Seller dispute evidence by platform: deadlines, file rules and what wins

Every seller who takes payments in more than one place ends up with the same problem. A buyer files a claim, and the rules for answering it depend entirely on where the money moved: a card network through Stripe or Shopify Payments, a wallet like PayPal, a buy-now-pay-later provider, or a marketplace with its own case system. Each one has a different deadline, a different upload form and a different idea of what proof looks like.

This hub puts those rules side by side. It covers twelve channels, links to each platform's own help page, and connects to a deeper guide for every one of them. Policies change, so treat the linked pages as the source of truth; we checked every rule below in October 2026.

What counts as seller dispute evidence

Seller dispute evidence is the material a merchant submits to whoever decides a buyer's claim, to show that the order was delivered, matched its description and left in the condition it was sold in. The decider changes by channel, and so does the format it will read.

Whatever the channel, the evidence falls into the same four groups:

1. Proof of delivery: carrier tracking, delivery scan, signature where required, all matching the address on the order.
2. Proof of contents and condition: what physically went into the box, with the order reference, item, variant or serial label, and the seal in view.
3. Proof of what was promised: the listing, product description and policies as the buyer saw them at purchase.
4. The conversation: messages showing the buyer's complaint and your attempt to resolve it.

Tracking covers the first group only. Most "not as described", "wrong item" and "empty box" claims live in the second, and the second is the one most sellers have nothing for. A packing record tied to the order is what fills it.

Master table: dispute deadlines, file rules and what wins (checked October 2026)

The table below is the short version. Each platform name links to the official page the row is taken from, and each has its own section further down.

Three patterns stand out once the rows sit next to each other:

• Money channels read documents; some marketplaces read video. Every card and BNPL path in the table either excludes video outright or lists no video format. Two marketplaces, Whatnot and Shopee, explicitly ask for it.
• Many forms accept one round of evidence. Stripe forwards your response to the issuer immediately and won't take more. Square can't pass anything to the bank after you submit its form. Klarna disputes processed through Stripe allow a single round.
• The clock is short everywhere. The deadline on the case beats any number in this table, because some depend on network, region or dispute stage.

Turning one packing record into every format

The practical answer to a table this varied is one record per order that can be exported two ways. Keep the original recording intact for the marketplaces that review video, and turn it into a few clear stills inside a PDF for every channel that reads documents.

Four stills usually carry a contents claim: the order reference next to the item, the variant or serial label, the item inside the open carton, and the sealed carton with its shipping label. That is the selection card disputes reward, because a reviewer can check each one in seconds.

Stripe disputes: the bank never sees your video

On Stripe, the issuing bank decides, and it reads only documents. Stripe's response guide says banks won't review external content, so audio and video files, links and requests to call or email are all excluded. Files must be PDF, JPEG or PNG, 4.5 MB combined, fewer than 50 pages in total and no more than 19 pages for Mastercard. You can upload one file per evidence type, and you get one submission.

For a "product unacceptable" dispute, Stripe asks for a description of the product as you represented it, images of how it was shown before purchase, customer communication and your refund policy. Its reason-code guide for Mastercard 4853 goes further and lists photos of the item before shipment, including serial numbers or inspection tags. That is exactly what stills from a packing recording are.

The full field-by-field walk-through, with copy-ready text for the product description and explanation boxes, is in Stripe dispute evidence: turning packing video into a PDF.

Shopify Payments and PayPal: where most store disputes start

Shopify Payments chargebacks follow card network rules with Shopify's own upload limits. Its chargeback instructions set a due date 7 to 21 days after the chargeback or inquiry is filed, accept PDF, JPEG or PNG, cap each file at 2 MB and the total at 4 MB, and say not to include audio or video files, links to external resources or requests to call or email. Shopify's general guidance adds two useful details: order information such as product details, addresses and tracking is added to the response automatically, and images should be high-contrast because many banks still receive evidence by fax.

PayPal works differently, because PayPal itself decides. Its dispute help page asks sellers to respond within the first 10 days after a dispute is created, with a third-party shipping receipt, tracking number or signature confirmation, proof of refund, or other proof of receipt. The key fact sits on the Seller Protection page: claims for items "Significantly Not As Described" are excluded. Seller Protection covers item-not-received claims and eligible unauthorized payments, so a not-as-described case rests on the evidence you bring.

For what each of these platforms weighs when the claim is about contents, see how to prove an item was shipped correctly.

Square disputes: seven days, no audio or video

Square gives sellers a short seven-day window and refuses audio and video outright. Its document guide lists HEIC, JPEG, PDF, PNG and TIFF, each no larger than 5 MB and no longer than 15 pages. If you don't respond, Square's dispute team challenges with whatever it already has, and once you submit the information request form, nothing more can be passed to the bank.

For not-as-described claims, Square's dispute article asks for the exact product description at purchase, photos or specifications showing the item matched it, and for defective goods, proof that the merchandise wasn't defective when shipped or quality control records. Evidence must be legible, verifiable, in English or translated, and clearly linked to the transaction.

