Before asking for free work, ask yourself one question

[loudandskittish]

Are we friends?

If yes, depending on how busy I am, I may be willing to assist you. Of course, if we are friends, you don’t need to go to my Fiverr profile to contact me.

Therefore, on Fiverr, the answer is always NO!

Had someone earlier send me a message with a letter asking, “Can you proofread this and return it to me?”

I sent them a custom offer. They reply immediately: “Can you do it for free?”

I reply, “I don’t work for me.”

Somehow, this is does not deter them. “Please. Just this one.”

Whatever, “Report User: Inappropriate Behavior” “I do not wish to receive messages from this user.”

[Guest sara19841]

Was it somebody you’d worked with before?

[loudandskittish]

Was it somebody you’d worked with before?

No! That’s the worst part.

[authoreva]

Unfortunately, I can empathize with this 😦 “It’s just half a page… It’ll be really quick…” “I’ll send you lots of orders if you edit this one thing for me…” “I just need help. Please… I don’t have money.”

[woofy31]

Something similar happened to me recently:

B: I need your help.
Me: Do you need site reports?
B: Yes.
Me: [providing detailed breakdown of my services, not that they don’t have descriptions and all that…]
B: I have no money.
Me: Well, I can’t make free reports, it’s not how this platform works.
B: That’s life…

:roll_eyes:

At least he wasn’t that upfront about it 😛

[technopluslk1]

Sоmе buуеrѕ will соmе аnd рrоmiѕе уоu thоuѕаndѕ оf dоllаrѕ if уоu саn gеt thеm a ѕwift sample. Mind уоu, thеу аlrеаdу соntасtеd tеn оthеr buyers thе ѕаmе wау. Hе then gаthеrѕ thе samples уоu аll ѕubmit аnd fасtоrizе whаtеvеr hе nееdѕ оut оf thаt. Nоtе thаt a ѕаmрlе iѕ diffеrеnt from a роrtfоliо, if buуеr rеԛuirеѕ a way tо trust уоur ѕеrviсе, оffеr a рrеviоuѕlу concluded jоb fоr thе buуеr tо tаkе a lооk. if thе buуеr gеtѕ tоо ѕресifiс thаt уоu gеt him a uniԛuе ѕаmрlе аnd thiѕ iѕ ѕоmеthing thаt will take mоrе minutеѕ thаn уоu hаvе in mind, dо nоt ассерt, they are mоѕtlу ѕсаmѕ.

Follow this rule for both new buyer and existing buyer. You might think it will be safe to start work without placing the order for existing buyer. There are some buyer order few $5 orders first and then ask to start working on a $100 order without paying. They say they have various issues with payments, credit cards, etc. Never agree to work for these people.

I’d like to hear your experience on this. Thanks!

More references:

I know this sounds like I’m stating the obvious but I’ve done this before and I’m pretty sure I’ve just done it again. In my enthusiasm to get ahead and please potential buyers I have: completed work before the buyer has filled in the mandatory requirements (if I have enough information) only to find the buyer never fills in the mandatory requirements. No requirements, no order, no delivery, no pay.completed work based on desperate midnight messages from the other side of the world saying pl…

I thought I should write this post to call other sellers’ attentions to a common scam on Fiverr (and other platforms for that matter) so you don’t fall for it, especially if you’re a new seller looking for your first order. The Scenario: You get an message that sounds something like this: “Hello, we are a movie house and we have a big up coming project and will be needing a lot of voiceover work. We like your voice and would like to order from you. However, we need you to send us a sample s…

[imtiaznoim]

Definitely it’s true. I faced the same issue with different clients.
But One thing I would say that there are lots of real buyers out there.

Thanks for your important informations.
-imtiaz

[priyasumit786]

Nothing is free. Sometimes I firmly send them the portfolio link. or ask them if you gonna pay $200 if they like it, to which they always say NO.

I would rather sit back free and do nothing then free samples.

when they say there credit card is not working or something I tell them to sort it out and will wait for the order to start as credit card never works.

[Guest manucornel]

I agree with you. I never do free work. If a buyer wants to test my quality, they can order 5$ worth of service and see it.

2 out of 10 that asked for free samples, ordered the small sample as I recommended, then we continued to do business. The other 8 vanished and never heard of them again. So yeah, protect yourself sellers. 🙂 Your time is valuable, don’t give it away for free.

I don’t go to a pizza shop and ask for a slice, promising the order of 10 of them. So why would I give my service for free?

