Level Systems Update: What Fiverr Sellers Need to Know

[jonbaas]

The only reason I got a cancellation is because the buyer decided they didn’t want the service anymore.

The only reason I got a cancellation is because the buyer decided they didn’t want the service anymore.

Here’s an idea: work with buyers that request cancellations emediately after ordering, and see what you CAN deliver for them. They placed an order for a reason. Work with them to find that reason. Then, if you’re working to offer a solution, you won’t “need” to accept every cancellation request that gets sent your way. 😉

[nasio2k3]

In my own case, Fiverr keeps reducing my delivered on time stat each time a seller refused to drop a review and even when I didn’t have orders. I a kind of thought maybe that didn’t matter anymore, only for me to see that it mattered after all in the announcement. I just hope they will have to start increasing it instead of reducing it.

[tutor_nimzy]

As much as Fivver is trying to improve their systems and all that, they have to consider issues that sellers go through. The company takes 20% off the income we get, but that ain’t an issue. The issue here is that, there are buyers who don’t know how to place orders, rate sellers, and even modify the orders they place. For such cases, they end up purchasing wrong gigs, and some even fail to rate the sellers which affects sellers in major way.
I am not trying to oppose the new initiative that Fivver is taking, but I think they have brought it new terms and conditions that make new sellers like us to strain a lot. I know things won’t be easy, but as time goes things will straighten up. And another thing guys, never offer your services at low prices, do samples for free, or give your contacts out of Fivver. It’s time to grow in Fivver.

[tutor_nimzy]

If a seller can manage to complete 50 order before January they will get the level two badge, whether they get to keep it afterward is a whole another story.

On that note, how many people are in the red right now? I know a few people personally that are in for a rough time.

Of course, if they reach that level before January 14, they would still be assessed on the other stats, and if those haven’t been reached, they would likely be demoted again. 😉

This is crazy!! I mean why should they do that? I don’t know how they came up with this criteria

[salidarvuelta]

There are a couple of holes in the system.

1. In order to maintain your level 2 you need to have a certain level of sales. And this is actually Fiverr’s job, not mine. Fiverr decides who gets listed first, and all I can do is wait. I can be the best voiceover artist around, and deliver the gig in minutes, perfect golden voice, wonderful customer care, but if I am listed in page 22, I will not get any sales. How am I suppose to make sales? Do I go out in the highway with a sign? For instance, when Fiverr decided to remove all gigs in Spanish, I lost half of my revenue. This was clearly not my fault, I translated my gigs, I did exactly the same good job as before, and the sells dropped because my gigs are Spanish voiceovers and most of the Spanish speaking customers went somewhere else to get their voiceovers done. Hence, it’s not ME who controls my revenues, it’s Fiverr’s algorithm and ecosystem.

2. In order to maintain your Level 1 you need to have a good response rate. Does this mean Fiverr is going to fix for good the response rate measurements? Because I swear I reply EVERY message I receive ALWAYS as fast as I can, and my response rate is always 82%. Las week it dropped to 60% (!!!) with no unanswered message for months.

3. In order to maintain your Level 2 you need to maintan X days without a warning. I happen to be a buyer and a seller. Most of the time I have to communicate with programmers using words like e__ml or pppypll or pymmnt because Fiverr flags me if I use certain terms. And I need to use these terms in order to complete a payment option in my website. I’ve been flagged dozens of times for using these terms, and it’s completely absurd because the warning system is handled by a poorly programmed script. If I place orders with an email address or a telephone number (I hire many voiceovers with this kind of content) I am flagged.

So, the reality for me is: I am most likely going to be demoted although I respond inmediately to everything, I get consistent 5* ratings whenever I get sale, and I use Fiverr for doing business.

[knightartist86]

This is actually going to have a negative effect for me. I allow my sellers unlimited revisions and quite alot of the time I go over my time limit, but Customer satisfaction is my 100% goal, thats why even though my on time delivers are below 90% my overall rating is still 100%, so I have to ask all of my buyers who want changes to extend the time limit if this occurs, so what if I ask some one to extend it and they say they were busy or away and now there is tension because Im having to worry too much about my goal time.

[burnbetty]

Hey @mjensen415, I only have two questions:

1. seeing that every level requires 90% completion rate, if a TRS drops below that will they be demoted to no level at all?

