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In the upcoming days and weeks, Fiverr will begin introducing reviews for cancelled orders. This means buyers will have the opportunity to rate us, even when the order ends up being cancelled, but only under certain conditions.

 (I suggest you read it unless you're familiar with it already, as there are more specifics I'm not mentioning here), and over the next few days or weeks, they'll be explaining more about it here on the forum and in a webinar that we can all join.

The last time Fiverr tried to implement this idea, they had to halt it due to the massive amount of feedback on the forum. Meanwhile, some of us have been in meetings with Fiverr's product and retention managers to learn a bit more about the upcoming changes and the thought process behind them.

While I won’t share too many specifics, as that’s up to the Fiverr team when they’re ready to launch this, I wanted to explain a bit more about 

 this change is happening, and why I think it's a great idea, based on my talks with Fiverr. 

Fiverr knows that a negative buyer experience often results in them leaving the platform. That's not good for any of us. And the usual culprits are sellers who either vanish mid-order, underdeliver, or misrepresent their skills. In other words, amateurs and pretenders. 

For real professionals, this change will be positive, in my opinion. It will mainly affect sellers who can't deliver a top-notch experience, and it’s a golden opportunity to separate the wheat from the chaff, something I've been advocating for in my discussions with Fiverr's managers for years.

A point of concern among many sellers is that Fiverr won't allow sellers to review buyers back in the case of cancellations. Even though I initially agreed with this pain point and shared it with Fiverr, it won't be implemented for now, and I believe there's sound logic behind this decision. 

. The ultimate goal is to increase buyer retention and promote great sellers. Buyers leaving the platform will and can hurt us all because there'll be less business on Fiverr, not to mention the harm negative word-of-mouth can have on the brand. 

The reason they have these bad experiences 

. So, if a seller has already given a buyer a negative experience, it doesn't make sense to let that seller go on the offensive in a review on the buyer’s profile. That would only escalate the bad impression. 

You will, however, have the opportunity to respond to their review on your gig/profile. So, you can tell your side of the story in public, just like the buyer.

It's certainly valid to question the fairness of this decision. Transparency is one of the arguments for implementing this. The inability of sellers to freely express their viewpoints while buyers can seem to tip the scales of power. While there is a clear benefit to us being able to respond to their reviews on our profiles, it’s not the same. 

Even so, I understand Fiverr's reasoning behind the decision, but I’m aware that it may not sit well with some sellers. Although I once shared this sentiment, my discussions with Fiverr have swayed my opinion somewhat.

A negative review from a seller wouldn't make them more inclined to stay on Fiverr. It might be under a new profile if they remain on the platform, rendering the initial negative review insignificant anyway. 

Sure, this doesn’t let us vet the buyer’s cancellation habits through reviews, but it's worth noting that we haven’t had that opportunity until now, anyway. The fact that buyers can review us after a cancellation doesn't change this. 

This might not be a popular decision, but I believe it's the 

we've got to reevaluate the weird notion that only a perfect five-star average is actually “good”

. That's just not how things work in the broader world. When every review is five stars, the score becomes meaningless. If all sellers, including those who sanitize their negative reviews by canceling orders, maintain a five-star average, it doesn't reflect the quality of the sellers. Fiverr wishes to put a stop to review sanitizing, and that's a good thing. 

What's more important is that sellers who are selective with their buyers and projects, manage expectations well, and ensure they're the right match for the projects they take on 

. This is also a selling point for Seller Plus: the information you get about your buyers through the buyer insights feature is invaluable, as it also tells you if a buyer tends to cancel a lot of orders or not.

Now, more than ever, it’s crucial to vet your buyers properly before getting started. That means asking questions, ensuring you have all the information you need before starting work, and learning how to communicate with and solve problems for your buyers.

If you're one of those sellers who take on any gig at any price, delivering only passable results, expect this to impact your business. 

On the other hand, if you consistently deliver high-quality work, engage with your buyers, and don't leave them hanging halfway through a project, these changes could actually play to your advantage—more business for the true professionals on Fiverr and less for those who mistreat their buyers or don't put in the effort to do a great job. 

Fiverr is also rolling out some other features I know many of you have been wanting for a long time. So even if you're not thrilled about the change to the review system, other goodies are coming your way that will 

help us avoid cancellations in the first place

. It's not my place to announce these features, but I will say that my comment to the product- and retainment managers was, "

To end it off, I think this change is positive for Fiverr as a platform, for its buyers, and for 

sellers taking their business here seriously

. On the other hand, I think this change will affect a lot of sellers who come unprepared. As with any change Fiverr makes, it can go terribly wrong or end up being great, and my impression is that the teams working on this have all serious sellers, buyers, and Fiverr in mind. It’s a great opportunity to distinguish between genuine professionals and amateurs, and it encourages us to work harder to avoid cancellations, ultimately benefiting both us and our buyers. 

The best thing we can do as sellers is to adapt to these changes, and use them to our advantage. 

Fiverr is a tool. How you use it determines if you’ll succeed or not. 

The Introduction of Reviews for Cancelled Orders – Some Thoughts After My Meeting With Fiverr

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