Why don't sellers just accept an honest review

[jerekiva]

I’m new to fiverr over the past few weeks. But it’s as though you can’t really leave an honest review unless it is absolutely 5 stars.
First guy, I left 4.5 stars. Pretty good, no? Then he proceeded to harass me as to why he got such a “low” rating etc.
Then the 2nd guy didn’t even complete the job, went missing for a whole week with no communication at all in spite of my own follow up. I eventually left him 1 star after he failed to answer my messages. Within 10 minutes literally, he started to message me. I have about 20 messages from him within 24 hours. I did report and block him but apparently it is only effective for a couple hours so he’s harassing me again.
What’s Fiverr’s policy concerning this kind of harassment?

[misscrystal]

You should report him directly to customer support with screenshots of all his harassing messages. It’s not allowed to do what he is doing.

[uk1000]

I’m not sure if asking why a reviewer gave a particular review is against the rules though. Though asking for a particular rating is, eg. asking for 5 stars would be review manipulation which would be against TOS and so would harassing (but is 1 message asking why a particular rating was given harassment?).

First guy, I left 4.5 stars. Pretty good, no?

Yes it is a good review. Unfortunately the issue is Fiverr’s system. eg. in the new level system, getting an average of 4.5 stars over a 60 day period (which is a good rating) would mean the seller would be demoted and go down a level/levels (eg. for level 1 you need >=4.8 stars on average, for level 2 you also need >=4.8 stars on average in the new system). So sellers could have a lot less active gigs if their average rating falls below 4.8 stars on the new system. The average rating also affects the ability to post offers in the “buyer requests” section. Lowering these requirements would be a good idea I think and would make sellers less bothered about ratings <4.8 stars. I think it would also lead to a more honest/fair review system (where people wouldn’t really mind getting 3 stars etc.).

[jerekiva]

I’m not sure if asking why a reviewer gave a particular review is against the rules though. Though asking for a particular rating is, eg. asking for 5 stars would be review manipulation which would be against TOS and so would harassing (but is 1 message asking why a particular rating was given harassment?).

First guy, I left 4.5 stars. Pretty good, no?

Yes it is a good review. Unfortunately the issue is Fiverr’s system. eg. in the new level system, getting an average of 4.5 stars over a 60 day period (which is a good rating) would mean the seller would be demoted and go down a level/levels (eg. for level 1 you need >=4.8 stars on average, for level 2 you also need >=4.8 stars on average in the new system). So sellers could have a lot less active gigs if their average rating falls below 4.8 stars on the new system. The average rating also affects the ability to post offers in the “buyer requests” section. Lowering these requirements would be a good idea I think and would make sellers less bothered about ratings <4.8 stars. I think it would also lead to a more honest/fair review system (where people wouldn’t really mind getting 3 stars etc.).

Oh? That is pretty unreasonable. If we are honest, very few people would actually deserve 5 stars. In my mind, 5 stars means a stellar performance, and most people simply do not provide that even though they may provide a pretty good service.

[jerekiva]

I’m not sure if asking why a reviewer gave a particular review is against the rules though. Though asking for a particular rating is, eg. asking for 5 stars would be review manipulation which would be against TOS and so would harassing (but is 1 message asking why a particular rating was given harassment?).

First guy, I left 4.5 stars. Pretty good, no?

Yes it is a good review. Unfortunately the issue is Fiverr’s system. eg. in the new level system, getting an average of 4.5 stars over a 60 day period (which is a good rating) would mean the seller would be demoted and go down a level/levels (eg. for level 1 you need >=4.8 stars on average, for level 2 you also need >=4.8 stars on average in the new system). So sellers could have a lot less active gigs if their average rating falls below 4.8 stars on the new system. The average rating also affects the ability to post offers in the “buyer requests” section. Lowering these requirements would be a good idea I think and would make sellers less bothered about ratings <4.8 stars. I think it would also lead to a more honest/fair review system (where people wouldn’t really mind getting 3 stars etc.).

Also, the 1st guy actually did ask for a 5 star rating when he completed the job. I ignored him and put what I thought he deserved. He was pretty competent insofar as he could understand what I was saying. His communication certainly needed improvement. My main problem though was that he was quite rude because he couldn’t follow instructions and was frustrated with me when he couldn’t understand English.

[sp_branding]

Oh? That is pretty unreasonable. If we are honest, very few people would actually deserve 5 stars. In my mind, 5 stars means a stellar performance, and most people simply do not provide that even though they may provide a pretty good service.

