Don't Expect a Miracle for $5

[magellon]

Thanks for all your comments, in agreement or disagreement with my initial statement. One thing that I am quite sure is that I don’t believe that there is ONE Gig among the over 2.6 million Gigs offered that can show a profit taking into consideration the time spent to deliver a Gig. What I mean by that is that in any case the buyer is always the big winner, and should appreciate that before expecting more than he has paid for $-)

[ryuken]

I can tell you one thing that people who expect miracle for 5$ are worth losing as buyers. They need to understand that 5$ gigs are there to reduce the burden of Microtasks that you usually get done from virtual assistants or services. If we compare five dollar gigs to microtasks of virtual assistants, the comparison is much fair and better for both parties. 🙂

[jasveena]

@magellon and @ryuken : Agreeing with you!!

[universal_sme]

Amen to magellon’s write-up. This is especially true among gigs that are more involved. A five dollar job doesn’t automatically mean it’s a five minute job, and some buyers might assume that to be the case or else a seller wouldn’t be on Fiverr. I offer extremely discounted services for the amount of labor that goes into them, so I really appreciate it when buyers can recognize the steal of a deal they are getting. I go the extra mile for those buyers.

[seo_teams]

You are right

[athruz]

This is such an interesting concept. On the one hand buyers get great deals mostly from people who are excited and passionate about what they do. On the other sellers get to branch out and have a chance to be inspired to create. This is a win-win.



Then there’s the possibility of both parties losing out. A buyer may not get what is expected. A seller may not get what is due, i.e. payment or positive feedback. This is a lose-lose. Not good.



So what’s getting questioned here is the honor system. Who is honorable, the buyer, the seller, both? Ultimately, it depends on the individual, until safeguards are put in place. This is where the big experiment comes into play. This is also what makes it exciting.



Personally, I’m offering the best of my abilities for a very meager fee. I’m coming to the table with multiple skillsets gathered over 10+ years of study and workplace experience that easily yields higher returns in the market place. For me this is a way to explore other avenues for income streams. And for now it’s fun. If that changes then I’ll need to reassess my priorities.



That being said, if you want something created by an “artist” for $5 bucks, then march down to Subway and get yourself a footlong.



Most artists I know have spent years cultivating their skills so if they’re offering any portion of that for $5 trying to haggle with them is bad form. I.M.O



However, I also stand by the idea that no buyer should be subjected to fraud, insufficient or lacking work, in either quality or quantity resulting in false expectations.



Guess we’ll see how it goes.

[magellon]

Well said athruz, I can see why your Gigs should sell well and that I am sure you over deliver when you have a buyer.



I know that most sellers have to spend much more time than the Gig is paying for, it’s one thing that buyers don’t realize. Before I became a seller I was a buyer for a very long time, it never, ever occurred to me to put a “Thumb Down”. At least I would ask questions first, and if not satisfied, I won’t comment at all as I believe that every job done deserves payment, and I would first think that I might have chosen the wrong Gig, or didn’t understand fully what I was getting for $5.



Of course, I have bought some Gigs that really smelled a rat, but that’s okay, you never try you never know, and these people can’t stay in business for very long.



Becoming a seller I thought that I could offer what I am good at (being marketing online for the past 12 years) which is promoting businesses, Gigs, Fundraisers, etc… I have some Gigs that takes very little of my time to deliver but I have some that can take hours to deliver properly, for the same $5. If I were a buyer looking for such quality promotion or exposure for their business, I would take this as a fantastic opportunity to test their product, market, advert, etc… for such a low cost, and not complain about the results, as I know that my products are good, using them myself. So I would really find it unfair if I did get a “Thumb Down” prior to being questioned. Touch wood, so far, my 100% Positive Rating is preserved.



Thanks for sharing your thoughts on that and other comments above. :)>-

[jasveena]

On the other hand, how many of you actually know what is the cost of the service that you offer here on Fiverr outside Fiverr? For an average 1.5 min book trailer that I sell would cost at most $20 whereas if a buyer were to look for similar service outside fiverr it will cost nothing less than $100.



After knowing these facts, I feel that most buyers are actually spending so much time doing a work for $5 including the ridiculous redo that we are asked to do for no reason at times!

[hercule]

I’m tired of the thread.

Seller on fiverr oversell and lie !!

They promise montaign, with a “probably”, and you usually get rocks…

You could expect EXACTLY what the seller advertise, even for 5$.

No one force the seller to lie on his description. If you write “free revision” don’t complain to do some. If the seller show his best work on his description, and give you crap, you can give a thumb down.



I’m a big buyer (more than 100 gig), and I never give a thumb down like most buyer (or a refund). But when I read this thread I think I should. Most seller on fiverr are liar.



Stop lying! Some job require 5 minutes for 5$. (voice over, ebook etc…)

And if you are a good graphic designer, you can do a banner in 10 minutes (at least with the “Fiverr” quality and with the “you can’t complain it’s only 5$” excuse. All the year of training give you the ability to do the work in a few minutes.



Some job took me more time for me to fix mistakes than doing it myself! (and I pay 5$)



For example, I need a writing work. I ask one guy to do it (25$). He didn’t read properly the description the first time with example of the expected result… I show how to fix it and ask him to redo it. He redo it without even read what was bad. And again another time (each time he deliver the new version in 2 weeks… so one month for crap and 2 hours of my time to explain something to someone who don’t read it).

With exactly the same first description (copy/paste) I’ve got the work done by another guy for 10$…



Most of all, for the SAME service, some seller are very good, and other are very bad.

