Is 4.3 the New 5.0? How Fiverr's Rating System is Jeopardizing Profiles and Gigs

[alexiscottray]

5 minutes ago, filipdevaere said:

@alexiscottray I understand you.

I also got 2 this week. Extremely satisfied customers and yet they don't give 5 stars.
The buyer with the 4.7 review is strange.
His first order with me was a 4.7 star review.
His second and third order were a 5 star review.
His fourth order (in the screenshot) is again a 4.7 review.
I still have 3 active orders from that buyer that I have to deliver this year. I don't know what this will bring. He is very happy with what I deliver. But why he doesn't always give the 5 stars is a mystery.

Hello Filip, I see that your profile is similar to mine with a top selling gig with around 100 reviews. 

The issue if you don't educate returning buyers is that you accept to actually lower your gig score. Is it ok for Fiverr to become a 4-4.5 rated platform, I am ok with it, but the issue is that the gigs with 1k+ reviews will always stay at 5.0 and with time, we will have 2 groups of gigs, the 5.0 old ones and the new 4.0-4.5 group. 

[alexiscottray]

1 hour ago, alexiscottray said:

I think that it's important to EDUCATE new users on Fiverr. 

As it's against Fiverr TOCS to talk about the scoring system before delivering, so we cannot avoid this situation. 

BUT the same client (David - fully satisfied, leaving a 4.3 star review for the first time on Fiverr) will probably follow the experience on Fiverr then buy on the profile of @katakatica @mrubaid820 @filipdevaere or @donnovan86. 

If I don't say nothing here, you know what guys? You will also receive a 4.3 star review after delivering an excellent service. Because I would legitimize the score that was first given and then we make it "ok" to provide a 4.3 staring. 

Once again, I would be ok with this system if all gigs then had a 4.0-4.7 score for instance. The issue is that it will only occurs on the new gigs / small gigs with 50-100 reviews, but the current gigs that have 1k+ reviews, will always stay at 5.0

It's unfortunate that a single review can disproportionately affect new gigs.

At the end of the day, we will have a platform with two groups of gig, the perfect 5.0 group and the 4.0-4.5 group. 

Which one buyers will choose...? 😃

Edited November 30, 2024 by alexiscottray

[alexiscottray]

13 minutes ago, alexiscottray said:

I think that it's important to EDUCATE new users on Fiverr. 

As it's against Fiverr TOCS to talk about the scoring system before delivering, so we cannot avoid this situation. 

BUT the same client (David - fully satisfied, leaving a 4.3 star review for the first time on Fiverr) will probably follow the experience on Fiverr then buy on the profile of @katakatica @mrubaid820 @filipdevaere or @donnovan86. 

If I don't say nothing here, you know what guys? You will also receive a 4.3 star review after delivering an excellent service. Because I would legitimize the score that was first given and then we make it "ok" to provide a 4.3 staring. 

Once again, I would be ok with this system if all gigs then had a 4.0-4.7 score for instance. The issue is that it will only occurs on the new gigs / small gigs with 50-100 reviews, but the current gigs that have 1k+ reviews, will always stay at 5.0

It's unfortunate that a single review can disproportionately affect new gigs.

At the end of the day, we will have a platform with two groups of gig, the perfect 5.0 group and the 4.0-4.5 group. 

Which one buyers will choose...? 😃

Fiverr has to fix the 4 star / 5 star issue ASAP. It's ok to leave 4 stars for a buyer but then they have to understand that the seller might not be satisfied with this rating and possibly don't take more orders from the buyer in the future. 

[alexiscottray]

(UPDATE)

Summary at this point: 

1. The System is Blocking Returning Customer Strategies

The rigidity of the review system discourages sellers from fostering long-term relationships with clients. A client may leave a 4-star review, believing it to be positive feedback, only to later learn that it negatively impacts a seller’s profile. This can create misunderstandings and dissatisfaction, ultimately deterring repeat business. Sellers are unable to educate clients about the impact of ratings beforehand due to TOCs restrictions, leaving new buyers unaware of the consequences of their actions.

2. Two Unequal Groups of Gigs Are Emerging

The rating system is creating a division:

• Established gigs with 1,000+ reviews can maintain a 5.0-star rating due to the high volume of feedback, diluting the impact of occasional lower ratings.
• Newer or smaller gigs (50-100 reviews) are disproportionately affected by even one 4-star review, pushing their ratings into the 4.0-4.5 range.

This discrepancy results in an uneven playing field where new gigs struggle to compete with older, well-established gigs, making it harder for sellers to grow and innovate.

