Chargeback reason: Product not received

Shopify's help says a chargeback is marked Product not received when the customer believes they did not receive the goods or services they purchased.

Source: Shopify Help, read 4 October 2026: Reasons for a chargeback or inquiry and Responding to chargebacks and inquiries.

claiming item not received, but it's still in transit

they dropped it off at his 'preferred drop-off location' ... but they have no photo proof

Whether the customer received the order. Your proof has to show delivery to the customer, not only that you shipped it.

• Get in touch with the customer first to find out what happened. If you resolve it, they should ask their bank to drop the chargeback, and you should include that in your response.
• Check the tracking. A tracking record that stops at in transit or label created does not support a delivery claim.

Shopify's help lists these for this reason. Send what you actually have.

• The date and time you fulfilled the order
• The billing information the customer used
• Shipping and tracking information for the order
• For a digital product or service: an activity log showing the customer accessed it
• Shopify says it will automatically upload a PDF of all fulfillment events on your behalf

Also listed in Shopify's responding article

• Physical products: carrier name, tracking number and delivery status; proof of delivery, ideally with signature or photo; verification that it went to the address given at checkout; delivery notifications sent to the customer
• Digital products: access logs, the email with the download link or license key, and usage timestamps
• Services: booking records, proof the service was completed, and any customer acknowledgment
• Shopify's help says AI-generated insights are included in the evidence for this reason, and you can opt out on the evidence form
• For high-value orders, Shopify's help says requiring a signature at delivery significantly strengthens your position

Our additions

• Check that the address the carrier delivered to matches the shipping address on the order. A mismatch weakens your case. If the carrier has a signature or a delivery photo, attach it.
• If the delivery date is after the dispute date, say so plainly, with the dates.

Plain text, because bank systems often strip formatting. Replace every [bracket] with a fact from your records, and delete any line you cannot back with a file.

Dispute response: order [order number], [amount and currency], reason: Product not received

Summary
An order for [product names] totalling [amount] was placed on [date]. It was fulfilled on [date and time] and delivered on [date] to [delivery address], the shipping address on the order. We ask that the dispute be decided in our favour.

Delivery
- Carrier and tracking number: [carrier], [number] (Exhibit 1)
- Status and date: delivered on [date and time], [place or signature if the record shows one] (Exhibit 1)
- The delivery address matches the shipping address entered at checkout: [yes, only if true] (Exhibit 2)
- Proof of delivery: [signature or photo, only if you have it] (Exhibit 3)

Communication with the customer
- [Date]: [what was said, quoted briefly, and the channel] (Exhibit 4)
  [Delete this section if you have no record of contact.]

For a digital product (delete if not relevant)
- Activity log showing access on [dates] (Exhibit 5)

Exhibits
1. Carrier tracking record
2. Order page showing the shipping address
3. Proof of delivery
4. Customer messages
5. Access log

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.

Where

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Orders and click the order that is being disputed.
2. In the chargeback banner, click Add evidence.
3. On the Chargeback response page, review the information about the chargeback, enter any additional information, and upload your items of evidence.
4. Click Save to save your progress. You can come back and edit until the due date.
5. To send it early: on the Chargeback response page click Submit now, then click Submit in the confirmation dialog. If you do not submit early, Shopify sends the evidence on the due date.

When

• The due date is 7 to 21 days after the chargeback or inquiry is filed. It shows in your store's timezone, and if no time is shown the deadline is 11:59 PM on that date.
• Shopify automatically collects evidence and sends it to the credit card company on the due date. Adding your own evidence can improve your chances.
• You can edit your evidence at any time before the due date. After you click Submit now you cannot edit it.
• After the due date you cannot submit further evidence. Shopify's help says there are no exceptions.
• The credit card company's review can take up to 75 days after you submit. After the bank or card company rules, Shopify's help says there is no appeal and the decision is final.
• You can also accept a chargeback without submitting evidence, with Accept chargeback in the chargeback banner.

Shopify's help says some details depend on the card-issuing bank and the card network, and that disputes from third-party payment providers such as PayPal Express Checkout may follow different processes and timelines. Use the due date shown on your own chargeback in the admin, not a number from any article.

File rules for your evidence

• Only PDF, JPEG or PNG files. PDFs must be PDF/A compliant, must not be PDF Portfolios, and must have fewer than 50 pages.
• Each file must not exceed 2 MB, and all your evidence files together must not exceed 4 MB.
• Submit only one file for each type of evidence. Combine several files into one image or PDF.
• Do not include audio or video files, links to external resources, or requests to call or email for more information.

Source: Shopify Help, read 4 October 2026. Managing chargebacks in the Shopify admin: "The due date varies from 7 to 21 days after the chargeback or inquiry is filed." and "After the submission deadline has passed, you can't submit any further evidence. There are no exceptions to this". Responding to chargebacks and inquiries: "Credit card company reviews: This can take up to 75 days after you submit."

• Writing 'delivered' when the tracking says it is still in transit. One merchant on Reddit described exactly this: the customer claimed not received while the parcel was still moving.
• Relying on 'left at the preferred drop-off location' with no photo or signature, as another merchant described.
• Attaching your return policy. It does not answer non-receipt.
• Inventing a delivery detail you do not have.

Where the order value justifies it, use tracked shipping with a signature or delivery photo, and keep the delivery confirmation with the order.

What if tracking says delivered but the customer says no?

Your evidence is the tracking record, the delivery address match, and any signature or photo. Say only what the record shows. If the record has no proof beyond 'delivered', say that plainly rather than adding detail.

What if the parcel is still in transit when they dispute?

Say so, with dates. Shopify's help says the evidence has to prove the customer received the product before the chargeback was made. If tracking shows it was not delivered, the case is weak, and accepting may cost less than losing.

Does Shopify upload anything for me?

Shopify's help says it automatically uploads a PDF of all fulfillment events on your behalf for this reason, so you do not need to.

Is my return policy useful here?

Not for non-receipt. The question is whether the order arrived, so lead with delivery evidence.

• Fraudulent or unrecognized: The cardholder says they did not authorize the charge, or do not recognize your store name on their statement.
• Product unacceptable or not as described: The customer says what arrived was defective, damaged or not as you described it.
• Subscription canceled: The customer says you billed them for a subscription after it should have been canceled, or that they expected a reminder before the charge.
• Duplicate: The customer thinks you charged them twice for the same product or service.
• Credit not processed: The customer says they returned the product or canceled the order and never got their money back.

Send the dispute reason, the amount, the due date and the evidence you hold, with no card or customer data. We read what you send and 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 the bank will decide.

The email opens with the subject filled in, to kaiventura.founder@gmail.com. The GitHub form needs a free GitHub account.

Kai Ventura, Pro Skill Packs

The kit 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 skill takes your dispute details and the evidence you hold, and writes a response matched to the reason, a checklist of files to attach and a list of gaps. It never invents evidence and tells you when accepting may cost less.

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.

Free first: the Chargeback Evidence Checklist skill, or its paste-in prompt for ChatGPT.

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

This page is general information from Shopify's public help and our own checklists. It is not legal advice, and no response can promise how a bank will decide. Pro Skill Packs is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Shopify Inc. All chargeback reasons.