How can I communicate with a buyer?

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Ian

• May 21, 2014 04:31

I am looking at the task. The explanations are pretty messy but I cannot ask a question due to limitation on communication between buyers and sellers.

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  Kelly

  • May 21, 2014 08:57

  If this is a job or Hourlie, you will have an open workstream with the buyer where you can communicate with them to ask them questions.

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  Ian

  • May 21, 2014 11:33

  Hi Kelly,

  The problem is, how can I understand whether I can do the job or not. Before loosing my proposal opportunity I need to know what the buyer actually wants or explain him that it is impossible to realise his requirements due to limitations of technologies he is asking for. And give him options to realise his ideas in other technologies.

  I cannot do it in my proposal as those technologies have not been mentioned in the request.

   

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  Kelly

  • May 22, 2014 12:54

  Oh I see, you cannot contact the buyer before you have sent them a proposal. You could ask them some of your questions on the job's clarification board?

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  Ian

  • May 22, 2014 13:46

  Hi Kelly,

   

  That is the point. You can ask only 3 questions per month. That is only one question for each 5 proposal options that you have for a month. In practice, after receiving the answers to my questions I lose interest for the project as the buyer often needs something completely different from what they ask.

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  Emily

  • May 22, 2014 18:55

  I thought the 3 questions per month restriction had been removed, as it's clearly ridiculous? Isn't the system now that only users who abuse the clarification board get limited to 3 a month? I'm pretty sure I've asked more than 3 questions (legitimate ones) this month with no problem.

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  Paulo

  • December 11, 2014 18:35

  I would also like to know if the rule is in place. I am currently suffering the "3 limit rule" and truth be told i was warned about "self promotion", i did not agree to it and believe the moderator read too into what i said on the message. But i did not give it a second thought.

  The reality of the matter is that (A) there are allot of projects that are not awarded to anyone or canceled. So PPH sellers loose credits.

  (B) Allot of buyers couldn't care less about replying to everyone, so reaching the 3 Q&A post limit is too easy.

   

  One way to keep the limit would be to set a limit to how many days a project can be open without interaction from the buyer. Let´s say that after 5 days of a job posted the buys didn't care to reach out to a seller via messages or award the project, then the project would be closed and the Bids + Q&A  credits would return to the sellers.

  This would prevent spamming and at the same time enable sellers to worry less about unresponsive buyers, specially the ones that never close or award the project.

   

  PS. i suspect that there are sellers that convince buyers to work outside PPH, thus why so many jobs are never awarded or closed. Although i might be wrong.

   

   

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  Joyce

  • December 05, 2016 11:29

  I have a missed call from a buyer but there doesn't seem to be of responding to that call. Is there anything I can do to communicate with the buyer

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