Freelancer Product Release

[Kesha]

22 hours ago, gunawanguan said:

 

Thank you for

Thank you for your prompt reply @Kesha
Another question, can we check / measure our "good / bad performance" with this new update level and rating system?

Hi! That's a great question! Yes, one of the goals of the update was to provide more relevant and transparent feedback to sellers. With the new level system, you will have a new level overview page that allows you to see clear indications and updates on where you stand. Additionally, you'll be able to click into each Gig, and see the factors that affect your Gig success score, to help you identify what to continue doing, and what may need improvement.

[Kesha]

14 hours ago, allstral said:

 

Hello,
So after I read it, I thought of a question, correct me if I'm wrong. The conclusion in this sentence is that the option "value for money" already exists in the system that is running now, but the seller cannot see it, because it is separate for customers only (private). Now it is a part of it that the seller can see. based on this statement the reason is in order to get "more insights into customer perceptions and make them more transparent"

now the question is:
1. In the current system, "value for money" has no effect on public ratings, am I right?

2. Then in the next system it actually has an effect on the rating. This is a difference that I think is not explained instead of directly offering benefits that I think are fine as long as you don't let that as part of influences the rating as before.

Hi! yes i'm happy to help clarify. You are correct, in the previous ratings and reviews system, value for money was not a metric that impacted your public rating. In the new system however, the value for money question was added to the public rating form, and will be taken into account in your public rating.

[Kesha]

On 1/31/2024 at 12:17 PM, donnovan86 said:

Oh, so basically it's the old Buyer Satisfaction Rate that was accessible only to Success Managers. 

It's great that we can still see where we stand and there are some tips on how to improve. Maybe we can have a similar topic to this product release when that new feature comes out, I had a meeting with one of your colleagues, and I had a glimpse at the new level system and how it looks, but there weren't that many details about what information is shared with us and how to improve. I will definitely share some feedback, if necessary, when this new feature rolls out. Thanks for your reply and clearing things out. 

Hi @donnovan86! To clarify, The success score is not there to replace the buyer satisfaction rate. But, you are right in that there will be a lot more transparency with sellers knowing where they stand, thanks to tools like the success score and the progress tracker. The good news is the system will launch on February 14 and you will have a month to get acclimated to things before the official transition of March 14. As always, we are looking forward to any feedback or questions you may have. 

[donnovan86]

3 hours ago, Kesha said:

Additionally, you'll be able to click into each Gig, and see the factors that affect your Gig success score, to help you identify what to continue doing, and what may need improvement.

I do have a question, if a gig has no sales, does that have a negative impact on the success rate? If that's the case, I guess it's better to pause/stop non-performing gigs? Or am I misunderstanding?

[gunawanguan]

52 minutes ago, donnovan86 said:

I do have a question, if a gig has no sales, does that have a negative impact on the success rate? If that's the case, I guess it's better to pause/stop non-performing gigs? Or am I misunderstanding?

I have the same questions.
Following up so I can read the answer when it got updated.

[gunawanguan]

@Kesha

This "success score", is it the same as "buyer satisfaction score"?
Also will this score affect our eligibility to get buyer brief?

[donnovan86]

7 minutes ago, gunawanguan said:

This "success score", is it the same as "buyer satisfaction score"?

The already said "The success score is not there to replace the buyer satisfaction rate. " when she replied to me, so no it's not the same. That will still be a private metric, I assume.

 

[Kesha]

1 hour ago, donnovan86 said:

I do have a question, if a gig has no sales, does that have a negative impact on the success rate? If that's the case, I guess it's better to pause/stop non-performing gigs? Or am I misunderstanding?

Hi! @donnovan86 @gunawanguan It will not be necessary for you to pause/stop your gigs with a lesser volume of orders. Each gig will have it's own success score. Your overall Seller success score will take into account the success scores from each of your gigs. Gigs with a higher volume of orders will have a more significant impact on your overall success score, while Gigs with fewer order histories will contribute to a lesser extent. Hope this helps! 

