What does this mean? Note that sellers in this category can only offer spokesperson services and represent your company solely as such.

[timothykoen]

My gig(s) are in the "animated spokesperson" category. They get orders from time to time but I want to add more gigs so I can get more oreders, in other categories, such as "video editing." I am not sure what to think about this "Note that sellers in this category can only offer spokesperson services and represent your company solely as such." Seems pretty clear though, don't do it at risk of being shut down. And why the restriction? I can do a lot more on fiverr but think I should not because of this restriction. Any clarifications would be appreciated.

Tim

[theratypist]

It means the seller can't act like they were a customer who bought your product (example: video testimonial).

On 8/31/2022 at 12:03 PM, timothykoen said:

And why the restriction?

Well, because paid video testimonials would likely share data that is untrue or likely be heavily biased? Which is good unless Fiverr wants to be a mill for fake reviews.

Why would you feel limited with the restriction Fiverr has for that though? You offer "spokesperson" services which does match what a "spokesperson" does. They aren't the same thing as a customer review. 

[vickieito]

2 hours ago, timothykoen said:

And why the restriction?

This isn't really a restriction because you shouldn't be offering that service at all - it's more of a warning, or notice to buyers that they can't ask for certain services. For example, on my Research & Summaries gig, there's this notice:

I don't see this as a restriction at all and I get a lot less inquiries about doing student work, since the buyers who do read this know that I can't do academic work. I prefer to have this notice on my gig because it makes my life easier when I have to talk to customers who don't read my gig. I can just reference the notice.

[donnovan86]

56 minutes ago, vickieito said:

I don't see this as a restriction at all and I get a lot less inquiries about doing student work, since the buyers who do read this know that I can't do academic work. I prefer to have this notice on my gig because it makes my life easier when I have to talk to customers who don't read my gig. I can just reference the notice.

I had a buyer contact me a few days ago asking me to write her master's thesis... :)) people don't care, they just want someone to do the work for them cheaply and then reap the benefits. 

I had another person review me today saying that a seller charging $60 per 500 words wrote a better piece than me which I charge $5 per 400 words. So I rest my case, people just want great results cheaply, and they don't care about rules or ethics many times. 

[vickieito]

2 minutes ago, donnovan86 said:

I had another person review me today saying that a seller charging $60 per 500 words wrote a better piece than me which I charge $5 per 400 words. So I rest my case, people just want great results cheaply, and they don't care about rules or ethics many times. 

@donnovan86 - I would love to see you increase your rates tenfold so that you can get rid of all these terrible clients that you have to deal with! 

[donnovan86]

2 minutes ago, vickieito said:

@donnovan86 - I would love to see you increase your rates tenfold so that you can get rid of all these terrible clients that you have to deal with! 

I think I will do that. Because I received yet another stupid rating similar to the dude I was talking about a few days ago, this is the person that made the $60 to $5 comparison above.. This one shared 3.3 stars saying nothing of substance, appreciating the content just like the other person did. I guess I am a magnet for these dudes due to my prices. I avoided increasing my prices solely because I work only on Fiverr, so I am not sure how that will affect my income. I did increase my rates for most of the other gigs, if you check my account, but my main gig is where I am a bit afraid of what will happen honestly. And now with that 3.3 star non-review that the dude shared being the main, featured review for my gig for a while, I am hesitant about increasing prices even more...

Edited August 31, 2022 by donnovan86

[timothykoen]

So, by saying "the seller can only offer spokesperson services," really means "the seller can not offer paid customer testimonials." So, it is a poorly worded warning to the customer, not the seller. Does that mean the seller "can offer" non-spokesperson services such as video editing or script writing? Maybe the warning should say "paid customer testamonials are not permitted, so don't ask" Is that about right?

Also "Cusomter testimonials are not permitted" might explain why only about 20% of my customers actually leave a review. I would prefer not to have any restrictions added to my gig without me having the option to approve it. Especially confusing ones like this one.

@vickieito love your disclaimer. It never occurred to me (until now) that people would ask for fake testimonials. But now I'll be looking out for that.

Thanks for the info

[vickieito]

10 minutes ago, timothykoen said:

Does that mean the seller "can offer" non-spokesperson services such as video editing or script writing?

Yes, you can offer any other approved services, so video editing and script writing would be okay.

11 minutes ago, timothykoen said:

Also "Cusomter testimonials are not permitted" might explain why only about 20% of my customers actually leave a review.

I don't have that statement on my gigs and sometimes I only get 20% reviews as well. It really depends on the customers and how busy they are.

16 minutes ago, timothykoen said:

@vickieito love your disclaimer. It never occurred to me (until now) that people would ask for fake testimonials. But now I'll be looking out for that.

The fact that Fiverr automatically stamps this warning on your gig shows that there are A LOT of people who would ask for fake testimonials.

[timothykoen]

@vickieito, thanks for the info, Grand Master. I was hoping what you said would be true, but wasn't sure. Now, I dislike the automatic disclaimer even more. "Note that sellers in this category can only offer spokesperson services and represent your company solely as such." It implies that I (the seller) can only offer Spokesperson services, isn't really true. And, as I said I want to offer more than just spokesperson services.

Conclusion; the Seller in a spokesperson category CAN offer other non-spokesperson services. The disclaimer is not a restriction for the seller, except for making customer testamonials. I should read the ToS again.

[vickieito]

18 minutes ago, timothykoen said:

@vickieito, thanks for the info, Grand Master.

My status as a Grand Master means nothing. It just means I spend a lot of time on the forum. 😂

You will see that there are some "Grand Masters" on the forum who have no sales on the Fiverr platform. Forum rank only relates to your activity on the forum and has no connection to how you are performing as a seller. So don't trust someone just because of their Forum status. Check and verify.

19 minutes ago, timothykoen said:

Conclusion; the Seller in a spokesperson category CAN offer other non-spokesperson services. The disclaimer is not a restriction for the seller, except for making customer testamonials. I should read the ToS again.

Yes, the statement should only be read in conjunction with the title "Customer Testimonials Are Not Permitted."

[timothykoen]

On 9/2/2022 at 9:17 AM, vickieito said:

My status as a Grand Master means nothing. It just means I spend a lot of time on the forum. 😂

Au contraire, being a Grand Master does have significance, otherwise fiverr would not assign "levels" to participants. Because you have spent so much time here, compared to me, means you have a lot more experience with the platform, than I do. Just because someone doesn't sell a lot doesn't mean they aren't experienced. Having spent a lot of time here also means I don't have to. You see, I (like most people) come to the forums to get information. In my case I want to clear up my confusion about a disclaimer on my gigs, that I didn't put there. You did that for me (thank you). Now I can move forward, which I am. I am in the process of creating a new gig in the video editing category. Without your expert advise I would still be procrastinating.

[vickieito]

I'm glad that I could help you @timothykoen! Good luck with your new gig ...and let me know if there's anything else that I can help you with!

[timothykoen]

@vickieito Help me? Absolutely. About a few hours later I got a message from a prospective customer asking me: "Hi - I need a quick 30-45 second review on an experience you had with a company." With "My Budget is $5." Without your advise I would have pondered this. I turned it down immediately.

Thanks again

Tim

[vickieito]

Hi @timothykoen, I think it's wise that you turn that opportunity down. It sounds like they were soliciting reviews, which can be a violation of Fiverr's ToS (especially if it violates third-party ToS or they are trying to influence your review). I usually avoid those type of requests.