If you ever become a seller on fiverr you would understand what a low rating can do to your account… Nevertheless, don’t give out 5 star reviews when a job is not. Properly done… But if its properly done then why not? Don’t feel a god about it cos you are giving out reviews. There are certain sellers on fiverr that do not even need these reviews

[jerekiva]

If you ever become a seller on fiverr you would understand what a low rating can do to your account… Nevertheless, don’t give out 5 star reviews when a job is not. Properly done… But if its properly done then why not? Don’t feel a god about it cos you are giving out reviews. There are certain sellers on fiverr that do not even need these reviews

No worries if they do not need the reviews. I am just sharing my experience, that is all; and so far this is what it has been.

[jazzbugg]

I recently had a seller tell me to give him a 5 star review so that he would then give me a 5 star review as a buyer. Kind of made my skin crawl a bit to be honest. The system is messed up!

[jerekiva]

I recently had a seller tell me to give him a 5 star review so that he would then give me a 5 star review as a buyer. Kind of made my skin crawl a bit to be honest. The system is messed up!

It made me realise that you cannot trust when someone has only 5 stars, It may not mean much other than he is a good manipulator of the system 😕

[offlinehelpers]

It made me realise that you cannot trust when someone has only 5 stars, It may not mean much other than he is a good manipulator of the system 😕

when someone has only 5 stars,

Or it may mean they’re a very good service provider, with lots of happy clients. 😉

[designerthings]

It made me realise that you cannot trust when someone has only 5 stars, It may not mean much other than he is a good manipulator of the system 😕 and honestly I didn’t manipulate anyone. I accepted the 4 star rating wholeheartedly! 😃

[misscrystal]

It made me realise that you cannot trust when someone has only 5 stars, It may not mean much other than he is a good manipulator of the system 😕

It made me realise that you cannot trust when someone has only 5 stars, It may not mean much other than he is a good manipulator of the system

I would like to know how you think someone gets thousands of five star reviews by “manipulating the system”?

In two weeks I will have been here for five years and I only have two bad reviews.

Do you think I’ve been manipulating the system all this time?

There ARE sellers who provide excellent service every time you know.

[salidarvuelta]

Actually, for a seller a 4.5 star rating can be really bad news and will affect his or her rating. I specifically fear those customers who order a 5$ gig, you deliver in record time a project that is worth much more than that, and leave you with a 4,5 saying that perfection is impossible and that they don’t ever give a 5 star rating no matter how good their experience was. I’d rather not have the 5$ gig, to be honest.
I kind of see jerekiva’s point of view, but being a seller and buyer myself, if someone’s delivery was not “great” I simply not rate it, as I believe harming people is truly unnecesary in this life.

[misscrystal]

Actually, for a seller a 4.5 star rating can be really bad news and will affect his or her rating. I specifically fear those customers who order a 5$ gig, you deliver in record time a project that is worth much more than that, and leave you with a 4,5 saying that perfection is impossible and that they don’t ever give a 5 star rating no matter how good their experience was. I’d rather not have the 5$ gig, to be honest.

I kind of see jerekiva’s point of view, but being a seller and buyer myself, if someone’s delivery was not “great” I simply not rate it, as I believe harming people is truly unnecesary in this life.

if someone’s delivery was not “great” I simply not rate it, as I believe harming people is truly unnecesary in this life.

I agree unless it was truly horrific. I’ve wanted to leave one star reviews a couple of times but didn’t.

[jerekiva]

if someone’s delivery was not “great” I simply not rate it, as I believe harming people is truly unnecesary in this life.

I agree unless it was truly horrific. I’ve wanted to leave one star reviews a couple of times but didn’t.

Which is why I think the system is unfortunate. You really should not be penalised for a 4.5 rating 😕

[jerekiva]

It made me realise that you cannot trust when someone has only 5 stars, It may not mean much other than he is a good manipulator of the system

I would like to know how you think someone gets thousands of five star reviews by “manipulating the system”?

In two weeks I will have been here for five years and I only have two bad reviews.

Do you think I’ve been manipulating the system all this time?

There ARE sellers who provide excellent service every time you know.

Haven’t been on here for a while. Where did you get the idea that I meant there aren’t people who offer great service? Also, not everyone has thousands of reviews. I do believe there are some (even if they are few) who do not deserve all 5 stars. I blame fiverr for this as well, since I learnt on here that a good review of 4.5 is actually “poor.” It means that sympathetic buyers will still give 5 stars even when it deserves a 3.

[misscrystal]

It made me realise that you cannot trust when someone has only 5 stars, It may not mean much other than he is a good manipulator of the system 😕

Where did you get the idea that I meant there aren’t people who offer great service?

