Why lying about your skills will never work

[smashradio]

There are more than 255,000 sellers on Fiverr.

Out of those, only a few will ever make it past the 1 order mark and have any chance of success. 

Is it because the "system is rigged"? Perhaps because buyers are "unfair" in choosing sellers with a track record for success? 

Obviously, the system is rigged. It's rigged to match the best seller with the right buyer. That's why the Fiverr algorithm and metrics used for deciding who makes it is ever-evolving. 

The system is rigged so that Fiverr succeeds. And that's a good thing because a strong Fiverr is a better Fiverr. 

If you're misrepresenting yourself and your skills, the system is rigged to keep you as far away from buyers as possible. 

In my view, the number one reason why a new buyer isn't making it, is because they lie about their skills. 

Far too many are lying about their skills and misrepresenting themselves to the point that it becomes ridiculous. 

The screenshot below is not fake. It's from an actual seller profile on Fiverr: 

Unfortunately, this is no laughing matter. 

If you're not an expert, lying about it won't make you one. 

If a buyer ever decides to make an order, they will walk away disappointed. Angry, even. Pissed off because they expected an expert and received an amateur. 

For the seller, the result is a negative review, no more orders and a trip to the forum, asking why the orders have stopped rolling in. 

Thankfully, Fiverr has ways to separate the wheat from the chaff by using its algorithm. But the algorithm can never be perfect. 

It all begins with every person out there who thinks lying about their skills can land them success. It won't. 

It's not just unethical. It's useless. 

If you wish to go into freelancing and have any kind of success, you better be honest about your skills. And your limitations. 

You need to invest time in your skills. You need a proper business strategy. 

Now go out there, learn new things, and if you're feeling sad right now: don't. If you don't know how: learn it. Then come back to Fiverr, with a plan, a skill and something to contribute to the platform. 

That's the way to success. 

Edited June 1, 2022 by smashradio

[donnovan86]

48 minutes ago, smashradio said:

The screenshot below is not fake. It's from an actual seller profile on Fiverr: 

 

This is a major issue especially in the writing section. I see a lot of people stating they are from the US but which clearly use a VPN, as their English is extremely poor. There are also accounts whose main picture looks the same, it has the same structure, just a different lady being featured. And on top of that, those similar accounts also traded reviews. I can only assume it's the same thing in other verticals, not just writing.

Unfortunately these people receive a chance from Fiverr and many trick buyers into purchasing from them. But it is what it is... eventually these random people trying to con buyers eventually wear off and don't stick on Fiverr. Yet legit sellers lose clients due to them.. It's sad, really. I am sure I lost quite a bit of clients due to them too...

[j6nyc6]

Funny enough, WRITAR is an acronym for Waste Reduction Institute for Training and Applications Research. (waste reduction lol)

[newsmike]

On 6/1/2022 at 3:46 PM, smashradio said:

There are more than 255,000 sellers on Fiverr.

And every one of them is "Expart digital marketeer" from that certain location.

On 6/1/2022 at 3:46 PM, smashradio said:

The screenshot below is not fake. It's from an actual seller profile on Fiverr: 

 

I am starting to think that the 20% we pay Fiverr should include search and destroy on this type of crap.  It makes Fiverr and it's sellers (us) a joke. 

[donnovan86]

4 hours ago, smashradio said:

There are more than 255,000 sellers on Fiverr.

 

I think there are way more than that.

According to this SEC filing, there were 800k+ in 2019 https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1762301/000104746919003139/a2238508zf-1.htm#:~:text=Since inception%2C we have facilitated,830%2C000 sellers on our platform.

So I can only assume now there are way over 1 million, especially with the pandemic bringing well over a million. 

[mariashtelle1]

Worst part that a lot of them are not even lying, they really believe that pressing three buttons to remove background makes them “photoshop exparts” and “digital marketers” after they took 5 min course on how to publish FB ad. 

[theratypist]

4 minutes ago, donnovan86 said:

800k+ in 2019

Wow, that is a lot!!!! That also mean there is also a sea of "why me no sells" for every 1,000... or heck even 100.. 😀

[newsmike]

On 6/1/2022 at 8:28 PM, donnovan86 said:

So I can only assume now there are way over 1 million

And 17 speak English

On 6/1/2022 at 8:33 PM, theratypist said:

Wow, that is a lot!!!! That also mean there is also a sea of "why me no sells" for every 1,000... or heck even 100.. 😀

This is making the case for a pay wall to have a seller account.  Radio silence in 3...2...1.....

