What you’re up against
A chargeback costs far more than the sale it reverses.
Refunding the sale is the small part. Add a dispute fee you pay even when you win, plus the shipped goods you rarely get back, and the loss lands at several times the order value. Set the sliders to your average dispute and monthly volume to see the total.
Direct cost per chargeback
$208
1.7× the sticker price
Cost this month
$2,496
12 disputes at the current pace
The bars above are the direct costs. The wider picture runs higher: once fraud tooling, raised processing rates, and network penalties are added, Mastercard puts the true cost of a chargeback at $3.75 to $4.61 for every $1 disputed (Mastercard, 2025).