Customer asking a LOT!

[myton_music]

Hi fellow Fiverrs!

I’ve been a seller on Fiverr for about half a year now.
One of the gigs I offer is composing and producing music intro’s for podcasts and YouTube channels.
I got an order a couple of days ago and asked the customer for some music examples so I know what he or she likes.
I created an intro but he was not satisfied so I started from scratch again.
Now he’s asking for some major edits: he wants this and that in the first 2 seconds, then a transition of 2,5 seconds, then a certain sound effect, then this and then that.
I synced my audio to his 12 second video but with all these requests, I think I might have to start from scratch again for the third time…

I will produce the product the customer wants but this will in total take maybe 6 or 7 hours of work for a gig price of $15…!

Just out of curiosity…How would YOU handle this?
Should I ‘narrow’ down my gig description?

Any advice is welcome!

Thank you in advance!

[marinapomorac]

Increase your prices. Offer only one revision and specify what is included in revision and what not. Explain that if heshe wants something different that is new order.

And especially remind shehe that what you delivered before shehe can not use.

[myton_music]

Increase your prices. Offer only one revision and specify what is included in revision and what not. Explain that if heshe wants something different that is new order.

And especially remind shehe that what you delivered before shehe can not use.

Hi Marina,

thank you for your comment!

I’m still trying to find the ‘right’ selling price. I became level 2 seller a month ago and already raised most of my prices and 9 times out of 10 the price point is good compared to the work I do for gigs.

But once in a while you have customers like this, I’m afraid…

I think you’re right about the revisions; I will have to specify a lot more clearly what’s included in revision and (especially) what’s not.

Thank you again!

[miiila]

After I started, I spent quite a bit of time tweaking my gigs and FAQ and everything, and some of the tweaking going on was in direct relation to experiences with individual buyers, kind of making everything as watertight as possible without making it look too dogged. Things happen that simply never happened or would happen “offline”, and sometimes it’s worth to take such things into account.
The longer you’re here, the fewer new “incidents” happen, because after some point you’ve seen it all before, but I think it makes sense to rethink one’s gigs anytime something happens that breaks your workflow, costs you an inordinate amount of time, etc., to make everything as smooth as possible. You can’t account for all and any worst-case scenarios, but sometimes you can indeed “narrow it down”.

[myton_music]

After I started, I spent quite a bit of time tweaking my gigs and FAQ and everything, and some of the tweaking going on was in direct relation to experiences with individual buyers, kind of making everything as watertight as possible without making it look too dogged. Things happen that simply never happened or would happen “offline”, and sometimes it’s worth to take such things into account.

The longer you’re here, the fewer new “incidents” happen, because after some point you’ve seen it all before, but I think it makes sense to rethink one’s gigs anytime something happens that breaks your workflow, costs you an inordinate amount of time, etc., to make everything as smooth as possible. You can’t account for all and any worst-case scenarios, but sometimes you can indeed “narrow it down”.

Hi Miiila,

thank you!

I guess I should also ‘rethink’ gig descriptions and FAQ’s. I got my first order in february this year and since then it’s been a bit of a madhouse where I ‘forget’ or don’t seem to find the time to look at my gigs, their content, the FAQ’s and how I can improve them…

Thank you so much for the advice. I will have to make time for these things.

Thanks!

[visualstudios]

After I started, I spent quite a bit of time tweaking my gigs and FAQ and everything, and some of the tweaking going on was in direct relation to experiences with individual buyers, kind of making everything as watertight as possible without making it look too dogged. Things happen that simply never happened or would happen “offline”, and sometimes it’s worth to take such things into account.

The longer you’re here, the fewer new “incidents” happen, because after some point you’ve seen it all before, but I think it makes sense to rethink one’s gigs anytime something happens that breaks your workflow, costs you an inordinate amount of time, etc., to make everything as smooth as possible. You can’t account for all and any worst-case scenarios, but sometimes you can indeed “narrow it down”.

The longer you’re here, the fewer new “incidents” happen, because after some point you’ve seen it all before,

One would think so. I hate getting orders without prior contact.

I have it explicitly on all my gigs descriptions, etc. - contact before ordering to get a quote.

My lowest price on any gig is $625.

I thought this would be enough. Wrong - two days ago, I get two orders out of the blue, no prior contact, totally new people I’ve never worked it. Extremely annoying.

[miiila]

The longer you’re here, the fewer new “incidents” happen, because after some point you’ve seen it all before,

One would think so. I hate getting orders without prior contact.

I have it explicitly on all my gigs descriptions, etc. - contact before ordering to get a quote.

My lowest price on any gig is $625.

I thought this would be enough. Wrong - two days ago, I get two orders out of the blue, no prior contact, totally new people I’ve never worked it. Extremely annoying.

The fewer, not no incidents 😉

The prior contact thing is iffy, though, as Fiverr is set up for exactly that. It would be nice if we could have gigs that can, and gigs that can not be ordered without prior contact.