[theratypist]

6 minutes ago, newsmike said:

This is making the case for a pay wall to have a seller account.  Radio silence in 3...2...1.....

Hahaha. I support you on your cause dear Mike!

I think the closest they have for that right now is Seller Plus -- but I find that it only benefits sellers who are already sort of succeeding / have more potential to succeed to begin with. Which makes sense I guess, not to be rude but there are definitely some hopeless cases. 🥲

[newsmike]

17 minutes ago, theratypist said:

I think the closest they have for that right now is Seller Plus

Yes and it falls very short.  I am in "Seller Plus" hell right now. I submitted a new gig video which is being rejected on a technicality that the "success managers" used to routinely "handle" for us, but now they changed policy, silently and I am screwed and spending hundreds re-editing my videos. Plus my SM got "promoted" this week, and I got handed off to a new one in Tel Aviv, who only has office hours between midnight and 6:00 AM US time.  Plus she has been on every email, and not bothered to respond to any, except....I asked her if she had additional time when the sun might be shining in the USA, and she just responded with a link to the same useless calendar, showing only overnight availability.  So I need to pay to get up at 3:00 AM to speak to a SM? Seriously? Plus like all consultants, you learn everything they know in the first few conversations. Last month I asked "Since I have great clicks, how do I improve conversion?" I was told there is no magic bullet. Useless. Probably dropping Seller Plus unless they step up real big, real soon. 

Thanks to @frank_d for talking me off the ledge today on this f**kery.   

Edited June 2, 2022 by newsmike

[theratypist]

13 minutes ago, newsmike said:

Seriously? Plus like all consultants, you learn everything they know in the first few conversations.

Love how you're always on point. 🤣

Although wow I wasn't aware about stuff like that are happening right now. The least that could've been done is hand you to an SM from the US - although I can see how limited they can be since the remaining available ones from US might not specialize in the service category you're under.

19 minutes ago, newsmike said:

Thanks to @frank_d for talking me off the ledge today on this f**kery.   

As always @frank_d, thank you for your service to Fiverr forum humanity. 🙌

[nomuffinsforyou]

9 hours ago, smashradio said:

If a buyer ever decides to make an order, they will walk away disappointed. Angry, even. Pissed off because they expected an expert and received an amateur. 

I'm doing art commissions, and I make it clear on what can do and cannot not do. I also tell them in bold letters to message me first before placing an order so I have an idea of what they want and assess my capabilities if I can draw the art or not. I still struggle in drawing anatomy for humans, and I make it clear in my description that I need a reference for the character if I want to draw it for them. 

I made my gig description as clear and as honest as possible. I make it clear "I will draw with my art style". What I worry is that people will not read my gig description and just place an order, and then they will be disappointed at me because I cannot do as their request 😞 They will think I'm lying about my skills which I do not want happening... I wonder if anyone has advice for me for this situation? ;w;

[theratypist]

1 hour ago, nomuffinsforyou said:

What I worry is that people will not read my gig description and just place an order

Oh trust me there are many who do. But since you're a visual artist, they would likely have seen your gig image and expect a product similar to that. 

1 hour ago, nomuffinsforyou said:

They will think I'm lying about my skills which I do not want happening

I wouldn't go as extreme as thinking you're lying. And if ever they have issues with your output, you have the defense of your gig description and the work you delivered if ever the issue gets up to Customer Support.

And in the event, the buyer does put an order with instructions that do not fall under what you cannot do then you cancel it. It might take hit, but you can also discuss with Customer Support that you've written in your gig description that it isn't something you offer (if ever you did write something like that).

[donnovan86]

5 hours ago, mariashtelle1 said:

Worst part that a lot of them are not even lying, they really believe that pressing three buttons to remove background makes them “photoshop exparts” and “digital marketers” after they took 5 min course on how to publish FB ad. 

I fully agree. Granted, some jobs don't require good English, but writing in particular.. if you browse the writing section you will find a ton of people with grammar mistakes even in their gig titles. And they still sell. I am baffled by that. Even if you sell logos, the idea that you're selling on an English marketplace should bring the decency of learning (or attempting to learn) the language. But it is what it is... There will always be "exparts" like these... whether we like it or not.

[donnovan86]

5 hours ago, newsmike said:

Plus my SM got "promoted" this week, and I got handed off to a new one in Tel Aviv, who only has office hours between midnight and 6:00 AM US time.

You can leave them an email, stating you want a new success manager because the timezones don't sync very well. You will receive a replacement.  

