A buyer opened a PayPal 'significantly not as described' dispute. What counts?

1. PayPal's Buyer Protection page lists what it can treat as Significantly Not As Described: an item materially different from your description, a completely different item, a misrepresented condition, a counterfeit, missing major parts you did not disclose, fewer items than bought, damage in shipping, or an item unusable and not disclosed as such.
2. It also lists what is not: a defect your description stated, an item that was properly described but the buyer did not want it or that missed their expectations, and minor scratches on an item described as used.
3. The buyer must open the dispute within 30 days of delivery or within 180 days of payment, whichever is sooner. The 20 day dispute stage and the claim stage work as in an Item Not Received case.
4. PayPal's Seller Protection page lists Significantly Not As Described claims as not eligible. Your evidence is your description, the item as shipped, and your messages.
5. PayPal decides at its sole discretion. It may require the buyer to ship the item back at their own expense.

Source: PayPal's Buyer Protection Program (UK page); PayPal's Purchase Protection program (US page); PayPal Help: respond to Item Not Received and Significantly Not As Described disputes; PayPal UK Help Centre: respond to Item Not Received and Significantly Not As Described disputes; PayPal's Seller Protection Program (UK page); PayPal User Agreement (UK), read 4 October 2026.

1. Open the Resolution Center, find the case and read exactly what the buyer says is different.
2. Reply with your listing as it appeared when they bought, the product details you hold, and an offer you are actually willing to make, such as a replacement, repair or refund.
3. If you refund through PayPal, say so in the case and attach the refund record. PayPal's UK user agreement says a claim is fully resolved when the refund is processed through PayPal, or when you provide evidence PayPal accepts that the buyer agreed to another resolution.
4. If it becomes a claim, answer PayPal's requests for documents on time. PayPal's page says it may ask the buyer for receipts, third-party evaluations or police reports, and may require the buyer to send the item back to you, to PayPal or to a third party.
5. Check the case status in the Resolution Center until it closes.

PayPal's help lists a shipping receipt, tracking or signature confirmation, proof of refund and proof of receipt for these disputes. PayPal's Buyer Protection page compares the item with the seller's description, so the first items below are our reading of what answers that comparison. They are not a PayPal list.

• Your listing as it was shown at the time of purchase: title, description, photos, size and condition wording (our reading of PayPal's comparison with the seller's description)
• Anything showing what you shipped: packing list, photos taken before shipping, batch or serial details (ours)
• A third-party shipping receipt and tracking showing delivery (PayPal's help)
• Messages with the buyer, including any offer of a replacement, repair, return label or refund, with dates (ours)
• Proof of refund, if you refunded (PayPal's help)
• If the item was returned: return tracking and what you received (ours)

What else PayPal's pages say

• Not covered by PayPal's Buyer Protection for Significantly Not As Described: wholly or partly custom-made items (UK Buyer Protection page).
• If the buyer is required to return the item, PayPal's UK user agreement says you may not receive the item back, or may be required to accept it back and pay for return shipping. For a counterfeit item, it says you must give a full refund and may not get the item back.
• If you lose, the UK user agreement says you forfeit the full purchase price plus the original shipping cost, and your PayPal fees are not refunded.
• A buyer who paid with a card can instead go to their card issuer, whose rights, PayPal's Buyer Protection page says, may be broader than PayPal's. The buyer cannot do both at once. See the dispute, claim and chargeback page.

Plain text. Replace every [bracket] with a fact from your records and delete any line you cannot back with a file.

Hello [buyer name],

Thank you for telling us about order [order number], placed on [date] for [amount].

The listing at the time of purchase said: "[exact quote of the relevant lines]" (screenshot attached: [file name]). You said the item [what the buyer says is different].
What we shipped: [what you can show, with an attachment].
[If you can show it: Our records show [fact, for example the size or colour ordered and shipped].]

To put this right we can offer [replacement / repair / refund of amount / return label], and we will [action] within [days] of hearing from you. [Offer you are actually willing to make, or delete this line.]

[Name], [store name]

Never state anything you cannot prove. Every sentence in the response should point to a file you can attach. Delete any line you have no file for.

