Only use the Deliver button when it is the only reasonable option. Don't use it for everything.

[moikchap]

I had an artist do a delivery which I initially rejected as crude, and specified some things to change as a revision request. The fixes in the replacement delivery revealed some composition flaws that I missed when first reviewing it. And, the seller had added further compositional changes that made it worse. It would have been a lot of work to fix everything, so I decided to Accept the Delivery to pay the seller for their work and move the task to a different seller. After I Accepted it, I received a message from the Seller asking if it was actually a suitable delivery. 

That is too late to be asking that. My negative Private Review was already in. That seller probably now has a Gig Rank hole to dig out of because they gave a higher priority to pushing buttons on Fiverr rather than communicating. 

Corrections and clarifications from veteran sellers are welcome. Probably there are some styles of problem buyers where this advice is actually bad. All I know is there was a mismatch in expectations one seller screwed themselves by treating Delivering as something you do early and often while I react to Delivery as a final submission.

[visualstudios]

6 hours ago, moikchap said:

so I decided to Accept the Delivery to pay the seller for their work and move the task to a different seller. After I Accepted it, I received a message from the Seller asking if it was actually a suitable delivery. 

That is too late to be asking that. My negative Private Review was already in. That seller probably now has a Gig Rank hole to dig out of because they gave a higher priority to pushing buttons on Fiverr rather than communicating. 

99% of buyers will request a revision or a cancelation if they're unsatisfied. Fiverr doesn't limit revisions in any way, so if a buyer is not happy he can let the seller know. I don't know what that seller did, maybe he was over his head, did bad work, etc., can't know without looking at the order, initial brief, and deliverables. Maybe he thought he was delivering what you wanted and following instructions. Maybe the instructions were misleading. Maybe he didn't care. All possible.

In any case, by the way you worded it, it sounds like you left a bad private review, but not a public review, and didn't even tell them what you thought (that's why he had to ask). A bad private review is pointless for a seller, since we can't see it. He will never improve without proper feedback.

Edited June 21, 2023 by visualstudios

[moikchap]

27 minutes ago, visualstudios said:

In any case, by the way you worded it, it sounds like you left a bad private review, but not a public review, and didn't even tell them what you thought (that's why he had to ask). A bad private review is pointless for a seller, since we can't see it. He will never improve without proper feedback.

I'm open to helping people and giving feedback despite the burden it places on my time, and despite seeing no direct return for having done so. A number of sellers have noted their appreciation of me doing so in their buyer reviews. However, those sellers are getting all the feedback because they're checking in throughout the development process prior to submitting a Delivery. 

It takes good communication to get feedback, and to me using the Delivery option is not an ideal method of communication to use since it's an implied prompt for feedback rather than a direct prompt. Choosing Deliver implies the seller is confident in the product. It's as if the seller is saying they believe they've hit all the targets. A buyer may then expect they will need to argue with the seller over whether or not that's true.

Like, checking in before Delivery comes across like "What else can I do?", but using Deliver comes across like "There is nothing else I can do." I know I don't have to fight the first guy, and I'm not going to risk having a fight with the second guy. So the first guy gets feedback while I walk away from the second guy.

[vickieito]

3 hours ago, moikchap said:

Choosing Deliver implies the seller is confident in the product. It's as if the seller is saying they believe they've hit all the targets.

I agree with this - I don't deliver unless I'm 100% confident that I have addressed all of the points that a buyer asks.

3 hours ago, moikchap said:

Like, checking in before Delivery comes across like "What else can I do?", but using Deliver comes across like "There is nothing else I can do."

I do check in often before the delivery, but I also make it very clear that buyers are to thoroughly review the delivery, extend the review period as necessary, and/or request a revision change if they would like anything added, changed, or deleted in the delivery after viewing the finished product in its final state.

I welcome feedback on my deliveries because even though I'm confident in my final product, I don't want buyers to ever feel like they are forced to accept an order that they are not 100% happy with. I also know they'll be happier if there's some skin in the game. Even if it's a slight color change or one word that they want to be replaced. Most orders have three revisions and I make it clear that I expect them to use those revisions if they want to. Those revisions are as much a part of the order as the first delivery. Many choose to accept the first delivery, but I think it's nice for them to know they can request revisions.

[smashradio]

13 hours ago, moikchap said:

That is too late to be asking that. My negative Private Review was already in. 

I see where you're coming from, and I agree that communicating with your buyer before delivery is important, especially if you're in doubt about what they want. But the seller might have really thought they'd done a great job. Perhaps your instructions could have been better. As @visualstudios said, it could be many different things leading up to it. 

Many sellers think too highly of their own skills, and frankly, those sellers probably shouldn't be allowed to stay on the platform, so I'm all in favor of using private reviews to weed the garden. 

But...

As a buyer, it's up to us to let the seller know if something's not right before accepting the order.

As a seller, I reach out to my client and ask for their feedback if I'm in doubt. I'd like to think that my buyers would do me the same honor.

But honestly, I'm not going to run every single thing by them before delivering. That would make my job too dependent on getting their feedback in time. The order clock is always ticking, and I can't waste hours waiting for a response before delivering. If they want changes, there's a button for that.

Leaving a bad review should be the last option, only if you feel like the whole thing's been a flop.

It's not cool to deliver something half-done, but again, maybe the seller got a little too confident. Maybe they needed that feedback and didn't get it, because you decided to go with an immediate negative review. 

If it was me, I'd request a cancellation if I felt like the order didn't go in the direction I needed. If the seller refused, I'd leave that feedback and a public review explaining why. 

[visualstudios]

7 hours ago, moikchap said:

I'm open to helping people and giving feedback despite the burden it places on my time, and despite seeing no direct return for having done so.

You get direct return. Namely, getting what you want, instead of wasting money for something you can't use. You do you, if that attitude is working well for you, that's great.

[moikchap]

3 hours ago, visualstudios said:

You get direct return. Namely, getting what you want, instead of wasting money for something you can't use.

Oh, I think I see where the mismatch in our views is coming from.
Well, it might be coming from a couple places. One is that I'm valuing my time at a high price, so I consider it costly to set up useful feedback and that can make it a loss due to sunk cost rather than a direct return. But that still begs the question why I'm providing the feedback when it's asked for and not providing it when it's not asked for.

The "something I can use" isn't simply the single thing I'm ordering; it's the seller. I think we've agreed that feedback is an investment in the seller. When a seller is engaging with me well, I consider them worth the investment. I become confident in their ability to adapt, so I expect them to be useful in the long term, so I can view the time cost of crafting good feedback as being defrayed by the future use of that seller. 

But, if the seller has a quick trigger on the Delivery button without any communication to back it up, it creates a negative impression like as if the seller is trying to rush completion and doesn't have any desire for feedback or adapting. They don't have an appearance of being receptive to feedback, so it adds a perceived risk to investing the time in creating the feedback.

 

 

Edited June 21, 2023 by moikchap