Hey Voice-Over Seller's...

[stefshock]

To date, Fiver's biggest gig is voice over work. This means Fiver relies heavily on voice over talent. So why is it when I'm in the forum space and search the words "voice over" I see countless complaints on how Fiver doesn't secure the seller and buyers are running off with the gig without having paid? Why do people still come here for voice over work if the experience is so shady? Why not go to another site? There's like a bunch of sites for voice over artists that don't have this level of risk. 

[leannelrivers]

On 5/23/2023 at 2:55 AM, kamalsawabi said:

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On 2/8/2023 at 2:07 PM, stefshock said:

I see countless complaints on how Fiver doesn't secure the seller and buyers are running off with the gig without having paid? Why do people still come here for voice over work if the experience is so shady?

I haven't seen countless complaints from VO artists, but I haven't thoroughly scanned old posts. I imagine sellers in every category have been stung by a dodgy client at some point, but that's not unique to the VO category. We have other challenges, like clients paying for the correct usage rights.

I work on other platforms already, and I'm sure most of my peers do. Some are far better because they are dedicated solely to voice-over artists, and they vet the talent AND clients. Some are dodgy and don't connect you with the client, and you never see what they're really paying for the work, they throw talent the scraps. 

As for Fiverr not securing sellers, there have been multiple posts about cancellations initiated after delivery and refunds being given to buyers. I've been stung with this only once. I was p**sed for days, but it made me more aware of buyer red flags. A global marketplace isn't going to attract millions of people who are all totally awesome and brimming with integrity and good intentions. That goes for sellers too. There are plenty of rip-off merchants "working" on Fiverr. And regardless of how you source your clients, you need to have a process in place to secure your work and payment, even thought the vast majority of clients have no intention of not paying you. 

All in all, Fiverr is one of the far better platforms available to work on. And I would argue that, whilst we might not be able to protect ourselves against every Artful Dodger, it's also a freelancer's responsibility to take care of themselves. Scope out clients, learn to get a feel for them, and set fees that reflect quality and confidence. Scammers tend to go for the vulnerable. 

Edited May 23, 2023 by leannelrivers