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Has Fiverr (or any representative) spoken on flaws within the monthly evaluation system?


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I’m sorry to write on a topic that I’m sure has already been discussed to death, but I haven’t seen anything regarding a specific statement given by Fiverr on the monthly leveling system.

There’s a lot to talk about, sure, but I want to focus on the cancellation percentage requirement.

This requirement is objectively flawed.

Within the last month, I’ve had to cancel somewhere around six orders, because they didn’t properly read my gig and pricing page. This isn’t even an issue for me, because I had many more orders throughout the month and my percentage is fine, but I want to talk about this because I don’t think it’s fair at all for other sellers to be put in this situation.

Sellers should not be penalized for buyers mistakes.

I suppose this was put in place to encourage sellers to find alternatives and solutions instead of just cancelling outright, but in the event where a buyer doesn’t want to pay my rate, what am I supposed to do?

A) Give in and deliver despite not being paid the proper amount. (Obviously a non-option).
B) Mutually cancel and take a hit to my statistics.

There aren’t any other options available to me.

Evaluating us based on response time, on-time deliveries, that all totally makes sense- it is within our control. But it is absolutely not up to me whether or not someone orders without thoroughly checking my page.

So, my question is: What is the justification? This is clearly and objectively unfair towards sellers.

Has Fiverr ever given a statement on this specific issue? Are there any moderators or admins that can shed light on this?

I would really like to see better support for sellers. I haven’t been very active on this forum in the past, but reading it quite a bit recently, I don’t get the impression that we have many people on the management end working on “our” side, and it’s upsetting to see that on a website whose sole appeal is the work done by freelancers who use it.

Thanks for reading.

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I saw something a while back on the forum that someone said that fiverr staff was aware of the problem and working out something but that’s all. I continue to believe, simply because it would make the most sense, that fiverr will change and improve this.

Good to know, thanks. I’ll be right there with you believing.

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This is a topic that has been discussed a lot but as far as official statements on it, there have not really been any. For sure, staff and dev team are well aware of the issues it is causing and from what I can gather, they agree that some aspects are unfair or have unfair effects.
My opinion: I believe it is the aim to correct these issues with the system but that they need to iron out the potential issues they would have with implementation. There are always people who try to get around the system for their own gain and many of the potential solutions for the cancellation issue would leave a workaround for people to exploit which would obviously be unfair on the honest ones. I think that once they get a solution they will implement it - that it is not a lack of wanting to do something about it.

When I asked support to cancel an order for me yesterday they sent this reply (my bolding):

Thank you for contacting us. If a buyer places an additional order by mistake we ask that sellers please use the mutual cancellation option to cancel that additional order. We understand that there are some cancellations which cannot be avoided and are no fault of the seller. Currently, your analytics will continue to reflect all cancellations and in the near future, this may be updated.

Fraudulent orders are determined by our Fraud and Risk Teams and are not subject to be altered by Customer Support. Additionally, they will remain in your analytics.

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This is a topic that has been discussed a lot but as far as official statements on it, there have not really been any. For sure, staff and dev team are well aware of the issues it is causing and from what I can gather, they agree that some aspects are unfair or have unfair effects.

My opinion: I believe it is the aim to correct these issues with the system but that they need to iron out the potential issues they would have with implementation. There are always people who try to get around the system for their own gain and many of the potential solutions for the cancellation issue would leave a workaround for people to exploit which would obviously be unfair on the honest ones. I think that once they get a solution they will implement it - that it is not a lack of wanting to do something about it.

When I asked support to cancel an order for me yesterday they sent this reply (my bolding):

Thank you for contacting us. If a buyer places an additional order by mistake we ask that sellers please use the mutual cancellation option to cancel that additional order. We understand that there are some cancellations which cannot be avoided and are no fault of the seller. Currently, your analytics will continue to reflect all cancellations and in the near future, this may be updated.

Fraudulent orders are determined by our Fraud and Risk Teams and are not subject to be altered by Customer Support. Additionally, they will remain in your analytics.

Currently, your analytics will continue to reflect all cancellations and in the near future, this may be updated.

I have received a message from CS (about 1 or 2 months ago) with nearly the same content.

They should hire a few freelancers to help them fix this issue!

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I’m sorry to write on a topic that I’m sure has already been discussed to death, but I haven’t seen anything regarding a specific statement given by Fiverr on the monthly leveling system.

There’s a lot to talk about, sure, but I want to focus on the cancellation percentage requirement.

This requirement is objectively flawed.

Within the last month, I’ve had to cancel somewhere around six orders, because they didn’t properly read my gig and pricing page. This isn’t even an issue for me, because I had many more orders throughout the month and my percentage is fine, but I want to talk about this because I don’t think it’s fair at all for other sellers to be put in this situation.

Sellers should not be penalized for buyers mistakes.

