Can't get sellers to respond

[snowynight]

Hi, I joined recently and in searching gigs for illustrators noticed that most sellers ask you to contact them before placing an order so they can correspond with you regarding what you want. No problem, I prefer it that way, myself. So, I sent a message to various sellers whose services I was interested in. One seller never responded at all, despite having sent him a second message.

The other sellers did reply to my initial inquiry, asking for more details about what I was requesting. I sent a fuller explanation (it was long, perhaps that was the problem) so I could detail for them what I was hoping to get and make it as clear and easy for them as possible.

Only one responded back. So that’s 5 sellers I have contacted with only 1 actually communicating with me.

What’s the deal? This is my first experience with Fiverr and it’s so different from what I was expecting. I guess I’m lucky to have found one responsible seller, but what I am offering is an ongoing project – so basically, part time work for years to come.

I am thinking that part of the problem is the language barrier. I would be glad to use a service like an online translator if that made my words clearer to the sellers, but none have even bothered to ask. It’s pretty discouraging. I just wonder if this is typical or if I’ve just had
a very unusual experience. Any suggestions? Thanks.

[topaz_muse]

On going project? I’m not entirely sure how that works here since its the first I’m seeing this myself. As for the sellers, how did you come across them; Buyer Request, Search Results, My Fiverr Gigs Forum?

There are loads of illustrators here on fiverr that live in different time zones. Not only that but some sellers don’t require contact before an order is placed because their gig description lays everything on the table for all to see.

Best suggestion that I can provide is to do your homework in advance on potential sellers. If you come across one that is promising based on their portfolio, look into their profile to see what their past and current jobs consisted of along with the reviews from Buyers. In addition, check to see how many overall orders they have in queue.

If it looks like a lot but you’re still interested, read through their gig descriptions to see if what they’re offering falls inline with what you’re looking for. Some sellers don’t mind being contacted in advance while others prefer to work as soon as they which is why many provide what they offer in the descriptions of their gig.

[misscrystal]

We are required to respond to all messages, at least the first one from someone, so they would have to answer at least the first message you sent.

If your message was long many will not answer that as

1. people don’t like to read long messages and will ignore them, and
2. it might indicate you will be difficult to work with if you give a lot of details and are very wordy.
3. English is a second language to many sellers and they might not have understood much of what you wrote.

You have to weed out a lot of sellers who might not be as professional as you would like to find the best ones.

[snowynight]

Hi topaz_muse, I found them by doing a search for children’s illustrators. I looked through nearly a thousand sellers gigs to narrow it down to the ones I liked best. It’s been about two weeks and I never did hear - ever - from one of the sellers. He does stay busy, but I mentioned in my message that I am not in any hurry and could wait for him to finish other projects. Same with the others. They did eventually get back to me (about 4-5 days later when I messaged them again.) So perhaps one of them will work out. It just surprised me as I figured people would be anxious for work. Thanks for your response and suggestions.

[snowynight]

Hi misscrystal, that is very interesting to hear. Being new and being only on the buyer side of things, I had no idea what the rules were or that the sellers are required to respond to the first message. But how does Fiverr ever verify that? I suppose a seller could just keep ignoring a buyer and what recourse is there? I mean, if the seller is too busy or doesn’t want the work, they have the right to say no. I just wish they would have the courtesy to actually SAY, no, That I can understand. Just ignoring a buyer, I can’t understand. But oh well. Like you said, it certainly weeds them out quickly. Thanks!

[misscrystal]

The first time we get a message from anyone we have to respond within 24 hours and the site tracks that.

[snowynight]

Interesting. I just checked and the first time I messaged him was on the 14th. His page says his average response time is 15 hours. Puzzling. At any rate, he certainly has the right to choose what work to take and not to take. Just a bit of a learning curve here, for me. Oh, and I also saw something in another thread about how sellers are only allowed to get 10 offers a day? If a seller is popular, he or she may get many more than 10 actual offers a day but maybe some of them are never delivered. Maybe that’s why I never heard from him. He probably has regular customers who get on that list of 10 before I would. Thanks again.