diff --git a/server/src/at_record_server/handlers/crate_overlap.gleam b/server/src/at_record_server/handlers/crate_overlap.gleam
index 949c157..d0e2a5a 100644
--- a/server/src/at_record_server/handlers/crate_overlap.gleam
+++ b/server/src/at_record_server/handlers/crate_overlap.gleam
@@ -48,6 +48,8 @@ fn do_get_crate_overlap(
           case shelf_owner.fetch_public_entries(ctx, pds, did) {
             Error(shelf_owner.FetchFailed) ->
               error_json(502, "could not load that user's crate from their PDS")
+            Error(shelf_owner.RepoNotFound) ->
+              error_json(404, "that user's crate could not be found")
             Error(shelf_owner.TooManyPages) ->
               error_json(413, "that user's crate is too large to page through")
             Ok(their_stored) ->
diff --git a/server/src/at_record_server/handlers/shelf.gleam b/server/src/at_record_server/handlers/shelf.gleam
index c15279e..ad051ff 100644
--- a/server/src/at_record_server/handlers/shelf.gleam
+++ b/server/src/at_record_server/handlers/shelf.gleam
@@ -65,6 +65,8 @@ fn list_actor_shelf(req: Request, ctx: Context, actor: String) -> Response {
       case shelf_owner.fetch_public_entries(ctx, pds, did) {
         Error(shelf_owner.FetchFailed) ->
           error_json(502, "could not load that user's crate from their PDS")
+        Error(shelf_owner.RepoNotFound) ->
+          error_json(404, "that user's crate could not be found")
         Error(shelf_owner.TooManyPages) ->
           error_json(413, "that user's crate is too large to page through")
         Ok(events) -> shelf_response(req, ctx, did, handle, events, True)
@@ -250,6 +252,8 @@ fn actor_entry(ctx: Context, actor: String, entry_id: String) -> Response {
       case shelf_owner.fetch_public_entries(ctx, pds, did) {
         Error(shelf_owner.FetchFailed) ->
           error_json(502, "could not load that user's crate from their PDS")
+        Error(shelf_owner.RepoNotFound) ->
+          error_json(404, "that user's crate could not be found")
         Error(shelf_owner.TooManyPages) ->
           error_json(413, "that user's crate is too large to page through")
         Ok(stored) -> entry_response(ctx, did, handle, stored, entry_id)
diff --git a/server/src/at_record_server/shelf_owner.gleam b/server/src/at_record_server/shelf_owner.gleam
index 0a8347b..7d4bff5 100644
--- a/server/src/at_record_server/shelf_owner.gleam
+++ b/server/src/at_record_server/shelf_owner.gleam
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ import at_record/gen/repo/list_records.{type RecordEntry}
 import at_record/gen/shelf/entry
 import at_record/storage.{type StoredItem}
 import at_record_server/context.{type Context}
+import atproto/xrpc
 import gleam/dynamic/decode
 import gleam/int
 import gleam/list
@@ -41,7 +42,7 @@ pub fn resolve_actor(
         "shelf_owner: resolver unreachable for "
         <> actor
         <> ": "
-        <> string.inspect(err),
+        <> xrpc.describe(err),
       )
       Error(Nil)
     }
@@ -112,11 +113,13 @@ fn is_private_ipv4(octets: List(Int)) -> Bool {
   }
 }
 
-/// Hitting the page cap is a distinct outcome from a transport/decode
-/// failure, so the handler can answer honestly instead of handing back a
-/// silently short list.
+/// Three outcomes the handler must tell apart: a genuine transport/decode
+/// failure (`FetchFailed`, 502-worthy), a foreign PDS answering 400/404
+/// because the repo is missing or gone (`RepoNotFound`, 404-worthy, not the
+/// caller's fault), and hitting the page cap (`TooManyPages`, neither).
 pub type FetchEntriesError {
   FetchFailed
+  RepoNotFound
   TooManyPages
 }
 
@@ -166,7 +169,40 @@ fn fetch_pages(
           None,
         )
       {
-        Error(_) -> Error(FetchFailed)
+        Error(generated_client.RepoListRecordsTransport(err)) -> {
+          wisp.log_warning(
+            "shelf_owner: transport failure fetching entries for "
+            <> did
+            <> ": "
+            <> xrpc.describe(err),
+          )
+          Error(FetchFailed)
+        }
+        Error(generated_client.RepoListRecordsUnexpected(status, message, _)) ->
+          case status {
+            400 | 404 -> {
+              wisp.log_warning(
+                "shelf_owner: no such repo for "
+                <> did
+                <> " (pds status "
+                <> int.to_string(status)
+                <> ")",
+              )
+              Error(RepoNotFound)
+            }
+            _ -> {
+              wisp.log_warning(
+                "shelf_owner: unexpected pds status fetching entries for "
+                <> did
+                <> ": "
+                <> int.to_string(status)
+                <> {
+                  option.map(message, fn(m) { " " <> m }) |> option.unwrap("")
+                },
+              )
+              Error(FetchFailed)
+            }
+          }
         Ok(output) -> {
           let rows = decode_rows(did, output.records)
           let all = list.append(acc, rows)
diff --git a/server/test/actor_shelf_test.gleam b/server/test/actor_shelf_test.gleam
index e6dd464..f89a475 100644
--- a/server/test/actor_shelf_test.gleam
+++ b/server/test/actor_shelf_test.gleam
@@ -142,6 +142,21 @@ fn pds_unreachable_client() -> xrpc.Client {
   })
 }
 
+// The foreign PDS is reachable but says the repo is missing, distinct from
+// `pds_unreachable_client`'s transport failure: this should read as 404,
+// not 502.
+fn pds_repo_not_found_client() -> xrpc.Client {
+  xrpc.Client(send: fn(req) {
+    case req.host {
+      "resolver.test" ->
+        Ok(response.Response(200, [], bit_array.from_string(resolve_body())))
+      host if host == pds_host ->
+        Ok(response.Response(404, [], bit_array.from_string("{}")))
+      _ -> panic as "unexpected host"
+    }
+  })
+}
+
 fn a_release() -> catalog_release.CatalogRelease {
   catalog_release.CatalogRelease(
     ..support.blank_catalog_release(),
@@ -277,12 +292,24 @@ pub fn error_status_test() {
       support.xrpc("shelf.listEntries?actor=pub.test"),
       502,
     ),
+    #(
+      shelf.list_shelf,
+      pds_repo_not_found_client(),
+      support.xrpc("shelf.listEntries?actor=pub.test"),
+      404,
+    ),
     #(
       shelf.get_entry,
       network_client(known_entry),
       support.xrpc("shelf.getEntry?actor=pub.test&entry=missing"),
       404,
     ),
+    #(
+      shelf.get_entry,
+      pds_repo_not_found_client(),
+      support.xrpc("shelf.getEntry?actor=pub.test&entry=3aaa"),
+      404,
+    ),
     #(
       shelf.get_entry,
       failing_resolver_client(),