elitedesignuk

I just stumbled across this post and it has come as quite a surprise for me to hear that Buyer Requests have been removed. I am a TRS now....but like everyone else I started with nothing - I believe that my Fiverr journey was ONLY possible due to 'Buyer Requests' - I reckon my first 20+ orders were obtained by using the buyer request system and it was that which set me on my way..... If I had been forced to just wait for buyers to choose my gig I think my story here would have been very different - and not in a good way. So - while I haven't used buyer requests since I was a lowly 'new seller' (hence why I didn't know it was gone) and even though this missing feature won't affect me at all......I can only imagine, from my own experience, that it is very detrimental to those people who are just now joining the platform.

This is something that I have been wanting to talk about for a LONG time but kind of got distracted..... I control my work around holidays by simply adjusting the delivery time.... So - if I am taking a week off I just simply set my 'delivery' a week before to a week later - then new orders are not due until my return....works like a dream. However - delivery times can be set at 7, 14, 21 and 31 days - if you could just change that so I can set it to ANY amount of days 7, 8, 9, 10 etc - that would be absolutely perfect and then I would never need to use the 'out of office' feature! Surely this would be a VERY simple thing for you to do? Nick

Two things; 1. That screenshot gives no indication that the order was cancelled and the seller was refunded. (unless I am missing something??) 2. It's not always an 'automatic' removal by Amazon but as a seller - you can request removal of feedback for a review after cancellation where the buyer mentions the product - clearly stated in their 'Feedback Rules'

The difference being that you don't 'buy from yelp' - it's simply a site for hosting reviews. There is nothing to stop a buyer from cancelling an order with you on Fiverr and then going off and creating a review on Google or Trustpilot is there? They could write a whole blog about their experience if they wanted and put your gig link in it - hell they could even make a video testimonial and post it on YouTube or TikTok - that's up to them and I would support their right to do just that if they feel aggrieved. Nonetheless - comparing Yelp and other 'review sites' to Fiverr really is apples and oranges.... As for Amazon - if a seller refunds a customer they can comment ONLY on the service.....if they mention the 'product' in their feedback then Amazon will remove it - I would imagine that, if this update had been implemented, the reviews from cancelled buyers would predominantly have been 'The voice over was awful / the Logo looked terrible / The video was useless' - so they would be reviewing the 'product' not the service - WHICH EVEN AMAZON DOES NOT ALLOW.

Well - that's great news and more importantly it shows that on some level Fiverr does care what we think and will listen.....besides that - while I am sure that their intention was good - it was poorly thought out..... Let's all hope that they can come up with a plan that achieves their intended goals in way that is fair to both parties and doesn't enable bad actors on either side.

This is my whole point, and I believe the point of the majority of the posters on this thread, but you have (probably without realizing it) made our argument for us. For the 'Good Buyer', like the one you have specifically referenced, I agree that there will probably be 'no bad review' - ergo NO CHANGE TO THE STATUS QUO. But as you rightly pointed out - there will be a minority of 'bad buyers' who will take advantage and / or just now be empowered to leave a negative review. So the update is the status quo for the majority and ONLY benefits the minority - and that 'minority' surely shouldn't be empowered because it benefits nobody. Counter Argument; What about the 'bad sellers'? Bad sellers who may be affected are probably those with HUGE volumes (I don't believe that low volume sellers purposefully work on a project only to cancel it - do you??) - Most of those big volume sellers that I have seen sell low ticket items and have thousands of 5* reviews and dozens of 1* reviews - and so this really won't affect them at all.....in fact it might benefit them as they can now maintain their level at 4.2* On the flip side - this could completely destroy a new seller or a low volume seller - imagine you are a Level One with 20 5* reviews under your belt - you pick up a 'bad buyer' - do your best but it ends in cancellation and a 1* review - your star rating goes to? (I actually don't know but will it be like 3*?) - and your finished - you are never getting hired again. For a New Seller if you pick one up a bad buyer in the first 20 orders your career at Fiverr is OVER. DONE. END-OF. You are OUT! So - this is an update that serves nobody except for a small number of 'bad buyers' - it doesn't help 'Good Sellers' (it penalizes them), It doesn't help 'genuine buyers' because 'mixed reviews' from good sellers could be confusing, it won't effect high volume low ticket price 'bad sellers' because they run with a ton of 1* and 2* reviews anyway and for people wanting to join the platform as a new seller - it's likely to mean 'Game Over'. And this has been my point all along - this is update is a really blunt instrument for a very delicate problem - if Fiverr are trying to reduce cancellations and increase responsiveness - penalize sellers fiscally (more than they already do) or increase the metric scores for maintaining a level - this would enable sellers to 'modify their behavior' - and become better contributors - this update gives people PERMANENT AND PUBLICLY VISIBLE REVIEWS FOREVER - AND POTENTIALLY DESTROYS NEW TALENT THROUGH ZERO FAULT OF THEIR OWN. This has not been thought out - it is not fit for purpose - it will NOT achieve the desired results and it will surely harm, rather than improve, the platform.