It made me realise that you cannot trust when someone has only 5 stars, It may not mean much other than he is a good manipulator of the system 😕

I got that idea from what you said here.

[bigbeardvo]

To be honest with you, I usually assume that there’s some sort of rating manipulation that happens behind the scenes. Sellers can be tempted with almost anything for a good review.

I recently had an experience recently on a wildly popular marketplace for Wordpress themes. I left what I considered to be an honest, fair review for a theme I purchased (4 out of 5 stars). The theme had hundreds of 5 star reviews and the site had a similar rating policy.

Shortly after I left the review, I received a scathing public reply to the review, followed by personal emails (how in the *uck did he find it), personal messages, a friend request to my Facebook account, and other things PLEADING with me to request a refund (refunds on that site negate reviews). I eventually conceded and wish I hadn’t.

The ad for the theme bragged about never receiving a negative review.

TL;DR: Ratings can be manipulated. I don’t always trust them.

[misscrystal]

To be honest with you, I usually assume that there’s some sort of rating manipulation that happens behind the scenes. Sellers can be tempted with almost anything for a good review.

I recently had an experience recently on a wildly popular marketplace for Wordpress themes. I left what I considered to be an honest, fair review for a theme I purchased (4 out of 5 stars). The theme had hundreds of 5 star reviews and the site had a similar rating policy.

Shortly after I left the review, I received a scathing public reply to the review, followed by personal emails (how in the *uck did he find it), personal messages, a friend request to my Facebook account, and other things PLEADING with me to request a refund (refunds on that site negate reviews). I eventually conceded and wish I hadn’t.

The ad for the theme bragged about never receiving a negative review.

TL;DR: Ratings can be manipulated. I don’t always trust them.

I usually assume that there’s some sort of rating manipulation that happens behind the scenes.

Why? I have never done anything to manipulate anyone for a good review and I’m sure most sellers haven’t.

Sellers get banned for that here.

[bigbeardvo]

I usually assume that there’s some sort of rating manipulation that happens behind the scenes.

Why? I have never done anything to manipulate anyone for a good review and I’m sure most sellers haven’t.

Sellers get banned for that here.

I’m not suggesting that anyone here does that (I promise). I treat reviews with the same skepticism that I do with most things in my life.

Just sharing an experience I had with another website.

[misscrystal]

(post withdrawn by author, will be automatically deleted in 24 hours unless flagged)

I treat reviews with the same skepticism that I do with most things in my life.

That’s a shame. Based on a lifetime of having truly improbable and weird experiences I find I am likely to believe a lot of things. The idea that someone can have five years on fiverr with only two bad reviews seems like something that is not too hard for me to believe, along with the idea that the designer I use has over 13,000 reviews with only two bad ones.

[bigbeardvo]

I treat reviews with the same skepticism that I do with most things in my life.

That’s a shame. Based on a lifetime of having truly improbable and weird experiences I find I am likely to believe a lot of things. The idea that someone can have five years on fiverr with only two bad reviews seems like something that is not too hard for me to believe, along with the idea that the designer I use has over 13,000 reviews with only two bad ones.

There are always two sides to skepticism.

Can someone with a four star rating provide me with great service? Sure. Who knows what their story is. Should I value someones self-worth or service on star ratings?

I’m happy that you provide great service to your buyers, and people who work hard enough will always enjoy an amazing reputation.

[misscrystal]

There are always two sides to skepticism.

Can someone with a four star rating provide me with great service? Sure. Who knows what their story is. Should I value someones self-worth or service on star ratings?

I’m happy that you provide great service to your buyers, and people who work hard enough will always enjoy an amazing reputation.

It sounds like you would look at my reviews with skepticism.

I once provided screenshots of previous buyers messages to me telling me what happened after their spells I had cast and this one guy became enraged and accused me of trying to “scam” him because of it.

lol

[bigbeardvo]

It sounds like you would look at my reviews with skepticism.

I once provided screenshots of previous buyers messages to me telling me what happened after their spells I had cast and this one guy became enraged and accused me of trying to “scam” him because of it.

lol

You’re entitled to feel that way, but you’d be wrong. I’m going to step away from this now.

[jonbaas]

Which is why I think the system is unfortunate. You really should not be penalised for a 4.5 rating 😕

You really should not be penalised for a 4.5 rating 😕

How, and in what ways, is anyone penalized for a fantastic, positive 4.5-star review?

A 4.5-star review is NOT a bad review.