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First negative review but I feel the buyer is in the wrong. Can I do anything?


edewaard

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I got an order the other night from a return buyer who needed me to edit a 979 word document. They placed the order without contacting me first (which is fine) but their package only included 350 words. I immediately let them know about this and said I would like to add an extra $5 for the word count but told them if they would rather cancel the order I completely understood.

They never responded but quickly accepted the $5 which I appreciated.

In their order requirements, they simply attached the document, asked me to edit, and said “Not sure if you can send it back tonight”.

I had 24 hours to complete the order and I was not able to work on it that night. I completed the order the following day and delivered several hours before the order was due.

The buyer accepted my order and I left them a 5 star review bc they were a returning customer and they must have been understanding of me adding $5 to the cost since they accepted it, so I felt it had been a pleasant transaction.

Then, I see they left me 1 star. In all 3 categories (communication, service, recommend). My first time getting anything less than 5 in all categories.

Their comment was “took too long. The assignment was already submitted.”

I’m so frustrated because if they actually needed the order that night, they should have messaged me and asked if that was possible. Now looking back I think “I guess I should have messaged them when I read their requirements and asked if they needed it that night.” But it’s not my fault. I delivered the order that was requested ahead of the due date.

I know getting more positive ratings again will smooth this over, but I just feel wronged and frustrated and I’m not sure if there’s anything I can do about it. I’m thankful for anyone’s input!!

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Asking to have a review changed usually gets the seller a warning, even if the buyer asks for it. Also, the buyer said the assignment was already turned it. Did you work on an academic assignment? Because that would be against TOS and CS would give you an account warning if they became aware of it.

Some commented: arrow_down And: arrow_down So, I once again contacted Amy and asked her to clarify whether or not sellers will get warnings if they merely ask for a nonspecific review. roll_eyesimage.png.86412bcfb75ad6425cea0f43ba9c263b.pngNonetheless, Amy had not answered my question of whether or not there would be retribution for requests like those I quoted above. arrow_up" alt="arrow_up However, Amy did not answer me; Jenny did, and her response was quite clear. :face_with_…
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Just reply to the review. “I delivered ahead of delivery deadline, You did not pay for a rush order. Sorry, but if you need things in rush, please use arrange for a rush in the future.”

Does two things, shows the buyer is wrong. Also reinforces that if people need a rush, they need to arrange for it first.

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These are examples of projects I accept:

  • Web copy

  • Articles & blog posts

  • Academic materials

The above is copied from the gig description in question.

Helping to prepare academic work is against the Terms of Service at the bottom of the Fiverr main page.

Make sure to carefully read the Terms of Service as a violation can risk your account.

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I got an order the other night from a return buyer who needed me to edit a 979 word document. They placed the order without contacting me first (which is fine) but their package only included 350 words. I immediately let them know about this and said I would like to add an extra $5 for the word count but told them if they would rather cancel the order I completely understood.

They never responded but quickly accepted the $5 which I appreciated.

In their order requirements, they simply attached the document, asked me to edit, and said “Not sure if you can send it back tonight”.

I had 24 hours to complete the order and I was not able to work on it that night. I completed the order the following day and delivered several hours before the order was due.

The buyer accepted my order and I left them a 5 star review bc they were a returning customer and they must have been understanding of me adding $5 to the cost since they accepted it, so I felt it had been a pleasant transaction.

Then, I see they left me 1 star. In all 3 categories (communication, service, recommend). My first time getting anything less than 5 in all categories.

Their comment was “took too long. The assignment was already submitted.”

I’m so frustrated because if they actually needed the order that night, they should have messaged me and asked if that was possible. Now looking back I think “I guess I should have messaged them when I read their requirements and asked if they needed it that night.” But it’s not my fault. I delivered the order that was requested ahead of the due date.

I know getting more positive ratings again will smooth this over, but I just feel wronged and frustrated and I’m not sure if there’s anything I can do about it. I’m thankful for anyone’s input!!

Hi @edewaard

I can see others have already mentioned the importance of removing all mention of Academic Writing from your gigs, so I won’t state that again, other than to encourage you to edit your gigs ASAP.

But to your issue;

I got an order the other night from a return buyer who needed me to edit a 979 word document. They placed the order without contacting me first (which is fine) but their package only included 350 words. I immediately let them know about this and said I would like to add an extra $5 for the word count but told them if they would rather cancel the order I completely understood.

Sorry to read about this. I had a quick look at your profile and saw the review in question, and would say that a) It looks out of place in comparison to all of your glowing reviews and b) Your response was great, and if I were a buyer, the one review wouldn’t put me off.

What would put me off is your price - I’d look for someone charging more. Please take this in the friendly way in which it’s intended, but you’re under-selling yourself, and giving away far too much for $5. I don’t know the editing field, but I’d guess the editing of a 500 word document is between 30 and 60 minutes? So potentially $5 to $10 an hour. Again, I’m not massively clued up on the US economics in relation to this, but I know that here in the UK, the minimum wage is £8/$10 per hour, and in general it’s low or no-skilled workers who are earning that. Somebody skilled in a field like yourself could, and should be charging much more for their time.

I do get that things are tough in the early days, and that you have to work for cheap… we started out selling our services for much less than we do today; but looking at your profile, you’ve got high quality gigs, and the social proof to validate that you’re legit. If you haven’t already, I’d seriously recommend you to stop offering ANYTHING for $5, and set a minimum price of $10 or $20, as well as thinking about increasing your rate.

