Fiverr should finally abandon $5 gigs

[alphabase]

14 minutes ago, newsmike said:

All great points. And unlike most businesses, Fiverr has been saddled with an image problem most businesses don't have to face. It has the identity crisis of trying to be the BMW and Kia dealership simultaneously. 

You keep on saying "business image" like that would pay the bills. Yes, Fiverr as been trying to bring in industry authorities but where are they making their money from right now?

You forget this platform is competing with industry behemoth like Upwork and the rest! You don't just cut off the base that as worked for you so far because of image. Fiverr Business/Fiverr Pro is an example of their steps to innovation but they can only make those moves off the back of the so called "charity $5 gigs" you keep mentioning.

[maitasun]

3 minutes ago, newsmike said:

But why would anyone buy from them at $125, when they can get a pro starting at that price point.

Because they don't mind quality, only quantity. For $125 they may get 4, 5 or 6 times more than what they would otherwise get.

Edited December 30, 2022 by maitasun

[catwriter]

Does anyone here remember Elance? A freelancing site, one of those bidding platforms?

What freelancers loved about Elance was that it didn't allow buyers to set a budget that's lower than $20. And that was some 8 years ago or more, when $20 was worth more than it is now.

The trouble is, Elance didn't survive. It had to merge with oDesk, a similar platform that didn't set a minimum budget of $20. And that's the platform we now know as UpWork.

I'm really not sure that increasing the minimum price would work here. Buyers spending less than $20 per order still seem to bring more as a whole than high-end buyers, because there's many more of them.

[alphabase]

18 minutes ago, markp said:

1. people selling crap as you put it will have a harder time justifying it if the base price doubles or trebles. people accept it now and move on for that very reason. its 5$.

2. these will eventually disappear if the sellers selling  5$  junk disappear.

Yeah, but are you ready to deal with the issues of these $5 buyers that would remain. And I can tell you, most of them are sassy, rude, and very demanding 😂

[newsmike]

1 minute ago, alphabase said:

You keep on saying "business image" like that would pay the bills.

I never said that. Please re-read. 

 

2 minutes ago, alphabase said:

You forget this platform is competing with industry behemoth like Upwork and the rest!

I didn't forget that at all. I am suggesting that it is time to consider focusing on quality as opposed to offering crap cheaply. Companies evolve.

 

5 minutes ago, alphabase said:

off the back of the so called "charity $5 gigs" you keep mentioning.

Again, you are confused between business and charity

[moikchap]

This is the first time I've seen a "Several people are typing..." in a thread. This is going to be quite the topic by the time it runs out of steam.

[alphabase]

2 minutes ago, moikchap said:

This is the first time I've seen a "Several people are typing..." in a thread. This is going to be quite the topic by the time it runs out of steam.

@newsmike really out did himself this time. A very important but touchy subject I must say.

Its like opening a can of worms

Edited December 30, 2022 by alphabase

[breals]

Firstly. What a great topic for discussion as we move into 2023.  Thanks @newsmike for having a title that didn't include the words buyer brief! 

I suspect as Fiverr continues to grow, it's been kicking itself over recent years that it didn't rebrand and reinvent when it had the chance.

It's now in a position where any change in direction under the name Fiverr will confuse consumers even more. 

Based on all of the comments made above, I wouldn't be surprised in the coming months / years if Fiverr created a spin off company that focussed on high end quality gigs that was called something completely different?  Freelancers could be automatically accepted onto this platform, or get promoted from the legacy Fiverr site.  For those football fans of this world. A bit like getting promoted from the championship into the Premier League.

That way, the Fiverr company would continue to function where $5 gigs still exist, and a separate company under a different name would grow under a much needed paywall.  This could then have a much more rigorous onboarding process.  ie. prove your qualifications, prove your work history etc...

It's just my opinion. But we can't really lose the $5 gig whilst the company is still called Fiverr?  It's a bit like the example above where Dollar tree has put their prices up, it just confuses the customer and makes it look like they are lacking any form of direction.  