[Kesha]

On 1/31/2024 at 11:43 AM, Kesha said:

Thanks for your question! The new system does not affect sellers eligibility to receive buyer briefs. However, it is important to note that performance can indirectly affect the amount of buyers who you are recommended to you through tools like Post a Request or NEO, as those services usually prioritizes sellers with good performance.

 

18 minutes ago, gunawanguan said:

@Kesha

This "success score", is it the same as "buyer satisfaction score"?
Also will this score affect our eligibility to get buyer brief?

Hi @gunawanguan! Please see the above for my original reply concerning how the new score will affect buyer briefs. Please let me know if you have any follow up questions. Also, to clarify, success scores and buyer satisfaction are not the same thing. Buyer satisfaction remains an internal metric. But, with the Success Score, sellers will be able to see some insights about what's working or what isn’t working, so they’ll have a clear understanding about the themes/aspects that affect their success score.

[gunawanguan]

39 minutes ago, Kesha said:

Hi! @donnovan86 @gunawanguan It will not be necessary for you to pause/stop your gigs with a lesser volume of orders. Each gig will have it's own success score. Your overall Seller success score will take into account the success scores from each of your gigs. Gigs with a higher volume of orders will have a more significant impact on your overall success score, while Gigs with fewer order histories will contribute to a lesser extent. Hope this helps! 

Does it means, let say we have 1 gig with a great success score, a lot of orders.
This gig might have a better rank

And on the other hands, we have 1 other gig that has a low success score, low volume of orders.
This gig might not perform well on the rank.
But this will not related or impact our other gig?

[Kesha]

On 1/30/2024 at 2:17 PM, ariful535 said:

I see for every feature, Fiverr gives a nice tutorial to understand the process. But for the new rating, special filed/tag selection, and other options, they are not providing any tutorial, that's why regular buyers can not understand what they are doing actually. Fiverr should clarify everything to understand everybody, even a new comer too. We hope this situation will be good very soon, I got a very bad impact too for the new systems. Hope for the BEST for everybody.

Hi! We are also providing buyers with educational content to ensure they also have a solid understanding of the new changes. If, as a seller, you would like more information on the new changes, please feel free to register for our upcoming webinar where we will give you all the need-to-knows of the new system. You can register here. 

[priyank_mod]

10 hours ago, Kesha said:

 Each gig will have it's own success score. Your overall Seller success score will take into account the success scores from each of your gigs. 

Hii @Kesha

Small query - What time duration will be considered for this? Will it be lifetime sales of the gig or the last few months/quarters, like it's done usually on the platform? 

[kokoha]

@Kesha, I am attaching two screenshots with statements made by Fiverr. Could you please clarify what will happen with them once you launch the new level and rating system? Specifically, I'm concerned about:

"We lowered the rating score threshold from 4.7 to 4.2 to help sellers better maintain their levels." With all the upcoming changes, what's happening with the part that helps sellers maintain their levels?

"One of the first steps we are taking is to alleviate some of the pressure on sellers. The lowest rated order during the period will be removed from the evaluation of the seller." With all the upcoming changes, what's happening with the part to alleviate some of the pressure on sellers?

With all upcoming changes to your level and rating system, not only do you increase stress on sellers, but you significantly increase the score threshold, while encouraging buyers to leave lower ratings. It's not fair and too demotivating. I imagine that with all new changes, and as you believe that lower ratings increase conversion rate, the threshold should be something like 4+ for level 1 sellers, 4.2+ for level 2 sellers, and 4.4+ for top-rated sellers (maybe even lower). The interesting part is that you claim to have conducted a lot of beta testing and research before launching this new system. I believe you know that once it is live, many established sellers will lose levels sooner or later, even when we deliver awesome work. Just one or two instances where we do our best but still fall short of a buyer’s vision and receive low ratings may ruin everything. It's not fair.

