Chargeback reason: Product unacceptable

Shopify's help says a chargeback is marked Product unacceptable if the customer feels the product was received but was defective, damaged, or not as described.

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

Despite full evidence and proof that these customers do not have a canceled subscription and received the product, we are losing.

Whether what the customer got matches what you sold and described, and whether they gave you a chance to put it right before going to the bank.

• Contact the customer. If you resolve it, they should ask their bank to drop the chargeback and you should send that agreement as evidence.
• Whether or not you resolve it, send your relevant evidence to the card company, including whether the customer tried to return the product or cancel before the chargeback, and whether you offered a replacement.

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
• Descriptions or pictures of the products from your store showing they were as described
• Evidence that the customer did not try to return the product or cancel before the chargeback, or that you provided a replacement

Also listed in Shopify's responding article

• The product listing at the time of purchase: screenshots or archived versions
• Order and fulfillment records
• Pre-shipment photos, including packaging and any serial numbers
• Quality control records, if you have them
• Customer messages describing the issue and your responses
• Your return policy and process, showing the customer agreed to it
• Support ticket history
• If the customer went straight to the bank without contacting you, Shopify's help says to include evidence that they never reached out

Our additions

• Put the product page text and photos as they were on the order date next to the customer's complaint, so the comparison is easy to see. If the page has changed since, say so and use the version that applied then.

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 unacceptable

Summary
An order for [product names] totalling [amount] was placed on [date], fulfilled on [date and time] and delivered on [date]. The cardholder states the product was [defective, damaged or not as described]. We ask that the dispute be decided in our favour.

Product as described
- Our listing at the time of the order: [description and key details quoted exactly] (Exhibit 1)
- Photos in the listing: [what they show] (Exhibit 1)
- The customer's complaint: [their words, quoted briefly] (Exhibit 2)
- How the product matches the listing: [only facts you can show, for example a size, a material, a model number]

Delivery
- Shipped on [date] with [carrier], tracking [number], delivered on [date] (Exhibit 3)

Return and replacement
- Policy shown at checkout: "[quote the relevant lines]" (Exhibit 4)
- Did the customer ask to return or cancel before the dispute? [what the record shows, or: we have no record of a return request]
- Replacement or refund offered: [what, when] (Exhibit 5)

Exhibits
1. Product page as it was on the order date
2. Customer message
3. Tracking record
4. Return policy
5. Our reply and offer

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."

• Arguing about the customer's character instead of comparing the listing with the complaint.
• Attaching today's product page when the listing has changed since the order.
• Claiming the customer never contacted you when they did. Check your inbox and support tool first.
• Leaving out your return or replacement offer if you made one.

Photos and descriptions that match what you ship, size and material details in the listing, and a return process that is easy to find, give you something concrete to attach.

What counts as 'not as described'?

Per Shopify's help, the customer feels the product they received was defective, damaged or not as described. Your job is to show what you described and what you sent, and compare the two.

What if the customer didn't contact me first?

Say so, with proof that you have no record of contact, for example your support inbox for that period. Shopify's help also asks you to send evidence that the customer did not try to return or cancel before the chargeback.

Should I offer a replacement now?

If you resolve it with the customer, they should ask their bank to drop the chargeback, and you send that agreement as evidence. Keep the offer and their reply in writing.

Do I send pictures of the product?

Yes. Shopify's help lists descriptions or pictures of the products from your store showing they were as described.

• Fraudulent or unrecognized: The cardholder says they did not authorize the charge, or do not recognize your store name on their statement.
• Product not received: The customer told their bank they did not receive what they bought.
• 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.