Fiverr 4.0 - Some thoughts on the current state of things

[donnovan86]

26 minutes ago, newsmike said:

Can you kill your conversion rate like this?  Lots of people browsing AI junk who click on and then off your gigs without buying?

Well I barely have any sales, and my conversion rate is already under 0.2% anyway. So it's already dead. Yeah, this focus on first time buyers really killed any clicks for me. But I agree with you, might hold off on that AI stuff for now 🙂

[donnovan86]

47 minutes ago, vickiespencer said:

but now I hear only crickets.

Same. I don't have any people in the inbox, I had a few repeat buyers, but other than that no messages or anything. I think I am still in the doghouse from bad first time buyer reviews, so that's why I decided to try and experiment. I will think about it, Mike brings a great point, most people that browse that section will never buy, and a lack of sales might have a negative impact on my account. 

[vickiespencer]

33 minutes ago, donnovan86 said:

I had a few repeat buyers,

I am grateful for my repeat buyers. One big order is keeping me afloat right now. 

[miiila]

1 hour ago, sabinespoems said:

I saw someone having a gig in my niche offering to 'write AI generated poetry'. The 'write' is already hilarious in that context. But what amused me more, for a lack of a better word, was that this person doesn't offer revisions or editing. 

I wonder why. 

This person doesn't have any sales yet. What a surprise! Sadly, it's something I do think some people could fall for. 

 

Do you really think so? Wouldn't it be easier to find out how to "write" AI generated poetry themselves than to find out how Fiverr works? 😄

[miiila]

1 hour ago, newsmike said:

Can you kill your conversion rate like this?

Good question. Then again, all the spammers are killing it anyway, so maybe it wouldn't matter...

[miiila]

Ah, I forgot a factor, I had 3 (!) cancellations, on March 04, March 10, March 15, all because of those people with sub-zero English skills ordering my Gig, somehow thinking that if they do so, I will regale them with English translation jobs... I hadn't even considered activating the "Request to Order" feature when I got it, as I'm usually happy with direct orders (actual orders by actual customers, that is), but after the 3rd cancellation like this within 14 days, I did...

[newsmike]

1 minute ago, miiila said:

Ah, I forgot a factor, I had 3 (!) cancellations, on March 04, March 10, March 15, all because of those people with sub-zero English skills ordering my Gig, somehow thinking that if they do so, I will regale them with English translation jobs... I hadn't even considered activating the "Request to Order" feature when I got it, as I'm usually happy with direct orders (actual orders by actual customers, that is), but after the 3rd cancellation like this within 14 days, I did...

All Swiss I'll bet?

[miiila]

22 minutes ago, newsmike said:

All Swiss I'll bet?

How did you know? 

(for the ones who don't speak cyniclish, no, I have actual customers from Switzerland, while the names and flags of those three "buyers" alone already told me I was up for cancellations, sad, but true)

[words_to_wow]

It's somewhat of a relief to learn that I was not or am not the only person going through a slump. Mine is a little more sucky, in my opinion, though, as you can see from my attachment. But there's a backstory to my dilemma. So, I admit to the lateness of the order. I had a client whom I was waiting to hear back from so I could deliver her work. It was important for her to answer my question. I did not want to deliver something that had not been completed, and I know some people deliver incomplete work, but I don't. So, the time passed, no word from her, and my delivery ended up being 5 hours late. I was not overly worried. This was my first late order ever. I saw my percentage drop to 86 or something like that. However, I figured I'd get another order, and all would be well. I got another order a few days later. My percentage increased to 88. I was feeling better, and I got another order, and it went to 90. Yet, the next day, it went back down to 89 😞. I did some checking and realized that my gigs were no longer being featured or even seen on the platform. I received no messages either—nothing for weeks.  So, I asked Customer Support how am I supposed to get another order if my gigs have been "removed?"  They told me to wait for an order from a repeat customer. That didn't happen until it was too late. On March 15, I got demoted.

So, yeah...But I'm still sticking around and trying not to be bitter about it. It definitely hasn't affected my work ethic or quality of work. 