Much as I would like the dross and poor quality $5 gigs to be removed from this platform, I can only imagine how hard it is to herd nearly 1,000,000 sheep in the same direction?  So to split the company now is probably the only option they have left. 

Edited December 30, 2022 by breals

[newsmike]

4 minutes ago, breals said:

Much as I would like the dross and poor quality $5 gigs to be removed from this platform, I can only imagine how hard it is to herd nearly 1,000,000 sheep in the same direction?  So to split the company now is probably the only option they have left. 

You may well be correct there. One alternative we had discussed in the past, which addresses both the pay wall and Fiverr's need to "save face" in their rebranding was as follows:  Each gig carries a $5 monthly charge to remain active for purchase. This forces people to not start 7 gigs when they can barely support one, and would eliminate many thousands of gigs that bill zero, freeing up bandwidth and unclogging the algorithm.  Best part is Fiverr can then rebrand as "Fiverr...start your business for just $5."

[sunboatrecords]

11 minutes ago, breals said:

Based on all of the comments made above, I wouldn't be surprised in the coming months / years if Fiverr created a spin off company that focussed on high end quality gigs that was called something completely different? 

https://togetherr.com/

[catwriter]

15 minutes ago, breals said:

That way, the Fiverr company would continue to function where $5 gigs still exist, and a separate company under a different name would grow under a much needed paywall.  This could then have a much more rigorous onboarding process.  ie. prove your qualifications, prove your work history etc...

Isn't that what they tried with Fiverr Pro, just without the paywall?

[breals]

2 minutes ago, sunboatrecords said:

https://togetherr.com/

I've seen this. Maybe a hybrid of this and the Fiverr platform could work?  There will then be three levels. 

At the minute we have dollar store or Macy's - Something in between would work really well.  

Again, we can only speculate what conversations go on in the Fiverr boardroom, but something has to change

[sunboatrecords]

1 minute ago, breals said:

I've seen this. Maybe a hybrid of this and the Fiverr platform could work?

Recently, my manager sent me a survey with questions aiming to improve communication and the overall experience on Fiverr.

I took the chance to underline one thing for the millionth time:

Have some sort of vetting process for the sellers, and no more anonymity.

It is one thing to buy from cooldude666 and another, to buy from “Carlos Garcia” based in Almeria, Spain, EU.

I navigate my main category and I see all these dudes using stock images that show big recording studios. No name, no nothing. And some of them have many reviews. This is borderline fraud.

[newsmike]

13 minutes ago, catwriter said:

Isn't that what they tried with Fiverr Pro, just without the paywall?

But PRO gigs are displayed right alongside the $5 scammer gigs. Off-putting for serious buyers. 

[newsmike]

8 minutes ago, sunboatrecords said:

Have some sort of vetting process for the sellers, and no more anonymity.

Yes the $5 per month charge to sell requires a credit card or bank account to draw from, and sellers be required to sell under the name that account is in. 

[sunboatrecords]

Just now, newsmike said:

Yes the $5 per month charge to sell requires a credit card or bank account to draw from, and sellers be required to sell under the name that account is in. 

That would do a lot to cull many of the scammers with few resources on Fiverr's side!

The vetting process that I have in mind, would require a lot more manpower. I was thinking that a good minimum requirement would be having a portfolio—even with mock projects.

[alphabase]

12 minutes ago, newsmike said:

But PRO gigs are displayed right alongside the $5 scammer gigs. Off-putting for serious buyers. 

If the constant barrage of topics like "I have no orders" or "Fiverr is not matching me with buyers" is anything to go by, then I believe Fiverr might have already upgraded it's algorithm to try and weed out this poor services. 

Think about it, would you rather spend millions creating and marketing a new platform or would you find a way to starve low quality sellers and push them off the platform willingly? Sooner or latter the topics will become "Fiverr doesn't work any more" and then begins the exodus. 

[jummy_techy]

Increasing the fiverr price from $5 to $10 is a good point to me

[jonbaas]

2 hours ago, moikchap said:

I'm wondering things like:
- How many buyers never order a gig above $5?

