Bad experience with sellers

[olejesperoliver]

I have been using Fiverr for services multiple times during the last 3-4 years.

Just recently I needed a trailer for a project of mine, and I reached out to a couple of people who advertised that they are “Professional trailer makers”.

I paid $20 for a trailer and gave very clear instructions as to exactly how I wanted the trailer, including any trailer texts I wanted.

The seller proceeded to give me a product with the clips all over the place (not fitting the texts), the texts I provided now had ugly white backgrounds (they had transparent backgrounds previously) and the actual text was pixelated and low quality (it wasn’t like that previously). In addition to that there were split second frames here and there (just tiny clips that hasn’t been edited away, but that obviously aren’t meant to be in the video). I sent the video through 3 revisions where I gave extremely detailed explanations of how I wanted it, but the seller didn’t listen to my instructions and kept delivering a subpar product. I ended up asking for a cancellation because the seller clearly wasn’t able to make a viable product.

I ended up buying a trailer from another seller at a $10 jump in price (so I paid $30 for the new trailer), and I am seeing the SAME basic mistakes like split second frames, poorly cut video, clips fades out after 1 second and then fades back in and stuff like that. I am not talking about things that are a matter of preference, I am talking about actual mistakes and video editing errors that shouldn’t have happened if any of these sellers checked their own product before delivering it or had any actual QA process…

So far my experience with people who make trailers and video editing is extremely poor, and I have been left with a bitter taste in my mouth after having spent over a week trying to explain to allegedly “professionals” that they have to remove split second frames and poorly cut footage. They all seem to use some sub-par video editing software where all they have are different templates. I can understand if it cost me $5, but the last one was a $30 gig, I should never have received a product of the quality I did. I will never use Fiverr for any future video editing jobs again.

[mariashtelle1]

I have been using Fiverr for services multiple times during the last 3-4 years.

Just recently I needed a trailer for a project of mine, and I reached out to a couple of people who advertised that they are “Professional trailer makers”.

I paid $20 for a trailer and gave very clear instructions as to exactly how I wanted the trailer, including any trailer texts I wanted.

The seller proceeded to give me a product with the clips all over the place (not fitting the texts), the texts I provided now had ugly white backgrounds (they had transparent backgrounds previously) and the actual text was pixelated and low quality (it wasn’t like that previously). In addition to that there were split second frames here and there (just tiny clips that hasn’t been edited away, but that obviously aren’t meant to be in the video). I sent the video through 3 revisions where I gave extremely detailed explanations of how I wanted it, but the seller didn’t listen to my instructions and kept delivering a subpar product. I ended up asking for a cancellation because the seller clearly wasn’t able to make a viable product.

I ended up buying a trailer from another seller at a $10 jump in price (so I paid $30 for the new trailer), and I am seeing the SAME basic mistakes like split second frames, poorly cut video, clips fades out after 1 second and then fades back in and stuff like that. I am not talking about things that are a matter of preference, I am talking about actual mistakes and video editing errors that shouldn’t have happened if any of these sellers checked their own product before delivering it or had any actual QA process…

So far my experience with people who make trailers and video editing is extremely poor, and I have been left with a bitter taste in my mouth after having spent over a week trying to explain to allegedly “professionals” that they have to remove split second frames and poorly cut footage. They all seem to use some sub-par video editing software where all they have are different templates. I can understand if it cost me $5, but the last one was a $30 gig, I should never have received a product of the quality I did. I will never use Fiverr for any future video editing jobs again.

I can understand if it cost me $5, but the last one was a $30 gig

I’m sorry for your bad experience with sellers.

However 30$ for video editing is not even a market price.

I know that fiverr makes you feel that for 5-50$ you can get the moon and the stars but it’s not in reality.

Video editing is already a tough category to find talented professional people and those for sure change way more than 30$. (And by way more I mean 10 times more at least).

I’m also sure there are talented people who put their prices as low as 30$ but are you ready to spend your time with trial and error trying to find those people among amateurs that are offering their services at low 30$? Looking for them is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

[olejesperoliver]

I can understand if it cost me $5, but the last one was a $30 gig

I’m sorry for your bad experience with sellers.

However 30$ for video editing is not even a market price.

I know that fiverr makes you feel that for 5-50$ you can get the moon and the stars but it’s not in reality.

Video editing is already a tough category to find talented professional people and those for sure change way more than 30$. (And by way more I mean 10 times more at least).

I’m also sure there are talented people who put their prices as low as 30$ but are you ready to spend your time with trial and error trying to find those people among amateurs that are offering their services at low 30$? Looking for them is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

That’s all well and good, and I realize that I get what I pay for. However, I still expect the product to be without basic errors. No matter the price there shouldn’t be any mistakes, and I shouldn’t have to ask people to correct the same mistakes twice.