 

Edited February 2 by kokoha

[donnovan86]

2 hours ago, kokoha said:

"We lowered the rating score threshold from 4.7 to 4.2 to help sellers better maintain their levels." With all the upcoming changes, what's happening with the part that helps sellers maintain their levels?

 

Well, that was the old system. I can only assume they are making this change because the reviews for canceled orders didn't lower review scores as much as it was intended. So I guess they are making level changes. I agree, the numbers are too high, 4.6 to be a level 2 seller is rather high, it would be fine if the review system would not be so random and inconsistent. If you're a low volume level 2 seller, you really need to hope that you're going to have a great review from customers.

2 hours ago, kokoha said:

threshold should be something like 4+ for level 1 sellers, 4.2+ for level 2 sellers, and 4.4+ for top-rated sellers (maybe even lower).

How is a person top rated if they have 4.4 on average though 🙂 That's a rather low score for someone top rated. But as I said, I get the new system is inconsistent.. 

[Kesha]

11 hours ago, priyank_mod said:

Hii @Kesha

Small query - What time duration will be considered for this? Will it be lifetime sales of the gig or the last few months/quarters, like it's done usually on the platform? 

Hi @priyank_mod! The score takes into account the history of all orders, but recent data holds more rate in the overall score. 
 

[Kesha]

10 hours ago, kokoha said:

@Kesha, I am attaching two screenshots with statements made by Fiverr. Could you please clarify what will happen with them once you launch the new level and rating system? Specifically, I'm concerned about:

"We lowered the rating score threshold from 4.7 to 4.2 to help sellers better maintain their levels." With all the upcoming changes, what's happening with the part that helps sellers maintain their levels?

"One of the first steps we are taking is to alleviate some of the pressure on sellers. The lowest rated order during the period will be removed from the evaluation of the seller." With all the upcoming changes, what's happening with the part to alleviate some of the pressure on sellers?

With all upcoming changes to your level and rating system, not only do you increase stress on sellers, but you significantly increase the score threshold, while encouraging buyers to leave lower ratings. It's not fair and too demotivating. I imagine that with all new changes, and as you believe that lower ratings increase conversion rate, the threshold should be something like 4+ for level 1 sellers, 4.2+ for level 2 sellers, and 4.4+ for top-rated sellers (maybe even lower). The interesting part is that you claim to have conducted a lot of beta testing and research before launching this new system. I believe you know that once it is live, many established sellers will lose levels sooner or later, even when we deliver awesome work. Just one or two instances where we do our best but still fall short of a buyer’s vision and receive low ratings may ruin everything. It's not fair.

 

Hi @kokoha, Thanks for expressing your concerns about the new leveling system! We do understand that some changes might be uncomfortable, especially when it affects your professional standing. But, rest assured, these updates are about lifting up the value you offer and not about penalizing anyone.

We decided to hold the rating threshold to a minimum of 4.4, but, the system changes makes the requirements to level up easier as we decreased the thresholds for order completion and earnings. Plus, with tools like our progress tracker and the success score, sellers will be have clearer, more transparent insights. Sellers will always know exactly where they stand, plus exactly what they need to get to the next level. 

In regards to taking the pressure of sellers, this is still one of the goals of this new system. Unlike before, sellers are no longer expected to maintain a 5.0 rating to achieve good results on the platform. 

Regardless, I want you to know that we will be diligently analyzing the effects of the new changes and we're listening intently to your feedback. Our product teams are taking everything into account to make sure we are serving all of our users well. 

[Kesha]

On 1/31/2024 at 8:39 AM, visualstudios said:

I ask them directly about that contradiction. They chose to answer a bunch of softballs and ignored my direct question. Of course.

 

On 1/31/2024 at 8:38 AM, melanielm said:

If a high 'value for money' score supposedly signals the seller to raise their prices, and they do, the 'value for the money' score will then drop... so Fiverr is penalizing people for making more money? There is no way I'd consider raising my prices now!

