Warning signs of a potentially troublesome buyer

[catwriter]

how about they say we will pay you when the work is done? i did message the client how he will pay first on fiverr before we go forward on illustration project. fiverr warned me not to ask payment well im just explaining how the buyer should pay first before i draw his orders.

Perhaps you can tell the buyer that Fiverr strongly recommends all the sellers never to start working on the project until the order is placed, and then send him the link to the article about how to place the order?

https://support.fiverr.com/hc/en-us/articles/204041556-Placing-an-Order

[fastcopywriter]

You deliver, the buyer doesn’t demand a revision but responds something like this:

"I AM NOT SURE THIS SENTENCE MAKE SENSE partner with me and together we’ll you’re your clients and experience they will never forget. #SurfingInAlgarve .
WE WILL YOU ARE? maybe is my english but i dont understand…

i never give a bad rating i tell you I feel like give 2 3 stars,

i have done fb ads my self before and I REALLY DONT FEEL SATISFIED with this the headline is not engaging at all;
Help Your Clients’ Remember Every Wave

is not comparable to most headline advertised in you gig

i expected something more honestly"

This was for a Facebook gig. I immediately refunded his order. This is what I wrote:

“I don’t like being threatened with bad reviews. I suggest you find yourself another seller. Honestly, I gave you good advice, I didn’t just do the ad, but if you’re going to react badly, we’re better off calling it quits. Good bye, good luck.”

You want to be nice, otherwise he might report you to CS and you’ll get an account warning.

Honestly, if his English is so bad, why hire an English writer? Hire a Portuguese writer who can write in English. Personally, if you’re doing a Facebook ad for a business in Portugal, you have to hire someone that knows Portugal. I can google and find things, but it’s not the same. I even tried to find how to say “surfing” in Portuguese to select the Facebook interests, but when I wrote the word, Facebook delivered no results.

Buyers are so frustrating sometimes, that’s why I refund. I could argue with him, and maybe I’ll win, but most likely I’ll get a bad review or have to refund anywhere.

[sanmeet]

Have you been conned by a buyer? Just spent 10 hours on what should have been a 1 hour gig? Had to give a refund on finished work just to get rid of an awkward buyer?

On Fiverr you don’t want to spend time on difficult customers. Most buyers are easy & good to work with. Most aren’t malicious, they just don’t know what they want. Some are too difficult to make it worthwhile. Some are setting out to con you.

If I think a buyer might be troublesome in any way, I end the conversation as soon as possible. It’s taken a while to learn some of these, or have the confidence to apply them, but these are some red flags to be wary of.

The buyer:

1. tells you a previous Fiverr seller did rubbish work (they’ll rarely be satisfied)
2. never answers your questions fully, even if they write a lot & are friendly & professional (they don’t actually know what they want & it will take time to elicit requirements or they will request revisions once they see your solution)
3. asks you how many revisions you offer early in the conversation (they’ll rarely be satisfied)
4. asks you if you do refunds if they’re not satisfied (they’ll rarely be satisfied)
5. asks for a free sample based on their requirements (may be conning you or may be a cheapskate)
6. doesn’t provide specific requirements (they don’t actually know what they want & it will take time to elicit requirements or they will request revisions once they see your solution)
7. says they’ll leave the implementation up to you as you’re the expert (they don’t actually know what they want & it will take time to elicit requirements or they will request revisions once they see your solution)
8. says ‘this will be easy for you’ (they don’t know how to do it or how long it will take you but they won’t pay more than $5)
9. asks you to do extra work and will tip if it’s done. (they probably won’t tip)
10. is too friendly (they may be conning you or at least making it difficult to have a professional relationship. You may end up doing more work for less if they’re good at it.)
11. messages are short, and abrupt. (They’re treating you like a commodity and won’t hesitate to decline delivery/they’ll rarely be satisfied/may just go silent on you)
12. takes a long time to answer messages before the order. (Can increase the chance of declining delivery if you have questions and they do this during the order)
13. tells you that if this order goes well they have a lot of other work lined up (this is usually a con to get a cheaper offer)
14. doesn’t have real requirements – they just say, ‘improve this’ or ‘make this look nicer’. Requirements are subjective. (they don’t actually know what they want & it will take time to elicit requirements or they will request revisions once they see your solution)

The same thing is happening with me right now, i have done a fully professional motion graphics video with 2d characters animation for buyer. i totally explain everything before the order what can i do or what i can not. But now they messaged they are not happy with their personal choice and they are directly asking for refund… what is this ?? i have spend about 10 hours work on their video… what can i do now ? want your opinions.

