This article is for fulfillment providers (3PLs) connecting a store on a merchant’s behalf. Some platforms authorize through OAuth, where the merchant signs in to their own account to grant access — so you can’t enter those credentials yourself. Instead of handling the merchant’s login, you send them a secure link, they authorize the platform directly, and then you finish the connection. If you manage your own DropStream account and store, you’ll see an Authorize button instead and don’t need this page.
When you’ll use this
You’ll send a store authorization to a merchant whenever the store platform uses OAuth and you don’t hold the merchant’s login. Today this applies to Amazon Marketplace, and it’s rolling out to the other OAuth platforms over the coming weeks.
In the Store Setup step of the Add Connection wizard, the buttons you see depend on the platform:
- Amazon Marketplace — only Send to merchant appears. Amazon requires the merchant to authorize their own account, so there’s no direct Authorize button.
- Other OAuth platforms — you’ll typically see both Authorize (to connect an account you have access to) and Send to merchant.
Send the invitation
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Work through the Add Connection wizard to the Store Setup step. Select the Platform and fill in any required fields (for Amazon, choose the Marketplace). Then click Send to merchant.
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Enter the Merchant email, then click Send invitation. DropStream emails the merchant a secure link and takes you to the Pending Connections page. The link expires in 48 hours.
You don’t need to finish the wizard now — your selections are saved with the invitation and restored when you finalize the connection later.
What your merchant receives
The merchant gets an email inviting them to connect their account to your fulfillment workflow. Opening the link brings them to a secure authorization page:
They click the Authorize button, sign in to the platform, and approve access. Their login credentials are never shared with you — DropStream receives only the authorization, not their password. When they’re done, they see a confirmation that they’re all set, and you’re notified by email that the connection is ready to finalize.
Track invitation status
From the Connections page, click Pending Invitations to open the Pending Connections list. Every invitation you’ve sent appears here with its current status.
| Status | What it means |
|---|---|
| Pending | The invitation was sent; the merchant hasn’t authorized yet. |
| Authorized | The merchant approved access. The connection is ready for you to Finalize. |
| Completed | You finalized the connection — it now exists in your Connections list. |
| Needs attention | Finalizing hit a validation issue. The authorization is preserved; review and try again. |
| Expired | The 48-hour link lapsed before the merchant authorized. Resend to try again. |
| Revoked | You canceled the invitation. |
| Failed | The platform returned an error during authorization. |
Each row has actions: View opens the invitation’s details and audit trail, Resend issues a fresh link (the previous one stops working), and Cancel revokes the invitation.
Finalize the connection
When an invitation reaches Authorized, click Finalize on its row. The Connection wizard reopens with the merchant’s authorization applied and your earlier selections restored. Review the remaining settings, then click Add connection to save it.
The new connection appears in your Connections list, disabled by default — see Enable, Disable, or Delete a Connection to turn it on.
Notes
- Authorization links are single-use and expire after 48 hours. Use Resend to send a new one.
- You never see or handle the merchant’s platform login — they authorize directly with the platform.
- To re-authorize an existing store later (for example, if its access lapses), use Send to merchant from the store’s edit page. Finalizing then applies the refreshed authorization to the existing store in place.
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