The full procedure, including how to fit a packing record into a 5 MB, 15-page file, is in Square dispute evidence.

Klarna and Afterpay: BNPL disputes run on the provider's clock

Buy-now-pay-later disputes are decided by the provider, not a bank, and each provider sets its own clock. Klarna's disputes documentation gives merchants 14 days for the first request on most reasons, 7 days for unauthorized purchases, and 7 days for each follow-up. Missing a deadline means Klarna resolves the dispute in the customer's favor.

Klarna is specific about delivery proof. Its evidence guide says a tracking link is not sufficient: proof of delivery must be attached. For physical goods not received, it asks for one additional proof of full delivery such as a packing list, delivery note or parcel weight. A packing record showing every item going into the box answers that request directly.

Afterpay is narrower. Its developer documentation says it currently supports only "product not received" as a dispute reason, with 13 days between notification and the evidence deadline and 30 days for Afterpay's decision. In the Business Hub, case notes are limited to 500 characters.

Both are covered step by step, with ready-to-paste responses, in Klarna and Afterpay dispute evidence for merchants.

Visa VAMP: the dispute you win still counts

Visa's Acquirer Monitoring Program measures how many disputes and fraud reports you receive, not how many you win. Stripe's monitoring programs page lists the merchant "excessive" threshold at a 1.5% VAMP ratio and 1,500 monthly disputes and fraud reports in the US, Canada, EU, Asia Pacific and Latin America, and 2.2% in CEMEA. Visa's own VAMP fact sheet records that the 1.5% level replaced 2.2% in the US, Canada, EU and Asia Pacific on 1 April 2026.

The same Stripe page is blunt about outcomes: monitoring programs don't consider them, because the networks care more about how well you prevent disputes than whether you win. The only disputes kept out of the count are those resolved through pre-dispute products and fraud reports that qualify for Compelling Evidence 3.0.

That is why the most valuable evidence is the evidence the buyer sees before they ever call the bank. How to calculate your ratio, and which prevention steps act before a dispute is filed, is in Visa VAMP thresholds and how to prevent disputes.

Card chargebacks: match the reason code before the evidence

A card chargeback asks one of two questions, and the reason code tells you which. Goods disputes (Visa 13.1 and 13.3, Mastercard 4855 and 4853) ask whether you delivered what you sold. Fraud disputes (Visa 10.4, Mastercard 4837) ask whether the cardholder authorized the payment at all.

Packing evidence answers the first question and has nothing to say about the second. For card-absent fraud, Visa's Compelling Evidence 3.0 relies on two prior undisputed transactions with matching device or IP data instead. Filing a packing recording into a fraud code is one of the most common ways a strong record loses. The split, and the exact CE 3.0 requirements, are in which disputes packing video can support, and which need CE 3.0.

TikTok Shop: evidence within 48 hours

TikTok Shop's US after-sales disputes move faster than any card chargeback. TikTok's Requirements for After-sales Dispute Escalations, dated October 8, 2026, gives sellers 48 hours from a dispute notification to submit evidence, and missing the deadline can mean an automatic refund at the seller's expense. Sellers have 4 business days to review a return request before TikTok may approve it, and 30 calendar days to appeal a judgment. An earlier June 2026 version, reported by PPC Land, set the evidence window at 24 hours, which is why both numbers still circulate.

The evidence types listed are proof of delivery, product condition documentation, communications with the customer and product photos. With a two-day clock, the only workable approach is to have the record before the order ships. The details, and how to keep a day-one evidence pack ready, are in TikTok Shop dispute evidence.

Whatnot: one continuous shot, kept for 75 days

Whatnot is the clearest case of a platform that requires video. Its High-Value Card Protection page tells sellers to record the cards being packed, the package being sealed and the shipping label with the tracking number applied, "all in one continuous shot," and to store the footage for at least 75 days. When Trust and Safety contacts a seller about a missing high-value card, the seller has 2 calendar days to respond, and photos are not accepted as sufficient evidence.

Without valid fulfillment proof, the seller can be billed the card's full market value, not just their earnings from the sale. For everyday orders, Whatnot's Seller Protection policy expects a response to buyer or Support messages within 2 business days and lists clear photos from before and during packing, the label and the item's condition as useful appeal evidence. Each refund decision can be appealed once. The full setup is in Whatnot packing video requirements.

Etsy cases: the listing photos are the yardstick

On Etsy, the question in a not-as-described case is whether the item matches the listing photos and description. Etsy's case guide says buyers can open a case once the maximum estimated delivery date has passed and at least 48 hours after contacting the seller, and that sellers communicate and attach screenshots or photos directly in the case log.

