A buyer is reporting me...who is in the wrong here?

[lucien_paulemil]

Hey guys,

A buyer contacted me to write an article for him. Up to that point, business as usual...

He wants 585 words and asks for my price. My standard gigs have prices for either 500 or 800 words, so I give him an intermediate price of $145 that I considered fair for this project.

The buyer then asks why the price of the offer I sent he sees is different from the price I quoted him. Turns out, his Fiverr is set on Canadian dollars, while my offers are in USD. Obviously, the offer price is higher than he anticipated. He asks that I change my default currency, so the offer price is $145 CAD. Naturally, I refused because this is far less than my USD quote, which paved the way for the following interaction:

-----

Buyer: thought you said $145. 

Me: Yes, that is correct. The price is $145. That is the price in the offer. Is it showing something different on your end?

Buyer: 200 bucks. 

Me: Is that because your default currency is cad? My quote is in usd. (I saw his profile said from Canada).

Buyer: Are you not canadian.

Me: Yes I am, however the default currency is USD. I was never asked to specify a different currency on my profile.  (I've never encountered this issue dealing with Canadian clients before).

Buyer: Ya im not pyaing a canadian in usd just because. Click your Avatar, top right, you will see a currency between help and English.

Me: I understand your position, however I am not changing my profile and pricing for this order. If you are unwilling to accept the order as is, you will have to hire another freelancer who will meet your criteria.

Buyer: lol wow. You literally charge $128.6 for 500 words, and $200, essentially 75 dollars more for an additional 85 words? I figured $145 is sufficient (Extra $16.74 for 85 extra words).

Now here is where I probably reacted wrong, by saying this, which subsequently cheesed him off:

Me: There are hundreds of freelancers on Fiverr who will accommodate your terms. Your time is arguably better spent finding them rather than arguing with me.

Buyer: Wow are you ever rude! You want to over charge your potential clients and after that be rude like you are? I was hoping we could work together because of your SEO and thought we could do many project together but wow you can't see that going from $125 to $200 for the difference of 85 additional words.. I don't know what to say.  I will be making it known about this poor interaction and your terrible demeanor

Me: I don't understand your hostility. I presented my terms and you declined them. This is a normal free-market business interaction. As I previously stated, there are other freelancers on Fiverr who will accommodate your request. I am at liberty of setting the prices I deem appropriate for word counts that fall in between my standard offers. I have no obligation to accept a buyer's terms, and you have no obligation to accept a seller's terms.

-------

I admit my little quip about spending his time was perhaps misplaced, but I feel this buyer was also in the wrong trying to criticize my prices. I told him the price and in no way pressured him to accept it. This is a normal business interaction as far as I am concerned. I don't see any reason for him to report me. In the end, I also reported him for harrassing me.

What is the community's thoughts?

[newsmike]

You're fine, he's a cheapskate. I would have stopped the convo about 2 paragraphs earlier by saying, I don't discount, or argue about my prices, good luck finding a a seller in your budget.  (BLOCK BUYER).  Nothing will happen, relax.  

Edited June 28, 2022 by newsmike

[anniejenkinson]

I feel you're absolutely right. He came at you with a poor attitude from the start and was already out to make you bend to his wishes. An 'entitled', awkward buyer. 

You explained very well to him that your prices were in USD but he already had a bad attitude. Even the short message '200 bucks' was curt and offhand. From that moment, it should have been clear that he had misunderstood the listing price and that therefore, he needed a different seller if his budget was too low. 

It's certainly not normal for a buyer to ask a seller to change their profile settings to CAD or anything else; he's asking you to bend to his wishes as if he's the only buyer you have.

While it's clear you didn't tolerate him, I do feel you were fair and correct. You were not rude, merely intolerant; there's a slight difference, ha. This appears to be a buyer out to get his own way no matter what and this type of person will always stamp their feet and make a complaint. I see no element of unfairness from you or any sign that you are 'overcharging'.

This is the sort of person who arrives late for their flight and expects the aircraft to wait for them because they can see it on the tarmac.

Edited June 28, 2022 by anniejenkinson
Two damn typos sneaked in this time.

[animie_video]

Well I don't understand what such people are after. I had this same situation, a day before yesterday where client was okay to pay $150 for a task. When I sent the offer, she said oh you sent it for $204 instead of $150. I couldn't understand this at the first hand and took screenshot and send it to her. but she said you should send it again. I did and it happened the same again, she asked me this time to contact customer support. Then I thought that she could be seeing it in CD dollar, here comes the point, if they're using CD dollar currency on Fiverr, then my gig prices were not shown as $150 to her, why she were making me fool. 

Tired of such unprofessional behavior

[lucien_paulemil]

Hey guys, thank you so much for your comments and support! I do feel somewhat vindicated, although I fear the Fiverr algorithm will punish me anyway when he files his complaint...

This guy just kept badgering me all afternoon, calling me a liar and deceitful, even when I pointed out A+B that it was all just a misunderstanding...I will spare you the detail,s but here is another example of his unreasonable attitude: 

At one point during the conversation, I mentioned that "I have plenty of Canadian clients and this currency issue never came up". 