I don’t require top notch editing, I just want a product that is working. If you buy a plastic cup from a shop you don’t expect it to look nice and have the best quality, but you DO expect it to at least not leak. The same way I expect the trailer I paid for to not be faulty.

[psykkopatte]

Being video editor myself, I agree it is quite bad, problem in fiverr is that anyone can pretend to be professional to attract people.

[gogugmg]

@olejesperoliver
Have you contacted the seller before to explain what you want and possibly make a price for what you want?
Many sellers use various templates for texts and transitions in the trailer gigs, in the gig gallery you can see repetitions of styles.
If you have your own idea different from the presentation or what you saw in the seller’s gallery, you should have contacted him before.
I don’t know what kind of trailer you ordered, but there are also very talented sellers who can fulfill any wish, but for that, there is a different price.

[olejesperoliver]

@olejesperoliver

Have you contacted the seller before to explain what you want and possibly make a price for what you want?

Many sellers use various templates for texts and transitions in the trailer gigs, in the gig gallery you can see repetitions of styles.

If you have your own idea different from the presentation or what you saw in the seller’s gallery, you should have contacted him before.

I don’t know what kind of trailer you ordered, but there are also very talented sellers who can fulfill any wish, but for that, there is a different price.

I did indeed contact them both, and gave them clear instructions (and all relevant source material) before placing an order. Both of them seemed happy to take my order, and raised no concerns regarding the material I provided.

[gogugmg]

I did indeed contact them both, and gave them clear instructions (and all relevant source material) before placing an order. Both of them seemed happy to take my order, and raised no concerns regarding the material I provided.

@olejesperoliver It means you had a bad experience with both of them.

[andrewcarpen756]

Sorry to hear this experience but do not let that reflect badly on other creators on the Fiverr platform, the talent here is exceptional. @mariashtelle1 made a great point about the going rate, you most probably hired someone that is not actually skilled in that arena but knows how to use the basics of the software. I have not seen the video but they did deliver a video, the quality is another discussion. The licence for Adobe Premier Pro (fairly industry standard editing programme) is around is $20-30 per month, hopefully that puts into perspective. The famous saying always come to mind “you buy cheap, you buy twice”. Mistakes should definitely not happen but it is possible that these are not mistakes in their eyes as they are not trained in this industry but just looking to make some money (especially in the poorer regions of the world). Cheers.

[uk1000]

I have been using Fiverr for services multiple times during the last 3-4 years.

Just recently I needed a trailer for a project of mine, and I reached out to a couple of people who advertised that they are “Professional trailer makers”.

I paid $20 for a trailer and gave very clear instructions as to exactly how I wanted the trailer, including any trailer texts I wanted.

The seller proceeded to give me a product with the clips all over the place (not fitting the texts), the texts I provided now had ugly white backgrounds (they had transparent backgrounds previously) and the actual text was pixelated and low quality (it wasn’t like that previously). In addition to that there were split second frames here and there (just tiny clips that hasn’t been edited away, but that obviously aren’t meant to be in the video). I sent the video through 3 revisions where I gave extremely detailed explanations of how I wanted it, but the seller didn’t listen to my instructions and kept delivering a subpar product. I ended up asking for a cancellation because the seller clearly wasn’t able to make a viable product.

I ended up buying a trailer from another seller at a $10 jump in price (so I paid $30 for the new trailer), and I am seeing the SAME basic mistakes like split second frames, poorly cut video, clips fades out after 1 second and then fades back in and stuff like that. I am not talking about things that are a matter of preference, I am talking about actual mistakes and video editing errors that shouldn’t have happened if any of these sellers checked their own product before delivering it or had any actual QA process…

So far my experience with people who make trailers and video editing is extremely poor, and I have been left with a bitter taste in my mouth after having spent over a week trying to explain to allegedly “professionals” that they have to remove split second frames and poorly cut footage. They all seem to use some sub-par video editing software where all they have are different templates. I can understand if it cost me $5, but the last one was a $30 gig, I should never have received a product of the quality I did. I will never use Fiverr for any future video editing jobs again.

the texts I provided now had ugly white backgrounds (they had transparent backgrounds previously) and the actual text was pixelated and low quality (it wasn’t like that previously)

Had you downloaded the video file they attached and was it the right resolution/full resolution or were you viewing Fiverr’s preview? The preview is 720p at most and if it’s shown in the smaller box it’s possible that might show aliasing when the full resolution video doesn’t. Maybe you could specify to the sellers what background(s)/background colours you wanted them to use for it.