I suppose this was put in place to encourage sellers to find alternatives and solutions instead of just cancelling outright, but in the event where a buyer doesn’t want to pay my rate, what am I supposed to do?

A) Give in and deliver despite not being paid the proper amount. (Obviously a non-option).

B) Mutually cancel and take a hit to my statistics.

There aren’t any other options available to me.

Evaluating us based on response time, on-time deliveries, that all totally makes sense- it is within our control. But it is absolutely not up to me whether or not someone orders without thoroughly checking my page.

So, my question is: What is the justification? This is clearly and objectively unfair towards sellers.

Has Fiverr ever given a statement on this specific issue? Are there any moderators or admins that can shed light on this?

I would really like to see better support for sellers. I haven’t been very active on this forum in the past, but reading it quite a bit recently, I don’t get the impression that we have many people on the management end working on “our” side, and it’s upsetting to see that on a website whose sole appeal is the work done by freelancers who use it.

Thanks for reading.

I would really like to see better support for sellers. I haven’t been very active on this forum in the past, but reading it quite a bit recently, I don’t get the impression that we have many people on the management end working on “our” side,

Sadly, this does seem to be a prevailing feeling among many Fiverr sellers. Fiverr fear and mental fatigue are real issues which should not be taken lightly. For some people, it has become like every time you open your inbox, you should expect someone to launch a hand grenade at you.

Logically, all this can result in long-term is reduced productivity.

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I would really like to see better support for sellers. I haven’t been very active on this forum in the past, but reading it quite a bit recently, I don’t get the impression that we have many people on the management end working on “our” side,

Sadly, this does seem to be a prevailing feeling among many Fiverr sellers. Fiverr fear and mental fatigue are real issues which should not be taken lightly. For some people, it has become like every time you open your inbox, you should expect someone to launch a hand grenade at you.

Logically, all this can result in long-term is reduced productivity.

I’m sure overall rates of cancellations have decreased on fiverr so this current setup might be seen as something that is working well for fiverr. There is never going to be a way to absolutely prove the truth of why a particular order was cancelled. But letting it all fall onto the sellers’ shoulders solves the problem as far as making the total cancellation rate drop somewhat.

Logically, all this can result in long-term is reduced productivity.

Seller morale is a huge important factor in how productive sellers are and hopefully this is also a consideration.

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fiverr update order cancellation recording for 60 days. i mean after 60 days it will be normal as usual but cancellation impacts for 60 days in your gig

fiverr update order cancellation recording for 60 days.

I don’t think that it was a case of updating it to 60 days – cancellations have always affected sellers, and stuck with a seller over time. Rather, they just chose to make those metrics known so that sellers have goals to achieve, and know what needs to be met in order to gain promotions or avoid demotions.

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fiverr update order cancellation recording for 60 days. i mean after 60 days it will be normal as usual but cancellation impacts for 60 days in your gig

i mean after 60 days it will be normal

Not if you’ve lost 2 levels in those 60 days because of the (unfair) cancellations. 😉

It’s going to take me until May at the earliest to get back to where I was after first being demoted in February.

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i mean after 60 days it will be normal

Not if you’ve lost 2 levels in those 60 days because of the (unfair) cancellations. 😉

It’s going to take me until May at the earliest to get back to where I was after first being demoted in February.

the seller always get penalized even though don’t have any fault.so nothing to do and just have to work so carefully to avoid cancellation

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the seller always get penalized even though don’t have any fault.so nothing to do and just have to work so carefully to avoid cancellation

just have to work so carefully to avoid cancellation

Difficult to ‘work carefully’ on an order when it’s cancelled before work can start because it was ordered by mistake. 😉

I think you’re discussing how to avoid cancellations which are done when the buyer isn’t happy with what’s been delivered - I’m not. 🙂

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Your gig description needs to be crystal clear.

Let clients know that you won’t record more than 100 words if that’s your max number. I would also consider doing gig packages. Right now anyone can change 100 to 1,000 or 10,000.

If your limit is 100 words, try this.

Basic (Package): 20 words
Standard: 50 words
Premium: 100 words

A 60" radio commercial can have 142 words
30" can be 86

It also depends on the speed of the read. I’m telling you this because to be competitive, you might have to read more words. You could try this:

Basic: 100 words
Standard: 200 words
Premium: 300 words

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Your gig description needs to be crystal clear.

Let clients know that you won’t record more than 100 words if that’s your max number. I would also consider doing gig packages. Right now anyone can change 100 to 1,000 or 10,000.

If your limit is 100 words, try this.