I've had multiple "buyers" send me messages and ask (some have demanded) that I sell them my $180 package for only $5, because, "they are on a budget, and don't want to make an investment into something they might not want in the end". So yes, the problem is rooted in an abundance of cheap buyers, who seem to think that a marketplace like Fiverr is full of whatever they want, and its supposed to be cheap and low-cost.

The desperate sellers, willing to bend over backwards for those cheap buyers don't help matters either.

[catwriter]

1 hour ago, alphabase said:

Sooner or latter the topics will become "Fiverr doesn't work any more" and then begins the exodus. 

There are similar topics from time to time, but since the pandemic started, not much of an exodus. In the past, people would try, and if they failed, they'd give up after a while, but many of them have nowhere to go now. So they stay and complain.

[words_to_wow]

4 hours ago, alphabase said:

Yeah, but are you ready to deal with the issues of these $5 buyers that would remain. And I can tell you, most of them are sassy, rude, and very demanding 

That has been my concern with buyers who expect more than what they are willing to pay for. It really confuses me when interested buyers spend time discussing their project but have no idea what my prices are. Sometimes, I have to stop them and ask if they have reviewed my packages. One person told me, "Don't you think that is a little pricey, dear Freelancer?" This implied they believe I'm supposed to be cheap since I'm a Freelancer. I told her that the keyword is "free" meaning I'm free to price my services as I please. She didn't order from me. I saw that she chose a $5 seller instead. 

I have to also add, though, that there are quite a few people who seem to provide great work for $5. I don't understand it, but I know they have their reasons.

I wonder if any successful $5 Sellers would like to chime in and give their opinions.

[moikchap]

I buy a lot from $5 sellers, and if they deliver something way higher quality than I expected, I tip them the difference and give them my thoughts on where they could realistically price themselves. Through those conversations I hear back a few of the reasonings for staying lower priced than their straight value.

The most common one is that people are only at $5 temporarily to get reviews and increase their prices later.* The next most common is that the individual is a student looking to expand their portfolio rather than financing their life via fiverr. Less common, but happening a few times given I deal with artists mainly, is that they have enough money but want to work and feel appreciated. 

* I have a list of 73 artists who met my standard at $5 when I started in Dec 2020. Now when I check, 40 of them are at $10 or up, with the highest being $50 minimum. This might be another reason why Fiverr might not change. It seems the sellers are raising their prices at a pretty significant rate, and it probably drags their return clients up with them. That's what I've done recently. I just placed two high quantity orders this week with the two best sellers I have, and the prices are double what I initially paid. I know what I'll get and that it's worth it.

Edited December 30, 2022 by moikchap

[words_to_wow]

46 minutes ago, moikchap said:

that they have enough money but want to work and feel appreciated. 

This is interesting, and I can somehow relate. I have other means of income so I don't depend on Fiverr for financial security. However, I really love what I do and sharing my talent with others. Of course, I could charge $5 since I am not totally in it for the money, but I put a lot into my work and I think it's worth more than $5-10. There are often times I give the buyer more than what they paid for, but I don't see it as a financial loss. I don't mind the extra work for a good client.

[amirkhan96hamza]

7 hours ago, vickiespencer said:

Even at a $5 starting point, Fiverr and the investors still get their 20% cut, and with the number of sellers from "undeveloped nations", I think that is not a small amount.

That is really a small amount and this amount only just help you to survive! it doesn't provide any growth but people from the "undeveloped nations" take these chances by selling there valuable services at 5$ price is to get the boost here! 

[newsmike]

18 minutes ago, amirkhan96hamza said:

people from the "undeveloped nations" take these chances by selling there valuable services at 5$ price is to get the boost here! 

The problem is that a great many do not have skills, and therefore cannot render "valuable services", so instead they steal gig descriptions, images and other content from successful sellers in an attempt to grab a $5 bill, for which they cannot deliver a quality service. Every day we call out people here who post "I cannot get sales, please help me", and at the same time they have gigs claiming to be "SEO/marketing experts", an obvious lie, and attempt to scam buyers. This is more often than not the case, and especially out of control with regard to 2-3 locations. 

Edited December 31, 2022 by newsmike