Problematic buyer

[screenscribe]

Hi Folks,

I have encountered my first problematic customer since I posted my gigs on the site.

This buyer, after messaging me several times, finally ordered my basic $5 gig for a product description. It comes with two focus keywords. He provided five keywords. I told him as I am still new to Fiverr and building up my clientele, I would use the additional three focus keywords at no additional cost.

He did not provide me with the name of his product (I was not asking for an Amazon title, just the name of what he was selling). He also did not provide me with a link to his product or a competitor’s link to the product.

He said he was manufacturing the product and it was not yet in production and there were no competitor links . He sent me a photo of the product. I ran the photo on Google Image Search and found other folks selling the product, including Walmart and Wayfair. It’s an Empire Art Antique Automobile Paper Collage Signed by Gianni. Buyer’s photo had the Gianni signature removed.

I didn’t want to embarrass him and just asked, is this product similar to what you are producing? He answered, Yeah, it is similar, but not all the same.

Anyways, I wrote the product description and delivered it. He writes back to say there are no bullet points and the title is not SEO friendly enough. Go research similar products on Amazon to get better SEO terms. (This after he initially told me there were no products similar to his)

I point out to him that the description does include five bullet points. I also amend the title.

He writes back to say that, because of how I laid out the product description, he missed the bullet points. One minute after, he sends another message: this is product is about handmade paper collage, but i couldnt find a expression about this.

I respond by saying that term wasn’t in any of his FIVE keywords or in any of his information about the product.

He writes back, he meant he is not seeing that term in the title.

I amend the title to include the term ‘handmade paper collage’ and he writes back, Did you see the title of the similar products you have found? A good seo friendly title should combine the main features of products, the most important ones.

I am beginning to wonder if there is any pleasing this buyer or is he just trying to get out of paying $5?

Any advice on how to handle buyers like this?

This is the link to my gig:
https://www.fiverr.com/screenscribe/a-product-description-for-amazon-ebay-etsy-in-24-hrs?funnel=1c25e9f7-e9a7-41fa-a1c6-bdfca8a35730

[djgodknows]

Being a new seller on Fiverr you might be forcing yourself to take orders you normally wouldn’t have.

But ALWAYS LISTEN TO YOUR GUT FEELING.

Now you have a predicament on your hand, all for mere $4.

From your side of the story, it seems, the buyer may not have been forthcoming on his source of his product and etc.

So IF I were you, I would cut my losses and ensure I do not make the same mistake again.

HOWEVER, buyers are forced to leave a PRIVATE FEEDBACK, even during Mutual Cancellations, and that feedback can also have the potential to leave a devastating effect on your gig as a negative review.

So you are in a conundrum, so either bite the bullet and deliver your project to the best of your abilities or be ready to take a hit instead.

Either way, Good Luck. 👍

[screenscribe]

Being a new seller on Fiverr you might be forcing yourself to take orders you normally wouldn’t have.

But ALWAYS LISTEN TO YOUR GUT FEELING.

Now you have a predicament on your hand, all for mere $4.

From your side of the story, it seems, the buyer may not have been forthcoming on his source of his product and etc.

So IF I were you, I would cut my losses and ensure I do not make the same mistake again.

HOWEVER, buyers are forced to leave a PRIVATE FEEDBACK, even during Mutual Cancellations, and that feedback can also have the potential to leave a devastating effect on your gig as a negative review.

So you are in a conundrum, so either bite the bullet and deliver your project to the best of your abilities or be ready to take a hit instead.

Either way, Good Luck. 👍

Thanks for taking the time to respond.

To be honest, I get so many messages from people who never bother to order, that I thought he would be one of those. He kept messaging with all these questions that I began to think he did not have $5 to spare for a basic gig. I didn’t hear from him for a while and then bam, he placed his order. My gut was telling me he was going to be problematic, but I was unsure if I cancelled the order if my metrics would take a hit.

[djgodknows]

Thanks for taking the time to respond.

To be honest, I get so many messages from people who never bother to order, that I thought he would be one of those. He kept messaging with all these questions that I began to think he did not have $5 to spare for a basic gig. I didn’t hear from him for a while and then bam, he placed his order. My gut was telling me he was going to be problematic, but I was unsure if I cancelled the order if my metrics would take a hit.

Since lately, EVERYTHING affects your metrics.

So what you have to do is ensure you are always taking the least HIT on your gigs.

Starting from ensuring quality delivery to managing the type of cancellations that you have to do for your gigs.

If you go over the Fiverr blog for avoiding cancellations, the way they have the cancellations written down, is a HINT on how much it affects your gig.

[screenscribe]

Since lately, EVERYTHING affects your metrics.

So what you have to do is ensure you are always taking the least HIT on your gigs.

Starting from ensuring quality delivery to managing the type of cancellations that you have to do for your gigs.

If you go over the Fiverr blog for avoiding cancellations, the way they have the cancellations written down, is a HINT on how much it affects your gig.

Well, the unfortunate thing is it seems that even though you are bending over backwards to accommodate buyers, the system still leans towards penalising sellers.

[landongrace]

One idea is to build your gig structure in a way that you have time for the difficult orders (you still make money) and you are more profitable on the easy orders.

It is easy for us to price our gig in a way that we are happy with the easy orders and frustrated with the hard customers. We could structure our pricing in a way that provided enough time for the difficult orders.

