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Don't Expect a Miracle for $5


magellon

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This post speaks the truth. I’m not a seller but I am a buyer and have been using fiver for the first time this past couple of months for a logo and t-shirt drawing design. To me, it’s common sense to know that you won’t get a miracle for $5…I looked it as a starting point for my idea and you will still pay less than you would pay a big company or corporation do do your graphic work for you. I read and re-read the gig and emailed the seller asking questions before i purchased anything. I am so glad that I did that because there were some mis-understandings initially but we came to an agreement and I couldn’t have been happier with the results. I would so use my seller again. So as mentioned in the post, we have to work together. Like the sellers…i’m an honest buyer trying to get my idea off the ground…it’s amazing what can be done when people are clear about what they want and if it doesn’t work find a legitimate solution for both parties.

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  • 11 months later...
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Buyers Should Be Careful - Credibility Makes A Difference

Buyers should be aware of what’s really going on here on fiverr. It may be five bucks but there’s a lot of favoritism among many sellers who adhere to fiverr even if those sellers are unjustly charging for a service that is completely fake without the buyer knowing.

Gig descriptions are vastly exaggerated and the buyer must know this before they buy. Here are some simply tips for the buy to get to know the seller before they buy and at least build some trust.

  1. Send a message to the seller and ask some questions. Wait and see how long it takes to reply. If it takes more than a day, forget about this seller. Good communication means a fast reply.
  2. Confirm information in the gig - about what you will get even if it’s listed.
  3. If you order, and receive what you are supposed to, don’t leave feedback immediately, wait, just in case you are not happy afterwords. You can’t change the feedback that you leave.
  4. With so called SEO services, it could take weeks or months to see a result if at all. We believe most seo services on fiverr are simply fake.

We’ve tested many sellers in different categories and found a low percentage actually return your messages. Not sure why they are on fiverr.

We’ve been doing a lot of testing on fiverr specifically as we are in the process of developing a tv show through my production company showing the problems with micro job selling. Buyer Beware.

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Credibility in general or just on the site? Every seller has a different background. I like how you encourage communication before ordering; not many buyers do this which is unfortunate.



When it comes to communicating, the buyer needs to keep in mind that not everyone lives in the same time zone; a day for one could be day in a half for another. Not all SEO services here are artificial. There are some good ones but are hidden behind loads of others.



Out of curiosity, how did you pick your sellers within the different categories? Did you go by rating? Levels?

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Not all SEO services re bad but the good one are at the bottom of the pile and you just can’t find them. I determine a service by rating and negative feedback especially is the rating is 4.5 or below. But, even the sellers with a high rating are bad as I recently found out with another seller.

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I agree with most of what you said except for this:


edume said: 1. Send a message to the seller and ask some questions. Wait and see how long it takes to reply. If it takes more than a day, forget about this seller. Good communication means a fast reply.


What if the seller is enjoying a day away from work?
What if the seller is ill?
What if the seller is on vacation?
What if the seller is swamped with work and only responds to messages 3/4 times a week?

Having a good response time isn't indicative of your ability to sell successfully. Would you spoil your day off by replying to a message regarding a $5 order?
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hmm, I believe if you have your mobile device connected to your fiverr account, it wouldn’t be a big fuss to just reply someone who wants to offer you something, even if it’s five Dollars.

Most times, you eventually get to make over 100 Dollars from the same Buyer.

So thread carefully and Communicate well with your Buyers. 🙂

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Reply to @mrproofreading:



Agree on this. I work two jobs. When I was still selling on Fiverr, it was all I could do to work both jobs AND keep up with gigs. Sometimes I couldn’t respond for 2 or 3 days just because I’m human and I need things like sleep and food.



I would say look at the quality of the response. The seller should answer all questions to the best of his/her ability and be polite.



A fast answer does not always equal quality work. It just equals a fast answer.

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edume said: 1. Send a message to the seller and ask some questions. Wait and see how long it takes to reply. If it takes more than a day, forget about this seller. Good communication means a fast reply.

 

Good communication has little to do with speed.

 

Additionally, it ignores the international quality of this marketplace. It also ignores the part-time quality of this marketplace. And it potentially puts your test at odds with someone who maybe has a religious observance day or family day.

 

The "more sensible" test than 24 hours is... If they take longer than the time they claim to deliver their GIG, then there's some reason to wonder.

 

After all, if you say you deliver a gig in 2 days ...but don't answer a question for 5, that doesn't make sense.

2. Confirm information in the gig - about what you will get even if it's listed.

 

Why?

 

The BEST confirmation of what you will get, is what you will get. Why not GET IT first. Especially if you're doing it with a seller who is clear that his/her gig offerings are guaranteed. (And frankly, even if they're not, fiverr cs will protect you).

 

If you start a relationship with me by asking me a bunch of questions I've already answered in my gig description and tools, you're making me dread you as a potential customer.

3. If you order, and receive what you are supposed to, don't leave feedback immediately, wait, just in case you are not happy afterwords. You can't change the feedback that you leave.

 

The most false comment in this list.

 

YOU absolutely can change you feedback. Not only can you do it automatically for some time, you can always contact Fiverr customer service to remove your feedback.

 

But what's worse, it's HORRIBLE advice to follow. Here's why, we already have an overly complicated feedback system with all these silly stars. There's already painful biases against sellers to get 5-stars. However, your strongest sense of the value you receive is the MOMENT you get it.

 

Think of a great meal you've enjoyed. Remember a time like that? How "strongly" do you remember or feel about that meal now?