Well, at least it tells you that you seem trustworthy enough to place such orders out of the blue.

[visualstudios]

The fewer, not no incidents 😉

The prior contact thing is iffy, though, as Fiverr is set up for exactly that. It would be nice if we could have gigs that can, and gigs that can not be ordered without prior contact.

Well, at least it tells you that you seem trustworthy enough to place such orders out of the blue.

Fiverr’s name is set up to sell stuff for 5 dollars to people who don’t know how to write “fiver” properly. (fiverr is probably the worst brand name I can recall atm. Absolutely weak lol)

The thing is, Fiverr no longer is what it was set up to be. Against all odds and a terrible name, it managed to be successful and change the business quite a bit.

Ordering without contact makes sense for little things. When you’re dropping thousands on something totally custom made, not so much.

[english_voice]

You’ve got some great gigs - what you offer is exactly what Fiverr should be about in my humble opinion. High quality, creative gigs from a talented individual.

Just some quick feedback from someone who has been here for seven long years… my first impression is that while you’re not offering gigs for $5 (great!), your clients are nonetheless receiving a lot of value for the gig price. If this was the real world you would be adding at least a zero to all your gig prices.

As you’ve found, you’re experiencing a lot of hassle for $15. It sure wouldn’t feel so bad if you were experiencing the same hassle for $150. I really do think you need to raise your prices - maybe double them and see what happens. Real world prices and Fiverr prices sadly appear to be worlds apart - but they shouldn’t be.

I’ve only had a look at a couple of your gigs, but I noticed one of them contained the phrase ‘unlimited’ instruments! Noooo! Please don’t use the word ‘unlimited’ - sooner or later you will come across another buyer who really will want to take advantage of your generosity!

When offering complex creative gigs like yours, I think you need to be far more specific about the type of edits and changes that you class as a revision. To you a revision might mean replacing one midi instrument with another (a 10 second job maybe), but to your buyer a revision might be “I don’t like it. Start everything again”.

As for this client, I know of other longterm Fiverr sellers who will chew me up and spit me out for saying this, but on this one occasion I would be inclined to try and please your client - even though it might feel a bit painful doing so. You’ve got a great reputation - protect it.

But also… really focus on adding detail to your gigs about what is and what isn’t included. The words ‘two revisions’ isn’t enough. What does this mean? What’s included? Most buyers are great people. Sadly there are also some utter morons who will whip your backside and steal your time. The only way you can try and protect yourself from these people in future is by being even more specific with your gig descriptions.

[miiila]

Fiverr’s name is set up to sell stuff for 5 dollars to people who don’t know how to write “fiver” properly. (fiverr is probably the worst brand name I can recall atm. Absolutely weak lol)

The thing is, Fiverr no longer is what it was set up to be. Against all odds and a terrible name, it managed to be successful and change the business quite a bit.

Ordering without contact makes sense for little things. When you’re dropping thousands on something totally custom made, not so much.

Well, I wouldn’t do it, and I also respect it when a seller asks to be contacted, or go and buy from someone who doesn’t write that in their gig if I don’t want to contact them, but maybe it’s peanuts enough for the people who do it that they don’t care, or it’s just people being people, maybe they were so in awe of your portfolio that they missed the contact me bit and thought they don’t want to bother you without ordering? At least I hope it’s that and not that they think they can cancel if they end up not liking it. Do you often have people who order expensive gigs without contact and it goes awry?

[visualstudios]

Well, I wouldn’t do it, and I also respect it when a seller asks to be contacted, or go and buy from someone who doesn’t write that in their gig if I don’t want to contact them, but maybe it’s peanuts enough for the people who do it that they don’t care, or it’s just people being people, maybe they were so in awe of your portfolio that they missed the contact me bit and thought they don’t want to bother you without ordering? At least I hope it’s that and not that they think they can cancel if they end up not liking it. Do you often have people who order expensive gigs without contact and it goes awry?

No, that’s the thing. I went maybe 6 months without it happening. I changed nothing. And boom, 2 orders in the same day out of nowhere.

[myton_music]

You’ve got some great gigs - what you offer is exactly what Fiverr should be about in my humble opinion. High quality, creative gigs from a talented individual.

Just some quick feedback from someone who has been here for seven long years… my first impression is that while you’re not offering gigs for $5 (great!), your clients are nonetheless receiving a lot of value for the gig price. If this was the real world you would be adding at least a zero to all your gig prices.

As you’ve found, you’re experiencing a lot of hassle for $15. It sure wouldn’t feel so bad if you were experiencing the same hassle for $150. I really do think you need to raise your prices - maybe double them and see what happens. Real world prices and Fiverr prices sadly appear to be worlds apart - but they shouldn’t be.