I obviously say this with the caveat that there are no guarantees, and you must do what you think is best for your business, but even the simple act of stopping $5 gigs and changing to $10 will get rid of most of these types of customers. Many sellers find that when they do this, they get more orders, or if they get fewer orders, they’re usually higher value.

And honestly, in general, $5 customers are the worst. They usually want the moon on a stick, and for some reason have no qualms with over-using the revision button, being rude, leaving scathing reviews and demanding refunds. I’m generalising I know, but our experience was that we couldn’t move away from the $5 price-point quickly enough.

All the best, whatever you decide to do.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hi @edewaard

I can see others have already mentioned the importance of removing all mention of Academic Writing from your gigs, so I won’t state that again, other than to encourage you to edit your gigs ASAP.

But to your issue;

I got an order the other night from a return buyer who needed me to edit a 979 word document. They placed the order without contacting me first (which is fine) but their package only included 350 words. I immediately let them know about this and said I would like to add an extra $5 for the word count but told them if they would rather cancel the order I completely understood.

Sorry to read about this. I had a quick look at your profile and saw the review in question, and would say that a) It looks out of place in comparison to all of your glowing reviews and b) Your response was great, and if I were a buyer, the one review wouldn’t put me off.

What would put me off is your price - I’d look for someone charging more. Please take this in the friendly way in which it’s intended, but you’re under-selling yourself, and giving away far too much for $5. I don’t know the editing field, but I’d guess the editing of a 500 word document is between 30 and 60 minutes? So potentially $5 to $10 an hour. Again, I’m not massively clued up on the US economics in relation to this, but I know that here in the UK, the minimum wage is £8/$10 per hour, and in general it’s low or no-skilled workers who are earning that. Somebody skilled in a field like yourself could, and should be charging much more for their time.

I do get that things are tough in the early days, and that you have to work for cheap… we started out selling our services for much less than we do today; but looking at your profile, you’ve got high quality gigs, and the social proof to validate that you’re legit. If you haven’t already, I’d seriously recommend you to stop offering ANYTHING for $5, and set a minimum price of $10 or $20, as well as thinking about increasing your rate.

I obviously say this with the caveat that there are no guarantees, and you must do what you think is best for your business, but even the simple act of stopping $5 gigs and changing to $10 will get rid of most of these types of customers. Many sellers find that when they do this, they get more orders, or if they get fewer orders, they’re usually higher value.

And honestly, in general, $5 customers are the worst. They usually want the moon on a stick, and for some reason have no qualms with over-using the revision button, being rude, leaving scathing reviews and demanding refunds. I’m generalising I know, but our experience was that we couldn’t move away from the $5 price-point quickly enough.

All the best, whatever you decide to do.

I really appreciate this advice and it’s something I have thought about for a little while now. I’m definitely tired of the $5 customers and need to spend some time restructuring my packages and pricing.

Thank you bunches :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

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Hi @edewaard

I can see others have already mentioned the importance of removing all mention of Academic Writing from your gigs, so I won’t state that again, other than to encourage you to edit your gigs ASAP.

But to your issue;

I got an order the other night from a return buyer who needed me to edit a 979 word document. They placed the order without contacting me first (which is fine) but their package only included 350 words. I immediately let them know about this and said I would like to add an extra $5 for the word count but told them if they would rather cancel the order I completely understood.

Sorry to read about this. I had a quick look at your profile and saw the review in question, and would say that a) It looks out of place in comparison to all of your glowing reviews and b) Your response was great, and if I were a buyer, the one review wouldn’t put me off.

What would put me off is your price - I’d look for someone charging more. Please take this in the friendly way in which it’s intended, but you’re under-selling yourself, and giving away far too much for $5. I don’t know the editing field, but I’d guess the editing of a 500 word document is between 30 and 60 minutes? So potentially $5 to $10 an hour. Again, I’m not massively clued up on the US economics in relation to this, but I know that here in the UK, the minimum wage is £8/$10 per hour, and in general it’s low or no-skilled workers who are earning that. Somebody skilled in a field like yourself could, and should be charging much more for their time.

I do get that things are tough in the early days, and that you have to work for cheap… we started out selling our services for much less than we do today; but looking at your profile, you’ve got high quality gigs, and the social proof to validate that you’re legit. If you haven’t already, I’d seriously recommend you to stop offering ANYTHING for $5, and set a minimum price of $10 or $20, as well as thinking about increasing your rate.

I obviously say this with the caveat that there are no guarantees, and you must do what you think is best for your business, but even the simple act of stopping $5 gigs and changing to $10 will get rid of most of these types of customers. Many sellers find that when they do this, they get more orders, or if they get fewer orders, they’re usually higher value.

And honestly, in general, $5 customers are the worst. They usually want the moon on a stick, and for some reason have no qualms with over-using the revision button, being rude, leaving scathing reviews and demanding refunds. I’m generalising I know, but our experience was that we couldn’t move away from the $5 price-point quickly enough.

All the best, whatever you decide to do.

Very well said.

@edewaard when you undercharge, especially to this degree, you attract the kind of unscrupulous buyer who would pull something like that. So you have to deal with those issues, on top of not getting paid adequately.

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