Practical guide

Paid, available, downloaded, usable: four different states

Last materially reviewed 2026-09-27

Quick answerDo not treat a successful payment as proof that the buyer obtained and can use the intended pattern.
What to know

Keep four observations

Our original delivery framework separates payment confirmed, files available, download obtained and intended file usable. These are questions to investigate, not four statuses that every platform displays. A buyer can be stuck between any two of them. Start with the reported symptom rather than changing the store immediately.

What to know

Match the evidence to the claim

An order record can establish a transaction; a file list can establish what is offered. Neither proves that a particular buyer opened a document. Avoid telling a customer that everything worked merely because the merchant dashboard shows a completed sale. Equally, one missing email does not establish that the payment failed.

What to know

Use a minimal support record

Record the order reference, purchase location, expected package and precise problem. Do not gather passwords or full payment credentials. A concise record lets you distinguish a receipt issue from an assignment error or an incompatible format without making the customer repeat an entire story.

What to know

Make one relevant correction

Resend the appropriate receipt when access is the issue; inspect the package when a file is absent; clarify format requirements when a downloaded file cannot be used. Do not create a second charge to test a theory. Check the resulting buyer task separately and keep any unresolved uncertainty visible.

What to know

An original working example

A fictional case illustrates the method: an order exists, the receipt opens, but the buyer sees instructions without the promised layout. Payment and access are not the missing steps; the package or entitlement may be wrong. Another buyer may have the correct file but need to extract an archive. The same “download problem” label describes different work. Use a small table with expected result, actual observation and next check for each state. Do not fill unobserved cells with a green tick. This keeps support honest and prevents a successful early step from being used to dismiss a later failure in the handoff.

Continue when useful

Next: Triage a pattern download problem without guessing

Ask where the process stops: finding the order, opening the link, retrieving the file or using its contents.

Open Triage a pattern download problem without guessing →

Sources used for this page

These records support the facts and comparisons above. Merchant-controlled records are labelled so you can separate product claims from independent evidence.

  1. Adding a digital product — Merchant documentation · help.payhip.com · Merchant-controlled · checked 2026-09-27
  2. Customer did not receive email — Merchant documentation · help.payhip.com · Merchant-controlled · checked 2026-09-27