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I offer software development gigs, and I have mentioned in my gig descriptions that buyers must get in touch with me before they place an order. This is because the size, complexity and scope of custom web applications can vary widely from one to the other. Currently, there is no way for me to say that the pricing is "custom", as all gigs require a price to be set. 

In the past, I have had a couple of instances where a buyer placed an order directly without contacting me, and it turned out that the order was placed in error (for example, let's say they wanted a desktop application and I only offer web applications; or they wanted to program in a language that was different from the one mentioned in the gig). I have then reached out to customer support to cancel the order and restore my stats. 

But when it happened again a couple of days ago, I reached out to Support and they now say that buyers are not obligated to contact me before placing an order, and that they will not restore my stats. I am currently a Level 2 seller, and I risk losing that if this cancellation affects my stats. I understand these policy changes are made with the intention of protecting users, and I am all for it. 

1. How do I create a custom software dev gig in this scenario? I've set a token price of 5 USD on my gig, but larger projects obviously cost more. Even if I were to raise my gig price or offer packages with different pricing, the problem of custom pricing doesn't go away. 

2. If buyers can place an order without contacting me, how do I estimate the cost of the project without discussing the project first? 

3. Even if I were to give them an estimate after the order is placed, and offered to add it as an "extra", what if they refuse? Disagreements on prices happen all the time, and it's perfectly fine. But in this scenario, if the order is cancelled, I still get my stats affected. 

Overall, this feels like a lot of control and options have been taken away from me as a seller, and I can't help but feel a little bit exploited. If you're someone who offers gigs that can have varying prices from project to project, I would be grateful if you talked a bit about how you deal with these problems. I appreciate any input you lovely folks can provide. Thanks! 

P.S: I am not trying to dump on the platform or its policies. Having Fiverr as my only source of income, and having invested over a year of my full time work into this, I am just trying to find out how I can keep my small business going. 

Custom pricing, order placed in error and stats

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