3. Silence and Lack of Client Education Normalize 4-Star Reviews

Restricting communication about the review process leaves clients unaware of the rating system’s nuances. Many clients equate 4 stars with “very good” and are unaware that anything less than 5 stars can harm a seller’s profile. Without education, this behavior becomes normalized, leading to a system where 4-star reviews are inadvertently accepted as the standard, undermining sellers who consistently provide excellent service.

---

Proposed Solutions

• Introduce Buyer Education: Add a clear explanation for buyers during the review process about the implications of their ratings for sellers.
• Adjust the Weight and Wording of Reviews: Implement a system where the impact of ratings is balanced and fair for all profiles and gigs.
• Encourage Feedback Dialogue: Allow sellers to engage constructively with clients post-delivery to clarify any misunderstandings about the service before ratings are finalized.

[mrubaid820]

@alexiscottray I understand your point, but what will happen if only 1, 2, or even 10 sellers raise their voices? Nothing. The system is already on a path to self-destruction. How? Let me explain. If any buyer gives a seller 4 stars despite excellent work, that seller will not work with that buyer again, right? As a result, that buyer will go to another seller. If the next seller has joined 'Seller Plus,' they will also see the buyer’s previous ratings and avoid working with them, right?

In this situation, the buyer will turn to a new seller, place an order, and likely give 4 stars again, ruining that seller's profile as well. The new seller will also refuse to work with the buyer again because of the 4-star rating. This cycle will continue until eventually, the buyer shifts to another platform. They will also recommend their friends to use the new platform.

Two years ago, people used to consider a 4-star rating as good, and sellers were happy to work with buyers who gave them 4 stars. But not anymore. The issue is not with sellers or buyers; the problem lies with the system. The system has made a 4-star rating so damaging that no one wants to work with a buyer who gives 4 stars.

[donnovan86]

1 hour ago, alexiscottray said:

It's unfortunate that a single review can disproportionately affect new gigs.

Well let me put it this way. You complain about a 4.3 or 4.7 review. I received a 4.0 star review recently from a repeat buyer. He was rushed and wanted to leave a review, misclicked, but that doesn't mean he had any bad intention. 

As a buyer, what matters is the review text and not exactly the number of stars. Of course people gravitate towards those bad reviews to see what was wrong, but if you have a 4.3 review stating that the work was great and the experience was very good, do you think people care? Eventually as you get more work, things level out. 

And don't think that we had any favoritism when we got started. It was way worse, now Fiverr pushes new gigs in front of customers, back when I started there was none of that. 

23 minutes ago, mrubaid820 said:

the buyer shifts to another platform.

Pretty sure the buyer will find other seller to work with. I see quite a lot of that, but usually it has to do with the buyer being unhappy with a previous seller.

This highlights the fact that sellers want a perfect rating and they hunt that, even try to avoid buyers that they think would leave a review they don't want. So even if Fiverr tried to add all kinds of measures, people still try to manipulate the system. 

Why not deliver the best work you can adn if you really don't want to work with a person, tell them you're not available anymore, block them, there are resources to do so. 

[alexiscottray]

56 minutes ago, donnovan86 said:

Well let me put it this way. You complain about a 4.3 or 4.7 review. I received a 4.0 star review recently from a repeat buyer. He was rushed and wanted to leave a review, misclicked, but that doesn't mean he had any bad intention. 

As a buyer, what matters is the review text and not exactly the number of stars. Of course people gravitate towards those bad reviews to see what was wrong, but if you have a 4.3 review stating that the work was great and the experience was very good, do you think people care? Eventually as you get more work, things level out. 

And don't think that we had any favoritism when we got started. It was way worse, now Fiverr pushes new gigs in front of customers, back when I started there was none of that. 

Pretty sure the buyer will find other seller to work with. I see quite a lot of that, but usually it has to do with the buyer being unhappy with a previous seller.

This highlights the fact that sellers want a perfect rating and they hunt that, even try to avoid buyers that they think would leave a review they don't want. So even if Fiverr tried to add all kinds of measures, people still try to manipulate the system. 

Why not deliver the best work you can adn if you really don't want to work with a person, tell them you're not available anymore, block them, there are resources to do so. 

Once again Alex, sorry to insist, but you have 2 gigs with almost around 9000 reviews per gig. YOU are not concerned by this issue, actually the current system is actually a good thing for you as you will be in the group of the 5.0 gigs for a very very long time and this is helping you from protecting yourself from new competitors as new gigs will easily get a lower score than yours.