[olejesperoliver]

Sorry to hear this experience but do not let that reflect badly on other creators on the Fiverr platform, the talent here is exceptional. @mariashtelle1 made a great point about the going rate, you most probably hired someone that is not actually skilled in that arena but knows how to use the basics of the software. I have not seen the video but they did deliver a video, the quality is another discussion. The licence for Adobe Premier Pro (fairly industry standard editing programme) is around is $20-30 per month, hopefully that puts into perspective. The famous saying always come to mind “you buy cheap, you buy twice”. Mistakes should definitely not happen but it is possible that these are not mistakes in their eyes as they are not trained in this industry but just looking to make some money (especially in the poorer regions of the world). Cheers.

As I also explained to @mariashtelle1 I share the same sentiment of “you get what you pay for”, but the things I got delivered were technical mistakes (again, not just my “opinion”, we’re talking about actual mistakes).

When I buy a product I do expect the product to not have any faults. I don’t care what price range I pay for that product, if it is advertised as a viable product I won’t accept getting something broken in return.

The fact that they “delivered a video” is besides the point. Using my plastic cup argument again, imagine you go to a shop and buy a plastic cup. Surely you don’t expect the cup to be a work of art, but rather only to serve its purpose as a cup. If you buy that cup in good faith, but later come to realize that the cup is leaking from the bottom I’m pretty sure you would also find that unacceptable, and not according to the purpose of the cup. Let’s say you go back to the store to change the cup, and the cashier tells you “but you did get a cup!”. I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t be too happy.

Bottom line is that, I get it, people want to make money but if they advertise themselves as possessing skills they don’t actually have then they’re ruining for themselves. If they want to sell a service or product they should at least make sure they are able to make something worth the money they’re paid.

[olejesperoliver]

the texts I provided now had ugly white backgrounds (they had transparent backgrounds previously) and the actual text was pixelated and low quality (it wasn’t like that previously)

Had you downloaded the video file they attached and was it the right resolution/full resolution or were you viewing Fiverr’s preview? The preview is 720p at most and if it’s shown in the smaller box it’s possible that might show aliasing when the full resolution video doesn’t. Maybe you could specify to the sellers what background(s)/background colours you wanted them to use for it.

Well yes. The video was the agreed resolution, but that was never the problem.

The actual texts I provided were provided in gif and png format with transparent backgrounds. They were later converted by the seller to a format that doesn’t support alpha channels, and used as they were after conversion with no further modifications.

I shouldn’t have to specify that I want to retain the transparent background, that’s a no-brainer.

[uk1000]

Well yes. The video was the agreed resolution, but that was never the problem.

The actual texts I provided were provided in gif and png format with transparent backgrounds. They were later converted by the seller to a format that doesn’t support alpha channels, and used as they were after conversion with no further modifications.

I shouldn’t have to specify that I want to retain the transparent background, that’s a no-brainer.

I shouldn’t have to specify that I want to retain the transparent background, that’s a no-brainer.

I think it would have helped if you let the editor know, since they probably didn’t know otherwise. mp4 doesn’t support alpha channels and if it’s a trailer they don’t normally support alpha channels. eg. I don’t think you can upload a video to youtube in a format that supports transparency.

The actual texts I provided were provided in gif and png format with transparent backgrounds.

The gifs might have been a problem, since they only support 256 colours, 1 of which is used for any transparent colour so it might not have been antialised well on other backgrounds. Though if you sent them with high enough res (eg. higher res than they would be used to allow for better anti-aliasing?) maybe it would have been okay.

[andrewcarpen756]

As I also explained to @mariashtelle1 I share the same sentiment of “you get what you pay for”, but the things I got delivered were technical mistakes (again, not just my “opinion”, we’re talking about actual mistakes).

When I buy a product I do expect the product to not have any faults. I don’t care what price range I pay for that product, if it is advertised as a viable product I won’t accept getting something broken in return.

The fact that they “delivered a video” is besides the point. Using my plastic cup argument again, imagine you go to a shop and buy a plastic cup. Surely you don’t expect the cup to be a work of art, but rather only to serve its purpose as a cup. If you buy that cup in good faith, but later come to realize that the cup is leaking from the bottom I’m pretty sure you would also find that unacceptable, and not according to the purpose of the cup. Let’s say you go back to the store to change the cup, and the cashier tells you “but you did get a cup!”. I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t be too happy.

Bottom line is that, I get it, people want to make money but if they advertise themselves as possessing skills they don’t actually have then they’re ruining for themselves. If they want to sell a service or product they should at least make sure they are able to make something worth the money they’re paid.