 

There's a reason you can start business for $5. So you can decide not to SPEND MORE. Feedback really SHOULD still be thumbs up and thumbs down. But especially with the ARS, try to give 5-stars unless there is SERIOUS deficiency. And serious deficiency should be knowable immediately.

 

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Reply to @anarchofighter: It is not horrible advice, it is common sense. I’ve been in business for two and half decades and never seen so many problems with fraud, fake services and b.s. on platform that should be able socialization of services rather than a so called marketplace.



You can disagree with anything I say, but in the end, it’s the buy who is king. That buy should be treated well and also be cautioned to refrain from buying from unscrupulous sellers.

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Reply to @edume: That’s all you have to say from my detailed and well broken down response?


You can disagree with anything I say, but in the end, it's the buy who is king. That buy should be treated well and also be cautioned to refrain from buying from unscrupulous sellers.


Um, some buyers are women who might not want to be called "Kings". And if you're the one delivering so much "bad news" to royalty, I guess you must be the court jester, the fool? :)

What I find most irritating is that you've actually made some of these concessions on other people's comments (such as communication speed) why so resistant with me?

As far as the phrase "Common Sense"... that's one of those "non" argument phrases. It sounds good. But it's a claim that requires PROOF. For example, it's "common sense" that the St. Louis Arch is taller than it's wide.

That is, it's common among most people's senses to see it that way. And, all those people are WRONG.

Objective proof is WAY WAY superior to common sense.

See: http://freakonomics.com/2011/09/29/the-myth-of-common-sense-why-the-social-world-is-less-obvious-than-it-seems/

Having said that, the buyer-seller relationship is one of integrity and equilibrium. Especially AS a Top Rated Seller, you must absolutely KNOW that buyers who see themselves as "King of the World" do themselves NO favours. And it hurts good sellers.

Finally, you totally ignored that what you said about "Feedback" was NOT TRUE. So, how could something based on a faulty assumption ever be "good advice" except purely by accident? Sure, a broken watch is right two times a day...but that's not a good reason to wear it religiously.


http://freakonomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Boris-Johnson-640x340.jpg

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I pray every day that I don’t get a buyer who is so demanding that it takes away from my work time or causes me unnecessary stress. Narcissistic, self-important ego-maniacs have no place in my life. How dare anyone assume they can demand my attention over all my other buyers? It’s just rude, crude, and socially unacceptable – not to mention bad business practice, as one day they will get to a point where NO ONE will work with them at all.



I, like most other sellers here, have other jobs, other clients, other irons in the fire – and on top of all that, we have lives and families and friends. I’m sorry for people whose entire lives seems to be their work, and who don’t understand why everyone’s isn’t, but it’s just one of those “you don’t have to understand it, just accept it” things. If you can’t accept it, move on.



I don’t have time to cater to unreasonable needs for attention. I’ve dropped much higher-paying private clients who wrote to me every single day or every hour in one case, demanding that I pay attention to them. I likened them to a tantrum-throwing 2-yr. old. I raised my children, and don’t have time to raise any more, especially not the adult variety.

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Hi Edume,



This is in one of your gigs: "The first $5 is a consultation fee…You must order a min. 2 gigs."



Could you please remove this? You HAVE to offer something for $5, so asking the buyer to order a minimum of two gigs contravenes the ToS, and it also contradicts your above statement:


edume said: That buy should be treated well and also be cautioned to refrain from buying from unscrupulous sellers.


Cheers.

(You can step down from your pedestal now)

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mrproofreading said: This is in one of your gigs: "The first $5 is a consultation fee....You must order a min. 2 gigs."

 

Damn BOY... :)

 

I just love @MrProofreading the most I see his style.

 

Though in fairness, it does seem as if he delivers something for the $5. (A guide) But not what seems to be the HEADLINE / APPEAL of the gig (an X minute TV show looking interview).

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Reply to @anarchofighter: Ahhh where does he talk about the guide?



I was looking at this gig: https://www.fiverr.com/edume/be-your-professional-spokesperson-for-your-company-or-website-which-will-increase-business-profits



As far as I can tell, every order must be a minimum of $10 ($5 fee and another $5 to create a 30 word video). Seems naughty to me!

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Reply to @mrproofreading: I stand corrected. I was looking at another gig. I didn’t want to post it because I wasn’t sure if posting another person’s gigs is a defacto violation…since after all…I could enter into a conspiracy with YOU to post my gigs…and me post YOURs to get around “self-promotion”.



Wow, I watched the video. He’s a much better oral communicator than written (in my opinion based on his gig descriptions, titles, etc.) In fact, he’s REALLY skilled. Way to go @edume ! You’re great.



AS far as the broader question, @mrproofreading, it does say you get a “consultation” for the first $5. So that may be the deliverable. But I agree it’s poorly worded. Look at the CNN one to see to what I was referring.

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Reply to @anarchofighter: The presenter on fiverr is ‘Andy’, he doesn’t always write his blogs as he is extremely busy and fiverr is a small part of the overall business. There are three others in different parts of the world that take part in replying or writing the blog. When you are tired, nobody writes properly! Happy Monday!

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Andy has been in freelance broadcast and multimedia business almost 27 years. He’s seen first hand the extreme changes in video production and editing. He’s also involved in a lot of IT business and has developed proprietary communication tools for several major companies. He’s a busy guy!

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The big answer? Bust out your smart phone, go to your messages, and give a simple:



"Thanks for your message! I’m actually out of the office at this moment, but I’ll be sure to take a closer look at this as soon as I return, and get right back to you. Thank you for your understanding 🙂 "



Keeps your response time low, and keeps the buyers from wondering what the heck is going on. Currently trying to get my response time back to where it used to be at 3 hours, so this has worked for me.

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