He later claimed I told him that "a majority of my clients are Canadian" and pointed out that only 8 of my 45 clients were from Canada. He accused me of lying.

I then screenshot the original message showing I had said "plenty" not "majority" and he responded by saying "8/45 is not plenty" so my point still stands and yadidada and blablabla. 

I simply ended the conversation there. 

The unfortunate thing about Fiverr is the platform favor buyers so much that I will end up being penalized by the algorithm just because this client reports me. 

This is the type of scenario that encourages people to work on other platforms or directly via Paypal.

How are these types of cases treated by the complaints department? I forgot to mention this buyer is a Fiverr Select, so he is probably held in high regard by the Fiverr staff, which will not help my case!

[anniejenkinson]

I still wouldn't worry because I'm sure the person who looks at the complaint will be a Customer Support agent. As far as I am aware, there's no magic button they can press to penalise you for disagreeing with a buyer over a non-existent job! You have not been unduly rude and he just didn't get what he wanted. It happens all the time.

I think the Support agent's response will be quite reasonable and I cannot envisage any effect on your account. Certainly hope not.

I don't think the usual Customer Support operatives are involved in applying penalties to accounts just for this kind of thing. If they did, they'd be a thousand times busier than they wish to be! Honestly, I wouldn't give this any more thought. 

[priyab468]

I agree with the others above, you weren't in the wrong. From the way he messaged, I believe that anything you said other than complying with his wants would've been a problem. I also had a buyer who didn't realize that my price was in USD while theirs was in CAD, however, when they understood they were fine. From then on, any time a buyer approached me that was outside of the US, I'd always add USD to the end of my quoted price. Sometimes, we have to do these things to just make the process easier on ourselves. 

[lucien_paulemil]

1 minute ago, priyab468 said:

I agree with the others above, you weren't in the wrong. From the way he messaged, I believe that anything you said other than complying with his wants would've been a problem. I also had a buyer who didn't realize that my price was in USD while theirs was in CAD, however, when they understood they were fine. From then on, any time a buyer approached me that was outside of the US, I'd always add USD to the end of my quoted price. Sometimes, we have to do these things to just make the process easier on ourselves. 

Great advice! I will now add USD to all my pricing so there is no misunderstanding. Thanks for the tip!

[lucien_paulemil]

2 minutes ago, anniejenkinson said:

I still wouldn't worry because I'm sure the person who looks at the complaint will be a Customer Support agent. As far as I am aware, there's no magic button they can press to penalise you for disagreeing with a buyer over a non-existent job! You have not been unduly rude and he just didn't get what he wanted. It happens all the time.

I think the Support agent's response will be quite reasonable and I cannot envisage any effect on your account. Certainly hope not.

I don't think the usual Customer Support operatives are involved in applying penalties to accounts just for this kind of thing. If they did, they'd be a thousand times busier than they wish to be! Honestly, I wouldn't give this any more thought. 

I hope you are right! Thank you for taking the time to respond to my post  

[anniejenkinson]

1 minute ago, priyab468 said:

I agree with the others above, you weren't in the wrong. From the way he messaged, I believe that anything you said other than complying with his wants would've been a problem. I also had a buyer who didn't realize that my price was in USD while theirs was in CAD, however, when they understood they were fine. From then on, any time a buyer approached me that was outside of the US, I'd always add USD to the end of my quoted price. Sometimes, we have to do these things to just make the process easier on ourselves. 

I agree, Priya. I have clients in Canada and the US and I always tell the Canadians the site prices are not in their currency but whenever I send a costing or a custom offer, I give it in my currency, then USD, then CAD! Then I explain that due to currency conversion, there will be some fluctuation. No one ever had an issue with it. I also show the calculations, for example, I show how many hours their job will take, what I will charge, and how much I earn per hour in their currency.

Lucien, you just were the lucky one who got the 'Problem Client of the Day'.

[priyab468]

1 minute ago, anniejenkinson said:

 I also show the calculations, for example, I show how many hours their job will take, what I will charge, and how much I earn per hour in their currency.

This is actually pretty good advice. I never thought about adding the hourly rate when quoting my prices. I never thought about checking it for myself, and I love calculating everything so I'm just going to do it for fun now. 

[anniejenkinson]

2 minutes ago, priyab468 said:

This is actually pretty good advice. I never thought about adding the hourly rate when quoting my prices. I never thought about checking it for myself, and I love calculating everything so I'm just going to do it for fun now. 

It's helpful too. If the overall rate seems high, it really assists the buyer to see that the rate's high because of the work injected, and it also helps if you deduct the Fiverr seller fee from what you bill so they can see what you actually bank. I'm almost always thanked for providing detailed calculations! This helps me win some very big jobs here. I don't think I'd get them otherwise because the price just looks too high.

[vickieito]

1 hour ago, newsmike said:

 (BLOCK BUYER).  Nothing will happen, relax.  

hi @lucien_paulemil,

As @newsmike said, block the buyer immediately and file a complaint with Customer Support, showing your screenshots of the harassment. This buyer has no right to harass you that way. You also don't have to share details of your business with him or communicate with him.

