A dispute is answered within 48 hours of being opened. That is the commitment, and it is the reason to raise one rather than exchanging messages for a fortnight.
What happens in that time
It is read, with the order attached — the listing, the messages, the tracking, your photographs.
Both sides can see it is being looked at. A dispute is marked under review, so nobody is wondering.
The store can respond. Most cases are decided on what both sides have already said.
Your money stays inside the system the whole time. Nothing is released to the seller while it is open.
What makes it longer
Missing evidence. The commonest cause by a distance. A case without photographs of a damaged item takes longer than one with them, because somebody has to ask and wait.
A reply that does not answer the question. If you are asked for the packaging, send the packaging.
An escalation. Asking for a decision to be looked at again is slower than the first pass, because somebody reads the whole history. If you are not happy with our answer
A return in the post. If the resolution is sending it back, the courier's days are the courier's days.
What to do while you wait
Watch for the state changing to waiting on you. That is where disputes go quiet — nothing moves until you reply. Check rather than assuming silence means progress.
Do not open a second case about the same order. It does not speed anything up and it splits the evidence.
Do not go to your bank. Weeks rather than days, and it does not pause the dispute. What is a chargeback?
Before you open one at all
Message the store first. Most problems end there in an hour, and a store given the chance to fix something usually does. A dispute is the route when that has not worked. How to message a seller about an order
The store also has its own window to answer a return before Metzee steps in — so raising it with them is not a delay, it is the first step of the same process. How returns work
What the decision is based on
The description against what arrived. Not who was more polite, not who wrote more. If the listing said one thing and the item is another, that is the case.
Which is why four photographs beat four paragraphs. It arrived broken
More: how to raise an issue, how refunds work, how buyer protection works.