Basic (Package): 20 words

Standard: 50 words

Premium: 100 words

A 60" radio commercial can have 142 words

30" can be 86

It also depends on the speed of the read. I’m telling you this because to be competitive, you might have to read more words. You could try this:

Basic: 100 words

Standard: 200 words

Premium: 300 words

Thank you for the suggestion. My problem isn’t actually with my rate of words, but commercial use fee. I’ve written about it in the main description and put it on my FAQ’s list, but you’re right- I need to be clear. I’ll have to look into changing it to make it even more visible.

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This is a topic that has been discussed a lot but as far as official statements on it, there have not really been any. For sure, staff and dev team are well aware of the issues it is causing and from what I can gather, they agree that some aspects are unfair or have unfair effects.

My opinion: I believe it is the aim to correct these issues with the system but that they need to iron out the potential issues they would have with implementation. There are always people who try to get around the system for their own gain and many of the potential solutions for the cancellation issue would leave a workaround for people to exploit which would obviously be unfair on the honest ones. I think that once they get a solution they will implement it - that it is not a lack of wanting to do something about it.

When I asked support to cancel an order for me yesterday they sent this reply (my bolding):

Thank you for contacting us. If a buyer places an additional order by mistake we ask that sellers please use the mutual cancellation option to cancel that additional order. We understand that there are some cancellations which cannot be avoided and are no fault of the seller. Currently, your analytics will continue to reflect all cancellations and in the near future, this may be updated.

Fraudulent orders are determined by our Fraud and Risk Teams and are not subject to be altered by Customer Support. Additionally, they will remain in your analytics.

Well, I’m glad to know that the staff and dev team are aware of it, and that alternatives are being looked into. Thank you for the information!

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I wish Fiverr would get rid of this monthly evaluation stuff ALL TOGETHER. It has been 3 months that I have been able to sell only 7 gigs. PROFITS CUT IN HALF!!! It is driving me NUTS.
It is IMPOSSIBLE to avoid cancellation - I have had 4 customers alone in the past week tell me to cancel their order because they “change their mind” or “scared” HOW COULD I AVOID THIS? IT IS IMPOSSIBLE.

I’ve been SO angry over this whole thing. Why does Fiverr have to make selling so complicated?

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Thank you for the suggestion. My problem isn’t actually with my rate of words, but commercial use fee. I’ve written about it in the main description and put it on my FAQ’s list, but you’re right- I need to be clear. I’ll have to look into changing it to make it even more visible.

You have an interesting situation.

Suppose you charge $5 for a VO and $20 for commercial use. What happens if a client pays the $5 but then refuses the $20 gig extra? Will you cancel? That hurts you.

Why not just charge $25, $10, or whatever amount you think includes commercial use?

I honestly don’t know why sellers bother with the commercial use distinction.

99.99% of my clients order my gigs for commercial use, I don’t charge them extra. My prices are based on my needs and market needs. If I started charging $10 or $20 extra for commercial use, my clients would get angry and end up hiring someone else.

Besides, when is a voice over not for commercial use?

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You have an interesting situation.

Suppose you charge $5 for a VO and $20 for commercial use. What happens if a client pays the $5 but then refuses the $20 gig extra? Will you cancel? That hurts you.

Why not just charge $25, $10, or whatever amount you think includes commercial use?

I honestly don’t know why sellers bother with the commercial use distinction.

99.99% of my clients order my gigs for commercial use, I don’t charge them extra. My prices are based on my needs and market needs. If I started charging $10 or $20 extra for commercial use, my clients would get angry and end up hiring someone else.

Besides, when is a voice over not for commercial use?

I honestly don’t know why sellers bother with the commercial use distinction.

I think fiverr makes them do it.

Also, it is probably to get VO artists to charge more then just $5.

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You have an interesting situation.

Suppose you charge $5 for a VO and $20 for commercial use. What happens if a client pays the $5 but then refuses the $20 gig extra? Will you cancel? That hurts you.

Why not just charge $25, $10, or whatever amount you think includes commercial use?

I honestly don’t know why sellers bother with the commercial use distinction.

99.99% of my clients order my gigs for commercial use, I don’t charge them extra. My prices are based on my needs and market needs. If I started charging $10 or $20 extra for commercial use, my clients would get angry and end up hiring someone else.

Besides, when is a voice over not for commercial use?

Besides, when is a voice over not for commercial use?

One key difference rests with the fact that there is a big difference between an individual using a voice over to promote their business and a reseller ordering repeat voiceovers to sell on as their own for a higher markup.

I recently ordered a voiceover from a Fiverr seller and paid for commercial rights due to the fact that I intend to use this to promote my own services in several different contexts. Commercial licensing is the norm in most media creation contexts. Not offering this can, therefore, make artists look amateurish, while simultaneously undermining the real value of their work.

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You have an interesting situation.

Suppose you charge $5 for a VO and $20 for commercial use. What happens if a client pays the $5 but then refuses the $20 gig extra? Will you cancel? That hurts you.