And if people would give thumb down (me including) like we should, bad seller would be out of fiverr.



There is also seller that work hard for the first gigs and when they have a good amout of thumb up, they do the minimum. If you complain, they play the card “please don’t ruin my stat”… Well if you can’t do what you advertise, close your gig!

The last gig was a legal contract gig. The guy copy/past a contract from a famous freelance website. Well if it was the right one, that what I was asking. But the guy didn’t even took the time to suppress the website name…

This document was just good for the trash. And this guy have more than 50 thumb up…

And no I don’t want to spend MY TIME to explain what’s wrong and wait for another revision. It’s not my job to fix his work.



For the SAME description I’ve got a good work done (even a copy/past of a good existing contract was ok) by two other seller with the same amout of thumb up.

(Hey I order the same work from 3 differents guys at the same time to be sure to have a proper one)



So MOST seller do crapy work on fiverr that not even worth the 5$ and MY TIME to explain the work. But a few of them (for me close to 30%) do an ok job that you can expect for 5$, and a few (5%) do a fantastic job.



Why I’m still on fiver?

Because I don’t know how to do everything. Some task would have taken me 2 hours, when it took 10 min to a pro. It’s 5$ for 2 hours for my time.

And you can’t hire a pro for only 10 minutes anywhere else.

[magellon]

You are very tolerant hercule - I do agree with your points. And like you, I don’t have the guts to put a thumb down, especially that I am a seller myself, even though I sometimes feel that I have been blatantly cheated, I just don’t return. I know it is not helping with the reputation of Fiverr. Thanks for sharing your views X_X

[navid84]

Agreed.



However, i think, fiverr is a blessing for those having low budget for their projects. You can get the things done in just $5 here at fiverr that may not even be completed in $50 othewise.



The most important thing here is better communication between seller and buyer to match the expectation with service

[ronibl]

Hi,



http://fiverr.com/fragglerock



thanks.

[sajilpl]

John is 100% right…cheers…

[sajilpl]

I used to do morethan 9-10 revisions for a single flyer, (Sometimes provide complete redesign). Buyers never ever get these kind of services for $5…other than FIVERR…So buyers should consider how much efforts we guys are putting on these kinds of works…after all the efforts somebody simply give some negative feedback or ask refund without any reason…

[voiceoverwork]

Deliver a miracle !!

[Guest wcman1976]

Reply to @jasveena: I agree. I had a guy who wanted me to not only edit the first chapter of his novel (21 pages), but then also turn it into a stage play…all for only $5. When I told him he would have to order more for that, he cancelled. It would have probably taken me an hour or so just to edit the chapter…but to then have to convert it to a play? The time invested in that would NOT be worth it!

[jasveena]

Reply to @wcman1976: A $5 work shouldn’t cost you a lot of effort and time. If it does, it is not worth it.

[Guest predyxx]

Reply to @jasveena: Yeah, i agreee with you.

[Guest wcman1976]

Reply to @jasveena: I know…that is why I turned it down.

[jais5678]

This is excellent advice for buyers–thank you for posting! As a seller I find that the vast majority or my buyers are reasonable with their expectations, and willing to pay more for more work.



That being said, I do have the rare order that wants far more work than is within reason.



As both a buyer and a seller, I find the Fiverr community to be an overall supportive one!

[Guest dsaldridge]

Reply to @wildsoul: I think that it’s human nature to try to get away with as little work as possible for the money. I am just the opposite. I’m such a perfectionist, I cheat myself by giving too much for the money! It’s just that I know that most buyers aren’t cheapskates trying to get something for nothing, they are just people trying to make a living like we are, and need what we have to offer, but don’t have a lot of money to spend. Honestly, once I start making enough money, I may become a buyer and a seller! I’ve seen some awesome gigs that would be great for my blogs.

[Guest dsaldridge]

Reply to @wampdog: First, I don’t mean to sound harsh. I have other clients who pay much more. I’m trying to build a business here on Fiverr, but I do put better and faster paying clients first sometimes, as would any sensible business person. Remember that we have to wait over two weeks to get paid for your order once its delivered, so what would you do if you got an order on Monday for $5 that you had seven days to finish, then you got another that afternoon outside of Fiverr for a 6-day gig that paid 50x as much and paid immediately upon completion? I don’t feel bad about delivering within the last 15 minutes (although I usually don’t), because the time limit is there for a reason. I do NOT, however, skimp on what I deliver. In fact, I just had an order with the exact above scenario where I did it on the last day (but not at the last minute) and I gave the seller extra words to make up for having to wait so long. I think it’s sometimes hard to find someone who does a great job in a timely manner, but I have bills to pay, and my power company doesn’t care that Fiverr holds funds for 14 days. They want their money now. I believe in pleasing buyers, but not at my own expense.

[hypn1969]

Hi Magellon,



I do hear what you say and I do believe that most sellers have an honest intent but from two different logo designers I have received “nothing” but a refund. The request could not be simpler - design a logo for a cave web site 5 days later you get the asked to cancel the transaction.



I agree that if the seller produces a result they are indeed trying but there seems to be a whole bunch who will only deliver if you start selecting the Extra buttons at the bottom



Second week, third designer and hoping that this one might actually design logo’s as advertised. As a first time user I am left pretty dissapointed



Andre

[Guest mistrizone]

Reply to @navid84: I’m agree with you!

[danish82]

I think the buyer should always get the information about the gig and what he will get from it- See more at: http://forum.fiverr.com/discussion/19347#Item_1