I would be VERY interested to hear how Fiverr believes this will yield long term benefits and, of equal or greater importance, what those benefits will be to sellers who provide a quality user experience? The answer should take into account the indisputable FACT that not all buyers are 'good' - there are some, a minority, who are not. From my own gig analysis I rate the proportion of 'bad buyers' at around 1 in 150 but, if this update had been in place since day one, that would still give me a grand total of TWENTY TWO 1* CANCELLED REVIEWS - and remember that's just from the 1/150 buyer who is 'bad'. So I ask with clarity and sincerity - what is the benefit (short / medium / long term) - to the 149 'good buyers' who have used my services and what is the benefit to me as a seller who is driven to provide a quality service? Your clear, concise and detailed response, in support of YOUR own statement, will be greatly appreciated by myself and everyone else on the forum.......a lack of response will of course be equally telling.

This is a situation that I don't often find myself in (Maybe I am too cheap already!) - however it does happen occasionally. When I potential buyer asks me for a discount I politely reply with something like this; 'My fees are published on my gig, they are transparent, fair, well structured and the same for everyone - I don't differentiate between my first time customers or my long term ones - the prices are fixed regardless. To offer a discount to one client would be inherently unfair to all of my other clients and that would not be acceptable. As such I thank you for your interest in my gig and my services but I will unfortunately have to decline to proceed any further.' So - I explain the 'why' (and really I am sincere in the 'fairness' aspect) and I ensure that they are now under no illusion that I am unwilling to work with them.

Excellent point - With that in mind (and since I have plenty of work already) I guess I will be declining to work with buyers who have less than, shall we say, 15 completed orders - I would expect many other of the 'Good Sellers' to do the same. Yet another prime example of how this 'update' will only serve to degrade the buyer experience leaving them with little option but to go to those sellers who actually don't care and who are more likely to provide a poor service - because even if they want to work with a 'good seller' - they aren't going to get the opportunity.....at least not with me. Note to Fiverr - this wasn't very well thought through was it?

1. Yes! Absolutely and VERY easily......one message to CS from the buyer and it's done. 2. What you will be able to see as seller plus is the rating that the buyer has given - so if they give a 1* review after a cancellation it's going to show their 'rating given' low - currently I don't take orders from any client who has been rating people below 4 or where the buyer isn't ranked as 'Completion Rate High' - (Just my personal procedure - not saying it's right but I have more than enough work to be able to choose!)

Buyers absolutely can force a cancellation - it's as simple as writing to Customer Service......they will get a cancellation EVERY TIME.

No - it was in the Fiverr announcement......take note of the first part of point #2 - If there is Sufficient Communication....I take that to mean that if there has been a number (god knows how many!!) of message exchanges they will deem it appropriate that the buyer can leave feedback on a cancelled order - presumably because the message exchange will allow them to comment on their 'experience'. The option to leave ratings and reviews is available in these scenarios: For buyers, after an order is delivered and marked as Completed. For buyers, canceled orders with sufficient communication between the buyer and seller and orders with deliveries (upcoming). Once the buyer has added feedback to the order, the seller will get the option to add their feedback. This needs clarification - and perhaps the devil being in the detail would give you pause to consider whether this is a good or bad update?

That's a really great point and good advice too - however, if I am to understand the criteria correctly, they said that not ONLY a delivery would open the 'cancelled review option' but also that 'substantial contact' (or words to that effect) - which I took to mean if there had been a, as yet undisclosed, number of messages back and forth - the 'cancelled buyer' would have the review option open to them.......I think this needs some clarification.

