Latest updates
1st Dec, 09:30 EST

Amazon has now reverted the change. As of 09:30 EST (Eastern Standard Time → 14:30 UTC / 15:30 GMT / 16:30 CET), buyer messages are once again appearing in eDesk as normal, and sellers can reply directly through eDesk without issue.
We continue to monitor the situation closely and will update this page if Amazon makes any further changes.

Important note about earlier messages

Any messages received before 09:30 EST may still appear as Amazon System Messages inside eDesk. These specific conversations were created while Amazon’s temporary requirement was in effect, and they will still require you to reply via Amazon Seller Central to ensure delivery and to protect your response-time SLA.
All new buyer-initiated messages from 09:30 EST onward will behave normally and can be replied to directly within eDesk.

Amazon has introduced a new mandatory requirement for sellers replying to buyers via Buyer-Seller Messaging. When responding to a customer message, Amazon now requires sellers to declare both the reason and the action for contacting the buyer - even when the buyer sent the first message.

This change was introduced without prior notice on the 28th Nov, and currently, the Amazon API does not provide a way for eDesk (or any external helpdesk) to pass this required information. As a result, certain replies sent through eDesk are being blocked by Amazon.

How this affects you

When a buyer sends you a message on Amazon, it still appears in eDesk exactly as before. However, if Amazon classifies the message as requiring a declared “reason for contact,” then you will not be able to reply through eDesk until Amazon provides API support.

This means:

You may see an error when attempting to reply in eDesk.
These specific replies will not reset your Amazon response-time SLA timer unless handled directly in Seller Central.
Standard Amazon messages not requiring a reason are unaffected.

How to identify affected messages

Affected conversations will now appear in eDesk as System Messages from Amazon.

You can recognise them by the following indicators:

They are classified as “System Message” in eDesk
They typically include phrasing such as “You have a message from a buyer” or “Amazon system notification”.
They will lack the usual anonymised buyer email (e.g., abc123@marketplace.amazon.com) and will instead appear as “n/a”
They may contain Amazon-triggered notifications about delivery, payment, or product-related flags and contain keywords like “Action required” or “Customer Enquiry”

What you should do right now

Until Amazon updates the API to allow helpdesks to declare “reason” and “action,” the only workaround is to reply directly within Amazon Seller Central for any message identified as an Amazon System Message.

This ensures:

The reply is delivered to the buyer
The Amazon response SLA resets as expected
Your performance metrics remain protecte

What eDesk is doing

We are treating this as a critical, time-sensitive issue.

Here’s what’s in progress:

1. Immediate Investigation

Our engineering team is actively validating the API behaviour across all Amazon marketplaces.

2. Product Update

We have prioritised a change to eDesk so that:

You can select the required reason for contact
eDesk automatically passes that information to Amazon
Replies flow normally again through your existing workflows

3. ETA

We will release an update as soon as we have embedded the new behaviour into eDesk.
We will keep you fully informed, and we will restore full functionality as quickly as possible.

Amazon Buyer-Seller Messaging issue