But I agree that it is strange that so many people had similar problems during this time. Hopefully, things improve, but we all understand the inconsistencies of this type of business.

[katakatica]

11 minutes ago, words_to_wow said:

It's somewhat of a relief to learn that I was not or am not the only person going through a slump. Mine is a little more sucky, in my opinion, though, as you can see from my attachment. But there's a backstory to my dilemma. So, I admit to the lateness of the order. I had a client whom I was waiting to hear back from so I could deliver her work. It was important for her to answer my question. I did not want to deliver something that had not been completed, and I know some people deliver incomplete work, but I don't. So, the time passed, no word from her, and my delivery ended up being 5 hours late. I was not overly worried. This was my first late order ever. I saw my percentage drop to 86 or something like that. However, I figured I'd get another order, and all would be well. I got another order a few days later. My percentage increased to 88. I was feeling better, and I got another order, and it went to 90. Yet, the next day, it went back down to 89 😞. I did some checking and realized that my gigs were no longer being featured or even seen on the platform. I received no messages either—nothing for weeks.  So, I asked Customer Support how am I supposed to get another order if my gigs have been "removed?"  They told me to wait for an order from a repeat customer. That didn't happen until it was too late. On March 15, I got demoted.

So, yeah...But I'm still sticking around and trying not to be bitter about it. It definitely hasn't affected my work ethic or quality of work. 

But I agree that it is strange that so many people had similar problems during this time. Hopefully, things improve, but we all understand the inconsistencies of this type of business.

Honestly, I don't think it's fair to lose it all for a single late order / bad review. So many things can happen. Do you think maybe CS could have helped extend your delivery by a few hours? I haven't had it happen but that could be useful?

What I do usually if the delivery time is a bit weird (order was placed at a weird time or the buyer is slow to get back to me OR I just need an extra hour for editing to whatever) is that I try to extend just one day. If they don't accept it is bad but the extra notification / etc. usually helps people respond if they need to.

Still, your situation makes sense in a way (you basically had one less order completed on time than needed I guess) but for one order to hold so much weight, especially when we sometimes NEED people to answer... 

It's just sad.

I hope you'll get your badge back and that you'll be past your slump soon!

[words_to_wow]

2 minutes ago, katakatica said:

Do you think maybe CS could have helped extend your delivery by a few hours? I haven't had it happen but that could be useful?

I think if I had asked for an extension, it would have probably covered me in a sense. I mean, if the buyer doesn't respond to my request for an extension, at least it's documented that I requested it. Maybe that would have helped. But it's okay. Thank you for your feedback, Katakatica 🙂

[mohammad_jony]

Happy birthday to you 

[mandyzines]

I keep getting notifications that "more" of my gigs can be promoted. I follow the link where it says "create your first ad" and "get a $10 gift to get started" but then it takes me to my promo page where there are no new gigs to promote. All that's listed is what I already promote--or, at least I think it's being promoted. Given the confusion the system's going through, I don't really even know if anything's being promoted. I'm certain that I can't promote "more" of my gigs.

[veroalana]

6 hours ago, words_to_wow said:

I had a client whom I was waiting to hear back from so I could deliver her work. It was important for her to answer my question. I did not want to deliver something that had not been completed

I'm very sorry to hear this. But hear me out, you should have asked everything you need in your requirements page. If something was still missing, buyer is not responding and the clock is about to stop, you should have delivered what you could do with the information you have. That is not incomplete work, it is what you could do with the information the buyer provided. That's the way it is. You need to work smart and tough here. We are not dealing with cotton candy. Fiverr is about timing so you just can't be late, ever, even if it is buyer's fault. 

[vickiespencer]

32 minutes ago, veroalana said:

If something was still missing, buyer is not responding and the clock is about to stop, you should have delivered what you could do with the information you have.

Many sellers who have done what you suggest above have come to the Fiverr Forum to cry because they lost their account or got a warning for doing so.

TOS says:

  

[words_to_wow]

2 hours ago, veroalana said:

But hear me out, you should have asked everything you need in your requirements page.