You might be missing the point - But I can of course only speak for myself.... I took a look - and out of nearly 3,000 completed orders I have 22 cancellations 'post delivery' - in every instance this was due to the fact that I was unable to satisfy the buyers expectations because those expectations were either unreasonable or due to the fact that they had simply changed their mind and wanted a complete 're-make' to specs completely different to what they had initially stated (the latter being most common) So - I cancelled.....here's the question - did I deserve a 'Bad Review'? Would that bad review actually help buyers make a more informed decision about ordering my service?

I have answered this question in detail - please take a look at my post and feel free to comment / explain or continue advocating as to how this update is a 'good thing'.

Precisely - I understand that there is a HUGE issue with sub-par sellers on the platform and I am fully supportive of any action taken to alleviate that problem. However - as I believe I have proven, from my own detailed account, this update will not serve it's purpose. Indeed it will only serve to lower the standing (unfairly) of those who actually are 'good sellers' - it will surely make things LESS transparent for buyers (my own case in point) and could ultimately drive BUYERS away from the platform. One poster on here rightly pointed out that losing one seller doesn't matter to Fiverr but losing one buyer does....well I think that this update will result in the loss of buyers too....If sellers like me have 20+ 1* reviews - who are they going to be able to trust? Nobody - and if they can't trust anybody the buyer is gone!

Let's forget conjecture and talk some FACTS Since this came to my attention yesterday I have spent a little time to see how this would actually impact me and my gig. I am a TRS, on the platform just over 3 years with 2,000+ 5* reviews and about 3,000 completed projects. (I also have ONE 1* review!) I went through my cancellations and noted that there were 22 instances out of 3,000 where I cancelled the order because I simply couldn't satisfy the buyer - this is about 1 in 150 (Note to those who say it will ONLY affect people who 'cancel alot') I would strenuously argue that those 22 cancellations were in no way due to the quality of my service and that they were indeed 'problem' buyers - ergo; they were unavoidable. Now - if they had been allowed to leave a review - MY GIG WOULD NOW HAVE 23 1* reviews. It is clear to me that clients often, perhaps out of interest, ignore the 2,000+ 5* reviews and go look at my SINGLE 1* review - this isn't a big issue......but if there were 23 of them? I think that would be a problem and it would also give a FALSE IMPRESSION of the quality of service that I provide. Buyers are more inclined to empathize with 'other buyers' and you can be sure that those 1* reviews from cancellations due to unreasonable buyers are going to be VERY DAMNING AND VERY HARSH! So the question is this - how does this new 'feature' help buyers when they may be dissuaded from working with a professional seller such as myself? My conclusion is that it simply does NOT. In fact I believe that it will have the opposite effect and give buyers LESS CONFIDENCE IN SELLERS WHO ARE DOING AND AMAZING JOB. But to those on here who say that the only people who have to worry are those providing a 'bad / poor service' - I tell you that the FACTS from my own gig prove you wrong.

Sorry - didn't note the date on your post but I did note, as I read through the thread, that you had stated the same thing on multiple occasions. Nonetheless please accept my apology, What remains unclear (unless you have seen / received clarification) are the following two points; 1. What is 'unresponsive'? If I am in a conversation with a client that has a live order and I answer their question and they reply with 'Thanks' - should I reply again to ensure that I am the LAST person in the thread? If not what is this 24 hour 'response' rule? 2. It's stated something along the lines of; 'A buyer can leave a cancelled review if there has been substantial communication' - so Buyer just places an order and fails to complete the requirements properly (happens all the time) - I then communicate with them 'substantially' to determine what is needed for the project. At the end of those substantial comms it's determined that I don't really do what they want or they can't provide what I need so we agree to cancel - by way of the fact that I gave a GREAT customer experience and tried my best to walk them through the process, determining what they need - can they now leave me a 'review'? (Due to the substantial communication) Any light you or anyone else can cast upon these two opaque rules would be received with my utmost appreciation.

I am in complete agreement with you - but surely your statement is counter to the argument that you have been making - that this new feature is 'fair'? It is not as it unfairly constrains one party (by way of speech and otherwise) whilst at the same time gifting equity to the other party without cost or consequence. Definitively 'unfair' to one party and if this were a contract governed by UK/EU law it would be illegal.

