How do I know if I should cancel an order?

[tracybarnhart]

Hello,

I’m fairly new to Fiverr and so far everything with my buyers have been pretty smooth. However, I recently received an order to write a long blog post for someone on a topic that needs extra research. The buyer is refusing to purchase the extra research upgrade and is telling me to write off the top of my head and refuses to even give me a direction for the article. She gave me a title, which she said that I would need to change. Unfortunately, this article is about babies and pregnancy and really needs significant research, which is outside the scope of the basic gig. I am not comfortable with her request but do not know what the best method is forward.



Thank you,

Tracy

[julipalmer7]

Hello @tracybarnhart you have two options it’s either you cancel the order or do the research and deliver the work for what it’s worth for the $5. Best wishes.

[onlinedzshop]

Do not do it even if it’s a million dollars order, not only because you are not comfortable with it, but because she’s bullying you, if she has to order the extra then she must do it, or else offer cancellation, Never let any one bully you, make your gig clear and tell them exactly what they will get for their money, don’t try doing something you’re uncomfortable with. Be confident, Be 7000% confident don’t let them bully you, don’t be afraid of cancelling any order or refusing any demands you do not offer.

[belengarcia]

I’d cancel without a doubt. If not, she’ll either be one of those buyers who are never satisfied and will end up giving you a bad rating, or will give you a good rating but come back for more free work in the future.
You’re nobody’s slave!! :)>-

[envymckee]

I agree with @julipalmer7 in your choices-- and I agree with @onlinedzshop about not letting anyone bully you. Trust you gut. You already know the right thing to do for you. Don’t hesitate to do it @tracybarnhart. I’ve only been on Fiverr for a month and some change, but I’ve worked in my business for over a decade. The rules of business outside of Fiverr still apply here.

I’ve had only a few personalities and/or requests that tested my professionalism some, BUT, I allowed them to learning experiences of what I need to tweak in my business profile and the “seller request” portion that happens when an order is made. The more clear you are up front, the less explaining you have to do later. That’s been the truth for me anyway. AND you can refer to that “upfront clarity” when you need to, “As per my profile, you must submit all required research prior to my starting gig” or “Per my sellers instructions, any medical blogs must be accompanied with so and so for liability reasons”.

My dad always says that you can’t hold people accountable for what they don’t know. For my own sanity, I’m learning to spell things out for folk in the nicest possible way and also firm and without apologizing(!!!). “My basic gig is for this, this and this. What you’re asking me to do is beyond the scope of the $5 gig, but I’d be happy to do this for $25 (or whatever). For ease and grace purposes, I can send you over a custom order so we can rock this our the right way, yes?” If they say no, then cancel in the nicest possible way; “As much as I’d love to work this for you, I simply cannot do what your asking from a professional standpoint or from a moral place. Thanks for the opportunity, but I am not the right person for this gig. Peace and infinite blessings!” and keep it moving. On a side note, treat your clients kindly. Most people are doing the best they can with what they have, yes? Our work here on Fiverr is mostly through words on a screen. We can’t tell a person’s tone or what they’re really up to. Sometimes they just don’t know and they get pushy because some people are extraordinarily uncomfortable when they can’t be the experts (and with a deadline). We’re not here to judge them or their methods. It is, however, our job as professionals in each of our fields to educate our clients (even the whack ones) about what is acceptable in each of our professions/lines of work, yes? Be confident in that. You are the professional! Represent for your tribe gurl! 🙂

[emjayye]

YES SAVE YOURSELF THE TROUBLE.

IF A BUYER IS ALREADY DICTATING THEN ALL RESPECT IS NOT THERE. I AM NOT SAYING A BUYER CANNOT NEGOTIATE OR TALK ABOUT THE WORK REQUIRED TO BE DONE. BUT IF A SELLER ADVISE YOU THAT AN ORDER TO DO ALL THAT YOU ASKED REQUIRES A GIG EXTRA THEN THATS WHAT THAT SELLER IS OFFERING.

IF AS A BUYER IT IS TOO MUCH FOR YOU PLEASE RESPECT THE SELLER’S WISH AND LET THEM EITHER DO THE INITIAL $5 WORK OR PROVIDE A MUTUAL CANCELLATION AND FIND A SELLER WHO IS WILLING TO WHAT YOU WANT.

[farmgirl27]

There are people out there who just want cheap work. When I was a beginning Fiverr seller, I agreed to do some cheap work for a customer, because I was new, and thought it would help my business. They were thrilled with the work, so I was happy. Shortly after, they came back with a massive order and expected to be able to pay the same cheap rate. I went ahead and completed the order quantity they had paid for, then delivered it with a note that this was all I could provide at this price point. They cancelled the order. This order had taken me an entire weekend to complete. Time I could have better spent elsewhere. Now, if someone asks for work outside the scope of my business, or for a cheap rate, I nicely cancel with a detailed explanation on why I cannot complete the work. If you undercut yourself now, your buyers will just expect you do continue doing so. Don’t ever feel you have to sell yourself short.

