Think About the Number of Orders In the Queue Before You Order from a Fiverr Seller

There will be people ahead of you in the queue. Image: ThinkStock

You want to order from a Fiverr seller. One of the first things you possibly check is the number of orders in the queue. It looks low, so you think that ordering your 20 gig order is perfectly fine.

There are many buyers who will ignore a request to contact a Fiverr seller before ordering in bulk. Some just don’t consider a large number of gigs being a problem.

It’s really important to think about the number of orders in the queue before you order. Don’t just look at the number on the page. It’s worth contacting the seller. That lone number on the page doesn’t tell you everything.

Those Orders Could Be Bulk

One limitation is that it doesn’t show the size of the orders placed. Those who have bought multiples or gig extras within one order will only appear as one order. A Fiverr seller could just show five orders in his queue, but each of those has 20 individual gigs within the order.

That’s 100 orders!

Yes, that’s excessive but it is certainly possible. Do you really want to add your 20 to that queue? Not only is the seller under pressure, but there is the risk of not getting the quality that you want.

Sellers Like to Split Out Their Delivery Times

If you want to place a large order, the seller might want to space it out. I know if someone wants to place 10 articles with me, I ask that the orders are placed in two sets of five over the course of two days.

There is a major limitation with Fiverr. Bulk orders in the real world would take longer to complete. In Fiverr land, sellers are expected to deliver bulk orders within the same time frame.

If five buyers came a long and ordered 20 gigs at a time, that would be 100 orders that the Fiverr seller has to deliver within that time. The number of orders in the queue isn’t telling you that!

This Will Not Be the Seller’s Only Job

Bear in mind that Fiverr sellers work other places. Some people are still at school, while others work full-time and do Fiverr on the side. Some Fiverr sellers work on other sites as well and need to so they can pay the bills.

Even if the number of orders in the queue looks low, the sellers may have restrictions in place on number of orders at a time. It’s always important to contact and ask about this.

Getting Ahead in the Queue

If you don’t want to wait, there are usually ways of getting in front of the queue. Most sellers will have an extra fast option, which you can order and automatically jump ahead.

If the seller doesn’t have this option—some sellers won’t want to put it up due to other limitations—then you can contact him. Find out how much it will cost to jump ahead. Never expect to get it for free!

Now you know about the limitations on the number of orders in the queue, it’s time to contact your seller. Find out how many orders he can handle at once and whether you need to order over different time periods. This will really help to get the work that you deserve.

Copyright Alexandria Ingham, 2014. All rights reserved.

When Should You Leave Negative Feedback on Fiverr?

Negative feedback is a scary thought for many sellers on Fiverr. But as a buyer you have a right to leave this, right?

Well, yes, but I want to ask buyers to really think about using that thumbs down button. Does your seller really deserve this? One thumbs down can really affect a seller’s ability to make money on the site. Is that something you really want to do?

Some of the times I suggest against leaving feedback is if:

·         You asked for more than the gig offered, and the seller stuck to his or her gig description

·         You were given something the gig detailed, but it was just not quite to your personal preference. This is the case with article writing (unless it is quality, which I’ll cover in a minute), logo design, graphic art and other similar gigs.

·         When the seller has modified the work for you, sometimes as a good-will gesture.

Of course, there are certain times that leaving negative feedback on Fiverr is more than expected. Here are some of the times that it is beneficial to leave your thumbs down.

When the Quality Is Just Shocking

There is a difference between personal preference and quality. Poor quality means that typos are everywhere, grammar is atrocious, and it just sounds like it has been spun (in the case of articles). Videos and graphics will have their own quality needs.

If it is just one typo in a 500 word article, I wouldn’t leave negative feedback on Fiverr for that. People are human and make mistakes. You also want to consider whether there is a difference between US and UK spelling, which could create the look of typos (but isn’t actually the case).

When the Fiverr Seller Hasn’t Delivered as Promised

Fiverr sellers state everything they will deliver in their gig description. It’s there to tell you what you can expect and when to not bother ordering.

If you’ve read through it and offered a job that meets the gig description, then you should expect a timely delivery. Remember to check out the gig deadlines for when you can expect the order by—you will also see a countdown appear on your gig.

When a seller doesn’t deliver as promised, you have every right to leave a negative vote. However, there are a few actions to take first:

·         Request a modification

·         Contact the seller to find out why the work was not as expected

·         Ask for a refund if the seller is not willing to make changes despite you having every right to.

Please note that a seller will not make changes where the limitations in the gig description have been met, or if you’re asking for more work without paying for extra. It’s not fair to expect a seller to ask for these.

If the seller doesn’t allow the refund and will still not deliver as promised, you have every right to leave negative feedback on Fiverr to warn others.

When It Is a Scam

There are scams on Fiverr. It’s important to do your research beforehand to avoid them, but you can’t catch them all. If you find that you are scammed, then do leave negative feedback. If you don’t need that $5, then I’d suggest keeping the gig just to warn others.

However, do note that just because you haven’t received everything you want does not mean that it is a scam. A scam is when someone has promised a product or service for the money you pay. So, if you’re promised a 400 word article on a given topic and you receive that, the seller has not scammed you. It may not be exactly as expected, but it is not a scam. You then need to determine whether you want to leave feedback due to poor quality, or request a modification. You could even get your money back.

There are a lot of people believing that the Facebook like and Twitter follower (and similar) gigs are scams. This depends on what has been promised in the gig. If the seller just promises a certain number of likes and nothing else and you receive them, it is not a scam. The likes may disappear afterwards, but you still received them. If the seller promised a certain number of real likes from certain countries, but you received likes from all over that disappear shortly afterwards (likely bots) then it is a scam.