[dannykojima1]

With a creative artistic skills, sure it is that not easy as most people thinks, I mean... those who wanted to make money with art, especially commission. I have been creating art for private commissions for several musicians over the years since 2012, I can tell you how much painful this must be to create realistic illustration as possible for the clients for their music cover which have me spent a month to complete the illustration for the album of their model, and put me a lot of pressure which force me quit creating art for the music industry.

In the artworld of drawing character design, you have to understand how the human figure anatomy work through human figure drawing. Back in the 90's before YouTube when I was 8, I have to trained myself drawing my favorite Street Fighters character Ryu, Ken and Guile. Of course, I spend the day to night on the weekend studying the body of Street Fighters characters I re-drawing and drawing over and over in my studying. It took 27 years for me to master the work of art, but of course, this doesn't mean the drawing skills will stay with us, which mean we will lose our drawing ability if we stopped drawing for month or year!

For now decided to quit as a seller/freelancer on Fiverr. So I'm now only remain as a buyer hope to searching for any writers who has a creative skills I can hire for my comic and magazine through sci-fi and fantasy art, because I have too many art business I have to take care which I'm currently heavily relying on Deviant Art sales and ArtStation, Facebook business page instead of looking for future freelancer work on Fiverr. But of course, for now -- I'm just a buyer. Not a freelancer anymore.

Anyway, I'm still feel very new to Fiverr as a buyer which I'm pretty much done as a freelance artist as I made a post on my status. Well, I guess I will have to search around the forum for some tips on how I can create job through Buyer Request for any available freelance writers out there, someday.

[miiila]

6 hours ago, newsmike said:

This is making the case for a pay wall to have a seller account.  Radio silence in 3...2...1.....

I actually thought that "seller plus" was the start of a pay-walling operation, and that we were looking at an additional "seller basic", which you have to join (maybe after one free month, to see if it's for you), and that "seller plus" would stay as the "standard", a pay wall linked to a by invite only wall (which it is, and which I think a very good idea, as I'm not so sure that just money would solve the issues) and a "seller premium" too. Seller plus/standard could have things that most sellers would want and use, like more than, say, 3 Gigs that would come with "seller basic", additional analytics and data, etc., and premium could have things like the personal ssm. 

 

6 hours ago, newsmike said:

Probably dropping Seller Plus

Are you really sure you want to lose the additional insights right in your chat box, though... ☕

[vickieito]

23 minutes ago, dannykojima1 said:

For now decided to quit as a seller/freelancer on Fiverr. So I'm now only remain as a buyer hope to searching for any writers who has a creative skills I can hire for my comic and magazine through sci-fi and fantasy art ... Well, I guess I will have to search around the forum for some tips on how I can create job through Buyer Request for any available freelance writers out there, someday.

@dannykojima1, You can submit a buyer's request by clicking on the "Post a Request" button on your main buyer's page. Or by clicking on your profile picture (this is also where you "Manage a Request.") The forum seems to be full of sellers asking about how to get buyer's requests, so it may be easier just to refer to the Help Center for tips:

https://www.fiverr.com/support/articles/360050062693-Buyer-Request-Tips

 

[nomuffinsforyou]

1 hour ago, theratypist said:

Oh trust me there are many who do. But since you're a visual artist, they would likely have seen your gig image and expect a product similar to that. 

And in the event, the buyer does put an order with instructions that do not fall under what you cannot do then you cancel it. 

Oh good, I was worried, because I saw some reviews on other people's art commission gigs where they gave 1 star reviews as they asked for a realistic portrait when the artist can only draw anime/manga style. I think that means I will have to cancel their order if they ask me for something I can not do! Thank you for advice!

20 minutes ago, dannykojima1 said:

With a creative artistic skills, sure it is that not easy as most people thinks

I saw your profile, your art is so good!! Thank you for giving your tips on how you practice drawing anatomy! Bit off-topic: maybe you can teach me some tips on painting as well? >u< 

Art is very difficult to get commissions I think, you have to be confident and good at what you do. If your art is bad no one will come to you 😞 If you lie about your skill people can REALLY tell it. If you post your art in other social media and you lie about your skill, people will really come after you and prevent you from ever making art again ;-;

[vickieito]

11 hours ago, smashradio said:

Now go out there, learn new things, and if you're feeling sad right now: don't. If you don't know how: learn it. Then come back to Fiverr, with a plan, a skill and something to contribute to the platform. 

That's the way to success. 