I use to be frustrated with difficult people. If the client is potentially a repeat customer, you have the opportunity in the future to charge for the level of service that customer desires. You are frustrated with the amount of revisions for $5.00. Would you be less frustrated at $80 or $150? He may not ever find a $5.00 gig that produces what he needs. When he moves up to higher prices for his order, it would be nice for you to have the opportunity to help. Many times I find myself cutting off the potential work instead of developing a product that meets the customers additional needs. I want the process to be efficient or I don’t want to do it. If I did it the "inefficient way,’ the way the customer wants to do it, can I prices the product I offer to do it the customer’s way?

I spent the first 100 deliveries on a gig, tweaking my description to eliminate problems. This may be true if your gig is really new. I was also much more proficient at my craft and my workflow after 100 deliveries.

Now if you are beating your head against the wall, there is no amount of money that will keep it from hurting?

[screenscribe]

One idea is to build your gig structure in a way that you have time for the difficult orders (you still make money) and you are more profitable on the easy orders.

It is easy for us to price our gig in a way that we are happy with the easy orders and frustrated with the hard customers. We could structure our pricing in a way that provided enough time for the difficult orders.

I use to be frustrated with difficult people. If the client is potentially a repeat customer, you have the opportunity in the future to charge for the level of service that customer desires. You are frustrated with the amount of revisions for $5.00. Would you be less frustrated at $80 or $150? He may not ever find a $5.00 gig that produces what he needs. When he moves up to higher prices for his order, it would be nice for you to have the opportunity to help. Many times I find myself cutting off the potential work instead of developing a product that meets the customers additional needs. I want the process to be efficient or I don’t want to do it. If I did it the "inefficient way,’ the way the customer wants to do it, can I prices the product I offer to do it the customer’s way?

I spent the first 100 deliveries on a gig, tweaking my description to eliminate problems. This may be true if your gig is really new. I was also much more proficient at my craft and my workflow after 100 deliveries.

Now if you are beating your head against the wall, there is no amount of money that will keep it from hurting?

Thanks for such a thoughtful response.

Yes, it was always the plan to change my price structure after I got enough reviews. I know not many buyers are willing to take a risk on someone who just has a handful of reviews…so I guess dealing with difficult customers in the early stages while you build up your reputation is inescapable.

Out of all the orders placed since I started offering gigs, this is the first buyer to act suspiciously, almost as though he is setting up for a cancel. Honestly, I would not mind because I believe in karma and, hey, if you want to scam your way out of paying $5, that’s your choice. The only thing that had me concerned is that I’ve been working so hard and underpricing all my services to build up my metrics, to have them take a hit because of an unscrupulous customer would be a bit upsetting.

Oh well, life on Fiverr I guess!

[landongrace]

Thanks for such a thoughtful response.

Yes, it was always the plan to change my price structure after I got enough reviews. I know not many buyers are willing to take a risk on someone who just has a handful of reviews…so I guess dealing with difficult customers in the early stages while you build up your reputation is inescapable.

Out of all the orders placed since I started offering gigs, this is the first buyer to act suspiciously, almost as though he is setting up for a cancel. Honestly, I would not mind because I believe in karma and, hey, if you want to scam your way out of paying $5, that’s your choice. The only thing that had me concerned is that I’ve been working so hard and underpricing all my services to build up my metrics, to have them take a hit because of an unscrupulous customer would be a bit upsetting.

Oh well, life on Fiverr I guess!

You are correct. I discounted my first 100 orders. After 100 orders, I was able to transition to higher pricing. So don’t feel like your stuck. I also poured 1-3 hours in those first $5.00 gigs. You don’t want to refund, but you have to remind yourself that it is only $5.00. We just attach all of the time and emotion to those early orders.

[screenscribe]

You are correct. I discounted my first 100 orders. After 100 orders, I was able to transition to higher pricing. So don’t feel like your stuck. I also poured 1-3 hours in those first $5.00 gigs. You don’t want to refund, but you have to remind yourself that it is only $5.00. We just attach all of the time and emotion to those early orders.

I’m treating those $5 orders as though they were $100 orders. But I can’t wait to get to that point where I can be fairly compensated for my work.

[landongrace]

I’m treating those $5 orders as though they were $100 orders. But I can’t wait to get to that point where I can be fairly compensated for my work.

It certainly transitioned for me. 100 delivered orders on each gig was a good place. Just keep your eye on opportunities you see where gigs are already selling at $25-$100 on Fiverr.

I developed my gigs around what I saw people purchasing on Fiverr.

[screenscribe]

It certainly transitioned for me. 100 delivered orders on each gig was a good place. Just keep your eye on opportunities you see where gigs are already selling at $25-$100 on Fiverr.

I developed my gigs around what I saw people purchasing on Fiverr.

thanks @landongrace, appreciate it!

[solwonder]

Being a new seller on Fiverr you might be forcing yourself to take orders you normally wouldn’t have.

But ALWAYS LISTEN TO YOUR GUT FEELING.

Now you have a predicament on your hand, all for mere $4.

From your side of the story, it seems, the buyer may not have been forthcoming on his source of his product and etc.

So IF I were you, I would cut my losses and ensure I do not make the same mistake again.

HOWEVER, buyers are forced to leave a PRIVATE FEEDBACK, even during Mutual Cancellations, and that feedback can also have the potential to leave a devastating effect on your gig as a negative review.

So you are in a conundrum, so either bite the bullet and deliver your project to the best of your abilities or be ready to take a hit instead.

Either way, Good Luck. 👍

HOWEVER, buyers are forced to leave a PRIVATE FEEDBACK, even during Mutual Cancellations, and that feedback can also have the potential to leave a devastating effect on your gig as a negative review.

Wow I did NOT know this either! I’m JUST realizing I cannot see buyer’s reviews either which I also find quite surprising.