[tracybarnhart]

Thank you everyone for your help. I feel much better telling her that I will have to cancel. Luckily, the gig is pretty clear on the information needed if they do not want to upgrade the research.

[fonthaunt]

Reply to @silberma1976: Actually, as long as the cancellation is mutual it can hurt a lot less than taking a risk. If you don’t have many orders yet and someone leaves you a very bad review, it will push your rating down too much. When you have thousands of orders it can be safer. I would always cancel but make sure it is mutual.

[maxer_25]

HI,

Of course cancellation is the solution in your case.
However, in the beginning of my fiverr career (about a year ago), I did some serious work for 5$ orders, just to make sure it does not hurt my fiverr rating with bad reviews. It was in the beginning and I was struggling to get an order. Since I wasn’t doing anything anyway, I figured 5$ is better than nothing.
Other times I did the work, explained to the client that it took much more effort than the 5$ gig. Most of the times I get compensated with generous tips.
I think buyers have simply no idea how much effort their jobs requires, I refuse to believe they do it on purpose, just to get free work done.

I wish you many sales and excuse my poor English.
Max

[creativekyuk]

The buyer and the seller’s existence on Fiverr is mutually beneficial. Without the two, then there is no Fiverr. It saddens me when a seller is exposed to such harassment. To make matters worse it is the seller who gets hurt if under such a situation he/she cancels the order. In my opinion, Fiverr should manually review such cancellations and arbitrate or go with the seller’s decision without making them suffer. Under such circumstances, I would also cancel the order and avoid future problems with such a client.

Cancellation for genuine reasons will achieve a number of things:

• You will maintain your sanity.
• You will enhance your self-esteem and self-respect.
• You will weed-out bad buyers.
• It will help you edit and make your gigs more concise.

I have had to cancel a number of orders and such actions have always left me feeling better than the orders I have done with a sense that I have been short-changed. there is only so much you can do for $5 and that doesn’t include anybody taking you for granted.

Best wishes. Keep at it and you will get there.

[lightyearsweden]

Hi @tracybarnhart!

I can see that you’ve received many fine suggestions here and I’m sure that you will be able to make a sound decision.

What has helped me a great deal is that I’ve always followed a basic principal in my associations with other peopel, be it personal or business relations. That is to put first the feeling a relationship gives you. If the persons I cooperate with are nice, polite, fair and cooperative then I feel comfortable and the work will give me satisfaction. In that case the amount of money involved comes second, whether I’m the buyer or the seller.
But if a seller is the oposite I always decline working with them even though they would offer me a low price for his or her’s services.
If a buyer is unpleasant and unwilling to cooperate and overly demanding, I also decline to work with them, even though they might offer a large sum of money for the work I’m supposed to do.

I’m actually experiencing this right now. I’m a buyer in this case. First I laid a few requests with different sellers and received several offers. And I first tried the cheapest one at $50. He delivered a software that was programmed according to my instructions. Although the overall functions were right the software had a few issues that needed to be corrected. But when I addressed this to the seller he refused to accomodate my requests, and even implied that I was wrong and that there was nothing wrong with the software. I made a few attempts to explain the issues even sending screenshots clearly showing the problems. But the only replay I got was that the software was functioning correctly. It was like talking to a wall. Out of kindness I gave him the money (although I ended up giving him a bad review when I discovered that he had tried to con me actually). And I then went off to another seller who had offered to do the job for $160.

Now this seller was and is very polite. He listens and take in my requests and tries very hard to solve all the issues. Because of this I have continued to add funds to the gig and I’m now up to $350, and the software is still not ready. But we’re getting there. Since this software is a Forex trading tool it will also generate quite a lot of money when I use it. I will then share my profits generously with this person as a “thank-you-comtibution” for my appreciaton of his service mind and diligence. The first seller missed out on earning the initial $350 and alot more (thousands), just because he showed an unwilling attitude.

This pricipal has worked very well for me and I have been able to find a lot of joy and satisfaction in my line of work. And it has boosted my reputation as well, since the people with whom I surround myself actually like me and speak well of me.

I hope this can help you!

I wish you all the best and success with your business and life.

Most kindly, Daniel Vållberg

[nertilpoci]

hi
until now i mostly have been a seller but recently i worked with some other seller and bought some of their gigs. And i have seen whats like for both parties.
Canceling the order shouldn’t be an issue at all. Mainly i try to tell my customer to messaage me before ordering but some don’t. Then they end up wanting too much for too little. So i am left with no choice i cancel the order. Fiverr team has taken care of cancelation orders showing on you profile they don’t show if you do a mutual cancelation if both parties agree then there nothing shows on your profile your rating and stuff won’t be affected. I’m sure the buyer would accept the mutual cancelation order as they have no reason to not to only if they are determined to loose the money for no work. If they don’t accept then you can still cancel the order and this time they don’t get a say but i am not sure if this shows up on your profile.
in my experience they have accepted the mutual cancelation

[irishguy1]

Cancelling an order should be done as a last resort. While it doesn’t affect your rating it does, it is a refection of your customer service. In your particular situation I would suggest explaining to the buyer that the subject needs additional research and that without it, they would not be pleased with the final product. If they still refuse to accept the addition, then you’re left with no other option.

