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Too Good to be real? Brand new gig gets big job


ryleelangton

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HI, I published a new gig offering letter writing YESTERDY. Today I woke up to someone asking if I'd be willing to write 200 letters. Heck yes! 

But then the fear set in... Is this real? I just published the gig. Why not go for someone with a rating?

I want to do the gig but I'm worried it might be a scam. Is there a possibility I write all these letters and then they claim I did horrible or never delivered? 

This buyer has a 5 star rating, do I trust that? 

Thoughts?

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Its not unusual for scammers to attack new sellers. I always say if it looks like sh*t and it smells like sh*t it's probably sh*t!

Use the tools at your disposal to ensure you don't get ripped off. Do a single letter trial with the buyer to see if they are happy with your work (better to find out after one letter than 200!). Then use milestones for delivery or split the gig into smaller mini-gigs so you can get paid as you go instead of in one big chunk. Finally, make sure you watermark EVERY sample you send so that they cannot just take your work, cancel the order and run for the hills.

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59 minutes ago, andywarburton said:

Its not unusual for scammers to attack new sellers. I always say if it looks like sh*t and it smells like sh*t it's probably sh*t!

Use the tools at your disposal to ensure you don't get ripped off. Do a single letter trial with the buyer to see if they are happy with your work (better to find out after one letter than 200!). Then use milestones for delivery or split the gig into smaller mini-gigs so you can get paid as you go instead of in one big chunk. Finally, make sure you watermark EVERY sample you send so that they cannot just take your work, cancel the order and run for the hills.

Your reply makes me feel like it is probably too good to be true. They want me to overnight ship them in one week. It is doable for me but it feels like A. a scam or B. someone didn't do their own job in time and are outsourcing with a deadline. I have been chatting with them most of the day and we still haven't discussed price. Obviously going to be an expensive job. Oh, they also want me to sign an NDA. hmmmmm.

I sent an email to Fiverr customer support to ask what they suggest in a situation like this. I will update this thread with their reply. 

Would you suggest I be transparent with the buyer and say like, "hey I need to be cautious because you could potentially scam me, please dont" or just stop talking to them? I'm sad to say no to so much hypothetical money but yeah, seems too good to be true. 

Thanks for your help. 

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Guest lloydsolutions

Tips for Sellers

This category is for posts with original tips for sellers to utilize. If you want to ask for tips, please use Improve my Gig.
 
Always read the category heading before posting.
 
Check this out: (Click on the heading to see the video).
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Guest lloydsolutions
4 hours ago, ryleelangton said:

Thoughts?

 

4 hours ago, asad000m said:

thanks

 

3 hours ago, mr_sabbir_khan said:

Thanks🥰

 

3 hours ago, balayet_ads said:

Thank You 

Please stop spamming the forum with useless replies.

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6 minutes ago, lloydsolutions said:

Tips for Sellers

This category is for posts with original tips for sellers to utilize. If you want to ask for tips, please use Improve my Gig.
 
Always read the category heading before posting.
 
Check this out: (Click on the heading to see the video).

Okay, thank you for letting me know I asked for help on the wrong board. I will do better in the future.  I am trying to do my best. 

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4 hours ago, ryleelangton said:

But then the fear set in... Is this real? I just published the gig. Why not go for someone with a rating?

Don't think that all that buyers care about is rating. If you're clearly showing a fantastic portfolio and offering an excellent service, buyers will still choose you as a new seller or if it's a new Gig.

1 hour ago, andywarburton said:

Its not unusual for scammers to attack new sellers. I always say if it looks like sh*t and it smells like sh*t it's probably sh*t!

At the same time, this is also true. Trust your gut feeling. If something feels off, something is probably off.

9 minutes ago, ryleelangton said:

Would you suggest I be transparent with the buyer and say like, "hey I need to be cautious because you could potentially scam me, please dont" or just stop talking to them? I'm sad to say no to so much hypothetical money but yeah, seems too good to be true. 

I wouldn't say anything along those lines to the seller. It's not professional and if they are a scammer, they're not just going to hold their hands up and admit that they're scamming you.

13 minutes ago, ryleelangton said:

I have been chatting with them most of the day and we still haven't discussed price. Obviously going to be an expensive job. Oh, they also want me to sign an NDA. hmmmmm.

To some people in the world, price just isn't an issue. They like and want what they want to buy and are willing to pay however much it costs. Or, they have already calculated how much the order would be based on your Gig pricing and times it by the number that they're after.

--

It's a difficult one. I don't know too much about the service that you're offering. However, what would the buyer have to gain by scamming you? Would they be able to sell on the product or service that you're offering and make a substantial financial gain? You also say they have a five star rating, just how many ratings does this buyer have? If they have a long history of positive purchases instead of just one or two, it's a good sign. How old is the buyers account? Also, look at the other sellers that have left the buyer those ratings, are they for similar services that you offer, and similar to the order that the buyer wants from you? Fiverr now also has the capability to connect with buyers via Video Chat. Maybe ask if you can schedule a call and have a chat with them face to face. By doing this, you'll be able to get a good overview of the vibe they're giving off, if they are who they say they are, and most buyers wouldn't object if they have honest intentions, especially for a very expensive and large order.

Ultimately though, weigh up the pro's and cons of both options after doing your research, vetting the buyer, and considering both going ahead with the order or politely declining. Does the potential financial loss, and loss of time spent doing the order outweigh what you would have to gain if it does turn out to be a scam?