Thanks @smashradio! This is what I ended up doing. I opened an account in 2019 (I didn't even create a gig) and then came back after 2 years of learning new skills and creating a business plan. Once I knew what skills the buyers wanted, it was much easier to post my first gig and run a business.

11 hours ago, donnovan86 said:

This is a major issue especially in the writing section. I see a lot of people stating they are from the US but which clearly use a VPN, as their English is extremely poor. ... Yet legit sellers lose clients due to them.. It's sad, really. I am sure I lost quite a bit of clients due to them too...

Yes, this is a big problem for me as a writer! Buyers see that my location is Japan and even though I tell them I'm just an American expat in Japan they don't believe me. I have to "prove" that I'm a native English speaker, usually by showing some of my portfolio. Even then, they are skeptical. At that point, I just have them refer to my reviews and tell them that they don't have to use my services if they are uncomfortable.

I have no chance in the buyer's requests for my writing gigs because buyers immediately dismiss me as a non-native speaker once they see my location as Japan.

However, this doesn't seem to be limited to just the Fiverr platform.

When I lived in Utah, I would always get compliments on how good my English was. Once, a guy even ran up to me to ask, "Where are you from?" After I told him I was American, he responded, "No....where are you R-E-A-L-L-Y from?" 

So I responded, "Where are you R-E-A-L-L-Y from?" He was startled and said, "Uh...I'm...I'm American, of course."

Well so am I!

It's really hard having to prove my identity wherever I go...

 

[mariashtelle1]

6 hours ago, theratypist said:

Although wow I wasn't aware about stuff like that are happening right now.

Yep, they also changed my SSM and the replies I received from a new person were not better than CSs copy pasted replies. I even cancelled my last scheduled call because I felt meh after those responses  😑 

[katakatica]

1 hour ago, vickieito said:

Yes, this is a big problem for me as a writer! Buyers see that my location is Japan and even though I tell them I'm just an American expat in Japan they don't believe me. I have to "prove" that I'm a native English speaker, usually by showing some of my portfolio. Even then, they are skeptical. At that point, I just have them refer to my reviews and tell them that they don't have to use my services if they are uncomfortable.

 

I'm Hungarian but living in Sweden (though Fiverr is confused and says I'm in Italy. CS said it'll revert on its own, but I've lived in 4 countries since then!) and get this quite a lot as well. I think people lying about their nationalities/whereabouts really does make it... complicated for expats (or people from different countries who HAPPEN to actually write well in English. 

But... I think the writers' section is so... messy that people still end up going for the few decent-looking ones. I've had a look around a couple of times and it's just not great, from copy-pasted profiles to EXPARTS... I like to think that this is working FOR us, but... I'm not 100% sure, to be honest. 

1 hour ago, mariashtelle1 said:

Yep, they also changed my SSM and the replies I received from a new person were not better than CSs copy pasted replies. I even cancelled my last scheduled call because I felt meh after those responses  😑 

At least you were already re-placed! I got the email a good while ago (back in April) but still nothing. I haven't been in touch too much because I had a lot going on with moving around/work/life in general but would love to get back on track but I'm sticking to waiting around for a bit because...yeah. 

 

As for the actual topic: liars get found out but they still get orders from stupid people (read: sometimes me who sees the BEST in everyone and even gave a chance to someone who copied my work/gig to change it instead of reporting them off the bat.) People... do learn, though, but maybe not before getting a couple slaps on the wrists (or warnings, I guess.)

[donnovan86]

2 hours ago, vickieito said:

Even then, they are skeptical. At that point, I just have them refer to my reviews and tell them that they don't have to use my services if they are uncomfortable.

If someone doesn't trust me, then might as well choose someone else. There are lots of options on Fiverr, they don't have to choose me. 

But as you can imagine there are always people that place the order without consent, choose one of the hardest possible topics imaginable, only to ask for a refund after that. It's the way things are...

[smashradio]

9 hours ago, donnovan86 said:

I think there are way more than that.

According to this SEC filing, there were 800k+ in 2019 https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1762301/000104746919003139/a2238508zf-1.htm#:~:text=Since inception%2C we have facilitated,830%2C000 sellers on our platform.

So I can only assume now there are way over 1 million, especially with the pandemic bringing well over a million. 

I got the number from the F-1 filing mentioning march 2019 as a month with aprox. 255k "active sellers". How many seller profiles there are, doesn't really matter, since inactive profiles won't be visible to 99,9% of buyers anyway. Many sellers have also deleted their profiles over the years, so it's far more interesting to look at the active seller number. 

