A chargeback function pays for itself at a specific volume. A mid-market operations hire costs about $50 per hour fully loaded, and a carefully written reply to a dispute takes about 30 minutes. A dedicated dispute analyst can produce roughly 16 replies in an 8-hour day, at a monthly cost of around $8,000.
External services charge $25 to $40 per case at meaningful volume. Above roughly 60 disputes a month, an in-house analyst is cheaper. Above 100, in-house is also better on quality, because an analyst who reads every case learns how customers' banks respond, builds your evidence library, and picks up the cancellation and refund quirks of your business.
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Below 60 disputes a month, outsourcing is cheaper, as is having someone already on staff handle disputes in 4 hours of weekly slack. Most small merchants sit below that line, and growing merchants often cross it without noticing.