Waiting for Requirements When Out of Office?

[rory_mullan]

Hello, apologies if this has been answered before or it’s not the right place to ask, I just can’t seem to find a clear, quick answer.

Basically, despite my gig instructions, a buyer submitted an order to me a few days ago without checking availability first, but hasn’t sent me any requirements yet so it’s currently not counting down. I’ve had to go out of office since due to the hectic health situation happening at the moment (personal/family issues) so I really don’t want that gig starting when I’m away.

My question is: can they submit the requirements whilst I’m out of office, and will that start counting down while I’m away? I really don’t have the time at the moment. I’m just wondering what the buyer is playing at since they seem to be a top buyer with loads of glowing reviews. I didn’t know whether to message him or not so I thought I’d ask here first.

Thanks if anyone can help!

[imagination7413]

Tricky.
First (just to get it out of the way) Out of Office mode doesn’t work the way you would think. It doesn’t prevent orders from being placed, just hides your gig from searches. If someone has a link to your gig, they can still order.

Second, (to the best of my knowledge) yes the timer for the order will start automatically. Have you already messaged the Buyer? If not, do so. I’ll concede that I don’t know exactly what you should include in this message, but stay polite and professional when you explain and don’t beg. Also, don’t burden yourself more by offering extras or a discount in exchange for anything.

If all else fails, you’ll have to cancel the order. The Buyer might be nice and start the process on their end, but if not, you’ll have to accept that you have an order you can’t fulfill at this time. You might be able to contact Customer Support, but they’re iffy on actually helping.

[nikavoice]

To avoid this hassle while you recover, put your gigs on pause to have a peace of mind.
Your health and wellness comes first.

Another thing…

I recently had a discussion here about OOO, it’s kinda wonky. 🥴

Read the thread below. :point_down:t4:

I still get people messaging me while I have out of office mode turned on and did not activate the checkbox to allow new people messaging. That’s really bad. And to top it, everyone who messages while I’m in out of office mode, be it former customers, be it new people, doesn’t in the slightest sound as if they were made aware that I’m in out of office mode. I think I remember having gotten messages like “I see you’re in out of office mode but this is not urgent, please reply when you’re back”…

I hope you feel better soon! 🍍

[miiila]

I think chances are that as soon as a buyer has placed an order/accepted a custom offer sent to them, they can send the requirements any time, including when you’re in out of office mode in the meantime.

They may have some hectic situation too and/or just forgot to attach files/fill out requirements.
You could message them nicely to explain your situation and see if they might be okay with waiting until you can do the order and not submit requirements until then,
or you could ask support to cancel for you (in the hope that won’t harm your order completion rate),
or you can send the buyer a cancellation request, there’s a “personal issues” option or such (most probably will harm your order completion rate).

If the buyer submits requirements and the order countdown will start even though you’re in out of office mode in the meantime, you could also use the resolution center to ask the buyer for a time extension, if you have an idea of when you might be able to do the order.

In addition to that, there’s some article in the Seller Help Center that claims that if a buyer doesn’t submit requirements, after 7 days you can cancel the order on your side without harm to your order completion rate (don’t know if that works, didn’t need to try it yet).

In any case, I’d message the buyer to let them know they didn’t submit the requirements/you can’t do the order at the moment.

All the best!

[rory_mullan]

Thank you all very much for your help, I’ll try to just message him politely and pause my gig as well to make sure this doesn’t happen again, hopefully that works.

Cheers!