2. why is the completion rate taking into account mistake orders, chargebacks, orders from troublesome buyers who demand more work or something entirely different that the seller can’t provide, and so on?

Surely it cannot be fair to be demoted because of all those situations where the seller has absolutely no control over 😕

I mean, it’s not like it’s the seller’s fault when a buyer makes a mistake order, or tries to get away with free work or more work than advertised for the same money… What if competitors buy “by mistake” other peoples’ gigs just to demote them? 😦

I concur with you.It happen a lot where buyer want to get work for free

[Guest theeditor3]

Too many features that squeeze freelances to output more, faster. You cannot force creativity.

Very few features to help freelancers get more jobs.

At this rate, Fiverr will canibalize itself with too many renovations.

Soon you will hear mistakes being fined at this rate.

I disagree…this will actually get alot of freelancers more jobs, or better jobs,

[djwaruna]

Dear @mjensen415,

Thanks a Lot For Sharing this

[jonbaas]

As much as Fivver is trying to improve their systems and all that, they have to consider issues that sellers go through. The company takes 20% off the income we get, but that ain’t an issue. The issue here is that, there are buyers who don’t know how to place orders, rate sellers, and even modify the orders they place. For such cases, they end up purchasing wrong gigs, and some even fail to rate the sellers which affects sellers in major way.

I am not trying to oppose the new initiative that Fivver is taking, but I think they have brought it new terms and conditions that make new sellers like us to strain a lot. I know things won’t be easy, but as time goes things will straighten up. And another thing guys, never offer your services at low prices, do samples for free, or give your contacts out of Fivver. It’s time to grow in Fivver.

And another thing guys, never offer your services at low prices, do samples for free, or give your contacts out of Fivver. It’s time to grow in Fivver.

Oh, see, I don’t agree with this. NEVER work for free here on Fiverr. Why would you? Time and resources cost money. Free samples have no profit associated with them – and you’re actually WASTING time and resources by giving things away for free. Are you a seller on Fiverr because you feel like running a charity for people that want free stuff? Or are you a seller on Fiverr because you want to share your talents with the world… and get paid for what you do?

As for your “give your contracts outside of Fiverr”, no, no, no, and no. I sincerely hope you’re not being serious with that statement. It is against the rules of Fiverr to communicate about your orders outside the Fiverr platform. Breaking this rule can easily result in unpleasant consequences.

[jonbaas]

This is crazy!! I mean why should they do that? I don’t know how they came up with this criteria

This is crazy!! I mean why should they do that? I don’t know how they came up with this criteria

I do. They probably looked at their internal stats, and saw that this was a good move for their business. Fiverr is a business that exists to make money, just as, I assume, your gigs are for you. Fiverr is allowed to make business decisions that they feel will improve their service (and bottom line), on their own website, if they wish. You don’t have to like it… but it WILL be the new way things work in January.

Plan for it. Prepare for it. This is why Fiverr announced these changes two months ahead of time.

Business is always moving – always changing. Learn to change with it… or be left behind in the dust. This is how business works.

[jonbaas]

There are a couple of holes in the system.

1. In order to maintain your level 2 you need to have a certain level of sales. And this is actually Fiverr’s job, not mine. Fiverr decides who gets listed first, and all I can do is wait. I can be the best voiceover artist around, and deliver the gig in minutes, perfect golden voice, wonderful customer care, but if I am listed in page 22, I will not get any sales. How am I suppose to make sales? Do I go out in the highway with a sign? For instance, when Fiverr decided to remove all gigs in Spanish, I lost half of my revenue. This was clearly not my fault, I translated my gigs, I did exactly the same good job as before, and the sells dropped because my gigs are Spanish voiceovers and most of the Spanish speaking customers went somewhere else to get their voiceovers done. Hence, it’s not ME who controls my revenues, it’s Fiverr’s algorithm and ecosystem.

2. In order to maintain your Level 1 you need to have a good response rate. Does this mean Fiverr is going to fix for good the response rate measurements? Because I swear I reply EVERY message I receive ALWAYS as fast as I can, and my response rate is always 82%. Las week it dropped to 60% (!!!) with no unanswered message for months.