• Arguing that the buyer changed their mind. PayPal's page says an item that was properly described but not wanted is not Significantly Not As Described, so say what the listing said and show it.
• Relying on Seller Protection. PayPal's pages list Significantly Not As Described claims as not eligible.
• Refunding outside PayPal and expecting the case to close. PayPal's UK user agreement says the claim is fully resolved only if the refund goes through PayPal, or you show evidence PayPal accepts that the buyer agreed.
• Missing the buyer's return step. PayPal's page says it may require the buyer to ship the item back, so ask for the return details in the case.
• Describing something in the listing that the item is not. PayPal's list includes misrepresented condition and undisclosed missing parts.

What does 'significantly not as described' mean to PayPal?

PayPal's Buyer Protection page lists materially different from the description, a completely different item, misrepresented condition, counterfeit, major parts missing and not disclosed, fewer items than bought, damaged in shipment, and unusable and not disclosed as such.

What does PayPal say is not significantly not as described?

A defect the seller correctly described, an item that was properly described but the buyer did not want it or that did not meet expectations, and minor scratches on an item described as used.

How long does the buyer have to open it?

Within 30 days of delivery or fulfilment, or 180 days of payment, whichever is sooner, per PayPal's Buyer Protection page.

Does Seller Protection cover it?

No. PayPal's Seller Protection pages list Significantly Not As Described claims, including ones the buyer files with a card issuer, as not eligible.

Who pays for the return?

PayPal's Buyer Protection page says the buyer is not reimbursed for return shipping. Its UK user agreement says a seller may be required to accept the item back and pay return shipping costs for a Significantly Not As Described claim. Read the instructions PayPal gives you in your case.

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• A Stripe dispute on my Shopify store: where do I submit evidence?

PayPal does not publish a seller-side evidence list for this case beyond its help article, so the items marked ours are our own reading. We did not read PayPal's fee tables or other countries' pages. Rules and deadlines can change, so use the due date and form on your own dispute.

The Chargeback Evidence Checklist skill, or its paste-in prompt for ChatGPT, asks for your dispute reason and lists the evidence to gather. Or pick the reason on the chargebacks page.

The kit now has six fill-in response letters for Word or Google Docs (one per reason), evidence checklists, worked examples and a Start-here PDF, plus the skill and a paste-in prompt. The Chargeback Response Kit and the free Chargeback Evidence Checklist are written around Shopify's chargeback reason names: Fraudulent, Unrecognized, Product not received, Product unacceptable, Subscription canceled, Duplicate, Credit not processed and General. The Writer's README says it also handles inquiries, Shopify Protect orders and orders that were already refunded. Its response structure carries over to other payment methods, because the questions a bank asks are similar. Where and how you submit differs, and we have not tested the skill against a PayPal Significantly Not As Described dispute. Check the form's own limits before you paste anything in. What carries over to PayPal, Stripe and other processors: the way the response is built (what happened, evidence as numbered exhibits, the policy quoted word for word, dated contact with the customer, nothing you cannot back with a file) and the evidence ideas for each kind of claim. The fill-in letters follow Shopify's reason names, so for another processor pick the letter for the closest reason and use it to organise your facts. What does not: the reason names, the deadlines, the evidence field names and where you submit, which belong to each processor, so check them against that processor's own page above.

Before: a merchant sent delivery photos against a fraud dispute and lost.
After: a verdict (weak, fight only if cheap), what the bank actually asks, and what to gather instead.

It is also one of the six skills in the Store Ops Pack, $29.

Send the dispute reason, the amount, the due date and the evidence you hold, with no card or customer data. We reply with what looks strong, what is missing and whether accepting may cost less. Free, no call, no sign-up. We cannot promise a day, and nobody can promise how a bank or payment provider will decide.

Kai Ventura, Pro Skill Packs

General information from the public sources above and our own checklists. It is not legal advice, and no response can promise how a bank or payment provider will decide. Pro Skill Packs is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Shopify Inc., Affirm, Klarna, PayPal or Stripe. All chargeback pages.