I’ve only had a look at a couple of your gigs, but I noticed one of them contained the phrase ‘unlimited’ instruments! Noooo! Please don’t use the word ‘unlimited’ - sooner or later you will come across another buyer who really will want to take advantage of your generosity!

When offering complex creative gigs like yours, I think you need to be far more specific about the type of edits and changes that you class as a revision. To you a revision might mean replacing one midi instrument with another (a 10 second job maybe), but to your buyer a revision might be “I don’t like it. Start everything again”.

As for this client, I know of other longterm Fiverr sellers who will chew me up and spit me out for saying this, but on this one occasion I would be inclined to try and please your client - even though it might feel a bit painful doing so. You’ve got a great reputation - protect it.

But also… really focus on adding detail to your gigs about what is and what isn’t included. The words ‘two revisions’ isn’t enough. What does this mean? What’s included? Most buyers are great people. Sadly there are also some utter morons who will whip your backside and steal your time. The only way you can try and protect yourself from these people in future is by being even more specific with your gig descriptions.

Hi English voice!

Thank you for the kind words!

You know, I think my mindset is still on the level it was 4-5 months ago. At that time, I was very glad with each and every order, even for a fiver! 😉

You’re absolutely right about being more clear on the revisions! (and the unlimited instruments, haha)

I also agree on trying to please the customer, (almost) whatever it takes.

I sent him some of the edits I made and at least he was more than satisfied with them.

You know, I sometimes think that buyers really don’t have a clue what it takes to create the ‘products’ we deliver… Maybe you can’t even blame them for that given the fact that there are sellers offering gigs for $5…

I sometimes take a look at the buyers requests… Some buyers ask for the production of a complete audio album for $15,- and still receive 20 or so offers…!!

Thank you so much for your advice!

[tamarapereir397]

Do you have unlimited revisions included in the pack? or is he just asking without placing the revision request?

[myton_music]

Do you have unlimited revisions included in the pack? or is he just asking without placing the revision request?

No, I have 2 revisions… But buyers can ask to change 5 things within one revision… 😉

[tamarapereir397]

No, I have 2 revisions… But buyers can ask to change 5 things within one revision… 😉

Ok. I’ve read the above comments and I don’t have anything else to add. I also think you may have to start specify what’s included in every revision.

Good luck 🙂

[visualstudios]

Do you have unlimited revisions included in the pack? or is he just asking without placing the revision request?

It doesn’t matter how many revision you set. A buyer can keep clicking the “request revision” if they want after they spent the included revisions and there’s nothing a seller can do to force them to close the order.

[tamarapereir397]

It doesn’t matter how many revision you set. A buyer can keep clicking the “request revision” if they want after they spent the included revisions and there’s nothing a seller can do to force them to close the order.

Yeah I know. But I don’t believe buyers will keep requesting for revisions if they have to pay for it.

[visualstudios]

Yeah I know. But I don’t believe buyers will keep requesting for revisions if they have to pay for it.

But they don’t have to pay for it, that’s the point.

Fiverr’s revision system is totally broken.

How it should work:

Seller sets a number of revisions on the gig. Once the buyer clicked the request revision button that number of times, the button should be greyed out, and a new option should appear to order a new revision at a cost set by the seller.

How it works:

Seller sets a number of revisions on the gig. The buyer can keep clicking the request revision button forever, for free, and there’s nothing the seller can do to force the order to close or to force the buyer to pay for more revisions.

[tamarapereir397]

But they don’t have to pay for it, that’s the point.

Fiverr’s revision system is totally broken.

How it should work:

Seller sets a number of revisions on the gig. Once the buyer clicked the request revision button that number of times, the button should be greyed out, and a new option should appear to order a new revision at a cost set by the seller.

How it works:

Seller sets a number of revisions on the gig. The buyer can keep clicking the request revision button forever, for free, and there’s nothing the seller can do to force the order to close or to force the buyer to pay for more revisions.

😕 I’m lost. I am sorry I didn’t know that. It’s weird tho because I had a client recently that bought a revision.

[visualstudios]

😕 I’m lost. I am sorry I didn’t know that. It’s weird tho because I had a client recently that bought a revision.

It shouldn’t work like that, yet it does. The “number of included revisions” is merely an indication, can’t be enforced. Fiverr wants it that way, presumably to increase buyer satisfaction. The problem is that if you get a nightmare buyer they can keep requesting revisions forever, and there’s nothing you can do if they refuse to pay.

Muita gente de Portugal nos fóruns ultimamente lol

[tamarapereir397]

It shouldn’t work like that, yet it does. The “number of included revisions” is merely an indication, can’t be enforced. Fiverr wants it that way, presumably to increase buyer satisfaction. The problem is that if you get a nightmare buyer they can keep requesting revisions forever, and there’s nothing you can do if they refuse to pay.

Muita gente de Portugal nos fóruns ultimamente lol

Thank you 😁 Ahahah não tinha reparado.