Is WhatsApp required to communicate with potential customers?

[hotpolo]

9 hours ago, aronpacino said:

Okay, update. I haven't really received any orders on Fiverr since I joined. I'm afraid that I won't be earning anything any time soon because people are always asking for WhatsApp. Are you all sure about that? This makes me worried. 

The exact same thing happened to me. I went to buyer request and found many of them saying “I need translators…” and so I sent them an offer. Two of them messaged me saying that they were interested in my offer, but told me to contact them via WhatsApp. This though is against Fiverr’s TOS. What should I do?

[christ1nakl]

I think we should not communicate with buyers out of fiverr, because our messages and deals will be not under the control of Fiverr. And we will just do our work without payment. 

[aronpacino]

I've read in the TOS that the seller should have the capability of reducing damages (very non-verbatim) or compensate for the damages done to the buyer. That's why I really don't think it's a scam. But you to be the judge.

 

Recently, I've been offered a translation job, but it requires me to pay some refundable insurance fee. The thing is, I haven't earned anything yet because before this person, everyone is wanting me to communicate with them via WhatsApp, so I literally had ZERO orders done since I joined because I either decline them, or I get declined because of the lack of WhatsApp. That said, I don't have the capabilities to pay the insurance.

 

They said that it's their company's policies, to make sure that I don't leave my work in the middle. Seems reasonable. The pay (for my work) and the insurance are too high for me. It seems too good to be true. They offered payment via PayPal, because, my gigs are only up to $15 dollars (the lowest insurance is $60, and pays $660, insurance included). So that's like 40x my price, so they really have to go somewhere else. 

 

I just turned him down because I don't have the money. Yes, I have doubts that it might be the scam, but my reason of turning him down is the insurance. Do all translation services come with insurance? If yes, then I should really go somewhere else first and earn payment for the insurance, if not, do you think it's a scam? His location is India, but when I looked up their company in Google, they are a teaching firm in China.

 

Again, I turned him down because I don't have the money, not because I certainly thought it was a scam.

[jonbaas]

27 minutes ago, aronpacino said:

Recently, I've been offered a translation job, but it requires me to pay some refundable insurance fee.

There are no insurance fees on Fiverr.

27 minutes ago, aronpacino said:

everyone is wanting me to communicate with them via WhatsApp

All order communication must remain on Fiverr. 

 

28 minutes ago, aronpacino said:

They offered payment via PayPal, because, my gigs are only up to $15 dollars (the lowest insurance is $60, and pays $660, insurance included).

It does not appear that you actually read the Fiverr Terms of Service. You CANNOT accept payment through any source other than the Fiverr order system. If some buyer tries to get you to do this, report them, and ignor them. They are trying to break the rules, and that broken rule will get YOU into trouble.

30 minutes ago, aronpacino said:

Yes, I have doubts that it might be the scam

It is a scam. They are trying to do something Fiverr does not allow.

[mariashtelle1]

36 minutes ago, aronpacino said:

They said that it's their company's policies, to make sure that I don't leave my work in the middle. Seems reasonable.

No. No and No, it doesn't seem reasonable at all. it's a scam. it screams "it's a scam", it also breaks fiverr TOS asking you to communicate through watsapp for a reason.

Don't fall for that. if someones ned translation they just order your gig. 

[jonbaas]

20 minutes ago, mariashtelle1 said:

if someones ned translation they just order your gig. 

It constantly baffles me as to why new sellers keep trying to make this more complicated. 🤔

[aronpacino]

Okay, thank you for the responses, you two. 

 

[aronpacino]

This is a follow-up to my previous post about the legality of using the said app.

 

Now the problem here is either I decline the person (by telling them that it's against the TOS), or they decline me because I (still as of now) does not have the app yet. To be honest with you all, I have never heard or known WhatsApp before I joined Fiverr. I only knew when my first chat came and then I have to look it up. Why not with something more popular platform instead like Facebook Messenger? It's more common. I have never met anyone before with WhatsApp except for those people. I wonder what's in WhatsApp specifically and it's kinda suspicious that that uncommon platform is the one widely chosen by people here.

 

So, since nothing gets done because of this, I can't earn anything. It sucks that the reason why I'm not earning is not because of skills, but because of the lack of communication. I mean, I did the work. I reached people via buyer requests, they respond to me back, meaning, it worked. Yes, my gigs could use some more improvement, but what matters is that my gig appealed to them. They wouldn't go "Hey, contact me on whatsapp" if they don't feel like my gig contents are good. The problem is that, everyone (aside from the scam person, if you've seen that post of mine) is wanting to communicate on WhatsApp. I could have been earning already if it was only allowed to talk via WhatsApp. This is frustrating. What should I do? I couldn't redirect them to Facebook Messenger either because it's still against the TOS.

[rachelbostwick]

Someone who is trying to get you to communicate outside of Fiverr may be trying to lead you to a place where they can scam you. Fiverr offers financial protection for buyers and sellers, so some scammers know they have to get you off this platform so they can steal from you, whether it's your money or your work. If you want to work on Fiverr, be firm with them and tell them you can communicate with them right here. If they are being stubborn about going somewhere else, it's a huge red flag. Don't trust them. Move on and work with someone else.

[theratypist]

3 hours ago, aronpacino said:

I have never heard or known WhatsApp before I joined Fiverr.

WhatsApp is actually quite popular depending on what country you are in. Just continue doing buyer requests and hopefully a good buyer will come in. Don't deal with those who ask you to communicate outside the platform.

[gmkhondaker]

Skip this. Try to make him everything here. Fiverr is wonderful marketplace.

You should never communicate outside.

[callyofficial]

Don't think you're missing out on orders. As @rachelbostwicksaid, anyone trying to get you to communicate away from Fiverr is almost guaranteed to be attempting to scam you. If they are really interested in your services, they will have no problem dealing with you through Fiverr.

[theratypist]

Sorry guys, my post above only appeared now because of the certain name mention!