PayPal buyer dispute on custom product — shipped exactly what was ordered

I build custom furniture — dining tables, shelving units, desks. A customer ordered a live-edge walnut dining table for $2,800. We exchanged detailed messages about dimensions, finish, and edge style. I built exactly what was discussed, sent progress photos that they approved, and shipped it with freight delivery and signature confirmation.

Three weeks after delivery, the buyer opened a "Significantly Not as Described" dispute on PayPal. Their complaint? The natural wood grain pattern wasn't what they expected. It's a live-edge natural wood table — every piece of walnut has a unique grain. I explicitly told them this in our messages.

PayPal sided with the buyer and is requiring me to accept a return. The problem is, this is a 200-pound dining table — return shipping would cost me $400+, and the buyer hasn't exactly been careful with it for three weeks. I'm out the materials, 40+ hours of labor, original shipping costs, and now potentially the product itself. This is insane.

I feel your pain. I sell custom jewelry on Etsy with PayPal payments and I've been through this exact nightmare. PayPal's seller protection for custom items is essentially nonexistent. Their policy technically excludes "items that are custom-made" from seller protection, but they inconsistently apply this.

What saved me in my case was having all communication within PayPal's messaging system rather than email or text. If your approval messages were outside PayPal, they may not have considered them. For future orders, keep everything inside the platform.

PayPal's resolution center decisions are not legally binding in the way a court judgment is. You have several options:

• Appeal within PayPal: You can escalate the case and submit additional evidence including your message history, progress photos with timestamps, and any written approval from the buyer.
• Small claims court: If the PayPal appeal fails, you can sue the buyer directly in small claims court. $2,800 is well within the limit in every state. You'd sue for breach of contract — the buyer agreed to the specifications and accepted the product.
• Credit card chargeback response: If the buyer funded the PayPal payment with a credit card, there may be a secondary chargeback through their card issuer. Make sure you respond to any chargeback notifications with your full evidence package.

Key evidence to compile: the original order conversation showing specifications, your progress photos with the buyer's approval responses, delivery confirmation with signature, and any communication after delivery where the buyer acknowledged receiving the table.

Thanks for the responses. Fortunately, most of our communication was through PayPal messages and I have screenshots of everything. The buyer literally replied "Looks perfect, can't wait!" to a progress photo showing the grain pattern they're now complaining about.

I'm going to appeal first and if that doesn't work, small claims it is. This buyer is about 90 minutes from me, so small claims is actually pretty feasible. Do I sue in my county or theirs?

Generally, you can file in the county where the contract was performed (where you built and shipped the table) or where the defendant resides. If they're only 90 minutes away and in the same state, either jurisdiction would likely work, but filing in your own county is more convenient for you.

That "Looks perfect, can't wait!" message is excellent evidence. Make sure you preserve it — screenshot it, print it, and note the exact date and time. That's essentially written acceptance of the product before delivery, which severely undermines their "not as described" claim.

Just want to say this is why I stopped accepting PayPal for high-value custom orders. I now require a 50% deposit via check or wire for anything over $1,000, with the balance due before shipping. It's less convenient for buyers, but it eliminates the PayPal dispute risk entirely.

For what it's worth, the few times I've gone to small claims over custom order disputes, I've won every time. Judges understand that custom items are inherently unique and that buyer's remorse isn't a valid reason for a refund. Bring photos, messages, and your material receipts showing your actual costs.