It doesn't matter if the buyer is a Fiverr Select buyer or not.

Fiverr Select is a free program for anyone who made more than 10 orders and spent more than $500 on the platform.  There's nothing special about a Fiverr Select buyer. The badge is pretty much automatic and is not a good indicator of a "good" or "special" buyer (even though these buyers may think they are).

Note: I'm talking to myself just as much as I'm talking to you. I'm also dealing with a threatening buyer right now and am having a hard time finding a good time to "block" this buyer. She is threatening to shut down my gig if I don't give her a custom offer to do what she wants, at the price she wants.

Edited June 29, 2022 by vickieito

[newsmike]

1 hour ago, lucien_paulemil said:

I fear the Fiverr algorithm will punish me anyway when he files his complaint...

The algorithm does not react to this type of stuff, just what happens when you deliver or interact on first contact. You are cool. 

[lucien_paulemil]

5 hours ago, newsmike said:

You're fine, he's a cheapskate. I would have stopped the convo about 2 paragraphs earlier by saying, I don't discount, or argue about my prices, good luck finding a a seller in your budget.  (BLOCK BUYER).  Nothing will happen, relax.  

Can I block someone who has not placed an order? I wanted to block him but I couldn't find that option.

[miiila]

7 hours ago, priyab468 said:

From then on, any time a buyer approached me that was outside of the US, I'd always add USD to the end of my quoted price.

Same, and even if their profile shows the US flag. You never know. And I've got so used to it that it doesn't even take conscious thought, I just always type US$. I rather waste time on that than on silly arguments. 

3 hours ago, lucien_paulemil said:

Can I block someone who has not placed an order? I wanted to block him but I couldn't find that option.

Try via the app. It has a block option where you don't have to choose "report/spam" but can just block. I'm using it to block spammers while away, so it works for people who haven't ordered.

[newsmike]

9 hours ago, lucien_paulemil said:

Can I block someone who has not placed an order? I wanted to block him but I couldn't find that option.

The mobile app is far easier than on the PC for blocking people. I suggest that. 

[smashradio]

21 hours ago, lucien_paulemil said:

Buyer: Ya im not pyaing a canadian in usd just because. Click your Avatar, top right, you will see a currency between help and English.

At this point, I would have blocked the dude. 

21 hours ago, lucien_paulemil said:

 

I admit my little quip about spending his time was perhaps misplaced

I don't think so. I think your response was absolutely fitting. The buyer was the rude one in this interaction. First of all, he red-flagged himself just by having an attitude when it came to your pricing. When you gave him a recommendation to find someone else, he continued this attitude. 

You have nothing to worry about. This guy just wanted to push you around, and you should be glad to get rid of him. 

[smashradio]

18 hours ago, vickieito said:

Note: I'm talking to myself just as much as I'm talking to you. I'm also dealing with a threatening buyer right now and am having a hard time finding a good time to "block" this buyer. She is threatening to shut down my gig if I don't give her a custom offer to do what she wants, at the price she wants.

The good time is right away. Now. 

[ozan_erdi]

On 6/29/2022 at 1:25 AM, lucien_paulemil said:

There are hundreds of freelancers on Fiverr who will accommodate your terms. Your time is arguably better spent finding them rather than arguing with me.

This is the best answer you could have given. I would have even swing harder.

You are fine. Remember the block button and you are good to go.

 

[digitivup]

I had the same problem yesterday.

I was discriminating by referring a client to other freelancers.

He wanted me to develop a full WooCommerce site with Shopify product takeover for $60.

I simply told him that it was better to contact freelancers from other countries, because they had more attractive prices than mine. (The client was also French). From my point of view, this is just a factual remark. Our standards of living being different, our prices are not the same. It is in no way a racist or discriminating remark.

This same customer threatened me at the end of the conversation, his reaction is completely disproportionate, it is clear that it is a bad person who constantly seeks conflict and that Fiverr does not take into account in its judgment and maintains my warning.

The problem with this system is that it is better not to answer, to ignore the customer, than to answer him.

[lucien_paulemil]

On 6/30/2022 at 5:21 AM, digitivup said:

I had the same problem yesterday.

I was discriminating by referring a client to other freelancers.

He wanted me to develop a full WooCommerce site with Shopify product takeover for $60.

I simply told him that it was better to contact freelancers from other countries, because they had more attractive prices than mine. (The client was also French). From my point of view, this is just a factual remark. Our standards of living being different, our prices are not the same. It is in no way a racist or discriminating remark.

This same customer threatened me at the end of the conversation, his reaction is completely disproportionate, it is clear that it is a bad person who constantly seeks conflict and that Fiverr does not take into account in its judgment and maintains my warning.

The problem with this system is that it is better not to answer, to ignore the customer, than to answer him.

Fully agree with the last statement. I will now simply ignore these people rather than waste my time arguing with them.

[lucien_paulemil]

Thanks for your feedback everyone! Much appreciated 😀