Purchased an item back on February 8, 2023. I received an email confirmation right away and was charged. It has now been 2 weeks and I haven’t received anything. No follow-up email, or product. I contacted the store on every form of contact and they have never responded. I reported the merchant to Shopify and have not heard back. I have been ghosted from the very beginning. What do I do and why is no support actually doing anything?
Topic summary
Core Issue:
Multiple customers report problems with unresponsive Shopify-powered stores—ranging from never receiving orders to missing items and lack of communication.
Key Complaints:
- Original poster waited 2+ weeks with no product, tracking, or seller response despite multiple contact attempts
- Another customer waited over a month (since June 17, 2024) without receiving items or responses to emails
- Third customer received incomplete order with unauthorized substitutions and cannot reach seller
- Attempts to report merchants through Shopify’s official channels resulted in technical errors or no feedback
Shopify’s Position (via moderators):
- Shopify is a platform provider, not a marketplace—individual stores are solely responsible for order fulfillment and customer service
- Cannot confirm store details or disclose investigation outcomes
- Recommends waiting 30 days before escalating, then filing disputes through payment providers (bank, PayPal)
- Claims fraudulent stores violate Terms of Service and may be removed, but provides no transparency on enforcement
Customer Frustration:
- Users express disappointment with lack of buyer protection tools compared to marketplaces like Etsy
- Criticism of Shopify’s limited accountability for vetting merchants on their platform
- Technical issues preventing merchant reports compound the problem
Status: Unresolved—customers directed to payment providers for refunds with no direct Shopify intervention available.
Hi @claytonwh24
Thank you for reaching out, and welcome to the Shopify Community.
I understand that you have placed an order on a store you believe is using Shopify, and have some concerns about not receiving it yet. I can appreciate the fact that you would like answers, I am sure I would be the same if I was in your position!
Firstly, we cannot actually confirm any details about a store, which includes whether or not they are using Shopify for their business.
We would always recommend trying your best to contact the store directly, as they are the ones responsible for managing their orders, and communicating with you as their customer. Shopify is the platform that a wide variety of businesses use for their online stores, however we don’t manage any stores ourselves, and have no visibility on your order or the store communication with you etc.
It sounds like you have already tried your best to get in touch with them, and haven’t received any response - I am sorry to hear about that, it’s certainly not ideal. From what you have described, it sounds like the order was placed 14 days ago. We would always recommend waiting at least 30 days, as there may be genuine reasons for the delay. Also, many banks/payment providers require this as a minimum amount of time before they can intervene and provide assistance.
If you haven’t heard back from the store, or received your order within that 30 day time frame, then it would be a good idea to reach out to your bank/payment provider to discuss the possibility of securing a refund. Many banks have customer protection processes that can allow them to take action on your behalf.
You mentioned that you reported the store to us, but did not hear back. Thank you for taking the time to do this, however it is normal and expected that you will not hear back from us. We are unable to disclose any information relating to the outcome of investigations.
So what is the point of Shopify? From a consumer standpoint, seems like y’all are completely useless as a platform. Etsy never has these issues.
Thanks for getting back @claytonwh24
I understand what you mean, and I appreciate that it’s not an ideal situation when an online order doesn’t go as planned.
To differentiate between Etsy and Shopify - Etsy is a marketplace (along the lines of Amazon or eBay) which means sellers from all sorts of businesses sell their products in one central location on the main Etsy website. Shopify allows businesses to create their own bespoke stores hosted on their own website. Customers would place orders directly with the store, and then the store is solely responsible for shipping the orders, and providing customer support the same way most businesses would.
As with most online platforms however, unfortunately there will be people who try to take advantage of our credibility. We take this matter seriously and I can assure you our team constantly reviews the stores on our platform, to ensure merchants are following our terms of service.
As I mentioned previously, contacting the store first is the best course of action - thanks for confirming you have tried this. As it has only been 14 days, there is still a chance that you will receive your order, or the store will work with you to resolve the situation.
Waiting 30 days before taking further action is usually a good idea, as many banks cannot intervene unless this amount of time has passed. However, you can of course feel free to contact your bank now to discuss options. To clarify, Shopify does not have access to transaction money, so we are not in a position to be able to provide you with a refund.
If you believe this store is using Shopify and is operating in a way that goes against of terms of service, then we encourage you to reach out to our support team directly via email, and provide as much information/evidence as possible. It sounds like you have already done this - so thanks again. We process each and every report seriously, and will look into each report sent to us.
I trust that this will help to provide some clarity on the situation and explain the next steps for you to take, but I would be happy to answer any other questions you may have.
Hi Rick,
I ordered my items on June 17 and still have yet to receive my items. I emailed the store more than 3 weeks ago, requesting the tracking number and never received a response. I filed a ticket with PayPal (the payment method), last week to request a refund and they emailed the storefront, and also did not receive a response. Now Paypal is telling me they will close the ticket unless I escalate it, which I did. What more can I do to receive my refund?
I also tried to report the merchant using Shopify’s “Report a Merchant” page, but it kept giving me an error. If this Shopify store is fraudulent, why are they still able to have a store with Shopify?
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Hi! Working with your payment provider is the right thing to do. There is no further action to take, as the payment provider should be able to help you file a dispute.
Fraudulent activity is not tolerated on Shopify. Stores are expected to operate in line with the Terms of Service and Acceptable Use Policy, and action may be taken to remove them from the platform if they are in violation of those terms. Regarding the report, what is the error message you’re receiving?
Actually, I ordered my item on June 17, 2024, so over a month ago. I reported them to Paypal about 1 week and a half ago and am awaiting their response to my escalation.
The storefront has “Powered by Shopify” in the website’s footer , so how can you not confirm it’s a Shopify storefront? Shopify is in the order confirmation page url.
I’ve tried several times to submit my complaint on the, “Report a Merchant” and received this error: “There was a problem submitting your complaint, please try again.”.
As someone who works with an AI company that specializes in retail sites, I’m disappointed in your Customer Service and the lack of tools you provide your community of buyers to: report a merchant, receive assistance with refunds, and the lack of assistance with an AI chat that provides non-answers.
Thank you for taking the time to share this feedback. All of the information we have to offer regarding online orders can be found in this post: FAQ: Your Online Order.
Have you tried submitting the report from a different browser or device? If there are no flags to correct any information that has been filled out in the form and it’s just the general error message about a problem submitting, trying from a different browser or device may resolve the issue.
This response is not helpful. If you are a marketplace the responsibility of vetting vendors is solely shopifys responsibility. You lack of accountability requires I never use you services again. You are a fraud.
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Hello so I received my order and there is one item missing, the owner of the store sent a replacement I guess and an extra item without asking me first if I want that, I try to contact her in the past but she never answers her email. I leave her a negative review until she fixes this situation. I need the item I order not replacements or extra items without letting me know. Is there anyone that can help me to reach this seller?
