Do you believe that Fiverr is becoming an unstable freelance marketplace now!

[fahimeh22]

I think 90% sellers are thinking the same as me! What about yours?

[navid_zafar]

Why do you feel like that?

[fastcopywriter]

Fiverr is a hobby at this point.  Not a business, not a marketplace. I went from making $2,000 a month to $50 a month, sometimes less.

I've tried everything- promoted gigs, AI gig description, AI gig images, better customer service, different price points, nothing works. 

If you want to work from home, get a real job, forget freelancing.   

[graphicterm]

I am a new seller. So, how can I ger more buyer from fiverr?

[imagine_skies]

Yes , being a Top Rated Seller the last 4 years ... I think that Fiverr is becoming very unstable since the last update when the new rating system went live ! 

[fahimeh22]

7 hours ago, navid_zafar said:

Why do you feel like that?

The new level system is the worst decision they have ever taken

[smartdezigns]

26 minutes ago, imagine_skies said:

Yes , being a Top Rated Seller the last 4 years ... I think that Fiverr is becoming very unstable since the last update when the new rating system went live ! 

But you are getting orders these days then how can you say that? It's newbies who are struggling to get orders on Fiverr so they can say that about Fiverr.. but not you.. 

[sujonwp]

6 hours ago, fastcopywriter said:

Fiverr is a hobby at this point.  Not a business, not a marketplace. I went from making $2,000 a month to $50 a month, sometimes less.

I've tried everything- promoted gigs, AI gig description, AI gig images, better customer service, different price points, nothing works. 

If you want to work from home, get a real job, forget freelancing.   

I fully agree with you.

[graphicterm]

Just some minutes ago I have uploaded my gig on Fiverr. So, what will I do now?

[donnovan86]

2 hours ago, imagine_skies said:

Yes , being a Top Rated Seller the last 4 years ... I think that Fiverr is becoming very unstable since the last update when the new rating system went live ! 

I wonder why. Thousands and thousands of new sellers join the platform for free every month, many of them stating they are experts in what they do, and some don't even know how to fulfill even the most basic tasks in their niche. There are people asking here quite often: How can I become a designer, and if you go to their page, they say they have 8 years of experience as a designer.

The new system was meant as a way to eliminate lots of the sellers that have bad performance, those that cancel orders just to maintain a certain rating, etc. The main problem with this new system is that when they calculate your score, they will also compare you with others. So if you are a solo worker and you have others that outsource or use AI and deliver tons of orders, you will be affected. That feels unfair to me and it's not something you can control.. 

It's more about the marketplace having less buyers and more sellers, AI being a major issue, and some sellers lying about their expertise. I do agree it's unstable, but AI is playing a major factor, more than the changes made by Fiverr and their new system. 

 

[smashradio]

For some, it has definitely become an unstable source of income. Whether this is due to their performance or the new level and success score system is hard to say, because some of us are thriving under the new system, while others are struggling.

Many sellers seem to be trying new tactics to stay on top, but I think they're doing it wrong. Just a week in, people were already panicking about dropping sales and throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what would stick.

AI-generated gig descriptions? Just because Fiverr has an AI fetish, it doesn't mean our buyers do. They might think they do, but people still buy from people, not AI.

You're still selling to humans, not bots, even if Fiverr wants us to think we're all just cogs in the AI grinder at this point.

Instead of trying to "game the system" to survive, try working smarter and better, and learn marketing strategies that actually work. You know, the tried and true methods like writing your gig description to convert instead of to please an algorithm (actual sales beat keywords every time) and delivering top-notch services consistently.

This includes being proactive with your communication to make buyers feel secure, being friendly, responding promptly to all messages and requests, and carefully selecting the right projects to ensure you're working on something you're truly an expert at. Instead of quantity, your goal should always be quality, even if that means you have to charge three times as much. 

If you did that, you might succeed. But of course, we're all at the mercy of an AI developed by the same people who brought us Neo, so there are no guarantees.

Even though I think Fiverr made a huge mistake with this new system, I still believe it comes down to us and our performance. Some of us are succeeding because of the quality of our work, our services, and our systems for vetting buyers to pick the right clients, not because of or in spite of the new system.

That said, Fiverr has lost 300,000 buyers. We're in a time when companies are trying to cut costs left and right (don't think for a second that layoffs are only affecting employees; freelancers are just as impacted), and we're experiencing existential changes to the way we work due to AI.

Companies are experimenting like crazy to ride the AI wave. It's the worst case of FOMO I've ever seen. So, while some of us have surely done all of the above, we can't pretend the AI developments aren't affecting us. Blaming Fiverr alone is foolish.

Disclaimer: I've been told by forum management to have a more open mind about AI. Any interpretation of this as a defence of Fiverr is purely by direct order from our AI overlords. 

Edited May 20 by smashradio

[filipdevaere]

53 minutes ago, graphicterm said:

Just some minutes ago I have uploaded my gig on Fiverr. So, what will I do now?

Drink  a ☕

[filipdevaere]

31 minutes ago, smashradio said:

Fiverr has lost 300,000 buyers.

My success manager told me during our last meeting that there are fewer buyers on the Fiverr platform than before.
Fewer buyers mean that there is less work for many freelancers.

[donnovan86]

12 minutes ago, filipdevaere said:

Fewer buyers mean that there is less work for many freelancers.

Also, more meksells trying to appear as experienced professionals when they have no idea what they are doing, many of them also use AI. And just more people joining the platform in general, aka more competition for less buyers. 

