I think I've made a mistake

I've just released a course, and in the promotional videos I mention the course comes with 7GB of 3d assets and scene files (probably worth around 20x more than the deals program price of the course). I've just found that of my first 5 students, 2 of them have asked for a refund without even watching any of the content. I'm guessing they've just bought the course with the intention of getting the 7GB of content and then asking for a refund.

Can anyone think of a way around this? Perhaps people should only be able to get a refund after watching a minimum % of the course, or if offering a reason which the udemy team would verify is reasonable and feedback to the instructor for improvement purposes.

I'd like the promotional video to continue to include that there's such a lot of downloadable content, because I think it adds a lot of value to the course.

Cheers

Michael

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ElianaC

Hi @3d illusions
Due to privacy reasons, we cannot disclose why a student requested a refund for a course. Please note, however, that there are a variety of reasons why students request refunds.
Please note, however, that there are a variety of reasons why students request refunds and our team gets in charge of reviewing them.

We want students to be satisfied with their courses, so all courses purchased on Udemy can be refunded within 30 days. That said, students who purchase and refund multiple courses over an extended period may be subject to suspension for abuse of the refund policy. Further, if all course content was downloaded before the refund was requested, the refund request may be rejected this is subject to review. You can check our refund policy article here

Eliana

Udemy Community Moderator

3d illusions

Thanks for the response. Perhaps if the refund reason is due to an issue with the course, then relaying that to the tutor anonymously wouldn't breach privacy, and if valid, would allow the instructor to make improvements to the content. Avoiding future refunds for the same reason, and saving Udemy money on transaction fees.

I'm pleased to hear there are systems in place to avoid repeat offenders.

Cheers

Michael

ElianaC

@3d illusions
Thanks for providing us with your feedback I’m going to pass along your request and insights to our product team.

AHardin

You don't have to explicitly state that the course comes with 7GB of assets and files, but instead say something such as, "The course includes valuable assets and files" to get the same point across without revealing that it's 7GB.

I also wouldn't automatically assume that two out of the five had ill intentions of getting access to your files, but they may have skimmed through the material (not fully completing any lectures), and for whatever reason, they decided the course wasn't a fit for them. That happens all the time. I've done it as a learner on Udemy many times for some reason or another (teaching style, voice/accent, presentation, audio/video quality, etc.) with the hundreds of courses I've purchased over the years.

3d illusions

Hi, I double checked the course stats minutes watched section, and it displayed zero for the students who requested a refund.

Not to worry, I guess it happens.

Thanks for the suggestion.

3d illusions

I see you're doing great on Udemy by the way. What's your most successful form of marketing if you don't mind divulging publicly?

AHardin

I believe they have to watch an entire lecture where it's checkmarked as completed for the minutes to report.

Regarding marketing, I recommend reading my post Road to $500,000 - Lessons Learned, Tips & Advice for Newer Instructors where I give lots of tips and advice.

3d illusions

Cheers

3d illusions

Oh I can't see your post. Insufficient privileges.

AHardin

Odd, it's in the Published Instructor Club area. @ElianaC
can you see why @3d illusions
can't access my post there when you get a chance?

ElianaC

Hi @AHardin
it seems @3d illusions
was not in the Published Instructor Club, but he is now.

3d illusions

I'm still getting access denied.

ElianaC

@3d illusions
Can you please try accessing the Published Instructor Club again? I updated the permissions on our site one more time. Please let me know if you are still unable to access the group!

3d illusions

working now thanks

Andrii Piatakha

Yeah... Sounds like a dilemma... from one side you have good marketing idea, but from another side students who can behave unfairly by just downloading resources...

When my students ask me about downloadable resources I just reply them that they can enjoy access to may course 24/7 from mobile and desktop

Kind regards,

Andrey