That's not the case - it's people who are first time buyers on Fivver (never ordered before from ANYONE) - it is NOT buyers who are the first time ordering with you.....

Not really is it - Fair would be equitable and this is not that. 'Fair' - by any objective definition would be a situation where the exact same set of rules applied to BOTH parties in the contract (in fact - here in the UK this would probably be illegal under the Unfair Contract Statute) So - 'fair' would be if I, as the 'other side of the contract', was able to cancel an order because of a 'bad buyer' and leave them feedback without them having any kind of recourse. Clearly if something is one sided it is NOT fair - however, should you wish to eloquently advocate, as to how this new feature is truly 'fair' to BOTH parties then I will most certainly be willing to listen to your argument.

Ah - ok....well I missed that update! Surely - a BETTER way to increase buyer satisfaction would be to bring that back....late delivery DESERVES a 1* review....I can absolutely support that. Perhaps late comms could effect the max rating available - for example for each 24 hours that goes by without a reply the max rating a buyer (even a happy one) can give goes down by 1* - 24 hours late Max 4* / 48 hours late Max 3* Etc......that would be fair because we are here to provide exceptional service and improve the buyer experience. But this new feature just isn't that - this feature provides equity to those small number of buyers who just can't be pleased. True - there aren't many I reckon that I have perhaps 1 in 100 or less.....but even then if they had been able to review that would have given my profile potentially 30 1* reviews! (1% of 3,000 completed orders) - unacceptable. The current way it works is fair, it is amicable and it does benefit the buyer - We have done the work for no reward (because it's impossible to make everyone happy all of the time) and they walk away with a full refund - it's a good outcome and balanced IMO - this new proposal......utterly, totally and completely awful.....just not thought out at all.

Might sound obvious but can someone explain what this actually means? So - I have a buyer and they send me a message and I reply within 24 hours. They then reply with 'Perfect! Thank you for the update' Of course I don't reply to their last message because....well.....it didn't need a reply so would that then be counted as 'unresponsive? Should I now make sure that, whatever happens, I am the LAST person who wrote in EVERY message thread? Any explanation / clarification would be greatly appreciated.

Not quite true - I am a Top Rated Seller - my communication is, if I do say so myself, nothing short of outstanding, I have 2,000+ 5* reviews and I have NEVER delivered late. This new 'feature' doesn't seem to address poor comms or late delivery does it? My understanding is that a late delivery is already a 1* review? What this does is penalize sellers like myself who, whilst we go out of our way to over deliver, there are times when the buyer simply can't be satisfied and the only rational course of action is to initiate a cancellation - We have lost our time and the buyer is refunded - still on the 'buyers side' but I can appreciate why the platform operates like this - but we both get to 'walk away'. Now, with this new feature, the buyer who can't possibly be pleased, gets to leave a review while going off with their refund - I can't see any circumstance where a buyer, who is taking a cancellation because it's impossible to satisfy them, will do anything other than leave a 'bad review' - essentially then this is an 'Automatic Bad Review' for a cancellation when the seller simply can't satisfy even an unreasonable buyer..... Tell me - how is this fair, amicable or an improvement?

Truly I am lost for words - I simply don't see how this improves transparency, or the platform more generally, for buyers or sellers.....it is, quite frankly, ridiculous. The ONLY thing that this is going to create are LESS 5* sellers which means LESS confidence for buyers in the ENTIRE FIVERR PLATFORM - great business plan Fiverr.....you really nailed it this time! So here's how it's going to work for me; Buyer Type 'One' - Contacts me in chat before placing an order. For this buyer I am going to question the hell out of them and if I get even the slightest inkling that they might possibly be a 'problem' then I will tell them in chat that I am not prepared to take on their project Outcome = Bad customer experience / Loss of income for me / Loss of Profit For Fiverr Buyer Type 'Two' - Just places an order without contact. I will review the requirements - anything missing or 'wrong' I will initiate a cancellation (Reason - Missing Requirements) - no delivery means no review. Alternatively I will write the buyer and again question the hell out of them - if they seem as though they may be a 'problem' - I will just cancel the order without a delivery. Outcome = Bad customer experience / Loss of income for me / Loss of Profit For Fiverr This is a perfect 'Lose / Lose / Lose' situation - the person who came up with this definitely deserves a promotion........