[webdevelopers90]

I have a lot of my regular buyer they send me just the jobs and i do it without order and then immediately place the order and pay me extra then my actual gig,
So trust each other,

and by the way i never provide any sample or proceed any task for new customer because they must trust us and they can see our review and feedback ,

But i do not about other seller or buyer …

[fogi]

True, they sweetalk, promise anything to get something for free. There is nothing binds them to place an order after, or give you a bigger tip, or pay you in any way. Do NOT work for free.

Also, this kind of customer haggles all the time, wants a Rolls Royce for 5 dollars, revised 10 times, and additional questions. When they offer a 100 bucks when they see it’s working, they may not even have 100 dollars. And they ask your fiverr back too, so you end up with ZERO after doing work.

Be smart, use your common sense.

[catzyjade]

And there are these kind of buyers also

Buyer:
Yes i want to proceed with 1 banner first that cost 5$ per banner…If i like 1st banner…I pay and start on next…If i not like 1st…I ask for refund…thats all.

Me:
I will not work like that 🙂

Buyer:
u mean whatever you design…I should purchase? why?

[thomaslener]

Sоmе buуеrѕ will соmе аnd рrоmiѕе уоu thоuѕаndѕ оf dоllаrѕ if уоu саn gеt thеm a ѕwift sample. Mind уоu, thеу аlrеаdу соntасtеd tеn оthеr buyers thе ѕаmе wау. Hе then gаthеrѕ thе samples уоu аll ѕubmit аnd fасtоrizе whаtеvеr hе nееdѕ оut оf thаt. Nоtе thаt a ѕаmрlе iѕ diffеrеnt from a роrtfоliо, if buуеr rеԛuirеѕ a way tо trust уоur ѕеrviсе, оffеr a рrеviоuѕlу concluded jоb fоr thе buуеr tо tаkе a lооk. if thе buуеr gеtѕ tоо ѕресifiс thаt уоu gеt him a uniԛuе ѕаmрlе аnd thiѕ iѕ ѕоmеthing thаt will take mоrе minutеѕ thаn уоu hаvе in mind, dо nоt ассерt, they are mоѕtlу ѕсаmѕ.

Follow this rule for both new buyer and existing buyer. You might think it will be safe to start work without placing the order for existing buyer. There are some buyer order few $5 orders first and then ask to start working on a $100 order without paying. They say they have various issues with payments, credit cards, etc. Never agree to work for these people.

I’d like to hear your experience on this. Thanks!

More references:

I know this sounds like I’m stating the obvious but I’ve done this before and I’m pretty sure I’ve just done it again. In my enthusiasm to get ahead and please potential buyers I have: completed work before the buyer has filled in the mandatory requirements (if I have enough information) only to find the buyer never fills in the mandatory requirements. No requirements, no order, no delivery, no pay.completed work based on desperate midnight messages from the other side of the world saying pl…

I thought I should write this post to call other sellers’ attentions to a common scam on Fiverr (and other platforms for that matter) so you don’t fall for it, especially if you’re a new seller looking for your first order. The Scenario: You get an message that sounds something like this: “Hello, we are a movie house and we have a big up coming project and will be needing a lot of voiceover work. We like your voice and would like to order from you. However, we need you to send us a sample s…

I’d like to hear your experience on this. Thanks!

Hi,

in case I’m not sure if I can meet the clients requirements, I usually start working without an order. When the work is finished and the client is satisfied, the order is placed. I did about 10 orders that way, never had any issues with it.

These orders are very easygoing because there is no pressure, I enjoy working that way.

In my case, doing free work creates income.

Cheers, T

[technopluslk1]

I’d like to hear your experience on this. Thanks!

Hi,

in case I’m not sure if I can meet the clients requirements, I usually start working without an order. When the work is finished and the client is satisfied, the order is placed. I did about 10 orders that way, never had any issues with it.

These orders are very easygoing because there is no pressure, I enjoy working that way.

In my case, doing free work creates income.

Cheers, T

Its okay for smaller order, since you loose nothing much.

What if they ask to do some expensive things worth over few hundred.

[thomaslener]

Its okay for smaller order, since you loose nothing much.

What if they ask to do some expensive things worth over few hundred.

The last time I did the work without the order was $100. Client then placed the order, was very happy, and the fact that I put trust in him seemed to raise satisfaction. Got a tip, 5star review, for me doing it that way worked perfectly up until now. I never lost any money by doing free work, the only time i lost money was because of a chargeback.

