How To Spot Great Sellers and How to Deal with them to ensure a great Outcome

[presseditor]

Part 1 (as I believe there is a character limit)



Buyers are the most important users of fiverr, as they make a place like fiverr a success. This does not mean that sellers are not important, but fact is if there were no buyers, there would be no need for sellers. Anyways, this is not about how great buyers are, but how buyers can improve the way they deal with buying on a marketplace like fiverr.



So my first tip would be: Take time to select a seller. Time, as in investigate what this marketplace has to offer and pick the person you have the best feeling with. Ratings are not the only thing to consider when placing an order. Sure, it looks nice if someone has 5 stars and thousands of sales, but fact is that there are many sellers out there who can deliver the same or even better work than the most shiny sellers.



If you think about ratings for a while, you will notice that ratings are not worth much and should be taken as ONE signal only. Sellers and buyers both expect a five star rating and if it’s less, they will either cancel the order to maintain their rating or things will get even worse and cases like blackmailing etc can happen. Nobody wants to be in such situations, so the next important thing is having a look at the seller’s gig description and to spot problems. If you want to buy proofreading gigs and the description is full of spelling errors, think again and go to the next seller in line, as the delivered work might look the same.



Another thing to watch is the order queue. When I see a huge queue, I select the next seller because I am afraid that the seller is too busy to do more. Simply put, you need to think egoistic sometimes. Every buyer wants to get the most out of an order, so if you want to get the most out of it with a quick turn-around time, you want the seller to focus on you and not just squeeze the order into his task list.



If people are busy, they sometimes give less attention to details. Just like at my favorite pizza place… if the pizza guy has many customers, he cuts the puzza in four pieces, if he’s not busy it’s always 4 cuts, meaning eight pieces. Most sellers don’t even notice if they hurry with things, so in my opinion, select a seller who is not too busy.

[presseditor]

Part II

Next point: Touch base with the seller before ordering. You want your job done quickly, so when contacting a seller first, you will see how fast he replies and also how detailed. If the seller takes a day to reply and offers a one day delivery, he might not be able to deliver in time if he is not able to reply to you. Check the reply and see if the seller goes the whole way and takes time to answer all your questions or if he just goes like “ok i can do this”. Notice the details, does he really answer all of your questions or just a few? When talking to the seller, you will get a bigger picture about the seller and you will quickly notice if it’s the right one for your job.

If things are unclear, ask for clarification. Most times the title of a gig is very short due to limitations. If anything is unclear about the job, ask the seller for clarification. Take note of the gig extras to see if everything you need is included or if you need to pay extra for extras. Just because you are ordering a vector image, it doesn’t mean you will get the source. Just because you are ordering writing a news article, it doesn’t mean that the seller will also distribute the news. Just because you order a business card design, it doesn’t mean it will be printed, so if you have questions, ask before ordering to clear it all up.

If it’s a design job, make sure to ask if this includes revisions and how many. If revisions are not included, ask how much the seller charges for revisions. If you want to see mock-ups, ask the seller for a custom quote for lets say 3-5 mock-ups. In the end it will help you save money, because if you are unhappy with the result, you will lose money and have to place another order and the same can happen. So what you need to do is making sure the seller is the right one for you, and you can only find out by asking for mock-ups or by browsing the sellers provided examples. Don’t forget to ask the seller if the work he uploaded is in fact his work or just collected images form the web. Else you might get totally different results than what you see and believe is from the seller.

Let’s talk about time. Time is important to sellers and buyers. When you buy a gig and you submit your information, time starts running. This means the seller needs to deliver within a time frame. That said, if you expect a timely delivery, be available to the seller and answer his/her questions. Many buyers place an order and say things like: I will send the details later.

But this is an issue, because the time is ticking for the seller when you post a message to the order page. To prevent this, either don’t post until you have the details ready, or be available for the seller if he has questions. The problem here is that if the seller asks a question, the timer does not stop. If you don’t reply in time, the order will be marked as late and this will reflect the seller’s reputation and also his fiverr search listings. All that said, when placing an order, make sure to be available for the seller in case he has questions.

Last but not least, also check out the newest gigs. New sellers relay on getting their first gigs, so their ratings go up and so they can be found in fiverr’s search engine. By selecting new sellers, you give them a chance to gain from the marketplace. And let’s be honest, even if it doesn’t work out and it is not a critical job, losing 5$ to try and give someone a chance is always worth it.

Last but not least, if you are unhappy with the work the seller has provided, don’t just leave a bad review. Communicate with the seller and tell him/her what you are missing. Don’t hit the modification button and make the seller feel bad. Use the order message board and discuss things clearly. It will make the seller feel better as requesting modifications always created pressure. It’s better for both parties to just discuss until a solution was found. If all fails, you can still click the button or request a refund.

When you need to post a negative rating, chose the stars wisely. Just because of small issues you don’t have to give 1 star. Be fair and offer the seller to adjust the rating if he is willing to help you get the job done. It will reward both parties to deal with things as fair as possible.

I hope this post will help a little to keep this place a great place for buyers and sellers.