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2 hours ago, joshnadin said:

Don't think that all that buyers care about is rating. If you're clearly showing a fantastic portfolio and offering an excellent service, buyers will still choose you as a new seller or if it's a new Gig.

At the same time, this is also true. Trust your gut feeling. If something feels off, something is probably off.

I wouldn't say anything along those lines to the seller. It's not professional and if they are a scammer, they're not just going to hold their hands up and admit that they're scamming you.

To some people in the world, price just isn't an issue. They like and want what they want to buy and are willing to pay however much it costs. Or, they have already calculated how much the order would be based on your Gig pricing and times it by the number that they're after.

--

It's a difficult one. I don't know too much about the service that you're offering. However, what would the buyer have to gain by scamming you? Would they be able to sell on the product or service that you're offering and make a substantial financial gain? You also say they have a five star rating, just how many ratings does this buyer have? If they have a long history of positive purchases instead of just one or two, it's a good sign. How old is the buyers account? Also, look at the other sellers that have left the buyer those ratings, are they for similar services that you offer, and similar to the order that the buyer wants from you? Fiverr now also has the capability to connect with buyers via Video Chat. Maybe ask if you can schedule a call and have a chat with them face to face. By doing this, you'll be able to get a good overview of the vibe they're giving off, if they are who they say they are, and most buyers wouldn't object if they have honest intentions, especially for a very expensive and large order.

Ultimately though, weigh up the pro's and cons of both options after doing your research, vetting the buyer, and considering both going ahead with the order or politely declining. Does the potential financial loss, and loss of time spent doing the order outweigh what you would have to gain if it does turn out to be a scam?

I am offering to just hand write letters for them. I suppose they would gain an entire week of labour for free if they scammed me. They seem to be a lobbyist of some sort so the mass of letters makes sense in that regard. They have a five star rating but only 2 ratings. Neither of the sellers they bought from deal in letter writing (one was ghost writing and the other wrote memes). They have been a buyer since January 2021. They want me to overnight the letters to them next Tuesday (a week from today), so that money would be out of my pocket until reimbursed via fiverr (they did offer to pay the overnight fee as part of the charge) That being said we still have not discussed prices. 

Would you suggest I ask them to video chat with me and show them a sample of what their letters would look like?  This way they know what they are getting and I can "get the vibe." 

I've read enough horror stories today that I am just trying to be smart and maybe overly cautious. I really appreciate your help and advice. 

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1 hour ago, ryleelangton said:

They want me to overnight the letters to them next Tuesday (a week from today), so that money would be out of my pocket until reimbursed via fiverr (they did offer to pay the overnight fee as part of the charge)

In this sense, protect yourself as much as possible when making the custom offer to the buyer if you decide to go ahead with it.

Do one as a sample and show the buyer, make it very clear that the standard reflected in the full order will be identical to the sample. Then when writing the custom offer, write something along the lines of "by accepting this custom offer and placing the order, you are agreeing that you are happy to accept 200 copies that will reflect the standard included within the sample, and may not be subject to any revision or cancelation once the order has been delivered."

By doing this, in the event the buyer tries to get their money back, support will clearly be able to see that you've explained the above process to the buyer and they was happy to proceed with the terms of the order.

Also, ensure to send the order via a service that allows for real time tracking, and also requires a signature on delivery so the buyer can not dispute that the goods have been signed for. You can even choose certain delivery services that you can specify only the person the package is addressed to can sign for the order and has to show valid photo ID to the courier. This will eliminate any dispute that the order arrived.

Also, they obviously have to accept the order and pay for it before you start the process of doing the work. I'm pretty sure this is a given, but I'm not too sure as you stated 'until reimbursed by Fiverr'.

1 hour ago, ryleelangton said:

That being said we still have not discussed prices. 

Then discuss pricing ASAP! See what vibe you get from the buyer once you bring up the cost and see where the conversation goes.

1 hour ago, ryleelangton said:

Would you suggest I ask them to video chat with me and show them a sample of what their letters would look like?  This way they know what they are getting and I can "get the vibe." 

Sure! You could disguise it as making sure they're happy with the sample, and just want to make it easy to ensure everything is understood between both parties before starting the work process. They may say no, even if they are genuine. But it couldn't hurt to try and I'm sure it would put your mind at rest if they agreed and everything seems above board.

1 hour ago, ryleelangton said:

They seem to be a lobbyist of some sort so the mass of letters makes sense in that regard.

Lastly, if they are a lobbyist, I'm assuming that personally identifying information would be available. This would be extremely bad for the lobbyists reputation, and for that of the reputation of their organisation if they was to scam somebody online and word got out. So if you can validate and verify they are who they say they are, I would be very surprised if someone in that profession with a lot to lose would be trying to scam you.

Also, have a look at the address the buyer wants the goods delivered to. If its a business address that you can Google and see it is in fact for their organization, it's again a pretty safe bet that you're not being scammed.

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On 10/13/2021 at 12:10 AM, ryleelangton said:

Would you suggest I ask them to video chat with me and show them a sample of what their letters would look like?

Unless they're a Fiverr Business buyer or a VID they can't initiate a Fiverr call before the order, and non-Pro sellers can't initiate a call from the inbox.

Only calls through Fiverr are allowed. So it means unless they're a Fiverr Buyer or a VID you can't have a call with them before the order, so if that's the case it wouldn't be useful to check whether everything is legit before the order is placed.

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