[technopluslk1]

The last time I did the work without the order was $100. Client then placed the order, was very happy, and the fact that I put trust in him seemed to raise satisfaction. Got a tip, 5star review, for me doing it that way worked perfectly up until now. I never lost any money by doing free work, the only time i lost money was because of a chargeback.

wow. you are an awesome seller.

[arafatjamil01]

Sоmе buуеrѕ will соmе аnd рrоmiѕе уоu thоuѕаndѕ оf dоllаrѕ if уоu саn gеt thеm a ѕwift sample. Mind уоu, thеу аlrеаdу соntасtеd tеn оthеr buyers thе ѕаmе wау. Hе then gаthеrѕ thе samples уоu аll ѕubmit аnd fасtоrizе whаtеvеr hе nееdѕ оut оf thаt. Nоtе thаt a ѕаmрlе iѕ diffеrеnt from a роrtfоliо, if buуеr rеԛuirеѕ a way tо trust уоur ѕеrviсе, оffеr a рrеviоuѕlу concluded jоb fоr thе buуеr tо tаkе a lооk. if thе buуеr gеtѕ tоо ѕресifiс thаt уоu gеt him a uniԛuе ѕаmрlе аnd thiѕ iѕ ѕоmеthing thаt will take mоrе minutеѕ thаn уоu hаvе in mind, dо nоt ассерt, they are mоѕtlу ѕсаmѕ.

Follow this rule for both new buyer and existing buyer. You might think it will be safe to start work without placing the order for existing buyer. There are some buyer order few $5 orders first and then ask to start working on a $100 order without paying. They say they have various issues with payments, credit cards, etc. Never agree to work for these people.

I’d like to hear your experience on this. Thanks!

More references:

I know this sounds like I’m stating the obvious but I’ve done this before and I’m pretty sure I’ve just done it again. In my enthusiasm to get ahead and please potential buyers I have: completed work before the buyer has filled in the mandatory requirements (if I have enough information) only to find the buyer never fills in the mandatory requirements. No requirements, no order, no delivery, no pay.completed work based on desperate midnight messages from the other side of the world saying pl…

I thought I should write this post to call other sellers’ attentions to a common scam on Fiverr (and other platforms for that matter) so you don’t fall for it, especially if you’re a new seller looking for your first order. The Scenario: You get an message that sounds something like this: “Hello, we are a movie house and we have a big up coming project and will be needing a lot of voiceover work. We like your voice and would like to order from you. However, we need you to send us a sample s…

I’d like to hear your experience on this. Thanks!

@technopluslk1

I have an expericence, he told I will pay a bit later, I had completed two of his orders before, but after that , he disappeared, not even replying my message.

Loved your note, really true.

[Guest advcidra]

I had face same situation. A top rated buyer place an order for GDPR premium and said I will pay $50 right now and remaiing will send you after completion the order because I don’t have enough money. I said respected xyz how can I trust you when you are not trusting me.
Anyways he was a scammer. After that he didn’t reply me. 😊

[steveeyes]

Nothing is free. Sometimes I firmly send them the portfolio link. or ask them if you gonna pay $200 if they like it, to which they always say NO.

I would rather sit back free and do nothing then free samples.

when they say there credit card is not working or something I tell them to sort it out and will wait for the order to start as credit card never works.

Sometimes I firmly send them the portfolio link.

I agree nothing is free…but hopefully this advise is 🙂

How do you send a portfolio link? Sometimes I want to send link to a client of a specific video in my portfolio but can’t figure out how. Anyone knows?

[Guest verbalwriter]

I was once a victim. This is so wrong.

[arafatjamil01]

I had face same situation. A top rated buyer place an order for GDPR premium and said I will pay $50 right now and remaiing will send you after completion the order because I don’t have enough money. I said respected xyz how can I trust you when you are not trusting me.

Anyways he was a scammer. After that he didn’t reply me. 😊

At that tine, the feeling is, I am cheated on, and no one can fix this. Really bad

[imran277]

Definitely it’s really true. I faced the same issue with different clients.

[priyasumit786]

Sometimes I firmly send them the portfolio link.

I agree nothing is free…but hopefully this advise is 🙂

How do you send a portfolio link? Sometimes I want to send link to a client of a specific video in my portfolio but can’t figure out how. Anyone knows?

not really sure how to send a particular file link. but yes the whole link always works for me

[milanmanojlovic]

Well if you value your time, you should never work for free,no matter how much “sweettalk” they do.
Purchase first,then we can work.
Simple as that.

[tanzilzen]

I also agree with you . We do work for value and money . We should never work for free