[onpage2345]

1 hour ago, donnovan86 said:

I wonder why. Thousands and thousands of new sellers join the platform for free every month, many of them stating they are experts in what they do, and some don't even know how to fulfill even the most basic tasks in their niche. There are people asking here quite often: How can I become a designer, and if you go to their page, they say they have 8 years of experience as a designer.

The new system was meant as a way to eliminate lots of the sellers that have bad performance, those that cancel orders just to maintain a certain rating, etc. The main problem with this new system is that when they calculate your score, they will also compare you with others. So if you are a solo worker and you have others that outsource or use AI and deliver tons of orders, you will be affected. That feels unfair to me and it's not something you can control.. 

It's more about the marketplace having less buyers and more sellers, AI being a major issue, and some sellers lying about their expertise. I do agree it's unstable, but AI is playing a major factor, more than the changes made by Fiverr and their new system. 

 

Totally agreed 💯 

[onpage2345]

26 minutes ago, filipdevaere said:

Drink  a ☕

😂😂

[smashradio]

37 minutes ago, filipdevaere said:

My success manager told me during our last meeting that there are fewer buyers on the Fiverr platform than before.
Fewer buyers mean that there is less work for many freelancers.

Yup, of course it does. And then they make up claims about the buyers remaining being of a higher quality. All I've seen is more haggling over price. 

 

24 minutes ago, donnovan86 said:

Also, more meksells trying to appear as experienced professionals when they have no idea what they are doing, many of them also use AI. And just more people joining the platform in general, aka more competition for less buyers. 

Indeed. When everyone and their grandmother is allowed to just copy/paste gunk from ChatGPT in order to pretend, it will naturally increase the amount of unhappy buyers as well. I've seen more and more complaints coming from buyers, not just sellers, because they've had trouble with a seller not delivering as promised. And for the everyman it's becoming increasingly difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff, when even a 12-year-old in their momma's kitchen can pretend to be a corporate lawyer. 

Disclaimer: I've been told by forum management to be more open minded about AI. Any reference, negative or otherwise, to AI in this post, is purely meant as constructive criticism to aid new sellers on their AI journey, helping sellers like you, one prompt at a time. 

Edited May 20 by smashradio

[fahimeh22]

6 hours ago, donnovan86 said:

So if you are a solo worker and you have others that outsource or use AI and deliver tons of orders, you will be affected. That feels unfair to me and it's not something you can control.. 

 

 

It's true. I always believe in quality. That's why I never take tons of order, while many sellers in my niche are working in a very low price, deliver less quality product and surprisingly most of the buyers leave positive feedback! 

Edited May 20 by fahimeh22

[fahimeh22]

4 hours ago, smashradio said:

Yup, of course it does. And then they make up claims about the buyers remaining being of a higher quality. All I've seen is more haggling over price. 

As new sellers (who dropped from levels 1 and 2 and were using the promoted gig feature) are no longer able to use this feature, Fiverr will lose significant revenue from these sellers. What do you think about this? Will Fiverr change their rule and allow new sellers (who previously used the promoted gig feature) to use it again?

[coerdelion]

5 hours ago, smashradio said:

Disclaimer: I've been told by forum management to be more open minded about AI. Any reference, negative or otherwise, to AI in this post, is purely meant as constructive criticism to aid new sellers on their AI journey, helping sellers like you, one prompt at a time. 

We *are* open minded towards AI - just not to the way Fiverr is deploying it ... !

 

[greggidneyvo]

Absolutely...

As they continue to make changes and seemingly crush sellers with arbitrary random new rules like the super secret reviews, and a 2 year windoe to erase all you've worked for in building reviews, rank and clientele... id say thats a hard yes.

[visualstudios]

There's also another factor that I've never seen anyone discuss - politics. I don't have data, and I don't know what the impact has been, but it wouldn't surprise me if certain things have been dragging down on Fiverr as a company and platform. 

[greggidneyvo]

14 minutes ago, coerdelion said:

We *are* open minded towards AI - just not to the way Fiverr is deploying it ... !

 

100% agree. AI has its place... and it's NOT in determining outcomes of an individuals business. 

They want a totally "hands-free" approach to this platform, so they can turn it into a money printing engine.

[texvox]

Fiverr is definitely in a state of flux right now. Where it ends up is anyone's guess. But even if we didn't have access to the stats regarding the number of buyers leaving and the massive influx of sellers over the last 1-2 years (many posing as experts when they are far from it), one can easily tell that Fiverr as a whole is grasping at straws based on the numerous "improvements" they have been rolling out. At times it feels very much like the developer teams are throwing spaghetti at a wall hoping a few noodles stick.

Does this mean Fiverr is doomed? I don't think so. For every person I hear that is having a very poor experience with Fiverr this year I hear another person having the opposite. I consider these to be ongoing growing pains. I'm on the "still experiencing a lot of success" side of the spectrum myself, in spite of some very poorly conceived rollouts from the Fiverr product team that have added hurdles to the path this year. Will that last? Who knows. 

That said... Fiverr is not a platform where you want to put a majority of your effort right now if you aren't already established here. Building a business on the back of a mysterious algorithm operating in the shadows is never your best bet anyway, but pouring a ton of effort into a platform with such a mysterious algorithm that feels like it's convulsing at the moment feels especially unwise.

For a few years I focused a lot of my effort on Fiverr and the turnout has been great with several 6-figure annual returns, but even for those of us experiencing success "The writing is on the wall..." as they say. I still think that Fiverr can be a great piece of the puzzle and I love doing business here, but do yourself a favor and let it be a small piece, and not the backbone of your business.

Edited May 22 by texvox

[greggidneyvo]

21 minutes ago, coerdelion said:

We *are* open minded towards AI - just not to the way Fiverr is deploying it ... !

 

It was an official email.