3. In order to maintain your Level 2 you need to maintan X days without a warning. I happen to be a buyer and a seller. Most of the time I have to communicate with programmers using words like e__ml or pppypll or pymmnt because Fiverr flags me if I use certain terms. And I need to use these terms in order to complete a payment option in my website. I’ve been flagged dozens of times for using these terms, and it’s completely absurd because the warning system is handled by a poorly programmed script. If I place orders with an email address or a telephone number (I hire many voiceovers with this kind of content) I am flagged.

So, the reality for me is: I am most likely going to be demoted although I respond inmediately to everything, I get consistent 5* ratings whenever I get sale, and I use Fiverr for doing business.

In order to maintain your level 2 you need to have a certain level of sales. And this is actually Fiverr’s job, not mine.

Seriously? No. It is NOT Fiverr’s job to give you sales. Is IS your job. It will ALWAYS be your job if you wand to stay in business. Your gigs are YOUR responsibility, not Fiverr’s.

Fiverr decides who gets listed first, and all I can do is wait.

Again, no, no you don’t. No one succeeds in life by waiting for success. Go out and grab it by the horns and teach it how to work for you. Your success is YOUR responsibility. Be a doer. Get out there and build your success, take action… DO something productive to reach your goals.

You do have goals, right?

How am I suppose to make sales? Do I go out in the highway with a sign?

If you think that will result in sales, then yes. Market your gigs. That’s how real world businesses find their customers. That’s how you can find your customers as well. reach out to your target customers, wherever they may be located. If you don’t tell them who you are, what you do, and where they can find you, you’re not going to make any sales.

Again, your success is YOUR responsibility. There is always something productive that you can do to grow your business. Waiting is not productive.

it’s not ME who controls my revenues, it’s Fiverr’s algorithm and ecosystem.

My goodness… You haven’t learned much about running a business, have you?

[ssj1236]

Love the new leveling system but there are some questions that need to be answered.

Will sellers lose their level two rank if they lack even in one field?

If a TRS loses their rank will they need to be hand-selected again or will the system automatically promote them?

Will a drop in rank only affect a sellers level or will it directly affect their Gig rankings?

Are accidental order cancellations or unreasonable order cancellation going to affect the metrics?

If yes, then how do we keep our metrics up? I’ve had 4 order cancellations in the past 40+ days and all of them were from buyers either “accidentally” purchasing gig or trying to get the premium package for the price of the basic.

Hopefully, you’ll be able to clear these up for us.

Thank you.

Will sellers lose their level two rank if they lack even in one field?

If a TRS loses their rank will they need to be hand-selected again or will the system automatically promote them?

Will a drop in rank only affect a sellers level or will it directly affect their Gig rankings?

Are accidental order cancellations or unreasonable order cancellation going to affect the metrics?

If yes, then how do we keep our metrics up? I’ve had 4 order cancellations in the past 40+ days and all of them were from buyers either “accidentally” purchasing gig or trying to get the premium package for the price of the basic.

Hoping for a response soon to my earlier questions.

[uk1000]

This is actually going to have a negative effect for me. I allow my sellers unlimited revisions and quite alot of the time I go over my time limit, but Customer satisfaction is my 100% goal, thats why even though my on time delivers are below 90% my overall rating is still 100%, so I have to ask all of my buyers who want changes to extend the time limit if this occurs, so what if I ask some one to extend it and they say they were busy or away and now there is tension because Im having to worry too much about my goal time.

As far as I know revisions the buyer asks for that go over the time limit (ie. say “late” on the order screen) don’t actually count as late in the stats - only the initial delivery (before any revisions) seems to count as late in the stats (ie. on dashboard etc.). So if you always deliver the orders on time no matter how many revisions get asked for, I think it should be okay on the stats (the orders delivered will still show as “on time” as far as I know).

[ghemachandar1]

@mjensen415, let me reiterate concerns expressed by @woofy31.

Why do all levels (except basic ‘Seller’) have ‘90% Order completion’ as an qualification?

Often times this metric is not under the control of the Seller no matter how diligent and prudent he may be. Further, setting this metric a qualification for all top levels will instantly demote them to the basic level in a bad month. 😐

Granted, they can get back their levels when things turn around good - but if the Seller was a TRS, he will just get ‘nominated’ back.

EDIT: Currently as my account stands, I’m destined to become just ‘Seller’ on 15th, Jan. Sure, it wouldn’t effect my business much but doesn’t leave a good feeling either.

[writer99025]

@mjensen415, let me reiterate concerns expressed by @woofy31.

