I honestly need someone to tell me I’m not crazy, because what has happened over the past few weeks feels completely ridiculous.
We built a small online store. We launched it properly. We put time, money, effort, creative work, product work, customer support, advertising and everything else into trying to build something real.
Then Shopify froze our payouts.
At first, we thought it was a standard review. Annoying, but fine. These things happen. We sent documentation. We answered what we were asked to answer. We tried to cooperate as quickly and transparently as possible.
Then our payments were restricted.
Then our store was restricted.
Then our access to basic parts of the business became heavily limited. Orders, payments, fulfillment, tracking, refunds, payouts, customer updates. The exact things you need access to in order to actually run a store and take care of customers.
We contacted support. We opened tickets. We sent documents. We followed up. We asked for clarification. We asked what the actual issue was. We asked what else they needed from us.
And the response has basically been silence.
No clear explanation. No proper resolution. No meaningful support. No timeline. No access to the funds. No practical way to manage the situation properly.
Meanwhile, customers understandably start getting worried.
Some orders are delayed. Some customers don’t receive clear tracking. Some customers contact us asking where their order is. Some think we are ignoring them. Some think we have scammed them.
And honestly, I don’t blame the customers for being upset. If you place an order and don’t get clear updates, of course you’re going to be frustrated. They paid money and they deserve answers.
But here is the insane part.
The platform freezes our payouts, restricts our payments, limits our access to the store, gives us no proper explanation, does not properly answer our support tickets, makes it extremely difficult to refund or manage customers normally, and then when customers start opening chargebacks because they think we scammed them, Shopify sends us notifications saying we will be charged a €15 chargeback fee.
So let me get this straight.
A platform holds our money, restricts our ability to operate, leaves us without proper support, creates a situation where customers lose trust because we cannot manage the store normally, and then charges us extra fees when those customers understandably try to protect themselves?
How is that even remotely normal?
We are not a huge corporation with legal teams, payment departments and endless cash flow. We are a small business trying to build something from zero. When a platform freezes everything without clear communication, it doesn’t just create an “account issue.” It damages the business, the customer relationships, the brand reputation and the trust we worked hard to build.
The hardest part is that customers only see the front end.
They don’t see the frozen dashboard.
They don’t see the unanswered support tickets.
They don’t see the documents sent.
They don’t see the payouts being held.
They don’t see the restrictions.
They don’t see the small business owner trying to fix a situation with one hand tied behind their back.
They just see an order that isn’t being handled the way it should be handled.
And that is what hurts the most.
Because we do care. We do want customers to receive what they ordered. We do want to refund people where needed. We do want to communicate properly. We do want to resolve everything responsibly.
But when the tools, money and access required to do that are restricted by the platform, and the same platform then refuses to properly respond, what exactly is a small business supposed to do?
This is the kind of thing that can destroy a business overnight.
Not because the product failed.
Not because customers didn’t want it.
Not because there was no demand.
Not because we weren’t willing to do the work.
But because the platform we trusted to run the business suddenly blocked the business from functioning normally, without giving us a clear path to fix it.
I’m posting this because people need to understand the other side of these situations.
Yes, customers deserve protection. Absolutely.
But small businesses also deserve fair treatment, clear communication, access to their own funds, and a real explanation when a platform takes actions that directly affect their ability to operate.
Right now, we are doing everything we can to handle the situation as responsibly as possible. We are trying to communicate, resolve orders, support customers and recover access where possible.
But this whole situation is beyond frustrating.
Freeze the payouts.
Restrict the payments.
Restrict the store.
Ignore the tickets.
Leave the business unable to operate normally.
Then charge the business fees when customers lose trust and open chargebacks.
Please tell me I’m not the only one who thinks this is completely insane.