[emmaki]

Remember when you said this to me Sanmeet?

No why ignore them ?? everyone who are going to pay he could be assured all the things…
just give your best and make client’s trust on you. or may be you can make your own website where you can put your samples with categories and mention all the links where you have worked on.

All clients are not the same. some are very choosy and serious about their projects. so do not be rude with them anytime. just make your way better to explain.

Fiverr Forum

Show me your samples

No why ignore them ?? everyone who are going to pay he could be assured all the things.. just give your best and make client's trust on you. or may be you can make your own website where you can put your samples with categories and mention all the...

Your new problem is why I flip the vees ASAP in the inbox.

[sanmeet]

Remember when you said this to me Sanmeet?

No why ignore them ?? everyone who are going to pay he could be assured all the things…

just give your best and make client’s trust on you. or may be you can make your own website where you can put your samples with categories and mention all the links where you have worked on.

All clients are not the same. some are very choosy and serious about their projects. so do not be rude with them anytime. just make your way better to explain.

Fiverr Forum

Show me your samples

No why ignore them ?? everyone who are going to pay he could be assured all the things.. just give your best and make client's trust on you. or may be you can make your own website where you can put your samples with categories and mention all the...

Your new problem is why I flip the vees ASAP in the inbox.

Dear Emmaki, yes i remembered, But i also said "All clients are not the same"

and here the situation is different, we cant comparison both situations in same way. 🙂

this buyer did not asked to me for samples.

English is not my Native language. sorry i do not understand your last line.

“Your new problem is why I flip the vees ASAP in the inbox.” Please explain in easy words for me. 🙂

[emmaki]

Dear Emmaki, yes i remembered, But i also said "All clients are not the same"

and here the situation is different, we cant comparison both situations in same way. 🙂

this buyer did not asked to me for samples.

English is not my Native language. sorry i do not understand your last line.

“Your new problem is why I flip the vees ASAP in the inbox.” Please explain in easy words for me. 🙂

Think a middle finger, but more British. It’s rude 🙂

My original post in that thread was simply a note to avoid people like this, as they are more likely to be a bad buyer. Not all clients are the same–but you will save a lot of wasted time if you just stop them before they start (the bad ones).

[stdwares]

Awesome Compilation! Thanks for putting these together.

💡 Cheese!!

[sanmeet]

Think a middle finger, but more British. It’s rude 🙂

My original post in that thread was simply a note to avoid people like this, as they are more likely to be a bad buyer. Not all clients are the same–but you will save a lot of wasted time if you just stop them before they start (the bad ones).

Its your time you can say 😬 No hard feelings

yea sometimes things will going out of control, we will learn new experience from these types of Buyers. 🙂

[emmaki]

Its your time you can say 😬 No hard feelings

yea sometimes things will going out of control, we will learn new experience from these types of Buyers. 🙂

Not all experience is worth it, mate.

[zerotech1]

Have you been conned by a buyer? Just spent 10 hours on what should have been a 1 hour gig? Had to give a refund on finished work just to get rid of an awkward buyer?

On Fiverr you don’t want to spend time on difficult customers. Most buyers are easy & good to work with. Most aren’t malicious, they just don’t know what they want. Some are too difficult to make it worthwhile. Some are setting out to con you.

If I think a buyer might be troublesome in any way, I end the conversation as soon as possible. It’s taken a while to learn some of these, or have the confidence to apply them, but these are some red flags to be wary of.