9 hours ago, theratypist said:

Wow, that is a lot!!!! That also mean there is also a sea of "why me no sells" for every 1,000... or heck even 100.. 😀

Most of those sellers probably aren't active at all and haven't been for a long time. But the fact that both me and Donnovan found SEC filings for 2019, is interesting. Where are the 2021 numbers? Those would be more interesting, since it would reflect the pandemic and how it affected the number of "exparts". 

8 hours ago, newsmike said:

Yes and it falls very short.  I am in "Seller Plus" hell right now. I submitted a new gig video which is being rejected on a technicality that the "success managers" used to routinely "handle" for us, but now they changed policy, silently and I am screwed and spending hundreds re-editing my videos. Plus my SM got "promoted" this week, and I got handed off to a new one in Tel Aviv, who only has office hours between midnight and 6:00 AM US time.  Plus she has been on every email, and not bothered to respond to any, except....I asked her if she had additional time when the sun might be shining in the USA, and she just responded with a link to the same useless calendar, showing only overnight availability.  So I need to pay to get up at 3:00 AM to speak to a SM? Seriously? Plus like all consultants, you learn everything they know in the first few conversations. Last month I asked "Since I have great clicks, how do I improve conversion?" I was told there is no magic bullet. Useless. Probably dropping Seller Plus unless they step up real big, real soon. 

Thanks to @frank_d for talking me off the ledge today on this f**kery.   

I've had great experience with my SM. The only thing that bothers me is that I, too, had a change. That said, my current SM is great. She's responsive, detailed, always willing to help and she also included me in a lot of other stuff outside of the seller plus program. So I have a very different impression of Plus. I guess it all depends on which SM you get. 

With that said: as Plus grows, the real benefits will shrink and become more automated. I wish SMs worked exclusively with TRS and Pro sellers. That way, they would have more time to follow up, work with us and solve issues that arises. 

My SM is US based, so there's a time difference, but at least I don't have to wake up at 3AM to talk with her. 

The issue with this type of "young company" is that people are never satisfied in one place for any meaningful period of time. Employees are always "moving on to new challenges and oppurtunities". You don't get a chance to work with your SM for very long, most likely, before a new one replaces them. 

5 hours ago, nomuffinsforyou said:

What I worry is that people will not read my gig description and just place an order

I know how you feel. I don't do character voices (I'm in voice over) - so you're not gonna get a good Mickey Mouse, and no, I can't imitate a 6-year-old girls voice or Morgan Freeman. (Or both, having a conversation - and yes, I got that request once - IN NORWEGIAN! I didn't know Freeman spoke Norwegian.)

It's an ongoing problem here on Fiverr, which is why I could see a use case for deactivating the order-button, so buyers have to contact us first. But I guess it would take some of the simplicity out of Fiverr. So I get why it doesn't work like that. 

2 hours ago, miiila said:

I actually thought that "seller plus" was the start of a pay-walling operation, and that we were looking at an additional "seller basic"

Somehow, I doubt it will happen, yet @frank_d has promised us something that will deal with a lot of the issues on Fiverr. He's keeping us on our toes about it. I bet he enjoys himself doing it, too, don't you, Frank? I can picture you with a smug smile, sipping red wine and doing an evil laugh every time someone asks about it on the forum. 😄 

2 hours ago, vickieito said:

Thanks @smashradio! This is what I ended up doing. I opened an account in 2019 (I didn't even create a gig) and then came back after 2 years of learning new skills and creating a business plan. Once I knew what skills the buyers wanted, it was much easier to post my first gig and run a business.

That's awesome! I'm happy for you! 😄

2 hours ago, vickieito said:

I have to "prove" that I'm a native English speaker

Oh yes. I get this all the time. I'm a Norwegian expat in Spain. Buyers will ask me for a "custom demo" proving that I can speak Norwegian. I just send them my demo and a quick note about being a Top Rated Seller with more than 800 positive reviews. You don't get that as a Norwegian voice over, if you don't speak Norwegian. That usually calms them down. 🤣

 

[donnovan86]

2 hours ago, mariashtelle1 said:

I even cancelled my last scheduled call because I felt meh after those responses

I was one of the persons that got into the program with the $19 price. Honestly I never scheduled any calls aside from 2 in the beginning. At this point I keep the program just for faster support and getting my money in a week instead of 2. Plus the extra insights and what they added, at that price it's worth it for an active seller like me.