Etsy's Purchase Protection for sellers covers up to $250 of a refund when, among other conditions, the item matches the listing photos and description, valid tracking was provided, and the seller responded to the buyer's "Help with order" message within 48 hours. It explicitly includes the case where the item matches the listing but the buyer claims it doesn't. A record of the item as shipped is how you show that match. More in Etsy not-as-described case evidence.

eBay: five images, under 1.75 MB

eBay runs two separate tracks. Payment disputes, raised through the buyer's card issuer or payment provider, must be accepted or challenged within 5 calendar days, and eBay's payment dispute page limits uploads to JPEG, JPG or PNG images, at most five files, under 1.75 MB in total. eBay UK's version of the page suggests "a clear photo showing the item is as described and its condition pre-postage."

Not-as-described returns run under the Money Back Guarantee: sellers have 3 business days to respond, must refund within 2 business days of receiving the return, and can appeal within 30 calendar days of eBay's decision. Buyers lose protection for returning an item other than the one they received, which is where a recorded serial number earns its keep. See eBay not-as-described seller evidence.

Shopee and Lazada: uncut video with a readable waybill

Shopee is the most prescriptive platform in this table about what packing evidence must show. Its Philippine seller guide on return and refund evidence, updated 30 September 2026, gives sellers 48 hours to provide evidence when filing a dispute and 24 hours when an agent asks for more. Pre-shipment photos or uncut video must show the items complete, correct and undamaged, packed to Shopee's guidelines, with a clear and readable air waybill, and all six sides of the parcel. Photos may be up to 10 MB and videos up to 30 MB and under one minute; larger files can be shared only as Google Drive or YouTube links that stay accessible for at least 15 days.

Lazada's process is less publicly documented. Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs marketplace ratings page says Lazada's internal dispute team shares an outcome within 3 working days of a buyer's dispute form; check the evidence deadline and file rules in your own Seller Center. Both platforms are covered in Shopee and Lazada packing video disputes.

Chargeback software and packing evidence are two layers

Chargeback tools assemble and submit responses; packing evidence creates the record they submit. The two are complementary. A dispute tool can gather order details, tracking and customer data from connected systems, but no system holds a picture of the item going into the box unless someone recorded it at the bench.

If you already use a dispute service, the evidence dossier PDF is the attachment it cannot produce on its own. If you answer disputes yourself, the same PDF goes straight into the processor's form. The full comparison is in chargeback software vs packing video evidence.

Proof of contents is not proof of shipment

Tracking proves a parcel moved; it says nothing about what was inside. Every not-as-described, wrong-item, missing-item and empty-box claim is a contents claim, and answering it with a delivery scan answers a question nobody asked.

What answers it is a record from the one moment the dispute is about: the item going into the box. The claim-specific guides go deeper on the customer who says the box was empty and the customer who says the wrong item was sent. For the capture standard itself, see what makes a packing video count as evidence.

Common mistakes that lose winnable disputes

Most lost disputes in physical commerce are lost on format and timing, not on facts. These are the errors the rules above punish most often.

How PallasMark covers the whole dispute cluster

PallasMark is a complete order-evidence system that runs on the phones your team already has, and it is built around the problem this table describes: one record per order that every channel can read.

The record is made before anyone complains. Packers record video and photos on iPhone, Android or in the browser. Scanning the barcode on the picking slip or shipping label opens that order, so the recording is bound to it before the first frame. Orders arrive from Shopify, WooCommerce, ShipStation, ShipHero and Amazon. No mounted cameras, no pack station, no extra hardware.

The record can be checked by a stranger. Every stored file gets a SHA-256 fingerprint, so changing a single frame changes the fingerprint. Each proof has a public verification page that re-hashes the stored file on the spot, and a bank, marketplace agent or buyer can open it with no account. There is no edit button for recordings anywhere in the product. How verification works explains the check, and tamper-evident video covers the capture side.

The buyer can settle it before it becomes a dispute. For high-value or dispute-prone orders, you can hold the parcel and send the buyer the sealed recording first. They open a link with no app or account, watch, and approve or report an issue; the record keeps how long they watched. A later "wrong item" claim then has to contradict the buyer's own approval. See buyer approval before dispatch.

Returns get the buyer's own footage. When a return opens, the buyer is asked to film or photograph the item and its packaging through a link. Shopify and ShipHero returns trigger the request automatically; see return evidence.

One dossier answers the document channels. On request, PallasMark builds the evidence file for the order: a PDF with four stills from each recorded video (up to six videos), the order details and verdict, photos, fingerprints, buyer approval, return evidence, and the carrier and tracking number read from your store. Every generated PDF is stored with its own hash and logged. You download it and upload it to Stripe, Shopify, PayPal, Square, Klarna or a marketplace form. When a channel accepts links, an optional share link opens the full record for 1 to 30 days with an optional PIN, and you can revoke it. The dossier is included in every plan; see chargeback evidence.

Deadlines don't sneak up. Shopify Payments chargebacks open a case in PallasMark and email the team, with reminders 7 days and 48 hours before the deadline. Proofs are kept for 90 days by default on every plan, which covers Whatnot's 75-day expectation, and orders with an open dispute, chargeback or return are never purged.

You can start on the free plan, no card required, and see pricing for plan details. To see how the record is made end to end, start with packing video proof.