Why do all levels (except basic ‘Seller’) have ‘90% Order completion’ as an qualification?

Often times this metric is not under the control of the Seller no matter how diligent and prudent he may be. Further, setting this metric a qualification for all top levels will instantly demote them to the basic level in a bad month. 😐

Granted, they can get back their levels when things turn around good - but if the Seller was a TRS, he will just get ‘nominated’ back.

EDIT: Currently as my account stands, I’m destined to become just ‘Seller’ on 15th, Jan. Sure, it wouldn’t effect my business much but doesn’t leave a good feeling either.

EDIT: Currently as my account stands, I’m destined to become just ‘Seller’ on 15th, Jan. Sure, it wouldn’t effect my business much but doesn’t leave a good feeling either.

That’s terrible…I have to reevaluate my opinion of the new system then. This is not such a good thing after all. It might only end up driving good people away from Fiverr. [i am just imagining the scenes here on Jan 15th/16th…people are gonna go crazy. God help us!] [Man, this is like my 12th grade exam result day. And we are going to have it every month? LOL. ]

[ssj1236]

@mjensen415, let me reiterate concerns expressed by @woofy31.

Why do all levels (except basic ‘Seller’) have ‘90% Order completion’ as an qualification?

Often times this metric is not under the control of the Seller no matter how diligent and prudent he may be. Further, setting this metric a qualification for all top levels will instantly demote them to the basic level in a bad month. 😐

Granted, they can get back their levels when things turn around good - but if the Seller was a TRS, he will just get ‘nominated’ back.

EDIT: Currently as my account stands, I’m destined to become just ‘Seller’ on 15th, Jan. Sure, it wouldn’t effect my business much but doesn’t leave a good feeling either.

We’d like to know that ourselves man.

[ghemachandar1]

EDIT: Currently as my account stands, I’m destined to become just ‘Seller’ on 15th, Jan. Sure, it wouldn’t effect my business much but doesn’t leave a good feeling either.

That’s terrible…I have to reevaluate my opinion of the new system then. This is not such a good thing after all. It might only end up driving good people away from Fiverr. [i am just imagining the scenes here on Jan 15th/16th…people are gonna go crazy. God help us!] [Man, this is like my 12th grade exam result day. And we are going to have it every month? LOL. ]

writer99025:

EDIT: Currently as my account stands, I’m destined to become just ‘Seller’ on 15th, Jan. Sure, it wouldn’t effect my business much but doesn’t leave a good feeling either.

That’s terrible…I have to reevaluate my opinion of the new system then. This is not such a good thing after all. It might only end up driving good people away from Fiverr. [i am just imagining the scenes here on Jan 15th/16th…people are gonna go crazy. God help us!] [Man, this is like my 12th grade exam result day. And we are going to have it every month? LOL. ]

Yes, Writer. I think the overall premise of the update is Good. It gives this ‘Carrot before the Donkey’ motivation for some Level 2 and TR sellers who have been lazying out. But this particular requirement of ‘90% Order completion rate for all top levels’ is troubling and in so many ways…

Again true! This update leaves me the feeling of our monthly term exams in school which I hated so much. At least in board exams you gotta go to next class/get certificate!

[writer99025]

ghemachandar1:

EDIT: Currently as my account stands, I’m destined to become just ‘Seller’ on 15th, Jan. Sure, it wouldn’t effect my business much but doesn’t leave a good feeling either.

That’s terrible…I have to reevaluate my opinion of the new system then. This is not such a good thing after all. It might only end up driving good people away from Fiverr. [i am just imagining the scenes here on Jan 15th/16th…people are gonna go crazy. God help us!] [Man, this is like my 12th grade exam result day. And we are going to have it every month? LOL. ]

Yes, Writer. I think the overall premise of the update is Good. It gives this ‘Carrot before the Donkey’ motivation for some Level 2 and TR sellers who have been lazying out. But this particular requirement of ‘90% Order completion rate for all top levels’ is troubling and in so many ways…

Again true! This update leaves me the feeling of our monthly term exams in school which I hated so much. At least in board exams you gotta go to next class/get certificate!

Yeah, I remember my monthly tests in engineering college…man I used to hate that. 3 tests every semester.