The expensive cup and the cheap cup are both typically made by the same manufacturer. The issue here is you have picked a poor / extremely unreliable manufacturer to create your product. You are not buying from a shop, you are buying from the creator and thus the mistakes/poor quality issue have occurred. There is no excuse for this but this is typically the reason why.

[olejesperoliver]

I shouldn’t have to specify that I want to retain the transparent background, that’s a no-brainer.

I think it would have helped if you let the editor know, since they probably didn’t know otherwise. mp4 doesn’t support alpha channels and if it’s a trailer they don’t normally support alpha channels. eg. I don’t think you can upload a video to youtube in a format that supports transparency.

The actual texts I provided were provided in gif and png format with transparent backgrounds.

The gifs might have been a problem, since they only support 256 colours, 1 of which is used for any transparent colour so it might not have been antialised well on other backgrounds. Though if you sent them with high enough res (eg. higher res than they would be used to allow for better anti-aliasing?) maybe it would have been okay.

I ended up having to make a background for him in the same color as the background used in the video. If I hadn’t I am quite sure the seller would be unable to figure out how to do it himself.

Also .mov video files supports alpha channels, so there are ways to do it quite easily if he knew half of what he should know as a “professional” video editor.

[olejesperoliver]

The expensive cup and the cheap cup are both typically made by the same manufacturer. The issue here is you have picked a poor / extremely unreliable manufacturer to create your product. You are not buying from a shop, you are buying from the creator and thus the mistakes/poor quality issue have occurred. There is no excuse for this but this is typically the reason why.

I’m not sure how unreliable they are really (counting by reputation only), since they have mostly good ratings (to my big surprise). Worst thing is that all the videos on their portfolio and so on seems fine, and I’d be happy to receive a product that looked even remotely as good as the videos in their portfolio.

[uk1000]

I ended up having to make a background for him in the same color as the background used in the video. If I hadn’t I am quite sure the seller would be unable to figure out how to do it himself.

Also .mov video files supports alpha channels, so there are ways to do it quite easily if he knew half of what he should know as a “professional” video editor.

Also .mov video files supports alpha channels, so there are ways to do it quite easily if he knew half of what he should know as a “professional” video editor.

I agree but still letting the seller know you needed it in a format with an alpha channel was what you wanted would have been best so they knew. I assume they thought it was meant for display on a website in the delivery format, but I don’t think websites can make the .mov’s with an alpha channel transparent, or at least not normally. Are there any sites that display video from .movs with the alpha channel being transparent when shown on the website?

[strategist_ceo]

I provided quality services for my first few gigs for the reviews at a really low price. I won’t comment about the market price.

The idea of communication is important. You inbox the seller, was the communication flow good? Was there any misunderstanding… did you have to clarify anything… did the seller understand you or just nodding his head, as you continue gibbering?

If the first impression is good communication, you didn’t need to further explain the same point repeatedly. If the problem is with the seller if you didn’t let that be a component in your decision-making process… There’s no one else to blame.

[olejesperoliver]

Also .mov video files supports alpha channels, so there are ways to do it quite easily if he knew half of what he should know as a “professional” video editor.

I agree but still letting the seller know you needed it in a format with an alpha channel was what you wanted would have been best so they knew. I assume they thought it was meant for display on a website in the delivery format, but I don’t think websites can make the .mov’s with an alpha channel transparent, or at least not normally. Are there any sites that display video from .movs with the alpha channel being transparent when shown on the website?

Well the .mov files are just supposed to be merged with other video clips anyway, so where I use the final product shouldn’t matter.

Had it been me, and I see that I won’t be able to support material brought to me by a client I inform the client, and asked how they wished to proceed from there instead of making something that looks different from the material given to me.

[olejesperoliver]

I provided quality services for my first few gigs for the reviews at a really low price. I won’t comment about the market price.

The idea of communication is important. You inbox the seller, was the communication flow good? Was there any misunderstanding… did you have to clarify anything… did the seller understand you or just nodding his head, as you continue gibbering?

If the first impression is good communication, you didn’t need to further explain the same point repeatedly. If the problem is with the seller if you didn’t let that be a component in your decision-making process… There’s no one else to blame.

I did contact them before I made a purchase, and the communication seemed good enough. However after having placed the order I realized there’s a language barrier. I did notice that the seller often pretended to understand what I meant, when that wasn’t the case in reality.

I tried keeping my explanations really simple, but it didn’t work out at all. I had to cancel that one. I’m still in revisions with the second seller, so hopefully that one turns out alright.

[olejesperoliver]

I got my trailer back after the second revision from the second seller, and you really can’t make this shit up.

