You paid for a file and got a dead link, a corrupt zip, or silence. That's a refund problem, not a tech hobby.

Who do you contact first?

Message the seller, then the marketplace or PayPal, then your credit card issuer if those channels stall. Those are three different rulebooks. If the file never arrived in working form, you are trying to unwind a purchase that was not completed, not begging for a courtesy. This is for U.S. buyers on U.S. payment rails.

What actually controls the refund

The shop's refund policy is the first filter. Many digital sellers stamp files as final sale. That stamp does not magically erase a non-delivery claim if you never received a usable file.

Etsy cases follow Etsy's process for opening a case. That is marketplace procedure, not a statute. PayPal Buyer Protection is PayPal's own program. It uses PayPal's eligibility rules and PayPal's clock.

A credit card fight is a separate track. For credit cards, federal billing-error rules can cover a charge for goods or services you did not receive. The FTC page on being billed for things you never got walks through that path. The CFPB billing error rule is the underlying text.

Debit cards, prepaid cards, bank transfers, and most buy-now-pay-later plans do not automatically get that credit-card process. Ask that provider what dispute path it offers.

U.S. federal law also does not hand you a 14-day no-questions cancel right on a routine online download. If the file arrived as described and you just don't want it, you're asking for store policy.

Fix the file before you file a complaint

Do the boring checks first. They prevent a "user error" brush-off later.

• Search spam and promotions for the download email.
• Open the seller's order page or file library, not only the first link.
• Try another browser or device, and clear the cache on one of them.
• If it's a zip, test whether the archive itself is damaged.
• Screenshot every error, including the URL bar and the time.

If a working file appears, stop. You don't need a dispute.

If it still fails, write the seller the same day. Delay shrinks every later window.

Write the seller while the trail is fresh

Turns out reviewers later read the message log more closely than your summary of how you felt.

Keep it short. Name the order number, the date, what you paid, and what broke. Attach screenshots. Ask for a working file or a full refund. Skip the chargeback threat in the first note.

You'll want the receipt, the emails, the shot of the dead link, maybe a second shot from another device because one photo never feels like enough when you're sitting there late trying to prove a file never showed up.

Subject: Order [number] - digital download not working

Hello,

I bought [product name] on [date], order [number]. The download link fails / the file is unreadable. I tried another device and another browser.

Please send a working file or refund the order. Screenshots and the receipt are attached.

Thank you,
[Name]

Save a copy. If they send a new link, test it before you close the issue.

Open an Etsy case or a PayPal dispute

Etsy wants Help with order first. Etsy's case instructions say 48 hours must have passed since that request. The same page also describes a seven-day timing condition for some purchases, and it says refunds Etsy processes must happen within 180 days of the transaction. Check those limits against your order date.

Match the reason to the facts. A missing file is closer to not received. A file that opens but isn't the product is closer to not as described.

1. Open the purchase and send Help with order, with screenshots.
2. Wait the period Etsy requires after that request.
3. Open a case and upload the same proof.
4. Answer Etsy Messages. Don't vanish.

If you paid through a third-party processor, that company can run a different clock. Etsy flags that.

PayPal is another desk. Open a dispute in the Resolution Center inside the timeframe PayPal lists for that claim type. Try to settle with the seller in that thread. If it doesn't close, escalate to a claim. PayPal says it makes the final call under its Buyer Protection rules. Use Item Not Received if you never got a usable download. Use Significantly Not as Described if you got a file that isn't what was sold.

Gumroad, Sellfy, and similar checkouts usually start with seller support or a help form. No public win-rate is worth repeating. If the seller goes quiet, move to PayPal or the card.

Use a credit card billing dispute if the platform stalls

Thing is, a phone call to the bank helps, and it still isn't the whole federal process.

For a credit card, Nolo's billing-error explainer tracks the same core deadlines the FTC publishes. You generally must get written notice to the issuer within 60 days after the first statement that shows the charge was sent. Use the billing-inquiries address on the statement.

The issuer should acknowledge the dispute in writing within 30 days unless it already fixed the bill. It should finish within two billing cycles, and not more than 90 days, after it gets your letter. You don't have to pay the disputed amount or related finance charges while that's underway. Keep paying the rest.

1. Pull the statement that first shows the charge and note that date.
2. Call the issuer and ask how it wants digital non-delivery documented.
3. Send the written notice anyway, within 60 days, with the receipt, emails, and screenshots.
4. Keep the originals. Mail copies.
5. Answer the bank if it asks for more proof.

People call this a chargeback. Card networks run chargebacks. The written billing-error path is the consumer-facing federal process for credit cards. Banks often fold the two together. Your job is still the 60-day letter.

The FTC notes some issuers may extend that 60-day period when a shipment is delayed. Don't bet a download on that courtesy. Write early.

Which path fits which payment

Pick the path that matches how you paid. Stacking a platform case and a card dispute is common when the shop goes silent. The goal is one refund, not two.

If the listing was a scam

A government report is not a cash refund. File an FTC complaint if you were defrauded, and keep using the seller, platform, and card channels for the money.

Common reasons a digital download complaint is denied

Weak proof sinks more of these than any fancy theory, to be honest, once a reviewer opens a folder with one blurry screenshot and no order number.

Late filing is the cleanest loss. Marketplaces and PayPal publish windows. Credit card billing errors lean on that 60-day written notice. If you downloaded the file, opened it, and used it, "never received" is a stretch. Mismatched billing names and emails also raise flags.

Don't assume a secret digital-goods loophole killed the claim unless the decision letter says so. Ask what evidence they still need. Then send it.

Small claims if the amount still matters

Some buyers take a stubborn seller to small claims court. Dollar limits and filing fees depend on the state. It takes time. It is not a magic refund button. If you go, bring the order record, the messages, and the screenshots, the same stack you already built.

If the charge is tiny, the practical move is usually the platform or the card.

Send the seller message today. If the statement already posted, put the 60-day written date on your calendar tonight.