I´m a buyer and i´m not amused

[fo_to_bi]

I’m still new to Fiverr and have bought two gigs so far. I was very happy with the result and the people were super nice. But now I have found out that the sellers have to give up 20% of their income and I pay another 5% “service fee” At 100 that is 80 for the seller and 25 $ !!! for Fiverr. In my opinion this is absolutely unfair. I thought my “service fee” is the payment for the platform for the brokerage. And that felt very fair to me. But now I feel bad because I let people work for me at an extremely cheap price and now these people don’t even get all of that little money … And what I was really shocked about is that this 80/20 rule also applies to tips … I know people would abuse the system if there was no commission on the tip. I know: without Fiverr there is no money to earn, but 20% is a lot.
Do you feel treated fairly as a seller?

As a buyer, I think it’s strange to have to pay twice for the gig.
Fiverr begs for feedback for the sellers after every gig I thought I would give feedback for Fiverr 😉

[eliiclaire]

As a seller, I feel pretty frustrated about it too, which is why I’m using Fiverr more for experience/extra money while using other freelance platforms.

[kometbeats]

I’m still new to Fiverr and have bought two gigs so far. I was very happy with the result and the people were super nice. But now I have found out that the sellers have to give up 20% of their income and I pay another 5% “service fee” At 100 that is 80 for the seller and 25 $ !!! for Fiverr. In my opinion this is absolutely unfair. I thought my “service fee” is the payment for the platform for the brokerage. And that felt very fair to me. But now I feel bad because I let people work for me at an extremely cheap price and now these people don’t even get all of that little money … And what I was really shocked about is that this 80/20 rule also applies to tips … I know people would abuse the system if there was no commission on the tip. I know: without Fiverr there is no money to earn, but 20% is a lot.

Do you feel treated fairly as a seller?

As a buyer, I think it’s strange to have to pay twice for the gig.

Fiverr begs for feedback for the sellers after every gig I thought I would give feedback for Fiverr 😉

Do you feel treated fairly as a seller?

Considering you don’t have to apply for anything or do any promotion and just focus on what you do, yes. Do I think it’s slightly excessive? Of course. But would I rather have to hunt for these opportunities? Noooo way.

[vickiespencer]

As a seller, I am thankful for the opportunity to have a platform to sell my work. 20% is waaaaay more cost-effective than renting a storefront, paying utilities, and needing to be in the store 8 hours a day.

[looseink]

As a Seller (and sometimes Buyer) I far prefer the Fiverr fees tacked onto my sales than, for example, having to pay either a monthly or annual Membership.

The way I see it, it is worth the 20%+ as I have access to a platform I can use freely (within the confines of the Fiverr ToS).

There was a different freelance platform I used for a number of years where there was also a 20% fee that went to the website owners/operators.

I see it as a commission to cover the costs of me doing business here.

Fiverr can’t run their business for free.

Even though it is now a publicly-traded company, the business model would collapse and shareholders would dump the stock if the company did not earn something off of the people who use the service most - Buyers like you and Sellers like me.

It’s cool that you find the fees unfair, but as a former business owner in the Media Industry, I find nothing wrong with it whatsoever.

Plus, as a Buyer, you have the option to provide a Tip to Sellers you were very impressed with.

And although Fiverr gets a piece of that as well, I can assure you that Sellers appreciate the gesture of being tipped far more than the value of that Tip.

[meldawn9]

I can understand your frustration, but I’ve earned a fair income on this site, whereas the other sites without service fees or low fees have earned me little. So, I’d rather pay the fees and actually get work than have nothing at all.

[ibru4un]

There are lots of people involved in this website. Salary+ other how to manage? thats why they are charging from sellers, otherwise they have to close.

[webgaragepro]

As a Seller, No worries. Fiverr promotes me for getting tip. If the client give tips than the gig must be improved ranking and get more clients. I hope you understand. 🙂

[teachernita]

Fiverr is a business. They need to make money! I think there must be payment for using their site. If people are charging way too little, that is not my fault or yours, but the sellers fault. I work that 20% into my pricing!

[rezaul_karim_bd]

I am frustrated too. I think it should be 10%. Because every seller has to complete for a single job. So many time we needs to work in lower price than the works level. But from this small amount of money we needs to pay 20%. This is a sad moment for every seller. But fiverr is doing great for us. So we are also thankful on Fiverr.
Thanks for sharing your opinion here❤

[fo_to_bi]

Thank you for your answers. I am particularly convinced by the argument that you don’t have to do a lot of self promoting to get work. And I also see that many of you sellers think that you have no choice but to accept the conditions. But still it cannot be denied that so much money is being made on the platform side, but hey, this is how capitalism works 😉