Edited November 30, 2024 by alexiscottray

[alexiscottray]

1 hour ago, mrubaid820 said:

@alexiscottray I understand your point, but what will happen if only 1, 2, or even 10 sellers raise their voices? Nothing. The system is already on a path to self-destruction. How? Let me explain. If any buyer gives a seller 4 stars despite excellent work, that seller will not work with that buyer again, right? As a result, that buyer will go to another seller. If the next seller has joined 'Seller Plus,' they will also see the buyer’s previous ratings and avoid working with them, right?

In this situation, the buyer will turn to a new seller, place an order, and likely give 4 stars again, ruining that seller's profile as well. The new seller will also refuse to work with the buyer again because of the 4-star rating. This cycle will continue until eventually, the buyer shifts to another platform. They will also recommend their friends to use the new platform.

Two years ago, people used to consider a 4-star rating as good, and sellers were happy to work with buyers who gave them 4 stars. But not anymore. The issue is not with sellers or buyers; the problem lies with the system. The system has made a 4-star rating so damaging that no one wants to work with a buyer who gives 4 stars.

Exactly, the system is wrong and Fiverr has to be aware of it. If no one raises this issue, then it will keep as it is. 

[donnovan86]

1 minute ago, alexiscottray said:

Once again Alex, sorry to insist, but you have 2 gigs with almost around 9000 reviews per gig. YOU are not concerned by this issue, actually the current system is actually a good thing for you as you will be in the group of the 5.0 gigs for a very very long time and this is helping you from getting new competitors. 

I have over 10 gigs that are stopped. Many of which are new and they didn't really sell that much, if at all. The only reason why I kept 2 is because I didn't want to have just the one with 17k reviews. If your gigs don't sell and you only have a single review or 2 for the past 2 years, the success score for that gig will be very low. If that's your problem, just create new gigs and stop those gigs that have a bad review. Because they just lower your general review score. 

I think you overestimate the importance of reviews. Unless your gig has 4.3 as the average or less, most people won't really care. Especially for newer people, pricing is very important. 

The reason why Fiverr added this new success score in the first place is to differentiate sellers and not have everyone with a 5 star reviews. 

And by the way, you keep mentioning my reviews. Fiverr only takes into account the last 2 years for reviews for any gig. So it's actually benefitting newer people, since someone that's older could have more bad reviews in the past 2 years, whereas newer people will have fewer reviews and if they are better than the older gigs.. they surpass them. I see a lot of people with very few reviews ranked extremely high.

All you can do is provide the best service that you can. Whether it's Fiverr or any other platform, people will always have their own opinion when it comes to the service they receive. I also receive 4 star reviews, it's normal when you do business. People from certain countries won't leave 5 star reviews because that's their culture, others just think 5 stars would mean perfection, and nothing is perfect. I think it's better to deliver the best possible service that you can. You won't be able to control how people think or how they react to your work. But you can control your work, customer service and value offered.

[donnovan86]

8 minutes ago, alexiscottray said:

Exactly, the system is wrong and Fiverr has to be aware of it. If no one raises this issue, then it will keep as it is. 

It was raised by the way. Fiverr knows about it. They made a few changes to the success score system like removing emojis from reviews. But realistically, I think it was changed on purpose, so not everyone has perfect reviews. And the fact that people are hunting 5 star reviews and they are unhappy with 4.3 means the system is working as they intended. Fiverr even allows buyers to leave a review if the order was canceled, because that was manipulated to the moon and back for years. 

Clearly, the focus is to have a wider array of reviews and only those people that deliver very good work will stand out. Even someone with lots of older reviews is affected, because most of them are meaningless if they are over 2 years old. Fiverr only takes into account reviews from up to 2 years ago. Which is actually to the benefit of those new gigs, because if an older seller has bad reviews the past 2 years, it doesn't matter if they had 30k reviews that are over 2 years old. Those older reviews aren't taken into account.

Covering only the last 2 years for the review average means that once those 4.3 star reviews you mentioned are over 2 years old... they won't affect your gig score as a whole. 

Objectively, it seems ok. The only people that say is wrong are those currently dealing with a review like that. But objectively, the system is fine. The problem comes when buyers try to manipulate you with a review in order to obtain more work. That is an issue, obviously. And some people do it. 

 

[alexiscottray]

29 minutes ago, donnovan86 said:

I have over 10 gigs that are stopped. Many of which are new and they didn't really sell that much, if at all. The only reason why I kept 2 is because I didn't want to have just the one with 17k reviews. If your gigs don't sell and you only have a single review or 2 for the past 2 years, the success score for that gig will be very low. If that's your problem, just create new gigs and stop those gigs that have a bad review. Because they just lower your general review score. 

