Amazon’s new policy no longer allows sellers to cancel orders based on buyer requests received through messages, creating compliance challenges.

Many customers prefer to cancel orders via messaging rather than following Amazon’s official cancellation steps. However, if a shipping label has already been created, sellers no longer have the option to cancel on their behalf. Instead, Amazon requires buyers to go through the formal cancellation process.

The issue is that buyers often refuse to follow these steps, and instead, they threaten negative feedback, file A-to-Z claims, or escalate disputes. When reaching out to Amazon Seller Support for guidance, the response is often that these risks (negative feedback, claims, and late cancellations) are valid concerns, but there’s no solution they can offer.

For instance, I recently encountered a case where a buyer was refunded through an A-to-Z claim while we held the shipment, hoping they would cancel properly. Since we eventually deleted the shipping label, the order is now marked as "Unshipped (Late Order)" despite the refund being processed.

I understand Amazon’s perspective on standardizing cancellations, but as sellers, we are put in a difficult position where we must "educate" customers on Amazon’s policy—often at the cost of our own account health.

Has anyone found an effective way to navigate this scenario without negatively impacting metrics? Any insights or workarounds would be greatly appreciated.