The buyer:

1. tells you a previous Fiverr seller did rubbish work (they’ll rarely be satisfied)
2. never answers your questions fully, even if they write a lot & are friendly & professional (they don’t actually know what they want & it will take time to elicit requirements or they will request revisions once they see your solution)
3. asks you how many revisions you offer early in the conversation (they’ll rarely be satisfied)
4. asks you if you do refunds if they’re not satisfied (they’ll rarely be satisfied)
5. asks for a free sample based on their requirements (may be conning you or may be a cheapskate)
6. doesn’t provide specific requirements (they don’t actually know what they want & it will take time to elicit requirements or they will request revisions once they see your solution)
7. says they’ll leave the implementation up to you as you’re the expert (they don’t actually know what they want & it will take time to elicit requirements or they will request revisions once they see your solution)
8. says ‘this will be easy for you’ (they don’t know how to do it or how long it will take you but they won’t pay more than $5)
9. asks you to do extra work and will tip if it’s done. (they probably won’t tip)
10. is too friendly (they may be conning you or at least making it difficult to have a professional relationship. You may end up doing more work for less if they’re good at it.)
11. messages are short, and abrupt. (They’re treating you like a commodity and won’t hesitate to decline delivery/they’ll rarely be satisfied/may just go silent on you)
12. takes a long time to answer messages before the order. (Can increase the chance of declining delivery if you have questions and they do this during the order)
13. tells you that if this order goes well they have a lot of other work lined up (this is usually a con to get a cheaper offer)
14. doesn’t have real requirements – they just say, ‘improve this’ or ‘make this look nicer’. Requirements are subjective. (they don’t actually know what they want & it will take time to elicit requirements or they will request revisions once they see your solution)

Helpful list.

Just want to say a word or two on this:

1. tells you a previous Fiverr seller did rubbish work (they’ll rarely be satisfied)

To be honest, there are some really bad sellers on Fiverr, and quite often clients come to me with that story - previous seller messed up my website, never actually cleaned malware, etc. So, never rely on just one red flag 🙂

[methark]

Wow…talking about red flags…I got one! The dude is a crook looking for easy money and don’t understood English or even his business plan. You know that kind? Always asking for more and not explaining even what this more is…

Just for example…

[humanissocial]

I almost caught myself doing “sample” work via another platform the other day. Thank you so much for this post! It’s really helpful to think critically about buyers in these terms.

[logoflow]

Excellent post, we will keep in mind.

[Guest mcoop17]

Just encountered my first rude buyer on here. He never elaborated on what exactly he wanted but kept saying I was not “original or creative.” He messaged me THIRTY times in a row then harassed me by saying, “He could do it himself by taking images off of google.” Yea, go ahead and use copyrighted images 😑 I just could never satisfy him even though I gave him 20 options and tried to be the bigger person by ignoring his blatant rude tone. At least this is the only crazy I have encountered so far and it toughened me up that much more. Wish I saw this post sooner because he had so many of these warning signs!

[rainny_writer]

Just encountered my first rude buyer on here. He never elaborated on what exactly he wanted but kept saying I was not “original or creative.” He messaged me THIRTY times in a row then harassed me by saying, “He could do it himself by taking images off of google.” Yea, go ahead and use copyrighted images 😑 I just could never satisfy him even though I gave him 20 options and tried to be the bigger person by ignoring his blatant rude tone. At least this is the only crazy I have encountered so far and it toughened me up that much more. Wish I saw this post sooner because he had so many of these warning signs!

I’m guessing he did get a refund after everything? Sorry about that. Truthfully though, these are just “flags” not straight up eviction notices. The post does not mean that you everyone with these traits is terrible and cannot be worked with. No. It means you should be cautious around such ones. In the end, you can find friendly, loyal customers among those who start out like this, if you handle them well from the off.

Everyone’s got what makes them tick…

[mediaexpart1]

This is really on point. I had a buyer who bought two gig and requested for revision up to three days.

[Guest mcoop17]

I’m guessing he did get a refund after everything? Sorry about that. Truthfully though, these are just “flags” not straight up eviction notices. The post does not mean that you everyone with these traits is terrible and cannot be worked with. No. It means you should be cautious around such ones. In the end, you can find friendly, loyal customers among those who start out like this, if you handle them well from the off.

Everyone’s got what makes them tick…

I made sure he got his refund! I’ve been lucky so far with buyers in that they’ve all been rather friendly and straight forward. He was rather rude from the get go and very aggressive–I should have mentioned that in my original post! I definitely won’t write everyone off considering this is just one rude person out of the many nice buyers I have been fortunate to have. As you said, everyone has something that makes them tick.

