The Reason Sellers Don't Communicate with Their Buyers

[edume]

I’m a buyer and a seller, but I’ve never seen so much lack of connecting with a buyer after an order has been placed.



Case in point: A week ago I placed an order with a seller, delivery 14 days, (long time to wait). After two days, I sent a message to ask for confirmation of my order. No response. I sent another message the next day. No response. Now, five days later I had enough and decided to cancel. Obviously, this person is not responsible at all. and I question if my order would be fulfilled properly, if at all.



Even though this seller had five stars doesn’t mean that they are responsible or even care about the customer. Most only want money and I guess that’s why there’s so many fake services on fiverr.



After years in business, I understand that key element in anything that you sell is the customer, in this case it’s the buyer. Good communication with the buyer guarantees that you’ll have a loyal customer in future as long as you provide and over deliver with what they need. Otherwise, you simply piss-off buyers who want to know where their order is and how long it will take.



It’s unfortunate on fiverr, most don’t have any business experience and simply don’t care enough to put in the time and effort to make the customer happy. This is why fiverr has a bad name. If you do a google search you’ll see all the complaints.



In the end there are some very good sellers, reliable, professional and trustworthy. It’s a matter of finding those sellers and hanging onto them for future.



All the best.

[anarchofighter]

Um, so to be clear, “You’ve never seen so much lack of connection” …in this particular case or across the platform?



To me, if you buy from someone with a 14 day delivery schedule, there’s NO reason to expect to hear anything before that date.



What if the person is on a camping trip in the mounts for 10 days and just needs a few days upon returning to fulfill orders?

[holisticwriter]

I understand your concern. I always respond quickly thanking the buyer for their order and giving them a general time frame for when I will start on it. I think it’s just good business to acknowledge people who are paying you.



But I do agree with @anarchofighter that if there is a 14-day turnaround, they have no obligation to communicate with you unless there is a problem. Keep in mind that the time they spend stroking difficult, demanding buyers is money out of their pocket, and contributes to longer wait times. I think probably anyone with a 14-day turnaround is probably very busy and doesn’t have time to play games with people who want too much attention. To cancel your order because they won’t cater to you is a little fragglerocked-up, IMHO.

[anarchofighter]

Yes, I agree Holistic Writer.



IT is VERY helpful to communicate when/where/as you can. It’s even smart to use the “autoresponse” area (especially now that it’s so much bigger) to let someone KNOW why you might not respond for a while.



But the expectation suffers from a sense of privilege that I oppose.



Another factor to consider is the sellers “average response time”. If that’s under a day and you don’t hear from someone for a few days, there’s probably a good reason. There’s not way to keep that average on the system and be delinquent.

[imrobertson]

@edume - I buy a lot of gigs - and I agree a quick “Thanks for your order” or some sort of acknowledgement in the first few days puts your mind at rest.



Having said that, I really have to admit that most of the best work I get is from people who are absolutely rubbish at communication! They deliver at the last possible moment - but they deliver.



As @anarchofighter said, I also keep an eye on the “average response time” and rarely purchase gigs with a longer deliver time of 7 days.



As fiverr is such an awesome platform, which really is value for money (even with the $0.50 processing charge), I will often order time sensitive projects from more than one seller - just to guarantee I am covered. $5.50 for a gig makes this approach easy to justify!



@edume - thanks for sharing - it’s good to hear from somebody who buys and sells!

[anarchofighter]

imrobertson said: As fiverr is such an awesome platform, which really is value for money (even with the $0.50 processing charge), I will often order time sensitive projects from more than one seller - just to guarantee I am covered. $5.50 for a gig makes this approach easy to justify!

 

I also buy and SELL (like @edume I too am a Top Rated Seller).

 

I completely agree about this. My whole view of Fiverr is that's it's a testing ground to find solutions at low enough costs that the test is worth it EVEN IF ALL options fail, and a HUGE WIN if even one doesn't.

 

Now, I do want to acknowledge ...and you may or may not agree with this depending on your personal philosophy / politics... that there is a certain economic PRIVILEGE that view implies or requires.

 

$5 or $15 or $50 means very different things to different people in different places at different points in their business/life journey.

[imrobertson]

anarchofighter said: $5 or $15 or $50 means very different things to different people in different places at different points in their business/life journey.

 

Absolutely! There are some sellers who are VERY vocal on the forums (who I won't mention by name!) who bang on about how they spend no more than 5 minutes on a $5 gig, how they are worth more than fiverr respects etc etc.

 

BUT... $5 to some people I buy from in the Philippines or Eastern Europe is worth a lot more than $5 to somebody in an affluent part of the United States, for instance.

[mrproofreading]

Reply to @imrobertson: Indeed!



$5 in England is nothing. I receive $3.92 after all taxes, which is £2.51. For clarity, you would struggle to buy a small bottle of milk and a loaf of bread for that price.



However, that same amount in India could probably feed a small family for an entire day (or two).



Nonetheless, if I get enough $5 orders, I’m able to comfortably buy things that I need, which is why I don’t take any order for granted.

[imrobertson]

mrproofreading said: $5 in England is nothing. I receive $3.92 after all taxes, which is £2.51.

 

mrproofreading - I TOTALLY appreciate that after fiverr and paypal you only get £2.51-- but I think your attitude of getting more orders is the right one! This is why people like you succeed on fiverr!

[anarchofighter]

A big “Hooves Up” to this topic.

[edume]

These days, you provide more than good service and you get something in return. Professional ethics always lead to a winning edge.