Why not just charge $25, $10, or whatever amount you think includes commercial use?

I honestly don’t know why sellers bother with the commercial use distinction.

99.99% of my clients order my gigs for commercial use, I don’t charge them extra. My prices are based on my needs and market needs. If I started charging $10 or $20 extra for commercial use, my clients would get angry and end up hiring someone else.

Besides, when is a voice over not for commercial use?

Eh, I could change up my pricing model (and I plan to do so soon), but I like to think that this keeps things simple.

Not every project falls under commercial use- just the ones that will be used for a business. Personal projects, creative/artistic things, those orders wouldn’t need the commercial use extra.

It allows for more selective pricing, as opposed to just blanket-raising my prices and affecting all sellers- business or not.

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just have to work so carefully to avoid cancellation

Difficult to ‘work carefully’ on an order when it’s cancelled before work can start because it was ordered by mistake. 😉

I think you’re discussing how to avoid cancellations which are done when the buyer isn’t happy with what’s been delivered - I’m not. 🙂

Wouldn’t a “do you accept to work on this order” button not solve A LOT of issues?

After receiving an order, you have 12 or 24 hours to accept the order as a seller.

If not, you have to give a valid reason why not eg;

  • buyer ordered by mistake
  • buyer did not read gig description

These reasons should not work against your, but maybe if you don’t accept a lot of orders some other consequences can follow (maybe someone from CS contacts you to ask why there are so many orders you can’t work on, and helps you with an improvement plan for your Gig).

Everything to improve the experience for Sellers, Buyers, and help Fiverr to make more $$$.

After the initial 24 hours passed you automatically accept the order, if not then you cancel but it will count against you.

Please let me know the disadvantages of such a system!

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Wouldn’t a “do you accept to work on this order” button not solve A LOT of issues?

After receiving an order, you have 12 or 24 hours to accept the order as a seller.

If not, you have to give a valid reason why not eg;

  • buyer ordered by mistake
  • buyer did not read gig description

These reasons should not work against your, but maybe if you don’t accept a lot of orders some other consequences can follow (maybe someone from CS contacts you to ask why there are so many orders you can’t work on, and helps you with an improvement plan for your Gig).

Everything to improve the experience for Sellers, Buyers, and help Fiverr to make more $$$.

After the initial 24 hours passed you automatically accept the order, if not then you cancel but it will count against you.

Please let me know the disadvantages of such a system!

Please let me know the disadvantages of such a system!

If not, you have to give a valid reason why not eg;

The issue with this, like so many other annoying things that affect good sellers, is that it would be abused by the unscrupulous sellers or else the monitoring of cancellations would have to skyrocket, meaning more CS people, meaning increased costs.

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Please let me know the disadvantages of such a system!

If not, you have to give a valid reason why not eg;

The issue with this, like so many other annoying things that affect good sellers, is that it would be abused by the unscrupulous sellers or else the monitoring of cancellations would have to skyrocket, meaning more CS people, meaning increased costs.

But how could this be abused?

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But how could this be abused?

Well straight off, there is the people who would cancel orders because they “don’t feel like doing it” that day. If they can do so without consequence by lying then be sure that it will happen. That would drive me nuts as a buyer.

To be fair to everyone, it would need to be 24 hours to accept or reject. So for short orders, people could do their rubbish work/plagiarized writing/copied logo/non-existent SEO work etc, send it to the client, and if the client spots the issue, then the seller can just cancel without consequence.

Fiverr has been working hard to reduce the number of cancellations so I cant see this option happening any time soon.

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Well straight off, there is the people who would cancel orders because they “don’t feel like doing it” that day. If they can do so without consequence by lying then be sure that it will happen. That would drive me nuts as a buyer.

To be fair to everyone, it would need to be 24 hours to accept or reject. So for short orders, people could do their rubbish work/plagiarized writing/copied logo/non-existent SEO work etc, send it to the client, and if the client spots the issue, then the seller can just cancel without consequence.

Fiverr has been working hard to reduce the number of cancellations so I cant see this option happening any time soon.

Yes, fair point.

BUT: isn’t the idea of Fiverr that we all want to work?

Maybe I am naive, but I don’t think we have to be protected against people who just don’t feel like doing a job. Being protected against abusive buyers or buyers who place orders without reading the gig is much more important than buyers receiving a refund from a lazy seller.

Then again, with this system, it should not be possible to deliver any order before the order is accepted. So there is no delivery button because you can obviously only deliver once the order is accepted. If you choose to deliver 💩 then you face the consequences: bad review or order cancelation by the buyer.

edit: also; the clock will just start ticking from the moment the order is placed. Not from the moment you accept the order. You just have a 24 hour grace period to accept the order as it is as a seller.

Or maybe you can decide as a seller that you don’t want to use this feature and just turn it off. Just thinking out loud here.

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