The best thing to do is avoid all social media gigs that offer hundreds or thousands of likes. Most of them are bots, and they are against social media site rules. You could find your profiles banned.

Hopefully, you now have an idea of when to leave negative feedback on Fiverr. Think about the work that the seller has put into this, and if you don’t have anything nice to say (for personal taste) then consider not leaving feedback at all.

What to Do When a Fiverr Buyer Wants to Cancel

Cancellations affect sellers negatively. While the Terms of Service state that mutual cancellations have no affect on ratings (which is true), they are still calculated into the cancellation percentage. That is shown on the profiles after a certain amount, and it can harm the chances of reaching levels and the Top Rated Seller status.

There are times that Fiverr buyers will request a cancellation. I’ve had plenty of them who have done this. However, recently I’ve managed to stop the cancellations and gain orders out of them.

Here’s what to do the next time a Fiverr buyer wants to cancel.

Ask for a Clear Reason

Most of the time you’ll just get an “ordered by mistake” message. That doesn’t tell you, as a Fiverr seller, what’s gone wrong. Is your gig description not clear or did the buyer accidentally order?

It’s important to talk to your buyer and ask for a clear reason. There are times that it is malicious, but there are other times that the buyer thinks they have ordered the wrong gig. They may not even realize that you offer multiple gigs and can cover their needs.

Once you get a clear reason—or lack of one if it is malicious—you can move onto the next step. If it is malicious, cancel and report the seller to Customer Support.

Discuss Project Requirements

If the buyer has ordered the wrong gig but you can do the request, talk about the requirements for his/her project. Discuss any limitations that you have on your gig, and share the relevant one in a message.

This will help you both determine if you can work together. Remember to remain polite and courteous at all times. You’re trying to turn this into a sale.

When to Cancel

There are times that you can’t offer the buyer anything he needs. If this is the case, make sure you accept the cancellation.

There are also times that the Fiverr buyer will just want to cancel and find a seller he/she wants to work with. Honor that cancellation and move on.

If you do ever get a vibe that a customer is going to be hard work, there is nothing wrong with choosing to cancel. This is especially the case if there has been an issue on a project, and you’re sure the buyer is just going to leave negative feedback. I’d do this if I hadn’t already started the work. Now that I have a highly positive reputation, I’m willing to take a negative hit from an unscrupulous buyer. But that is a personal choice.

Hopefully you won’t get too many Fiverr buyers wanting to cancel. But the good news is you can turn it into a good sale. I’ve had positive feedback from the ones I’ve managed to prevent cancelling. Good luck!

Did you find this blog post helpful? Please feel free to share it with your Fiverr friends and help them deal with Fiverr buyers who want to cancel.

What Should You Do With an Abusive Buyer or Seller on Fiverr?

While most buyers and sellers on Fiverr will conduct themselves with patience and professionalism, there are always one or two bad eggs in the bunch. Some of these buyers and sellers become abusive. They can use disgusting words and phrases, and even become threatening.

I’ve had to deal with buyers like this, and I see it on the Fiverr forum as more and more deal with these abusive people.  The question many people have is what can they do about it?

It really depends on whether you have a gig open with them or not. Here are a few options to handle an abusive buyer or seller on Fiverr.

When You Have an Open Fiverr Gig

The first thing I would do is cancel the gig. There’s just no point in dealing with someone like this. Yes, you may lose out on money, but isn’t that better than the stress and aggravation that comes from dealing with these people?

It will also help avoid the issue of getting negative feedback that isn’t justified removed, if you’re a Fiverr seller.

Remain polite and explain that you have done everything you can and would like to cancel. Make it clear that the work (if you have done any) is not theirs to keep, though. Otherwise you could lose your work and your money.

If the buyer/seller refuses then contact Customer Support to have the gig cancelled and explain your reasons carefully.

Without a Fiverr Gig Open

Sometimes, the communication happens in the messages. It may be someone who has previously left feedback and is now looking for something for free. Or you may be dealing with someone who hasn’t even placed an order yet.

The best thing you can do is report the abusive person to Customer Support. There are chances that the account will be blocked.

You can quickly report messages by hovering over the message and clicking the “report” button that appears. This will mean the buyer/seller can no longer contact you via messages too.

Don’t Feed the Troll

Always avoid feeding someone who is like this. He or she is playing on hurting your feelings and scaring you. Remain polite and ask them to stop contacting you, and that you will no longer reply to messages.

Eventually, the person will be so annoyed that you’ve stopped communicating back that he or she will stop. It does mean the person moves onto someone else though, so there is one more thing you can do.

Report the Fiverr Buyer or Seller to Customer Support

Always report the person to Fiverr Customer Support. There have been instances of the staff not doing anything, so you need to play dirty.

Include the part of the TOS that makes it clear this type of behavior is not tolerated on the site.

Here is the specific part that you want to copy into your messages:

“Posting or sending adult, illegal, rude, abusive, improper, copyright protected, promotional, spam, violent, nonsense or any uncool stuff is strictly prohibited. Doing so will get your account blocked permanently.”

I would bold the “abusive” and “violent” parts to make sure the staff member sees it.

You can go one step further by requesting that the matter is dealt with, and failure to deal with the matter means that Fiverr is breaking its own terms of service. I’ve used that line in the past for something else, and it lead to a change in the terms of service and apology from Fiverr.

Nobody should have to deal with an abusive buyer or seller on Fiverr, but unfortunately it does happen. Remain calm, and don’t rise to the person’s attempts. Stop communication and press the report button immediately.