I'd like the Steak Please, Followed by Desert for Free

[cyaxrex]

So I have two buyers at present who are both kind of regulars. However, both are starting to really grind my gears.

The first has started making a habit out of ordering one of my video packages, and as well as never sending the details I need unless I hound them for them, has started saying, “oh, and I would like a 30-second version of this video too. Thanks!”

Now WTF is that about? You pay $30 for a 1-minute video and then drop in after ordering that you actually want two videos? Ok, I’m just editing the first version down but that is still work. It’s still half an hour at least editing it, checking for errors and rendering it into a playable .mp4.

Then there is a regular who orders my $30 package for writing and a 30-second video intro to his blog posts. Now, he’s really nice and leaves fab reviews. However, as a courtesy, I already give him full 1 minute in length videos which I am actually fine with as I use a lot of the same animation effects in each.

The only problem is that this person is starting to take liberties in that they don’t even send me project briefs anymore, they just send links to blog posts they would like rewriting and have videos made out of.

Now that’s okay. If you don’t want to say “hi,” fine, I won’t either. However, today this person sent me a 60 odd page ebook saying, “hi, I would like this broken down into single posts and videos over a few weeks (you can do one a week if you like) how much?”

Again. WTF? You want me to read a 60-page ebook, figure out how to break different sections into blog posts and just get on with it? In this case, I politely informed the buyer in question that I do not have the time to read his book. If he would like material based on certain parts of the text, he will have to go through it, identify these, and place an order for each accordingly.

And then he disappeared.

Lastly then, there was another one recently who wasn’t a regular, who asked me how much for a 600 word landing page rewrite. I quoted him a price, negotiated a bit, dropped it and sent him a custom offer. The buyer then ignored this, ordered my basic $5 gig for 150 words and said, “I’d like 600 words please, we’ll do this as a test and if it works out there will be lots more work for you, I promise!”

More than a little furious, I sent a message (politely) informing this person that they would be getting what they had paid for and nothing more. Not receiving any response, I then delivered the work in question a day later, only to have this person go hysterical because they hadn’t got their 600 words.

Now surprisingly they paid up and left a 5-star review to boot. But personally, I find this all insanely rude to begin with. In this case, how do you politely tell buyers like this to cough up if they want extras without losing them? Or are they just worth losing altogether like I’m beginning to suspect?

[jonbaas]

Stand your ground with buyers like this. There are far too many buyers on Fiverr who want the world for $5. They seem to expect that they can have whatever they want, and sellers need to bend over backwards to give to them. Set limits, enforce those limits, and if the buyer wants to complain… that’s their choice. Your terms are your terms. You have every right to enforce them (so long as they also fit within Fiverr’s TOS).

[misscrystal]

I had one who wanted the “basic gig with the candles”. What he meant was he wanted the $45 gig for $5.

[esthernyambura]

I really liked reading the whole story. You can be a real story teller.

I’d like the Steak, Desert Followed by a soft drink Free of Charge

[eoinfinnegan]

Custom offers and custom extras are your friend in these situations.
When people order and the work they require is more than is covered in the gig I send a simple, polite explanation and a custom extra. This lets them know in no uncertain terms that the extra work they require will cost extra. I have never not had someone accept the custom extra.