Hi. Thank you for your feedback. It was actually not a matter of having everything addressed in the requirements page. This was part of a modification to the order and I was needing her to verify one of the references she used in her book. But yes, I agree with what you are saying.

2 hours ago, veroalana said:

You need to work smart and tough here. We are not dealing with cotton candy. Fiverr is about timing so you just can't be late, ever, even if it is buyer's fault. 

I'm not sure what makes you think I didn't or don't work smart or tough. You don't know anything about me except for what I've shared. The "cotton candy" reference is unnecessary, immature, and kind of funny, to be honest. Don't be fooled by my smile and friendly online etiquette. And I agree that timing is important in Fiverr. However, there are some sellers who endure unforseen circumstances which results in a tardy delivery. That wasn't my case of course, and I don't blame the buyer. I take full accountability for my mistake.

[newsmike]

26 minutes ago, zabed_ullah_p said:

Fiverr is an online marketplace that allows freelancers to offer their services to clients from all around the world. Fiverr 4.0 refers to the latest version of the platform, which was released in 2020. Some of the notable changes that came with Fiverr 4.0 include improved user interface, enhanced search capabilities, and an upgraded mobile app.

You don't write like this in your profile.  Let's have a round of applause for ChatGPT.

Edited April 9, 2023 by newsmike

[filipdevaere]

@zabed_ullah_p

I have just reported another one of your posts. It is already removed from the forum.

Your post here is also reported. 

Edited April 9, 2023 by filipdevaere

[veroalana]

11 hours ago, words_to_wow said:

Don't be fooled by my smile and friendly online etiquette

Oh no. I wasn't blame you or anything like that, maybe I sound strange because English is my second language. I never wanted to look like a person with little empathy. My idea was to give you another perspective, because many women (even myself) tend to strictly follow the rules without any interpretation of it, and of course we have to follow them, but I don't think we should take the blame when we didn't anything wrong.

[words_to_wow]

On 4/9/2023 at 11:00 AM, veroalana said:

My idea was to give you another perspective,

Hello @veroalana. Yes, I understand and I appreciate your input. It's good to get other perspectives even if we don't agree 🙂.

[danno1950]

I just got a message from a New Buyer asking for a Custom Offer, and my first thought was "Oh, ****, do I want to risk this hassle and potential negative impact on my earnings?

The new world of increased penalty potential from dealing with a new buyer.

[donnovan86]

1 hour ago, danno1950 said:

The new world of increased penalty potential from dealing with a new buyer.

Well you can discuss with the buyer and see if he knows what he wants. Usually I have a good vibe regarding the buyer, the only issue for me is when someone orders directly, that's when I have problems with some new buyers. But custom offers, I think maybe 1-2 custom offers turned out to be a bad experience. Generally when you talk with a buyer you'll have a good idea of how easy they are to work with. Of course, this is not a general rule and something bad can sometimes happen. That was not the case for me though, maybe I was lucky, who knows.

[danno1950]

48 minutes ago, donnovan86 said:

the only issue for me is when someone orders directly, that's when I have problems with some new buyers.

This is what happened in this instance. They placed the order without contacting me first, and the problem started there, Alex. That's why I quickly turned Request To Order back on. 😀

Edited April 10, 2023 by danno1950

[donnovan86]

10 hours ago, danno1950 said:

This is what happened in this instance. They placed the order without contacting me first, and the problem started there, Alex. That's why I quickly turned Request To Order back on. 😀

Got it. The only message I received from a custom the past 3 days was from a new potential buyer and he wanted me to write 3 articles, the topics were great, but after sending the offer, he said he will only accept it if I offer unlimited revisions. That "first time buyer nightmare" spidey sense activated for me, and when I saw he also wants an extra for free. The extra for free wouldn't be that much of an issue, but forcing unlimited revisions and knowing he is a first time buyer.. that made me decline his order. I barely have any orders, but the last thing I want is any problematic first time buyer.. that's why I don't have orders to begin with.. 

[leannelrivers]

1 minute ago, donnovan86 said:

problematic first time buyer

What came first? The problematic first time buyers, or the Request to Order feature for a premium monthly fee?