At this point, it's difficult to get upset at this stuff anymore. I feel a lot like a did at the end of my disastrous marriage: apathetic and depressed.

Hi! Thanks for stating your concerns. Based on our data, achieving a good value for money rating is still feasible for services with a higher price point. Therefore, we encourage you to set your prices to what you believe is fair. This is something we will continue analyzing once the new system is rolled out. We appreciate the feedback and will continue to take them into account.  

[Kesha]

On 1/30/2024 at 6:24 PM, webcut said:

@Kesha

In this case, can you please explain how the review system will work? Initially, clients will see five options: Very Poor, Poor, Average, Very Good, and Exceptional. After that, which criteria will come into play? When will the value for money be considered? Please share the review process step by step.

Another point to clarify: won't there be any 5-star ratings? For instance, if a client selects "Exceptional," will it not count as a 5-star rating for us?

Concerning the success score, you mentioned that gigs with more orders will receive more success points. However, in some cases, we create many gigs, and some generate few sales while others generate many. Not all gigs will reach top ranking. In this scenario, only 1-2 gig holders might get more success than 10-15 gig holders. Should I delete all low-potential gigs and keep only higher-ranking gigs?

Regarding agencies, can anyone join, or is it by invitation only? Also, do you think the lead generation sector falls under agency criteria? I haven't seen any agencies under it.

Hi @webcut! I would be happy to help answer your questions. 

First, in the new system, buyers will be asked a series of questions where they can rate sellers on a scale of 1 (Very Poor) to 5 (Exceptional). The questions will be: 

• Based on your expectations, how would you rate the quality of this delivery?
• How was it working with the freelancer?
• How would you rate the value for money of this service?

Buyers will also get the chance to write a review for the seller which will appear on the seller's profile and gig page. All of these questions, including value for money will be averaged out into an order rating, with 5.0 being the highest possible order rating.

5.0 is possible, and is achieved when a buyer rates each of the above questions as Exceptional. 

As far as Success Scores are concerned, there is no need to delete less popular gigs. In your overall success score, gigs with more orders will weigh more than gigs with less orders. 

 

[Kesha]

On 1/30/2024 at 2:24 PM, gunawanguan said:

One crazy idea just pass through my mind, @Kesha.

Maybe if this can be discussed to the fiverr team.
If fiverr can make the mobile app to be as much friendly as how the other social media app like instagram, twitter / x, facebook so that new buyer will enjoyed to use it, stay much longer and even addicted to use the fiverr platform, that will help to simplify the usage of the platform.

Just a crazy thought. Please don't get offended with this idea.

I appreciate your suggestion @gunawanguan! No offense taken. I will pass it along as we always welcome feedback on how we can continue to make the platform better. 

[Kesha]

On 1/31/2024 at 4:32 AM, creativecolumn said:

Instead of rolling out unnecessary updates, I appreciate if you can add a section to view "Photos", "Files", and "Links" in a different section in the inbox. If we need to find a screenshot we sent few months ago to specific buyer, we have to scroll up until the browser freezes. 

I think that would be very useful update. I have passed it along to the product team! Thanks @creativecolumn

[Kesha]

On 1/31/2024 at 2:34 AM, leannelrivers said:

I feel the same. I've allowed the ratings, evaluations and hits to visibility for not being perfect to rock my boat far too many times. And now the goalposts are moving again. I'm not cutting my prices again; I know I'm value for money whether buyers agree or not. I spend a bit of money promoting my gigs, but I see that as a legitimate part of being a business. But I'm done with paying for Seller Plus and attempting to micromanage everything, including trying to figure out if a buyer is likely to leave a bad review. No thanks. If Fiverr is one's sole source of income, then the ratings, evaluations and visibility in searches become incredibly stressful. I didn't choose to be a freelancer because I wanted to be constantly stressed about algorithms and approval ratings. 

