Seller Cancelled with no explanation

[browntodd]

What is the policy, if any, for Sellers who cancel after sitting on the project for several days and don’t give any reason? for doing so? He originally asked me to cancel but I asked for an explanation first then he just canceled on his own. I think this should be noted so other Buyers don’t have the same problem but I do not see any way to do that and he otherwise appears to have a perfect record which is misleading.



Thanks–

[steveeyes]

I hope someone here who is veteran of cancellation will chime in because it is a bit confusing for me as a seller.



As far as I know there are 3 ways to cancel (please correct me if I’m wrong).

1. Mutual Cancellation - this is where the two parties agree to cancel. Usually there is some kind of discussion for the reason.
   
   
2. CS Cancellation - customer service will cancel a gig if requested and they feel it is justified. There may or may not be any conversation or reason given.
   
   
   
3. Forced Cancellation (I’m not even sure if this is what it is called). Let me explain. The way it usually works the seller requests a mutual cancellation. The buyer refuses. The seller goes to request a mutual cancellation again, but a message pops saying something like "I see you already requested mutual cancellation, if there is problem you can cancel yourself"
   
   
   
   However, I was told that #3 hurts the sellers rating. If they force the cancellation it generates an automatic negative (thumbs down). I never used #3 because I was told that you will get an automatic thumbs down if you do.
   
   
   
   Ok, that is my 2 cents. I hope someone else chimes in, especially on #3 above.
   
   
   
   My guess is that the seller in your case used #3 but not sure.
   
   
   

[browntodd]

Thanks for explaining this. That explains why the Seller tried to get me to mutually cancel first and only when I asked for a reason, he went ahead and forced it on his own. If he gets the automatic thumbs down then I guess I am satisfied. As a Buyer, I would have been happy to do the mutual cancellation and help the guy if he had just had the decency to give me a reason. Oh well. Thanks.

[mark74]

Reply to @steveeyes: everything you said is correct!

Never use #3 if it’s not really really really necessary!

Also please remember that every cancellation, even the mutual ones, affect seller 'cause his/her cancellation ratio raises and could lead to the loss of the levels…

[refundhost]

I have found that when a seller SUSPENDS a gig that I have BOOKMARKED or FAVORITED in my browser - I can still buy it even though the seller does not intend to sell it.



Suspending only de-lists it from the search and profile. Did you have the gig bookmarked from another day? Maybe the seller was on vacation?

[ynneblack]

Reply to @browntodd: Well, sellers get negative rating and/or cancellation ratio. You get all your money back. Seller is in much worse situation. Maybe message them first before ordering so you’ll be sure they can do that…

[browntodd]

Reply to @ynneblack: As I mentioned in my original post the Seller initiated the cancellation after sitting on the job for a week or so then offered no explanation, just a request to cancel. I then asked for a reason and he then force cancelled. Seems like whatever negative rating results from this is deserved as he left me in a bad position. Not sure that he is a much worse position but appreciate the feedback.

[thecreativeguys]

Wow, I am looking at everyones comments. What a discussion!



Truthfully before any ordering or cancellation there should be some kind of talk.



Best Of Luck,

🙂 Joe

The Creative Guys

[emeraldawnn]

It’s highly possible that in the cancellation box, the seller noted the reason for the cancellation. However, I have had recent instances where the cancellation message I type out never makes it to the buyer. I only learn that they don’t know about my reason to cancel until they inquire about it.



If this seller doesn’t know this issue and you ask about it, it’s possible they just didn’t want to deal with the project any further and forced the cancellation. The better deal would have been to tell you again after you asked, if that seemed to be the case.



That’s just my thoughts on the issue, upon having a similar problem with my buyers.

[steveeyes]

@emeraldawnn Good point. I had that happen once. A client requested something I could not do and I put in a mutual cancellation. They got the mutual cancellation for the gig but never got the message I sent. Fiverr seems to have more than their share of glitches/bugs or whatever you want to call them so it isn’t too unbelievable that some problems you can chalk up to a Fiverr glitch.

