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So, I started using fiverr within the last year or so as a means of diversifying my income and getting experience in freelance editing. I sort of had an idea that I would be encountering some strange offers, considering the nature of the site. What I wasn't prepared for was the almost complete lack of protections for sellers on this site. 

I should be able to decline any gigs I get, especially if the buyer is asking for something I'm not comfortable with doing or is blatantly ignoring my own boundaries or criteria. I should also be able to decline gigs if for some reason I have a bunch of gigs in line--why does the timer start immediately anyways? I have a life outside of fiverr and can't always be at it's beck and call the minute someone else is looking for me! I try to check everything in a timely manner, but I'm human and have a lot going on! A timer shouldn't start until I ACCEPT the gig. 

The way the site is currently set up, I feel like it's so easy for sellers to be taken advantage of or harrassed into working. The fact I have to request the buyer to also cancel is absurd, or the fact that in order to get anything done you have to approach customer service is... inefficient. 

Not being able to decline offers is the #1 reason I'm considering leaving, to be honest. I don't feel protected here. 

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While order refusal and volume limits would be great, that's simply not how to platform works. It's never been, and it will probably never change to that in the future. It's a marketplace that operates on the idea of quick service sales. All of this should have been obvious when you signed up and read the TOS and other information.

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6 minutes ago, melanielm said:

While order refusal and volume limits would be great, that's simply not how to platform works. It's never been, and it will probably never change to that in the future. It's a marketplace that operates on the idea of quick service sales. All of this should have been obvious when you signed up and read the TOS and other information.

I don't think saying: "that's not how this platform works and never has been" is very productive. The category is, in fact, called: Fiverr Site Suggestions. The point is to suggest changes that will improve the user experience. 

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26 minutes ago, lullybunny said:

A timer shouldn't start until I ACCEPT the gig. 

This, I think is normal - because the point of the site is easy purchase, I guess - and people don't want to have to wait for confirmation (for bigger projects, most of them do anyway. I haven't had a random order in a while (but it's much more likely for me to end up with them getting cancelled as many of them have very little to do with what I do!
BUT- if I read the tone right and they are asking you to edit, uhm. adult-related topics, I think that in itself can be a ground to have a cancellation through CS (especially if you make it known that you do NOT! take those kinds of commissions. The TOS currently is a bit vague about erotica (but anything hardcore is already forbidden as far as I know), however, I personally stray for away from it. If I get the stray order that'd contain those kinds of scenes, I state it in black and white that I am NOT writing those scenes, basically. Since I do write horror, I've gotten a couple of orders I haven't been very, uhm, comfortable about - some of them were cancelled the others I ended up writing in a way that it didn't cause me distress (it was never 18+ content, just... dark, I guess.) But I do feel like it's up to you (and me, in this case, really) to tell that to the customer/communicate with CS. Just recently I was asked to write sci-fi (which I don't normally). The first try was kind of rocky, so for the next gig, we settled on something I'm a lot more comfortable working with (historical spooky stuff.)


BUT, AGAIN. If it's something you do not feel comfortable editing/writing/etc. for a reason - communicate. Either with CS if it's THAT bad (just have the disclaimer in your gig that you do NOT do those kinds of things) or the customer if it's 'somewhat okay but sketch'. 

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1 minute ago, katakatica said:

This, I think is normal - because the point of the site is easy purchase, I guess - and people don't want to have to wait for confirmation (for bigger projects, most of them do anyway. I haven't had a random order in a while (but it's much more likely for me to end up with them getting cancelled as many of them have very little to do with what I do!
BUT- if I read the tone right and they are asking you to edit, uhm. adult-related topics, I think that in itself can be a ground to have a cancellation through CS (especially if you make it known that you do NOT! take those kinds of commissions. The TOS currently is a bit vague about erotica (but anything hardcore is already forbidden as far as I know), however, I personally stray for away from it. If I get the stray order that'd contain those kinds of scenes, I state it in black and white that I am NOT writing those scenes, basically. Since I do write horror, I've gotten a couple of orders I haven't been very, uhm, comfortable about - some of them were cancelled the others I ended up writing in a way that it didn't cause me distress (it was never 18+ content, just... dark, I guess.) But I do feel like it's up to you (and me, in this case, really) to tell that to the customer/communicate with CS. Just recently I was asked to write sci-fi (which I don't normally). The first try was kind of rocky, so for the next gig, we settled on something I'm a lot more comfortable working with (historical spooky stuff.)


BUT, AGAIN. If it's something you do not feel comfortable editing/writing/etc. for a reason - communicate. Either with CS if it's THAT bad (just have the disclaimer in your gig that you do NOT do those kinds of things) or the customer if it's 'somewhat okay but sketch'. 

