Are Buyers Ever Banned For Requesting Email/Off Platform Communications?

[aaronbushell]

I get requests for my email all the time, and always reply with the same thing: “communicating off platform is a violation of the TOS and can get you banned. Is there some specific reason whatever it is that you want to send me cannot be uploaded here?”

His response was that he didn’t want to have to copy/paste all the text here. “Wouldn’t you have to do the same if you were going to email it to me?” He finally uploaded the details here.

My question is whether or not anyone has ever seen a buyer be banned for violating the TOS for things like asking to communicate off platform. I hear sob stories of sellers who do it all the time, but I don’t know that I’ve ever heard of a buyer being banned for doing to same thing that would get us sellers kicked off. Especially, in this case, when he admits to having done so “many times with all of the other sellers” he works with.
99% of the time the buyer recognizes their mistake and just send it here, but this morning I got a guy who was a little more…insistent. He replied that he does this all the time with lots of other buyers, to which I responded “that’s great, but it’s still a TOS violation and I am

[lloydsolutions]

Despite what anyone says never ever do this.

How this works is explained here: https://sellers.fiverr.com/en/article/warnings

[optinmagnets]

Despite what anyone says never ever do this.

How this works is explained here: https://sellers.fiverr.com/en/article/warnings

This is in regard to sellers. But what about the buyers? Do they get some kind of warning when they violate the TOS?

[lloydsolutions]

This is in regard to sellers. But what about the buyers? Do they get some kind of warning when they violate the TOS?

If the rule they break is applicable i.e. sharing off Fiverr contact information, why wouldn’t it apply if it was reported to Fiverr.

[erfankamrul]

You have to read fiver TOS carefully.

[aaronbushell]

Guys, I’m with you. I’ve been doing this a long time, and I know that communicating off platform is verboten. My question is to whether or not any of you SELLERS know of any BUYERS who have been kicked off/banned for attempting to communicate off-platform. Because in all the years I’ve been here, I cannot think of a single one.

@optinmagnets That’s my question, too.

@lloydsolutions You say that, but I have no evidence to support that theory. This buyer is a prime example- he repeatedly asked for my email, which I declined to provide. When I informed him that it was a violation of the TOS, he replied that he’s done it with every other seller he’s ever worked with and it’s never been a problem before. In looking at his reviews, he has 10+ orders over the last year with several different sellers, many of whom are no longer on Fiverr. It makes me wonder if the sellers are getting banned for giving out their emails while the buyer is given free reign to keep ordering from other sellers without being warned of his TOS violation.

Like I said, I’ve read the TOS and know the rules, but it seems like these rules only apply to SELLERS, not buyers. This buyer’s case is a perfect example - despite his repeated requests for my email address and his insistence that he’s done this many times in the past without penalty, I saw no evidence that his messages were being scrutinized or checked, while mine were each being reviewed by Fiverr’s Customer Service staff to make sure I didn’t actually send him my email address.

Anyways, I was just wondering if anyone has any examples of buyers who were banned for trying to communicate off-platform. That’s all.

[misscrystal]

Hello, I don’t know the answer to your question and I don’t think anyone here has any way of knowing that. If the person was kicked off they can’t come back and tell you they were kicked off unless they open a new account to do that.

I suppose if you wanted to you could come back and check to see if that person still had an account or not after you reported them.

Remember too that what someone says along those lines might not be true.

At any rate, I try to stay focused on my own gigs and clients as much as possible so any speculation along the lines of what others are doing I try to keep to a minimum. I do understand you wondering about that but it’s a question that no one can answer with certainty.

[aaronbushell]

Hello, I don’t know the answer to your question and I don’t think anyone here has any way of knowing that. If the person was kicked off they can’t come back and tell you they were kicked off unless they open a new account to do that.

I suppose if you wanted to you could come back and check to see if that person still had an account or not after you reported them.

Remember too that what someone says along those lines might not be true.

At any rate, I try to stay focused on my own gigs and clients as much as possible so any speculation along the lines of what others are doing I try to keep to a minimum. I do understand you wondering about that but it’s a question that no one can answer with certainty.

As usual, you are the voice of reason @misscrystal. Thank you. 🙂

[optinmagnets]

You have to read fiver TOS carefully.

I did. Can you point me to a specific part of the TOS that addresses the issue we’re talking about here?

[cyaxrex]

Guys, I’m with you. I’ve been doing this a long time, and I know that communicating off platform is verboten. My question is to whether or not any of you SELLERS know of any BUYERS who have been kicked off/banned for attempting to communicate off-platform. Because in all the years I’ve been here, I cannot think of a single one.