[ynneblack]

Reply to @browntodd: I understand what you mean, and communication is a key, I agree. Just so you know the seller just doesn’t “get away with it” without trouble for himself. 🙂

To avoid this, you may order from sellers who offer express gigs - those will not sit on it for more than a few hours because they would miss the order deadline 🙂

[taralayneward]

I have now experienced this twice with different sellers. I place the order, there is communication about the specifics and then the seller cancels with no reason given only hours before the deadline. It is frustrating for me because I too have a deadline and when someone cancels on me it makes things very difficult. That being said, I understand that life happens and things get in the way but just communicating with the customers can completely change the nature of the relationship. My advice for all of the sellers out there, coming from the perspective of a buyer, it is always courteous to at least give a reason why the order is being cancelled so that the buyer doesn’t feel swindled. All that needs to be said is “I have had a personal issue that has come up” and most people are more than willing to accept a mutual cancellation. It’s just good business etiquette and might help you to maintain those customers for future business.

[copelandc2002]

Hmm, just happened to me. Wish I would’ve read before I mutually agreed. Doesn’t seem right still that they can sit on it for 3 - 4 days when it comes up to the timeline, with no communications (which should be able to be tracked within the gig orders anyways) and then simply mutually cancel something as to avoid a bad rating.

[nickih]

As far as sitting on the order for several days, note that many times, a seller doesn’t open the provided file or fully examine the information that the buyer has supplied until they’re ready to start working on it. When I get a new order, I take a quick glance to make sure there’s no glaring issues with the order (e.g., buyer requesting a service I don’t provide, didn’t order enough gigs or didn’t upload a file) and send a quick thank you message. Especially if they have a heavy workload, a seller may not have the extra time to do pre-work before beginning their actual work.



For my editing and proofreading gig, I typically don’t actually open the file to thoroughly examine what they want edited until I’m ready to start working on it, which may be a few days after they’ve ordered. In some cases, once I actually open the file, I see that there’s a major issue and must address it with the buyer at that time. For example, just today, I opened a file for an order that had been placed a few days ago to start working and saw that nearly the entire text was in another language (something I didn’t see until I scrolled to page 2). Well, that’s not something I can work on at all, and now, that order is likely going to be canceled.



Although I understand a buyer’s frustration at getting a cancellation request days after ordering, in some cases, a seller doesn’t start working on an order until days later and may not spot major issues until then (and really, regarding some problems that arise, it’s actually the buyer’s responsibility to ensure they’ve provided the proper information and ordered the correct gig in the first place). That may not be the case at all for the original poster’s order, though that’s one explanation for why cancellation requests may come after several days. Regardless, there should always be a logical reason given for cancellation requests.

[aingham69]

I’ve found that my reason for cancellation hasn’t appeared a few times now. I’m guessing it’s a bug in the system, but only noticed because I’ve gone back to see if the reason has appeared. You do deserve a reason though, and I always make sure I give one.



There have been times that I’ve requested a cancellation a week later. I’ve only glanced at the order when it came in, and then realised later that it’s not something I can do because of lack of information online.

[unic0rn]

I’m extremely frustrated with FiveR. 3 or 4 times in a row, the seller has cancelled after holding me hostage on the GIG up to the very day of performance. There is no discussion, no dialogue…just cancellation right at the moment you are expecting the work.



I noticed for example, one of the sellers I was working with had an 18% cancellation ratio. If 18% of the orders are being cancelled, it seems important to know who cancelled the order and in relation to when the project was due. This way sellers get a BIG RED FLAG that there is an 18% chance this seller will cancel on you before they complete your order.

[mark1994]

What I would do is go through and read the reviews on that seller’s gig. If there are a lot of thumbs down with the default comment then you can assume they might have some of those due to a forced cancellation.



From a seller stand point, I only have one cancelled order, and very few completed orders since I’m new. Therefor my ratio is really high, and this would hurt me tremendously. (My very first order was someone asking for a service I don’t provide, so from the get go I had 100% cancellation.)



I think both sides need some adjustment to make Fiverr better. Buyers should be allowed to have more information so they can pick a better seller. Sellers should have some information on buyers and be able to accept/deny orders so the cancellations don’t effect them. (Getting punished because a buyer requested a service you don’t provide is a bit unfair, ya know?)

[cristihabermann]

I am new to Fiverr. I had a seller cancel an order I had placed only hours before. There was no explanation included. The interesting thing is he responded to my gig request, which was clear about what i wanted. I submitted the information I had, and I got a cancellation request. Of course, I want to know why he cancelled. It makes me not want to do business with other sellers. Before responding to gig requests as a seller make sure you can fulfill the order. i am pretty sure he sent an auto response insteading of reading the request.