[susanbrooke1]

My favorite have been the ones that ask for a free sample and, upon being told no, complain that they have no money and that I am heartless.

[misscrystal]

For me a possibly troublesome buyer is always one who only pays $5 and disappears without answering questions or responding. Not all are troublesome who do this but it’s a bad sign if they are not even caring enough to answer my messages.

They do not read anything. Not the description nor my messages. They have no idea what they ordered or what they should get from me.

[finetone]

says ‘this will be easy for you’ (they don’t know how to do it or how long it will take you but they won’t pay more than $5)

[humanissocial]

For me a possibly troublesome buyer is always one who only pays $5 and disappears without answering questions or responding. Not all are troublesome who do this but it’s a bad sign if they are not even caring enough to answer my messages.

They do not read anything. Not the description nor my messages. They have no idea what they ordered or what they should get from me.

I will look out for that! Are there any trends among those ghost-like buyers?

[adrover]

Helpful list.

Just want to say a word or two on this:

1. tells you a previous Fiverr seller did rubbish work (they’ll rarely be satisfied)

To be honest, there are some really bad sellers on Fiverr, and quite often clients come to me with that story - previous seller messed up my website, never actually cleaned malware, etc. So, never rely on just one red flag 🙂

Agreed. There are so many bad sellers in my category. I have redone work for a couple of people who had poor experiences with other sellers, and they were all very happy with the result. They reasonably wanted quality work. I gave them that when the other seller could not.

[solutionshub_au]

It’s definitely the case with a few of these that they aren’t always problematic. You are right, there will always be exceptions.

Thank you so much for this article, I am glad I found this community, with the amount of emphasis on CS there needs to be a resource for sellers:

1. Achieve the result (everyone wins)
2. Ensure more people use Fiverr (again everyone wins)

Slanting things too far in either direction (I believe) will only result in heartache.

[miiila]

One warning sign I can add now from bad experience:

If your ‘Buyer’ is a seller, with celebrity profile pic, self-described country and fiverr-stated country not matching, a handful of dubious first reviews, two abysmal last reviews, and ‘she’ orders a gig from you directly, so you´d have to cancel and take a hit to your order completion rate either way,

(and you see in the instructions on the order requirement page that it´s for a job you saw yourself posted on Buyer Requests but didn´t send an offer to, (this point is optional but aggravating))

cancel right away, no matter that you´re scared of your dropping completion rate.

If you just do the job, trying to believe in the good in people against all odds, you´ll just end up with the options ‘cancel the job’, or the high possibility of a revenge review if you won’t cancel as demanded, (after they got your work in their hands to pass it on to the real buyer (optional point, only valid if you happened to see the BR for it)).
Since you might be SOL even if you´re able to prove to CS that their nonsense revision requests were fake as their profile, and you´d have to live with that revenge review, you´ll probably cancel at that point, as did I.

So, yeah, my advice, after having been burned, in such a situation, cancel, right away.

Yes, I was stupid, but if it helps someone to make a better decision in a similar situation, I don´t mind admitting it.

[Guest offlinehelpers]

One warning sign I can add now from bad experience:

If your ‘Buyer’ is a seller, with celebrity profile pic, self-described country and fiverr-stated country not matching, a handful of dubious first reviews, two abysmal last reviews, and ‘she’ orders a gig from you directly, so you´d have to cancel and take a hit to your order completion rate either way,

(and you see in the instructions on the order requirement page that it´s for a job you saw yourself posted on Buyer Requests but didn´t send an offer to, (this point is optional but aggravating))

cancel right away, no matter that you´re scared of your dropping completion rate.

If you just do the job, trying to believe in the good in people against all odds, you´ll just end up with the options ‘cancel the job’, or the high possibility of a revenge review if you won’t cancel as demanded, (after they got your work in their hands to pass it on to the real buyer (optional point, only valid if you happened to see the BR for it)).

Since you might be SOL even if you´re able to prove to CS that their nonsense revision requests were fake as their profile, and you´d have to live with that revenge review, you´ll probably cancel at that point, as did I.

So, yeah, my advice, after having been burned, in such a situation, cancel, right away.

Yes, I was stupid, but if it helps someone to make a better decision in a similar situation, I don´t mind admitting it.

Gosh - that one sounds like a complete nightmare!