@optinmagnets That’s my question, too.

@lloydsolutions You say that, but I have no evidence to support that theory. This buyer is a prime example- he repeatedly asked for my email, which I declined to provide. When I informed him that it was a violation of the TOS, he replied that he’s done it with every other seller he’s ever worked with and it’s never been a problem before. In looking at his reviews, he has 10+ orders over the last year with several different sellers, many of whom are no longer on Fiverr. It makes me wonder if the sellers are getting banned for giving out their emails while the buyer is given free reign to keep ordering from other sellers without being warned of his TOS violation.

Like I said, I’ve read the TOS and know the rules, but it seems like these rules only apply to SELLERS, not buyers. This buyer’s case is a perfect example - despite his repeated requests for my email address and his insistence that he’s done this many times in the past without penalty, I saw no evidence that his messages were being scrutinized or checked, while mine were each being reviewed by Fiverr’s Customer Service staff to make sure I didn’t actually send him my email address.

Anyways, I was just wondering if anyone has any examples of buyers who were banned for trying to communicate off-platform. That’s all.

My question is to whether or not any of you SELLERS know of any BUYERS who have been kicked off/banned for attempting to communicate off-platform.

The dusty annals of my forum memory seem to bring to mind a recollection of a buyer mentioning on the forum that they could no longer send messages because they had been flagged for sending spam/being abusive. However, as a rule, it seems to be very difficult for a buyer to be banned for any reason.

I’ve had buyers call me 💩 head and do chargebacks that are still active on Fiverr. I also have a few buyers who repeatedly keep asking to communicate off-Fiverr. They also find inventive ways of doing this. After telling one that I could be banned for communicating off-platform, they had the audacity to tell me that they know and this is why they need my email for backup purposes.

All that said, I wouldn’t like Fiverr to police off-platform communication any more than they already do. For pretty much all my work I require contact information. Videos need a call to action that directs people to a web URL and phone number, etc. Likewise, I can’t write copy fir a website without knowing what it is.

[lloydsolutions]

My question is to whether or not any of you SELLERS know of any BUYERS who have been kicked off/banned for attempting to communicate off-platform.

The dusty annals of my forum memory seem to bring to mind a recollection of a buyer mentioning on the forum that they could no longer send messages because they had been flagged for sending spam/being abusive. However, as a rule, it seems to be very difficult for a buyer to be banned for any reason.

I’ve had buyers call me 💩 head and do chargebacks that are still active on Fiverr. I also have a few buyers who repeatedly keep asking to communicate off-Fiverr. They also find inventive ways of doing this. After telling one that I could be banned for communicating off-platform, they had the audacity to tell me that they know and this is why they need my email for backup purposes.

All that said, I wouldn’t like Fiverr to police off-platform communication any more than they already do. For pretty much all my work I require contact information. Videos need a call to action that directs people to a web URL and phone number, etc. Likewise, I can’t write copy fir a website without knowing what it is.

The dusty annals of my forum memory seem to bring to mind a recollection of a buyer mentioning on the forum that they could no longer send messages because they had been flagged for sending spam/being abusive.

I have found a post from 24 days ago in the Ranting Pot where a buyer complained about having their account flagged for sharing a Discord link.

As @misscrystal said “If the person was kicked off they can’t come back and tell you they were kicked off unless they open a new account to do that.”

[cyaxrex]

The dusty annals of my forum memory seem to bring to mind a recollection of a buyer mentioning on the forum that they could no longer send messages because they had been flagged for sending spam/being abusive.

I have found a post from 24 days ago in the Ranting Pot where a buyer complained about having their account flagged for sharing a Discord link.

As @misscrystal said “If the person was kicked off they can’t come back and tell you they were kicked off unless they open a new account to do that.”

I have found a post from 24 days ago in the Ranting Pot where a buyer complained about having their account flagged for sharing a Discord link.

You’d make an excellent PA. If you ever want to flex your skills in return for free room and board in Malta, let me know. 😉

[visualstudios]

Fiverr has no real incentive to ban buyers. If a lot of people flag an obvious scammer, for example, I suppose the account will get banned, but in general buyers won’t be banned for giving their e-mail in a conversation. It wouldn’t make sense - a buyer account is not dependent on reviews, ID confirmation, etc. That would create friction, and online platforms for sales don’t want any friction. So even when a buyer account is banned, they can just create a new one and keep ordering, there’s nothing stopping them. To sum it up, they can be banned, and theoretically should be according to TOS, but in practice there’s little to gain by doing so, and since it takes time and effort it generally doesn’t get done.