I ordered a 120 second long trailer and the first delivery I got was a 1m 37s long video. Obviously I sent it to revision and asked to get what i ordered (120 seconds). The next video I receive is 1m 20s… I mean come on, what even is that…

[benedictrm]

Hi,

I am sorry to hear of you frustrations.

I make Lyric Videos (no Gig on Fiverr) and I have to say anything less than $50 is just asking for trouble for both buyer & seller. The one I am rendering right now has taken about 2 days seeing there is so much editing. $50 for that is crazy - lucky he is a personal friend and his vid will look good in my Portfolio.

Spend more to get professional results. People shouldn’t offer Pro and deliver garbage but they do. As you can see, under a certain point, a thing is not worth doing so the (bad) seller does a slovenly job rather than be honorable. It is very wrong but you have a part in that if you buy at too low a price as you are choosing to cut corners. Sadly many garbage merchants use stolen portfolio which does make them harder to spot.

🙂

[olejesperoliver]

Hi,

I am sorry to hear of you frustrations.

I make Lyric Videos (no Gig on Fiverr) and I have to say anything less than $50 is just asking for trouble for both buyer & seller. The one I am rendering right now has taken about 2 days seeing there is so much editing. $50 for that is crazy - lucky he is a personal friend and his vid will look good in my Portfolio.

Spend more to get professional results. People shouldn’t offer Pro and deliver garbage but they do. As you can see, under a certain point, a thing is not worth doing so the (bad) seller does a slovenly job rather than be honorable. It is very wrong but you have a part in that if you buy at too low a price as you are choosing to cut corners. Sadly many garbage merchants use stolen portfolio which does make them harder to spot.

🙂

Spend more to get professional results.

Well I’m not really after professional results, I just want a viable product. If I pay for 120 seconds I shouldn’t get a 1m 20s video, no matter the price range. I do not have a part in that at all, it is 100% the sellers responsibility to deliver what is advertised.

[benedictrm]

Spend more to get professional results.

Well I’m not really after professional results, I just want a viable product. If I pay for 120 seconds I shouldn’t get a 1m 20s video, no matter the price range. I do not have a part in that at all, it is 100% the sellers responsibility to deliver what is advertised.

Let me put it this way,

Would you buy a $200,000 Ferrari for $20 and expect it to be as good as a real Ferrari? I assume not.

Would you buy a $20,000 Toyota for $20 and expect it to be as good as a real Toyota? I assume not.

Would you buy a $200 used Hyundai and expect it to be as good as a new $10,000 Cherry? I assume not.

The thing is that while it is nice to assume that all things will be ‘fit for purpose’ there is a certain point below which it ceases to be rational to assume that. It is easy to say, oh but they said it would be, but that is like trying to sue a shark that bit you whilst eating a bloody steak in the pacific ocean at dusk. You put yourself in a place where bad things happen - and they did.

While I would like to punish the sellers who do this, it is beyond my control. Apparently beyond even Fiverr’s control so better to change the environment that supports these scavengers by removing the assumption that they were ever anything but too good to be true. This is the same logic used in new shark control methods: make the area unpleasant for sharks so they stay away and don’t accidentally chew on tourists silly enough to be there at that time of day (the make signs for people too but there is always one…).

If no one buys from them, these people change or go away. We all win - even the improved seller.

So, if they have proven they cannot do the job, stop wasting time, cancel and hire someone who is suited to your needs for a price that will ensure they are engaged.

🙂

[looseink]

Sorry, but it sounds like you got your money’s worth.

Sadly, you have experienced something that seems to be the recent trend here…sellers who lack the skills they claim to have.

The saddest thing is, your experience with just two Sellers has tainted your view of the other 2.5 million freelancers who rely on Fiverr to put food on their table.

[uk1000]

Spend more to get professional results.

Well I’m not really after professional results, I just want a viable product. If I pay for 120 seconds I shouldn’t get a 1m 20s video, no matter the price range. I do not have a part in that at all, it is 100% the sellers responsibility to deliver what is advertised.

I agree it’s bad from the seller. I assume there’s a miscommunication issue, him thinking when you say 120 secs that you mean 1 min 20 (unless he’s having trouble giving 2 mins because of the file sizes if it’s something like ProRes 422 HQ with an alpha channel - maybe he normally sends in mp4 H264 format which is normally a lot smaller). Just ask for another free revision and it might be okay. Maybe saying “120 secs (ie. 2 mins)” might help but shouldn’t be needed.

If they give the right one after that at least you will have got what you asked for for the price specified (instead of needing to go with a much more expensive seller).