The 3 Tips you MUST Know to Spot and Avoid Bad Buyers

[pfpgogo]

I agree with the signs pointed out. The way a buyer initiates contact with you can be a great indication of how they’re going to handle an actual order.



Potential buyers who spam you without giving you a chance to respond. They often end up being that impatient buyer who ignores the fact that you have obligations outside of Fiverr (like sleep) and gets really nasty with you for not responding within 30 seconds every single time in spite of you communicating with them all day long.



Potential buyers who mention ratings upfront. When someone sends a message like, “I’ll give you a good rating if ___”, they end up being one that uses ratings as a threat/leverage to get things they don’t deserve.



Luckily (or unluckily), I’ve had so few sales that I haven’t had to deal with bad buyers like higher level sellers do lol

[david388]

@pfgogo, thanks for your post!

That’s a GREAT point - people who mention ratings (whether it’s a promise of a good rating “if,” or a threat of a bad rating if you don’t do a good job) during their first point of contact set off all kinds of red flags.

[david388]

Ok. Here’s another to add to everyone’s list.



PEOPLE WHO WRITE IN ALL CAPS.



Thoughts? 🙂

[ashlena]

Thanks for the tips.



I’m fairly new here, started about 2 weeks ago, and i’m facing some problems with one particular buyer, he is actually asking me to put his name on my drawings, i did it the first time because he said it was a gift for his girlfriend, now he came back with a picture of another girl asking me to do this one too, and put his name in it, furthermore he didn’t even bother sending a message this time around, i don’t know what to do, if i refuse to do it, he might cancel the order and it will leave a bad mark on my reputation.

[david388]

Hi @ashlena,

This Buyer sounds untrustworthy, so I agree with the caution you’re taking here. One quick question before offering my advice - has this Buyer already placed multiple orders with you before, or just this current one? The answer to that determines how best for you to move forward.



David

[ashlena]

Hello @david388, thanks for answering me.



No, the first time he placed an order was yesterday, i delivered today, he was very satisfied with my work, and came back an hour or so ago to make a new order, he told me on the gig description to write his name again, and that he will make similar orders in the future…

[skydesigner]

Im tierd of buyers who ask additional services without paid! Fiverr give buyers too much power.

[larryshoemaker]

From a buyer (me). If I ask for a site to be installed; don’t just offer to install a template.

Be very clear, and ask for, clarity about the assignment. I may know a site install is complicated; however, where is the completion point for the assignment? A few messages back and forth can save all of us from disappointment.

Also, some discussion about benchmarks would be helpful. For a basic install of a Wordpress site with some customization; what is the typical price range? What should I expect it to include? If I need to add content, can I do it while someone is tweeking the site?

I want ya’ll to be satisfied working with me so you’ll welcome me back for the next gig!



Besides, fiverr is a bargain, potentially. You’re the experts. Control the relationship so you have a profitable outcome.

[david388]

Reply to @ashlena: hi again! Then this is the best possible situation. I’d tell him you’re going to put him in for a mutual refund so that he can have his money back on this order. Once he accepts the refund, he will be unable to leave any kind of negative feedback.



As you’ve pointed out, you’re somewhat vulnerable until he no longer has the ability to leave negative feedback (although even then, you do have some options).



So I’d make your top priority getting him to accept your refund. Apologize for being too busy to put more of his signatures on your work, say whatever it takes - just get him to confirm the mutual cancellation. Once he does, then you’re all set.



Let us know what happens!

[david388]

Reply to @larryshoemaker: hi Larry. It sounds like you’re the exact kind of Buyer we all dream of getting! I totally agree. Communication is king.

[Guest]

Very interesting and helpful advice , thank u so muck 😉

and many of buyers didnt give you review or a negative review and that’s so bad really , and who demand a refund he just ask you about work and after u do it he ll refund it ,

we need to take care and good luck for all

[mattkearns]

Hello David,



I am a seller for many years now and in the vast majority of the cases I receive messages that DO NOT include a polite introduction and yes people are demanding extras all the time. I mean that it does not make you a bad buyer if you are asking to get more. Additionally, there are a number of online services that help sellers to protect themselves from fraudulent buyers. There are no signs there, you just screen the buyer and a review appears. (Try eBuyersReviewed, Frud.et, Fraurecor* and other similar).



Good luck,

[kkflglaw]

So I read through this thread. From a buyers perspective, I don’t think I will ever use this forum again.



I contacted the seller first and asked for specific things. I had folders, letterhead and business cards already designed. I need the folders in a smaller file. I needed the letterhead to be a water mark in .pages template. Lastly, I needed new names put on the business card files or at least editable. All my source files to seller were delivered in .ai format.



