, or listings below the tracked depth."

People say: "units sold do not add up", "per-listing units unusable", "Inventory edited"

Why: Units sold are shown only for shops you track. When some of the shop's sold units cannot be matched to one listing for that period, ShopPilot says so, and the per-listing units for that period are a minimum, not an exact count. A note such as "Inventory edited" or "Treat this window's per-listing units as unusable" means the shop's own numbers changed in a way that cannot be matched.

Fix:

1. Use the shop-level numbers for that period (lifetime sales, reviews in the last 30 days).
2. Press "Refresh" on the tracked shop later; the next period is measured fresh.

Notes: This is a note about the data, not a fault in ShopPilot or in your account.

"That category has no sub-categories to compare" or a category could not be measured

ID: research-categories

Seen as:

• "That category has no sub-categories to compare. Pick a broader one, or research themes inside it instead."
• "{…} {…} could not be measured: {…}{…}"

People say: "Compare says no sub-categories", "2 categories could not be measured"

Why: "Find niche through category" ranks the sub-categories of the category you picked. A narrow category at the bottom of Etsy's tree has none. When some sub-categories could not be measured (Etsy gave too little for them), the rest are still ranked and the note names the ones that were skipped.

Fix:

1. Pick a broader category (or "Etsy top level") and press "Compare".
2. To research themes inside the narrow category instead, use "Find ideas" with that category.
3. If some categories were skipped, press "Compare" again after a minute.

Notes: Comparing only reads public information and is safe to repeat.

"Find ideas" shows near misses, or "No idea cleared every threshold"

ID: research-near-miss

Seen as:

• "Near miss"
  LV: "Gandrīz atbilst"
  RU: "Почти подходит"
• "No more matches found"
• "No idea cleared every threshold. The board is ranked anyway, each near miss marked."
• "Etsy returned nothing measurable for this category."

People say: "Find ideas shows ideas that miss my numbers", "no ideas cleared my thresholds", "No more matches found"

Why: "Find ideas" keeps every idea it measured and ranks them all. Your minimums (Min opportunity, Min demand, Max listings on Etsy, Min favorites / month, Min fresh share, Price) only mark each row: "Clears your thresholds" or "Misses your ..." / "Near miss". If no row clears them, the page tells you and still shows the ranked board. "No more matches found" under "Find more that match" means the next listings read had no further match for your filters.

Fix:

1. Lower a minimum under "Change", or pick a preset: "Balanced", "Room for a new shop" or "Proven demand".
2. Choose a broader category, or "All categories".
3. For "No more matches found", loosen the filters in "Filters" and press "Check idea" again.

Notes: A near miss is not an error. It is an idea that is close to what you asked for.

The Market Research page only says "Market Research comes with a paid plan"

ID: research-trial-locked

Seen as:

• "Market Research comes with a paid plan"
• "Market Research and the Shop Analyzer measure demand and competition on Etsy and look closely at other shops. They are part of every paid plan, not the free trial."
• "Market Research is part of ShopPilot's paid plans, not the free trial. Upgrade to use it."
• "The Shop Analyzer is part of ShopPilot's paid plans, not the free trial. Upgrade to use it."

People say: "Market Research is locked on my trial", "I can't use Market Research", "where is the Market Research proxy", "Shop Analyzer is not part of the free trial"

Why: Market Research (and the shop analysis in it) is included in every paid plan, not in the 5-day free trial. On a trial the tools and the "Market Research Proxy" group on "Proxies" are hidden.

Fix:

1. Choose a plan on the account page (see https://shoppilot.dev/pricing). When the plan is active, reload ShopPilot and open Market Research again.
2. Everything else in the trial (designs, mockups, listings, orders) keeps working while you decide.

If still stuck: contact ShopPilot support with your account email.

Typing checks on the research boxes

ID: research-form-checks

Seen as:

• "The lowest price cannot be above the highest."
• "Filters must be numbers."
• "Type an idea of at least two characters."
• "Paste a shop name, shop link, listing link or shop ID."
• "There are no listings to export with these filters."
• "Only Etsy shop or listing URLs are accepted."
• "Use an Etsy /shop/... or /listing/... URL."
• "Shop names may contain letters, numbers, underscores, or hyphens."
• "No Etsy shop matched that name."
• "That Etsy listing URL does not contain a listing ID."
• "That URL is not valid."
• "Etsy did not return a shop for that listing."
• "A filter is outside the range it allows."

People say: "it says enter at least 2 characters", "No Etsy shop matched that name", "only Etsy URLs are accepted", "lowest price cannot be above the highest"

Why: The check stopped before asking Etsy, because something typed does not fit: an idea shorter than two characters; an empty shop box; a shop link that is not an Etsy shop or listing link; a shop name with spaces or symbols; a shop name that does not exist; a minimum price above the maximum; a filter that is not a number or is outside its range.

Fix:

1. Type an idea of two or more characters (up to 100).
2. For "Analyze a shop", paste the shop name (letters, numbers, - and _), the link of the shop page (etsy.com/shop/...), the link of one of its listings, or the numeric shop ID.
3. In "Filters", use plain numbers; "10k" and "10,000" are fine. Put the lower price in the first box and the higher price in the second.
4. "There are no listings to export with these filters": clear the filters, then press "Export CSV" again.

Notes: Nothing was searched, so nothing was counted.

Saved ideas and tracked shops: "You can monitor up to ... design themes", "not on this account's watchlist"

ID: research-saved

Seen as:

• "You can monitor up to {…} design themes. Remove one before adding another."
• "That shop is not on this account's watchlist."
• "That design theme is not being monitored."

People say: "I can't save more ideas", "Remove one before adding another", "that shop is not on my watchlist", "Refresh does nothing for a shop"

Why: A free place is needed for each saved idea: "Saved ideas" holds up to 24 (the message shows the number), so the 25th "Monitor" is refused. "That shop is not on this account's watchlist" or "That design theme is not being monitored" means "Refresh" was pressed for a shop or idea that was already removed (for example in another tab).

Fix:

1. Open "Saved & watched". Press the "×" on an idea you no longer follow ("Stop monitoring"; the page asks to confirm because its daily history is deleted), then save the new idea with "Monitor".
2. For a tracked shop that is gone, reload the page; analyze the shop again and tick "Track this shop" if you still want it tracked ("×" is "Stop tracking").

Notes: Removing an idea or a shop deletes only ShopPilot's stored history of it. Nothing changes on Etsy.

"Curator →" does not open Curate

ID: research-curator

Seen as:

• "Curator search import is unavailable."
  LV: "Meklēšanas importēšana dizainu atlasē nav pieejama."
  RU: "Импорт поиска в отбор дизайнов недоступен."

People say: "send to Curator does nothing", "Curator search import is unavailable"

Why: The Curate part of the page was not loaded, usually because the page is old or was interrupted. The idea itself is fine.

Fix:

1. Reload the page.
2. Open "Curate (Pinterest)" once from the left menu, come back to Market Research and press "Curator →" again.
3. If the Curate collection already holds its maximum number of searches (10), it says "Curator already has the maximum ... search queries."; remove one there first.

Notes: Nothing is started by this button; it only adds a search line that you review in Curate.

Not errors: labels and notes (Market Research)

ID: research-not-errors

Seen as:

• "Etsy's main categories, best first"
• "Limit the check to one Etsy category"
• "Unavailable"
  LV: "Nav pieejams"
  RU: "Недоступно"
• "No. Market Research comes with the paid plan. The 5-day free trial needs no card and covers finding designs, mockups, listings and orders."