Mostly I just wish there was an easier way to decline gigs--it'd be nice if I could handle more of my customer service rather than, well... fiverr's customer service. 

I'm also learning there are people who prefer to not have gigs open and will instruct people to ask for a quote first in order to discuss the gig before accepting it. I'm considering doing this but I'm not sure how helpful it'll be to me as a new seller. 

As you've stated, I do always learn with every gig that makes me uncomfortable what to include in my gig information (my boundaries, what I will and will not do). I'm currently in the process of doing a total overhaul of my profile. I'm also wondering if making a personal site just for my freelance work would be a good idea sometime in the future. 

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10 minutes ago, katakatica said:

I've gotten a couple of orders I haven't been very, uhm, comfortable about

A potential customer asked me to write a story with detailed scenes of torture, resuscitation, torture again (because it was their fetish). Fortunately they asked before placing the order. Never blocked someone so fast in my life.

43 minutes ago, lullybunny said:

A timer shouldn't start until I ACCEPT the gig

I completely agree. 

 

 

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5 minutes ago, lullybunny said:

I'm also learning there are people who prefer to not have gigs open and will instruct people to ask for a quote first in order to discuss the gig before accepting it.

Me. Buyer has to fulfill required info when they place the order, and when they do, I accept the project stating that I've everything that I need. 

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1 minute ago, francescaabb said:

A potential customer asked me to write a story with detailed scenes of torture, resuscitation, torture again (because it was their fetish). Fortunately they asked before placing the order. Never blocked someone so fast in my life.

Oh my god, that's... concerning. 

I've also had someone message me like they were sliding into my DMs which was... weird. Blocked them pretty quick, too. I think it made my response time decline, though? Who knows! 

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7 minutes ago, francescaabb said:

A potential customer asked me to write a story with detailed scenes of torture, resuscitation, torture again (because it was their fetish). Fortunately they asked before placing the order. Never blocked someone so fast in my life.

50 minutes ago, lullybunny said:

I think I ranted about that one time someone wanting me to write a horror short about a lady hypnotising a guy on a train (she's older, as if that'd help...) to do...yeah. At first I thought it was a 'Get Out' kind of thing but... it wasn't. 

But yours...takes the lead. Like... why. 

(my FIRST ever order did involve a sexy pie fight though. Years ago when I knew NOTHING!) Some people want the strangest things... 

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2 hours ago, lullybunny said:

So, I started using fiverr within the last year or so as a means of diversifying my income and getting experience in freelance editing. I sort of had an idea that I would be encountering some strange offers, considering the nature of the site. What I wasn't prepared for was the almost complete lack of protections for sellers on this site. 

I should be able to decline any gigs I get, especially if the buyer is asking for something I'm not comfortable with doing or is blatantly ignoring my own boundaries or criteria. I should also be able to decline gigs if for some reason I have a bunch of gigs in line--why does the timer start immediately anyways? I have a life outside of fiverr and can't always be at it's beck and call the minute someone else is looking for me! I try to check everything in a timely manner, but I'm human and have a lot going on! A timer shouldn't start until I ACCEPT the gig. 

The way the site is currently set up, I feel like it's so easy for sellers to be taken advantage of or harrassed into working. The fact I have to request the buyer to also cancel is absurd, or the fact that in order to get anything done you have to approach customer service is... inefficient. 

Not being able to decline offers is the #1 reason I'm considering leaving, to be honest. I don't feel protected here. 

You can set a limit to how many gigs you can have in your queue at any given time. 

You can put forth your terms clearly in your gig description. If the buyer orders from you despite of this, you do have the option to cancel. 

I get that some orders can take it too far (I've cancelled orders due to ethical reasons before), and I think the biggest issue here is that it will still hurt your stats, even if your terms clearly state that you won't do this type of job. 

If the order violates the terms of service, customer support should be able to cancel it without it hurting your stats. 

I think it would make the buying process too complicated if they had to wait for a seller to approve every order. I would like to see a setting for "Require new buyers to contact you before placing an order". 

If you don't have the time to fullfill orders because of delivery time, that's actually your own fault. Increase the delivery time. 

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21 hours ago, smashradio said:

If the order violates the terms of service, customer support should be able to cancel it without it hurting your stats. 

The real issue is that people don't fully understand how fiverr works and just rush to try for the "quick buck". Then, when they find that the site operates as designed instead of how the rainbow unicorn in their dreams thinks it should, they post messages in CAPS, complaining about how they SHOULD be able to ACCEPT any order they want to. Or any OTHER thing they DREAM UP. 

Mr. Smash, I don't know where you get your patience from. 

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