Advice: Lowering Mutual Cancellations and When Buyers Ask For Things Your Gig Does Not Offer

[michellencloud]

I’m not sure if this is only happening to me, but: Several times now, I’ve had buyers report that when I request a mutual cancellation, they can’t see the message I typed, only that I requested it.



When you request a mutual cancellation, be sure to also message the buyer (not within the gig) with your explanation, just in case fiverr is eating the cancellation request message (just like it sometimes eats attachments…).

[johnt707]

Hotwebideas, some good ideas in your post, however some buyers are just intentionally exploitive in nature.



"Remember, if the seller does not tell the buyer what they won’t provide, it is the seller’s fault, not the buyers. Buyers cannot read a seller’s mind."



Stating the redundant, that only what is listed in your gig description is what they can expect, nothing more, nothing less is helpful so buyer’s have less of a leg to stand on when they order ridiculous things that are clearly not included in your gig description.



However, going further than this to explicitly and exhaustively list what you don’t provide is not only impossible, but absurd.



For example, I could order a gigs and then ask the seller to climb Mt. Everest barefoot while recording themselves — then claim it is their fault since they did not say that they wouldn’t do barefoot mountain climbing.



It should be implicit that the buyer should not expect something that the seller does not list in his/her gig description.



And yes, I have received the most ridiculous requests even ones that I explicitly say I will not accommodate in my gig descriptions. Blaming it on the seller for not exhaustively stating what they will not do is more akin to victim blaming. It’s like going to McDonald’s and ordering a modern nightstand and insisting they should give you a piece of furniture after you order their chicken nuggets because after all, they didn’t explicitly say that they DON’T include modern furniture and/or state the redundant — that you will only receive chicken nuggets when you order chicken nuggets.



It seems everywhere but Fiverr, buyers understand that you only get what you order and what the seller says is included, nothing more, nothing less. I am realizing that many times it is a case of buyer’s exploiting sellers, while the buyer hides behind their claim of ignorance. I wish sellers had an instant reject button when a buyer attempts exploitative behavior. It’s frustrating to attempt to mutually cancel only to have the buyer reject your cancellation request causing your order delivery to be late where they force cancel and can leave a bad review.

[Guest adrifz]

#5) Be Specific - Yes! It makes our job so much easier! The best buyer I’ve worked with sent me a Word document where she wrote all the specifics, even the names of the fonts the codes of the colours she uses on her website so I would’nt have to worry about matching or looking for the right font. That allowed me to use my time to just be creative! She loved what I delivered and didn’t need modifications. She even gave me my first tip.



Don’t be the kind of buyer who asks a seller to slap a red ribbon on a banner and then complain that the red doesn’t match the colors, and make it look like it is the seller’s fault!

[Guest inceku]

What is a high percentage for cancellations?

[trinarium]

Thanks for the advice!



I’m brand new, so I understand I’m not going to be getting many orders, however the couple I’ve gotten have been COMPLETELY different from the gig that they were purchased through. I have fulfilled them since what I was asked to do wasn’t anything illegal/wrong or worth a lot more than a basic gig. Is that ok? I didn’t see anything in the ToS against this specifically but I thought I’d check since this is a very related topic.

[julipalmer7]

This is a great tip! but recently three persons order my gig without asking what I offered and even when I did meet one halfway and deliver the work the buyer asked for a modification which I did and the buyer still cancelled, what will you say to that Bruce, seeing that even when you try to please these buyers they will still make trouble to get the work free and not pay.

[blackwingvin]

Mutual cancellations defenitely hurt but at the end of the day, its the fair thing to do if both you and the buyer are not happy with the work and cannot reach a conclusion. I would rather mutually cancel a job than submit something that the buyer is not happy with and risk a bad rating.

[infinityplusone]

Reply to @malaika9: Everyone is different. If my entire world revolved around Fiverr or I lived in a nation where I could support myself off of microjobs that might be different story.



It has absolutely nothing to do with a lack of long-term thinking. In my case it IS long-term thinking.



I have the option to continue to provide service to someone who does not value my service enough to respect that I produced exactly what I stated within my gig and demands more for $5 or refuse. If I continue to provide this bit of extra to someone who didn’t value my work or our contract (with the understanding that he or she will then tell other people that I’m the type of sucker who will do $20 worth of work for $5) then I am the fool. I will be inundated with this type of client at the expense of those who value me. What we are saying when we give in is that we do not value our own product or that we over-priced our product to begin with.



$5 is not a lot of money to spend on writing, on design, on a voice-over, and to then try to get a better bargain is just cheap. I don’t need or want that type of client who has so little respect for me as to push the limits of a $5 bargain.



I have two Master’s Degrees and have written copy that was read by the president of a country. I need to remember that when someone looks at my content and decides that it has less value than what I believe it does–and that is exactly what a buyer is saying when they ask you to do more than you state in your gig, they do not understand what I do or what I can provide and it will only get worse from there.