 

On 1/30/2024 at 7:40 PM, prosen_224 said:

All the updates to Fiverr are nice except for the review system. A top rated seller charges more than a new seller for a particular job. And every person prioritizes more or less money. So any buyer would give less stars in the value for money category.

If I come to the example, the price of a watch can be $100 USD or $1M USD. In the same way, a new seller becomes a top rated seller at some point with his talent and effort, so the price of his service will be a little higher than everyone else.

The seller needs to think a little to negotiate with the buyer while taking the order. And in this case, 50 percent of buyers wouldn't give it five stars for price. And by doing this, the five stars that were from the seller's profile will gradually decrease.

The previous review system was the best 🚩

 

On 1/31/2024 at 2:02 AM, vibronx said:

I wonder if the people working at Fiverr would be happy to work under the same conditions we sellers are subjected to. Being constantly evaluated on our performance, response time, etc., while being allowed to make very few mistakes. Do their bosses think they are value for money, btw?

I used to get really angry about decisions like this one, but now I basically feel apathy. Almost every new “feature” shows that Fiverr doesn’t care about us. And I just don’t really care about them either anymore.

I think if they truly felt what it was like relying on Fiverr as part of your income and striving for perfect scores year after year, if they had felt that on their own bodies, they would make different decisions. That’s all.

Thank you for sharing your concerns and voicing your frustrations. We hear you and understand the impact recent changes have had on your experience. Your feedback is invaluable, and we are actively reviewing them and taking them into account. We appreciate your commitment to the platform, and please rest assured that we have your best interest in mind with the changes. Our product team will continue to analyze the effects of the new system, considering your comments. 

[webcut]

1 hour ago, Kesha said:

Success Scores are concerned, there is no need to delete less popular gigs. In your overall success score, gigs with more orders will weigh more than gigs with less orders. 

In this case my success score won't affected if less popular gig don't generating order ?

[donnovan86]

13 minutes ago, webcut said:

In this case my success score won't affected if less popular gig don't generating order ?

It's hard to know until they release it. But I for one... I am rethinking what services I will keep active and what I won't offer anymore. Because some of these gigs have been inactive for months, with a sale or two here and there. Clearly there's very little demand. So I will remove or pause some gigs, and create new ones myself. Not sure how others will tackle it, but I want to have great-performing gigs. Even if those older gigs are not dragging my account down, and that's a big if, a buyer can still have their doubts when they see an order that has no reviews for the past year or so. 

[webcut]

23 minutes ago, donnovan86 said:

It's hard to know until they release it. But I for one... I am rethinking what services I will keep active and what I won't offer anymore. Because some of these gigs have been inactive for months, with a sale or two here and there. Clearly there's very little demand. So I will remove or pause some gigs, and create new ones myself. Not sure how others will tackle it, but I want to have great-performing gigs. Even if those older gigs are not dragging my account down, and that's a big if, a buyer can still have their doubts when they see an order that has no reviews for the past year or so. 

That's a major issue then. I have 11 gigs. All gigs have different target and they have customer. But only 2-3 have proper ranking. But other gig also provides potential customer sometimes. Suppose some gig provides 1-2 order monthly. Some of them after 2 months but still they are generating customer for me. If I pause or remove due to success rate issue then I must loose some customer for those services.

 

Yes we can wait but if that hamper my job success or ranking then surely that must be a thinking issue! Bcz most of the seller here are providing multiple services but only few gig have potential outcomes.

[priyank_mod]

10 hours ago, donnovan86 said:

However, starting with Valentine's Day, Fiverr is implementing some new features when it comes to levels, we will have a success score. How is that impacted by reviews from the past few months, how far back does it go and if it sticks with the 60-day coverage or not, only Fiverr can tell us that.

 

10 hours ago, Kesha said:

Hi @priyank_mod! The score takes into account the history of all orders, but recent data holds more rate in the overall score. 
 

It seems like it will be weighted average of all the orders but recency will have more relevance like always. 

Edited February 3 by priyank_mod