For merchants who have handled a chargeback or dispute in Shopify, how do you usually prepare the evidence before submitting your response?
Do you just upload the basic order details and tracking, or do you put together something more complete with a timeline, customer messages, delivery proof, refund/return policy, product screenshots, and anything else that helps explain the order?
I’m wondering because the workflow seems a bit unclear from the outside. Some merchants seem to handle it directly in Shopify, others prepare a document first, and some use chargeback tools.
How do you decide what evidence to include, and when is it worth fighting the dispute instead of writing it off?
Not looking to promote anything. Just trying to understand how merchants actually handle this in practice.
The thing that moved my win rate was building the evidence around the reason code, not around the order. The bank isn’t reading a story, they’re checking whether you rebutted the one specific claim. “Product not received” is won or lost on tracking with delivery confirmation. “Unauthorized” is about AVS/CVV match, IP matching the shipping region, and prior order history from the same customer. Fraud disputes almost never turn on your refund policy, so dropping it in there just buries the two fields the reviewer actually scores.
So I keep a short per-reason template: what proof matters for that code, in what order, one clean timeline at the top, and I leave the rest out.
On whether to fight, treat it as math not principle. Roughly your realistic win rate for that reason code times the order value, against the time it takes to assemble. Card-testing and low-ticket friendly fraud I usually write off because the win rate is bad and the hours aren’t worth it. High ticket with solid delivery proof is almost always worth contesting.
What reason codes are you seeing most? That usually decides whether it’s even worth building a repeatable workflow around it.
Hey @SignalCards ,
It really depends on the reason for the chargeback but it’s generally best to provide as much relevant evidence as possible. Along with the order details and tracking information many merchants also include customer communication proof of delivery product descriptions or screenshots and copies of their refund or return policy if they’re relevant to the dispute.
Whether it’s worth disputing a chargeback often depends on the value of the order and the strength of the evidence. If you have clear documentation showing the order was fulfilled correctly and the customer received what they purchased, submitting evidence is usually worthwhile. If the evidence is limited or the cost of the dispute outweighs the potential recovery some merchants choose to accept the chargeback instead.
The distinction between building the evidence around the reason code instead of the order makes a lot of sense. I hadn’t thought about irrelevant evidence potentially burying the few fields the reviewer actually cares about.
When you keep those per-reason templates, is that something you maintain in a separate doc/checklist, or mostly something you’ve learned from experience?
And when deciding whether to fight, do you usually start with the reason code, the order value, or the strength of the evidence?
Yeah…it depends on the case but I usually gather all the relevant evidence first so I don’t miss anything. If there are customer conversations, delivery confirmation screenshots and policy details I organize them before submitting through Shopify. Having everything in a clear order makes the response easier to review.
When you say you organize the evidence before submitting, do you usually start with a short timeline first and then attach the proof, or do you group it by evidence type like tracking, messages, policy, screenshots, etc.?
And do you change that structure depending on the chargeback reason, or is it mostly the same process each time?
I think it depends on the reason for the chargeback. In general, I’d start with a short timeline of the order so the reviewer has the full context, then include the supporting evidence such as tracking, customer communication, proof of delivery and the relevant store policies. If the dispute reason changes, I’d adjust the evidence to focus on the points most relevant to that specific case rather than using exactly the same structure every time. By the way if you like my answer you can mark as solution.
The “short timeline first, then supporting proof” structure makes sense.
Do you keep that as a reusable checklist/template for each dispute type, or do you mostly rebuild it from experience each time a new chargeback comes in?
I think having a basic checklist is helpful so you don’t miss important information. From there, I’d adjust it based on the type of chargeback, since different dispute reasons may require different supporting evidence. That way you have a consistent process while still tailoring the response to each case.