[optinmagnets]

Fiverr has no real incentive to ban buyers. If a lot of people flag an obvious scammer, for example, I suppose the account will get banned, but in general buyers won’t be banned for giving their e-mail in a conversation. It wouldn’t make sense - a buyer account is not dependent on reviews, ID confirmation, etc. That would create friction, and online platforms for sales don’t want any friction. So even when a buyer account is banned, they can just create a new one and keep ordering, there’s nothing stopping them. To sum it up, they can be banned, and theoretically should be according to TOS, but in practice there’s little to gain by doing so, and since it takes time and effort it generally doesn’t get done.

Thanks for this eloquent explanation. I was afraid that’s the case.

Leaves me wondering what is the best course of action when, let’s say, a buyer wants to get (much) more work done than I offer in a gig, saying that he’ll leave a 5 ⭐ review if I do that. That might imply he’ll leave a bad review if I don’t do it and “just” deliver as promised in my gig description - and this feels like an extortion.

I’m in the middle of a situation like this right now and unsure how to resolve it.

Besides, if I as a seller asked a buyer for a 5 ⭐ review, with or without giving incentives, I would probably receive a warning from Fiverr, right?

[miiila]

Thanks for this eloquent explanation. I was afraid that’s the case.

Leaves me wondering what is the best course of action when, let’s say, a buyer wants to get (much) more work done than I offer in a gig, saying that he’ll leave a 5 ⭐ review if I do that. That might imply he’ll leave a bad review if I don’t do it and “just” deliver as promised in my gig description - and this feels like an extortion.

I’m in the middle of a situation like this right now and unsure how to resolve it.

Besides, if I as a seller asked a buyer for a 5 ⭐ review, with or without giving incentives, I would probably receive a warning from Fiverr, right?

Right.

a buyer wants to get (much) more work done than I offer in a gig, saying that he’ll leave a 5 ⭐ review if I do that. That might imply he’ll leave a bad review if I don’t do it and “just” deliver as promised in my gig description - and this feels like an extortion.

I’m in the middle of a situation like this right now and unsure how to resolve it.

Awful situation they put you in, isn’t it. I’ve had that a few times, I told them something like that I can’t do that as it could be considered as review manipulation - it would in a twisted kind of way actually be review manipulation on my end if I gave in to it, even though the buyer initiated it, very ironic.

Anyone who does that “If you … I’ll give you 5*” stunt, writes themselves on my blacklist. In a way, I even hate that more than I’d hate a direct threat, it’s so sneaky and manipulative.

In all those cases, they ended up not leaving a review at all in the end (perhaps they were afraid I might leave them a bad review by that point and that they’d have a harder time getting sellers to work with via custom orders at least then or that I’d report them), but that’s no guarantee, of course, all people are different.

[optinmagnets]

Right.

a buyer wants to get (much) more work done than I offer in a gig, saying that he’ll leave a 5 ⭐ review if I do that. That might imply he’ll leave a bad review if I don’t do it and “just” deliver as promised in my gig description - and this feels like an extortion.

I’m in the middle of a situation like this right now and unsure how to resolve it.

Awful situation they put you in, isn’t it. I’ve had that a few times, I told them something like that I can’t do that as it could be considered as review manipulation - it would in a twisted kind of way actually be review manipulation on my end if I gave in to it, even though the buyer initiated it, very ironic.

Anyone who does that “If you … I’ll give you 5*” stunt, writes themselves on my blacklist. In a way, I even hate that more than I’d hate a direct threat, it’s so sneaky and manipulative.

In all those cases, they ended up not leaving a review at all in the end (perhaps they were afraid I might leave them a bad review by that point and that they’d have a harder time getting sellers to work with via custom orders at least then or that I’d report them), but that’s no guarantee, of course, all people are different.

it could be considered as review manipulation - it would in a twisted kind of way actually be review manipulation on my end if I gave in to it, even though the buyer initiated it, very ironic.

You are right! I haven’t even thought of that. I’m glad you didn’t give in. 😁

[miiila]

Yeah, me too, the odds are in favour of the buyers enough as it is, we really shouldn’t give in when the buyer is clearly wrong at least. Enabling buyers like that, by giving in and showing them that their “method” works, means we’re doing ourselves and other Fiverr sellers a disservice, and actually even such buyers because we just let them be bad people where we could have taught them a valuable lesson of how not to be and help them become a better person, not that the vast majority of them will see it that way, of course 😉