Major Tip for Buyers When the Order Starts - A Successful Order Starts With Sending A Message!

[edume]

One of the biggest obstacles in business is communication or a lack of communication. So, after you order, send a message immediately asking for the seller to “Please confirm that you received my order”.



If the seller communicates quickly, that’s a good sign. If you have to wait a day or two, you purchased from the wrong seller!



It is only customary in business to confirm information, much like any website you sign-up for wants you to confirm an e-mail. Well, it’s the same when you place an order and honestly sellers should be doing this but they don’t. Why? Well, because most on fiverr don’t have any business experience or ethics on how to conduct themselves in a business transaction.



So, then, you as the buyer get upset because you sent funds but no response. Your anger is justified, but there is no real way to prompt someone to respond quickly. Although, fiverr has tried by implementing a messaging policy of 24 hours.



Although I’m a seller, I also purchase a lot as well. Recently, I sent out messages to five people about a digital product I want to buy. 2 replied within two days, 1 replied after 7 days and two others didn’t reply at all.



So, in general, many sellers are simply not educated in business ethics, so you as the buyer have to take the initiative. Or find someone who has the ability to communicate, which is like a needle I a hay stack!



Anyhow, it’s idea for you to send off a message right after you place the order so you can get a reply as soon as possible and hope that you made the right choice.

[fonthaunt]

Even though I think this part is true UP to a point, offering tips with embedded insults to almost the entire seller community is rude. The part about not having any business experience is one thing, but the implication that most sellers don’t have personal ethics isn’t necessary as a part of your tips. Just my opinion, nothing more.

edume said: most on fiverr don't have any business experience or ethics on how to conduct themselves in a business transaction.

[ruslancer]

I always ask buyers to contact me first. I agree up to a point. I really think that the message should be sent not after, but before the order was made. It’s bad when buyers treat seller as vending machine where they can throw 5 dollars and get anything they want.
I always reply immidiately, but some buyers respond after 2-7 days, even a month sometimes.
Excuse me for mistakes if present

[edume]

Reply to @fonthaunt: It is true what I stated and stand by it. I’ve been a seller, a top rated seller, and buyer for more than 4 years. Purchasing can become a horrible experience if you don’t do your homework first. Then again, who has time to research who is good and who isn’t. Buyers may assume everyone is a good seller especially new buyers, until they run into problems and that could be the first order!

[edume]

Reply to @ruslancer: Sure, the buyer should question the seller first, but this post pertains to after the transaction has been initiated.

[fonthaunt]

Reply to @edume: I don’t disagree with any of what you just said in reply. I’ve had a few bad buyer experiences and the forum itself proves that research matters. I disagree with the near-blanket statement about ethics.

[ruslancer]

Reply to @edume: yes, I see in the subject now, sorry

[ecoverprincess]

When a buyer sends message to the seller,he/she will be able to know if the seller can perform the task before him or not,that will give a good indication to the buyer to buy the gig or not.

[reddhorrocks]

I have to say, I do not agree with your point. If I place an order on Amazon, and I get a confirmation email, I’m not expecting to get a unique and individual message from the particular store confirming my order. I’d rather they spent that time actually shipping my order. Fiverr has put a wonderful system in place whereby Buyers receive automatic acknowledgement of orders, and it starts a countdown for the Seller. In my experience that is (and should be) an acceptable receipt of an order. I know that my clients would rather I deliver early, than spend an hour or two a day creating a slew of unnecessary messages. My clients are on a deadline and I would prefer to get them what they need quickly and efficiently by using the systems that have been put in place.

This is how every other online ordering system works.

[fonthaunt]

Reply to @ecoverprincess: He’s mainly talking about after a buyer makes a purchase, not before. He’s saying the buyer should expect to get an email response from the seller fairly quickly.

[ruslancer]

Reply to @reddhorrocks: it is truely depends on the type of service. some work cannot be done on autopilot.

[edume]

Reply to @reddhorrocks: Unfortunately, due to the lack of professionalism on fiverr and a faulty system, a confirmation message may mean nothing to anyone. It’s only a form of notification and doesn’t mean it’s from the seller.

It’s recommended form of communication to have a real acknowledgement from the seller who is providing the service.

You can’t compare Amazon and fiverr as it’s comparing apples and oranges. Amazon has a long established history, fiverr does not and fiverr is a maze of services and digital products and software. Searching on fiverr only shows some of the services. Searching on Amazon provides a complete picture in that particular category.

We’ve been on the system more than 4 years, we’ve seen the changes, the disasters and the complication fiverr has gone through.

We’ve been in business 27 years and have seen our fair share during that time. What we provide here on fiverr is the proper method to make things happen in a positive light rather than a disaster. You can take it as it is or brush it off, it’s your choice.

[jonbaas]

Reply to @edume:
I take offense at your blanket comment about “the lack of professionalism on fiverr”. I am extremely professional in my services, as are many others. While there are indeed a number of bad apples here on Fiverr, I feel a little insulted that I am lumped in with your assertions that sellers are don’t know how to communicate successfully… merely because they don’t complete their services the same way that you do.

[Guest reinier01]

edume said: Unfortunately, due to the lack of professionalism on fiverr and a faulty system, a confirmation message may mean nothing to anyone. It's only a form of notification and doesn't mean it's from the seller.