Now, I have given almost every single one of my clients free stuff WILLINGLY because they were kind enough NOT to ask and I know business well enough to know that what they were asking for is inadequate. Kindness begets kindness. I will go the distance for people who are kind and do not ask more from me.



Ask me to do more than our agreement and I will refuse.

[graphicsworks]

Hi,



I am try to advertise my GIG so what do you think if i advertise here its batter or not gave me suggestions and also if any one need Graphics Design Like Logo Design, Banner Design, Business Cards etc.



Here is my link https://www.fiverr.com/graphicsworks



Please feel free to contact me



Thanks

[graphicsworks]

Hi,



you also provide same service i am on you fiverr…

[graphicsworks]

Here is my GIG link https://www.fiverr.com/graphicsworks

can you send me message in my inbox then we more easily talk about your Logo



Thanks

[emasonwrites]

up with helpful topics, down with spam

[logoworld07]

I’m not happy with Fiverr Support.



They don’t even check if buyer is abusing or demanding work which i do not offer and leave a negative review. But Fiverr Support never cares about sellers.

[jnarls]

Reply to @kjblynx: I agree. I think oftentimes people don’t understand that if you offer a mutual cancellation, and both parties agree within the 72 Hour Time-frame… no one is faulted. It’s a beautiful thing to use rather than get stressed out or upset over a miscommunication. 🙂

[kipkoech77]

since i joined i have not been able to get a buyer

[kipkoech77]

i sincerely cant as my preferred job is writing essays and research papers

[Guest buycom]

Hello! My name is bilal and I will write high quality content for your website/blogfast,

[kathywiehl]

Twice now, I have had orders for jobs that are beyond my scope of experience, using software I’ve never used and services that are not offered in my gig descriptions. I can’t possibly list all the things in the world that I cannot do. I CAN list what I can do and I do ask that buyers message me first. I agree that we should be able to approve a pending order before it becomes an actual order.

[pfpgogo]

kathywiehl said: I agree that we should be able to approve a pending order before it becomes an actual order.

 

Would love to have this!

 

I agree with a lot of the points, but I can see doing things that aren't a part of your gig just because you can (or having a melting pot extra) being problematic when so many of the issues sellers complain about on the forums involve confusion caused by stepping outside of their gig's boundaries or not correcting buyers who ordered the wrong things outright. It's the kind of thing that can work well for some and backfire for others.

[creativekyuk]

It’s sad and unfortunate to cancel a request from a customer because in the first place, as sellers we are here for work and to make some money. However, what some buyers ask for at times will need superhuman power to deliver. In my case I have had to cancel requests on two occasions. In the first instance, it was impossible to understand exactly what the buyer wanted. The grammar and spelling was impossible to make sense of. I tried three times to get the customer to explain what he wanted and it was impossible. So I finally had to make a decision on whether to let my maximum deliverable time for requests to elapse or to initiate a cancellation. The second option appeared to be the lesser pain on my reputation as a seller.



The second instance involved a buyer who, apparently, ignored what I have clearly indicated on my gig. This buyer batched together many articles and ordered them in a single order. He simply multiplied the number of articles with the cost of a single article. Then he expected me to deliver the articles within the maximum delivery time I have indicated for a single article gig. Such a request would have fallen within my extras which the buyer ignored. To deliver the order as per the customer’s request (which would have been impossible within the time in question) would have earned me about a quarter of what was possible if he had respected my gig instructions. Naturally I felt that even attempting that job was selling myself extremely cheap and the buyer would never appreciate a writer’s true value. Again, I had to initiate a cancellation.



In conclusion, my feeling is that as much as we want to build long-lasting relationships with our buyers, it calls for mutual respect and appreciation. The seller should never be made to feel like the lesser one in the deal. The seller, the buyer and Fivver all need one another. It is unfortunate that the seller is penalized for cancelling an order that is impossible to deliver.

[adrianamichelle]

Great advice!!

[abidagfx]

if we can’t stop customers to order things that we don’t offer and some time they immediately says that oh ordered by mistake please cancel.

So solutions is that cancellation ratio should not be shown anywhere on buyers order page gig page, profile or anywhere else.

Because 50% Plus cancellations are that we are not responsible for.

why its count on our cancellation ratio page if someone order accidentally ordered gig and then requesting for cancel it?

[Guest hireiris]

Hi There!



What really helps me out with my gigs is when customers order my gig I include a lot of questions as a part of the “requirements”. That way the customer knows exactly what they are getting and all communication is clear. It has worked really really well for me!

[tapasfun]

Thanks for shearing, this help many sellers.

[Guest pkgentry]

Reply to @hotwebideas:



Why should the buyer lose their money? Technically, we already have since we just get a credit. You’re assuming it’s the buyer’s fault.



I just got a cancellation from someone who advertised something and then wanted 8x the amount afterward. If you’re not willing to deliver what you advertise for the amount you’re advertising, YOU should take the hit. Next time, I think I’ll just eat the $5 in favor of leaving him a scathing review.