[emily_sweet]

Great change.Now our past will decide our future.
Let see How people gain or loss levels but I think Sellers should not be too much worry.
Not only buyers but sellers are also the heart of fiverr.
So Fiverr will take care of both.If this new system will have something wrong, Fiverr will fix that.

[writer99025]

Hey @mjensen415, I only have two questions:

1. seeing that every level requires 90% completion rate, if a TRS drops below that will they be demoted to no level at all?

2. why is the completion rate taking into account mistake orders, chargebacks, orders from troublesome buyers who demand more work or something entirely different that the seller can’t provide, and so on?

Surely it cannot be fair to be demoted because of all those situations where the seller has absolutely no control over 😕

I mean, it’s not like it’s the seller’s fault when a buyer makes a mistake order, or tries to get away with free work or more work than advertised for the same money… What if competitors buy “by mistake” other peoples’ gigs just to demote them? 😦

seeing that every level requires 90% completion rate, if a TRS drops below that will they be demoted to no level at all?

why is the completion rate taking into account mistake orders, chargebacks, orders from troublesome buyers who demand more work or something entirely different that the seller can’t provide, and so on?

Surely it cannot be fair to be demoted because of all those situations where the seller has absolutely no control over 😕

I mean, it’s not like it’s the seller’s fault when a buyer makes a mistake order, or tries to get away with free work or more work than advertised for the same money… What if competitors buy “by mistake” other peoples’ gigs just to demote them? 😦

Repeating what Woofy said. He makes the most relevant points.

[jahid849310]

I hope it will be helpful 😊

[sharoonamin]

serious business will go towards experienced and expensive sellers

I’m here and I’m both of those things. Orders have declined in favor of new sellers, as far as I can tell.

It may take time to realize new policy implementation. People will prefer experienced people for the job, just like people prefer level 1 and level 2 sellers. So in light of current system one must have earned higher amount to retain its level. This clearly indicates that now seller have to raise their fee which means higher orders.

[jonbaas]

It may take time to realize new policy implementation. People will prefer experienced people for the job, just like people prefer level 1 and level 2 sellers. So in light of current system one must have earned higher amount to retain its level. This clearly indicates that now seller have to raise their fee which means higher orders.

This clearly indicates that now seller have to raise their fee which means higher orders.

I would imagine that this is the goal.

[sharoonamin]

There are a couple of holes in the system.

1. In order to maintain your level 2 you need to have a certain level of sales. And this is actually Fiverr’s job, not mine. Fiverr decides who gets listed first, and all I can do is wait. I can be the best voiceover artist around, and deliver the gig in minutes, perfect golden voice, wonderful customer care, but if I am listed in page 22, I will not get any sales. How am I suppose to make sales? Do I go out in the highway with a sign? For instance, when Fiverr decided to remove all gigs in Spanish, I lost half of my revenue. This was clearly not my fault, I translated my gigs, I did exactly the same good job as before, and the sells dropped because my gigs are Spanish voiceovers and most of the Spanish speaking customers went somewhere else to get their voiceovers done. Hence, it’s not ME who controls my revenues, it’s Fiverr’s algorithm and ecosystem.

2. In order to maintain your Level 1 you need to have a good response rate. Does this mean Fiverr is going to fix for good the response rate measurements? Because I swear I reply EVERY message I receive ALWAYS as fast as I can, and my response rate is always 82%. Las week it dropped to 60% (!!!) with no unanswered message for months.

3. In order to maintain your Level 2 you need to maintan X days without a warning. I happen to be a buyer and a seller. Most of the time I have to communicate with programmers using words like e__ml or pppypll or pymmnt because Fiverr flags me if I use certain terms. And I need to use these terms in order to complete a payment option in my website. I’ve been flagged dozens of times for using these terms, and it’s completely absurd because the warning system is handled by a poorly programmed script. If I place orders with an email address or a telephone number (I hire many voiceovers with this kind of content) I am flagged.

So, the reality for me is: I am most likely going to be demoted although I respond inmediately to everything, I get consistent 5* ratings whenever I get sale, and I use Fiverr for doing business.

You are right there are couple of loop hoes and primarly the biggest whole its self is fiverr cs and their system. However this is strategic shift in their vision. Present policy will quickly flush out sellers who offers $5 gigs and vice versa those buyers who need work in cost. It actually niche of business in which amateurs were operating. But i dont see overall environment to cultivate such ambitions