I have the perfect solution to all of this. @edume should write an ebook about the “lack of ethics and professionalism” on the part of Fiverr sellers, and then offer it for sale on Amazon, from where freelancers from every imaginable site can buy it to be educated by a master of misinformation, prejudice, and trash-talking. Perhaps he could also include a chapter on how to use your status as a TRS as a license to belittle, besmirch, and insult people who do not follow his way of thinking.

[edume]

Of course, there will be the angry bunch of sellers opposed to what has been stated. By the way, we never insinuated that everyone was included, just many, which is true.

We’ve been in business more than 27 years, MBA in business, gone through a lot and express what is true directly. Good sellers should not take offence to what has been said in this post.

[fonthaunt]

Reply to @edume: My buyers have apparently thought of me as a good seller, based on reviews. True or not, I dont need to reiterate my years of experience in my field.

edume said: Good sellers should not take offence to what has been said in this post.

As a good seller, I dont take offence at your jabs toward the hard working and ethical people you insulted. I imagine you poke at them to stroke your massive ego. I take offense at some of your commens as the good person I strive to be. I’m sorry that you have issues, honestly, and I hope they get better.

[fastcopywriter]

No, no, no, no, no, no!

Don’t send me messages! Don’t ask me if I’m available! Just place an order and provide instructions! How hard is that?

Here’s an idea, Sellers have GIG DESCRIPTIONS, if they want you to message them before you order, THEY WILL TELL YOU.

Also, once you place an order, all communications should be within the order. I like everything in the right place.

[Guest reinier01]

Reply to @edume: Angry bunch? Really? In a previous post you stated that “most on Fiverr are unreliable”, which begs this question: Have you bought gigs from all, or most, of the sellers on this site? If not, you are not in any position to make sanctimonious blanket statements about people you have not dealt with.

As for your 27 year’s experience in business as an MBA, that means nothing. I have been a freelance writer for 15 years, which also means nothing apart from the fact that I must know something about running a freelance business to have been doing it for so long. And no, Fiverr is not my primary source of income- I derive that from several major print publications, just in case you were wondering.

Many, if not most sellers on this, and other sites have also been in business for many years, which means that they too, know something about running their affairs -even though they may not hold MBA’s.

Which begs other questions. Why are you here? If you are so expert at what you do, why are you not in the big leagues? Why do you concern yourself with unreliable, unethical, and unprofessional sellers that refuse to take your “advice” seriously?

I am sure you can offer a lot of valid business advice, and we will all be glad to receive it, but until you decide to offer it, please refrain from making offensive statements on this forum.

[r3k0d3d]

Well I prefer ppl send me msgs, as a lot of my clients are in different time zones from all around the globe, so a msg first gives me fair notice and time to see if I can actually do the gig, plus it’s better for you if you do it first or part of it and send them a sample to see if they like your work, usually with a watermark or lower quality and then if they like what they see, they can then order the gig and then you can either send it straight away or finish it a lot quicker and get better stats all around, makes sense to me, so far so good! 🙂

[misscrystal]

I agree with Edume. I think he is saying something important that needs to be said, albeit in a slightly untactful way.

Simply put, it is basic professionalism to immediately send a personal greeting and message as soon as you receive an order.

It goes without saying that on a site like this there will be a fair number of less than professional sellers.

[edume]

Reply to @reinier01: we have not made any offensive statements to anyone. We’ve made a lot of purchases over the past four years and it’s only getting worse. Don’t take this so personally, we did not state “everyone” in the article. Maybe you are a good seller, but there’s no need to be angry.

We’re in the broadcast business, we are on fiverr to help small business and have actually reduced the amount of videos we produce through this platform due to fraudulent activities of a few bad apple buyers.

Credentials and experience gain respect for creativity in our business which is one of the reasons we’ve been i business for so long. Not everyone is going to agree with our direct approach including yourself. But, it’s best to lay it on the table before it becomes to late.

[writerlisaz]

I keep this very simple. As soon as I receive an order, I have a “quick response” saved that I send off. It says “Thanks for your order! I’ll have it completed within the ___ day deadline. Lisa”

It’s super fast and easy for me to do this, and I know it reassures my buyers that I have received their order and will be working on it soon. Professional communication doesn’t have to be complicated or even time-consuming. It takes just a few seconds.

[emasonwrites]

Maybe it’s because I, like @writerlisaz, always send a quick response as soon after a buyer places an order as I can (a girl’s gotta sleep, at least a little), but I find it kind of annoying when a buyer tells me to confirm that I’ve gotten their order. If they asked if I’ve gotten their order, that’s something different, but I would always prefer that a buyer treated me like I was a competent businesswoman, instead of trying to hold my hand through an order like I’m a scammer. When I buy something on Amazon or on Etsy, I don’t immediately email the seller telling me to confirm the order. I wait for the confirmation to come, and if it doesn’t, after a reasonable amount of time, considering time zones, that’s when I send an inquiry.

[fonthaunt]

Reply to @misscrystal: Less than professional yes, outright unethical, I disagree. Of course some of my concerns go beyond this thread so I can’t help but be bothered by it. People are always going to vary on opinions about the need for messaging, etc. That is just debate - fine. Attacking “most” sellers (quoting @edume) to boost one’s own agenda and ego is pitiful.

[jonbaas]

Reply to @edume:
Actually, I think Fiverr is getting better and more user-friendly. But maybe that’s just me.