[trafficboostin]

Hello,
My method of service cancel order is if the customer don’t respond to your request within a period of reasonable time, cancel the order. $5 isn’t worth the reputation of a bad review. Sometimes the buyer is looking for different outcomes than what you can deliver.

[mandirito]

Hello!

I’ve been in the same situation. I’ve been on Fiverr for about a month, a month and a half, and I’ve had buyers set up a gig and then continue to demand more for the same initial price. If I were you, I would be polite but stand your ground. Respect should be on both sides and if you’re respectful, even when your patience is being tried, there’s no harm that can be done. Just kindly say that the research required for the gig discussed would require an additional charge. If they refuse, then professionally let them go. “Thank you for your interest, but I cannot complete this gig at this price. Have a great day.” Simple but straightforward.
I wish you all the best!
Good luck.

Mandy

[bdodd43]

I have an open order now that they are asking me to thing outside of the scope of the gig. I sent them a letter to tell them they need to modify the order and explained only what the gig offers. If they have an issue with that I will do a cancel. If I get a bad review, I will comment the negative text with why. You can’t sell them apples if you only sell oranges.

[rachel2020]

Solid piece of advice; do not be scared to cancel an order. Don’t think of a cancellation as a loss of revenue (even though that’s what it is) but rather taking a step back to breathe especially in situation where you find yourself least comfortable. Don’t sell yourself short because you need the money. It’s one thing to want to build your portfolio and earn money, Fiverr is already providing a platform with awesome services at prices that aren’t likely anywhere else. Remember that there will always be more buyers so if you really aren’t comfortable with doing it and you do feel bullied, cancel. There will always be more offers.

I hope this helps you.

Regards,
Rachel2020

[drfixup]

Thanks +tracybarnhart
I appreciate your post.
I have a customer has me jumping through hoops.
I am going to follow the advice contained in this post.

Thanks,
Dr Fix Up

[allisreveur]

You have to cancel. It’s irresponsible to write about a serious subject like pregnancy on the basis of quickie online research. This is not the time or place for a $5 gig. Something’s wrong with that buyer, and you don’t want to be a part of it.

[aaly_raj]

Dear you have to discuss with the buyer and tell her that this is not possible and this is a extra job. and explain her so she gets the idea and understand then send her extras or custom request

[rana03708]

Anybody please help me i have no order and i am a new arrival.please help me may you live long all of you.this is my link https://www.fiverr.com/rana03708

[rana03708]

Reply to @drfixup: sir please give me a one order.this is my link https://www.fiverr.com/rana03708 please sir

[bharath2050]

Hello!!

If possible, just speak with her once and tell her about the depth of this job. If she gets your point then I think she might help you to get this work done.

Regards,
bharath

[zarklon]

Oh this one is easy. Here is what I think…

First , you list your topics of interest. That should* tell buyers what you already are capable of writing blog posts for. This just happens to be a topic you feel needs more research , and you’re correct. You don’t want to be spreading around more misinformation about pregnancy (my wife is a birth doula). So good one there.

As far as the order goes … I would ask to cancel this one if your buyer refuses to order the “extra” required research. Thats it … You can explain to them that this topic is something you are not comfortable doing without some research and that research takes time. Simply ending with , “Unfortunately but I’ll need to ask you to cancel or accept the funds required to do a stellar job for your blog… Sorry for any inconvenience”

Done with buyer.

NOW - More important than that order.

Understand 2 things… buyers will not read your gig description properly most of the time. Having security in your gig description goes miles. Saying things like

“I will ask that you order the extra below if I feel that it would require more research or if the criteria did not match the list above (all those things that were your topic of interest)”

You can simply say that IN YOUR GIG DESCRIPTION … And that way , buyers like this will have to go back and say … “Oh there it is huh …” and you wont…or I should say shouldn’t… Have this problem again…

but if you do , its all the buyer’s fault.

Here on fiverr , you have to cover yourself 110% as a seller. Buyers can easily mess your rating up with a bad review… and you’ll even find some buyers try to refuse your requests to cancel orders because your gig doesnt display these extras or that they didn’t read it in the first place. This makes gigs go late … then they can leave a bad review if they want.

LAST THING you need to know … Is that if you have to cancel an order… try your best to NOT let it go to customer service. If an order is cancelled by them , you take a huge hit to your account rating. If there is a cancellation tug of war going on with your buyer , that should be the only reason to let it go to support … but you won’t find much “support” there unless you are covering your tracks 110%.

So , hope you can get the order cancelled… add some security to your gig description and do better business here on fiverr 🙂

^ now fiverr can make a new blog post

Title:
"Add seller security to your gigs! Avoid potential pitfalls and increase buyer satisfaction and first impressions!’

=D