Solved - How to stop battling with order disputes

[estherrandell]

My journey on Fiverr has been fascinating. I joined Fiverr September last year and within a year, I’ve completed over 230 orders. I’m now gunning for the prestigious TRS Badge. My success did not come easy, there were days when I felt cheated and used - I kept my eyes on the goal and learned from every experience.

Say it’s too early to give advice, but I really think a few people would benefit from this advice. If you’re anything like me, you work round the clock. I’ve maintained a 99% response rate because I value my clients and the opportunity Fiverr provides. So when I get that notification — buyer opened a dispute on your order, I am hurt to my bones. Hey, don’t get me wrong, I’m not one of those sellers that seem to think they are perfect. I admit, there are times I don’t bring my A Game.

However, when a buyer goes for the straight red, I gotta turn to the obvious — Fiverr wouldn’t force a buyer to pay for a service. So, here’s what I did. I dedicated a whole day to study all my canceled orders and coupled with the stories on the forum, I’ve got some amazing tips for you.

1. Never bid for a job you can’t actually do
Newbies make this mistake a lot. Some people actually go ahead to offer prices way lower than the buyer’s estimated budget for the job. You forget one thing. If this is a first-time buyer and you do not deliver, he would think the whole website is flawed. That project may be a critical part of a larger project and you may have just put this buyer under so much stress because you wanted to make some quick box.

2. Value your time, professionals don’t take a pay cut
From my research, I realized that in all my canceled orders, the buyers asked me to cut down my price drastically. While I thought I was doing them a favor, I was actually showing my vulnerability. Make sure your pricing is valued by the service you’re offering, no walks to Mercedez claiming it’s too expensive and a Toyota cheaper. Value your time and your expertise.

3. Offer only services described on your gig
If a buyer asks for a service outside of your gig requirements, politely refuse this request. I’ve found that this could be a ground to cancel the order. For example, if you’re a writer and a buyer asks for a book cover, do not be tempted to accept this offer even if he would purchase a gig extra for that service. The buyer has the right to cancel this order (the book and the cover) if he “claims” the book cover didn’t turn out great — you lose both ways.

4. Don’t offer free samples
Buyers are supposed to trust the system — they are supposed to trust great reviews, Fiverr’s tests results and your portfolio but I have found that if this is simply not good enough for a person, turn down their down. As a seller, I trust the system — I put up my identity and certifications, take tests, purchase courses (not yet though), share my portfolio — basically believing that a geniue buyer would hit me up. I expect buyers to do the same. Refuse any offer asking you to work on a sample for free.

5. Ask for more time

I love what I do and I put in my best. So for me, I don’t mind asking for some additional time to put out something fantastic. Don’t be unprofessional, communicate with the buyer; they are people as well. Don’t send a message an hour before delivery claiming your laptop just crashed. Send a friendly message explaining what the problem is and request for more time to put out your best.

That’s all for me from now.

With Love
Esther.