I paid for $36 gig which I guess I should have know that I would get what I pay for. The seller set the price after my request and set the delivery date- 2 days. I received .jpegs only of folder plus business cards and after the deadline. My continued request for the letterhead in .pages has never been completed. The .doc file I got was 8 days after the initial deliver deadline.



The seller marked the order as delivered when it was not even remotely complete. Fiverr then closed the order with no way to cancel or to get customer support. Despite many attempst to contact seller for .pages format and basically no or slow response, I left only 1 star review.



Not surprisingly seller finally contacted me and told me to take my review down and to reply to him ASAP. And continued to harass me with emails and to insist I respond. He still trying to tell me that he completed my letterhead work which is not .pages still and he changed the font to Helvetica for my name and email address.



So, is there any protection for either side here? I don’t think so. I also think he lied to me to say that Fiverr closed the order. He was not finished. Who marks it as delivered?



Just my weighing in on this important issue. And no I can order my things printed now because I don’t have all the work and it is not of appropriate quality.

[david388]

@kkflglaw, it goes without saying that even though this thread was posted to help Sellers protect themselves from unethical Buyers, there are plenty of situations where a Buyer does all the right things - as it sounds like you did here - and ends up with a bad experience.



This sounds like a terrible situation. I have a few thoughts:

• Firstly, have you been refunded yet? If the Seller is desperate to have the review removed (as any of us would be), then you can ask him/her to cancel and refund the order to you. This IS still possible, regardless of whether it’s been marked as delivered/completed (unless it’s been more than 3-4 weeks).
  
  
• Second, if this still hasn’t been resolved for you, I’d reopen a new ticket with Customer Support. When you do, make sure to attach some screenshots to illustrate what happened to you. They will most likely have your back.
  
  
  
  I hope this helps. Please feel free to reach out to me directly if you need any more support here.

[Guest pkgentry]

Reply to @darrendesign: I would run the image you made through Google image search to see if he’s using it. If he is, let him know that you’re contacting an attorney, and then do so. Depending upon the state, you may be able to collect treble damages. This isn’t worth doing for $5, but might be for $300. Plus, it sounds like the guy is a douche.

[pixelpurfect]

Thank you so much for posting this! So far all of my buyers have been a pleasure to work with but I’m sure I’ll run into these types eventually. Now I’ll know what to look out for!

[hungergamesx2]

Just been dealing with a buyer like this he ordered my large gig which includes me reaching out and paying sites a fee to promote etc, was provided all the necessary information and screen shoots as per the gig description, than he carried on demanded a contact list which I never share nor will I ever unless with a Fiverr Representitive. SO I give him one of my other gigs which is a excel list of sites 120 he can visit to promote himself. All communication has been resounded to in 24 hours.



I than get this from him

1. Youse the me screenshots of my app on IRRELEVENT sites
   
2. You sent me IRRELEVENT generic and confusing folder
   
   3 you don’t want to tell me who you sent my app review requests to
   
3. Communication with you is poor
   
   
   
   So either you can refund me my money or I’ll leave a review and contact fiver
   
   
   
   This is not my first and won’t be the last but this time I am fine akin the negative feedback as I am sick of these buyers that want everything for nothing and feel that blackmailing will get them everything.
   
   
   
   Thanks for the tips

[coreymcmullan]

Reply to @jamesbulls: I absolutely hate it when a buyer doesn’t leave a review, it’s very ungreatful of them. It really annoys me and I bet I’m not the only one! Good luck.

[Guest daysie]

great stuff

[david388]

Reply to @daysie: thanks, Daysie! Hope it saves you some difficulty down the line.

[david388]

Reply to @pixelpurfect: my pleasure! It’s not the type of thing that happens often … but always best to be prepared.

[david388]

Reply to @hungergamesx2: that’s awful. If the purchase wasn’t for a whole lot of money, then I think you should refund him but report him to Customer Support. That way you protect yourself from a negative review, but also know that you’re helping put an end to that behavior.

[david388]

Reply to @coreymcmullan: it annoys me too, but then again, I wonder if these are people who for some reason weren’t happy with something about my service, and chose to leave no review at all rather than a negative one. Once in a while when I’ve been disappointed with someone’s product here as a Buyer, I’ve just left no review. I’d much rather do that than leave a positive one, and as a Seller here, I’d almost never leave a bad review, unless someone was really awful.

[misscrystal]

Here is a bad buyer:



Buyer gets something from me for $10 and is delighted with it so gets it again in a more expensive version but says he wants a refund of the first one since it is the same as the new enhanced version he now is getting.



I worked for over an hour on the first one and he was thrilled–but wants a refund of that one to “help pay for the new one”.

[fonthaunt]

Reply to @misscrystal: Wow. That would have to be a “Sorry, no thank you” for me.