The success score for these gigs is 9 or 10 - so this is not about the success score. The issue is about the gig rating. I have also stoped and paused many gigs because of this issue. And it's not about getting bad reviews, the issue is about getting 4/5 stars when clients are happy and want to come back. 

29 minutes ago, donnovan86 said:

I think you overestimate the importance of reviews. Unless your gig has 4.3 as the average or less, most people won't really care. Especially for newer people, pricing is very important. 

This example here is to show you how easily you can get to a 4.3 gig in a few orders on a new gig. 

29 minutes ago, donnovan86 said:

The reason why Fiverr added this new success score in the first place is to differentiate sellers and not have everyone with a 5 star reviews. 

Then it fails because with more than 1000 reviews on one gig and a 5.0 score, it will be very hard for you to even get to 4.9 in your life. 

29 minutes ago, donnovan86 said:

And by the way, you keep mentioning my reviews. Fiverr only takes into account the last 2 years for reviews for any gig. So it's actually benefitting newer people, since someone that's older could have more bad reviews in the past 2 years, whereas newer people will have fewer reviews and if they are better than the older gigs.. they surpass them. I see a lot of people with very few reviews ranked extremely high.

All you can do is provide the best service that you can. Whether it's Fiverr or any other platform, people will always have their own opinion when it comes to the service they receive. I also receive 4 star reviews, it's normal when you do business. People from certain countries won't leave 5 star reviews because that's their culture, others just think 5 stars would mean perfection, and nothing is perfect. I think it's better to deliver the best possible service that you can. You won't be able to control how people think or how they react to your work. But you can control your work, customer service and value offered.

So you actually have 2 years upfront before seeing the issue that I am reporting here. Also are you sure about this information? You mean that the global review on one gig is only taking the last 2 years of reviews? 

I think that you are confusing gig rating VS gig score. The gig score (from 1 to 10) is based on the last two years. I don't think the gig rating (from 1 to 5) is only taking the last two years of the gig. 

If the rating system would have been always the same, then it would be fair for everyone. Before the new system, I barely never received 4 out of 5 ratings. 

Edited November 30, 2024 by alexiscottray

[alexiscottray]

25 minutes ago, donnovan86 said:

It was raised by the way. Fiverr knows about it. They made a few changes to the success score system like removing emojis from reviews. But realistically, I think it was changed on purpose, so not everyone has perfect reviews. And the fact that people are hunting 5 star reviews and they are unhappy with 4.3 means the system is working as they intended. Fiverr even allows buyers to leave a review if the order was canceled, because that was manipulated to the moon and back for years. 

Clearly, the focus is to have a wider array of reviews and only those people that deliver very good work will stand out. Even someone with lots of older reviews is affected, because most of them are meaningless if they are over 2 years old. Fiverr only takes into account reviews from up to 2 years ago. Which is actually to the benefit of those new gigs, because if an older seller has bad reviews the past 2 years, it doesn't matter if they had 30k reviews that are over 2 years old. Those older reviews aren't taken into account.

Covering only the last 2 years for the review average means that once those 4.3 star reviews you mentioned are over 2 years old... they won't affect your gig score as a whole. 

Objectively, it seems ok. The only people that say is wrong are those currently dealing with a review like that. But objectively, the system is fine. The problem comes when buyers try to manipulate you with a review in order to obtain more work. That is an issue, obviously. And some people do it. 

 

@donnovan86 I am referring to the rating of the gig, not the success score of the gig. 

I don't have issues with the new success score. 



The gig that you have with 17k reviews won't be affected by the new system, EVER... 

 

It's very simple to calculate. On the gig that you have with 17k reviews, you need to receive at least 1900 reviews at 4.0 so that your gig goes from 5.0 to 4.9 ... I only need 3 orders to get to 4.8 with 3 ratings at 4.3 and then what, I have to pause or remove the gig and try again?

Don't you see the issue here? 

Edited November 30, 2024 by alexiscottray

[alexiscottray]

One simple search for some of my gigs, do you see any score below 4.9 inside the first results on the result page? 

If I progressively leave users give 4.3 reviews, let's see in some weeks, if with a 4.5 rating score on my gigs I will still be on top of the results... and if I am, let's see if then users still prefer to choose me, or the other gigs that have 5.0 as a gig rating score. 

Each day, each week the rating score on my gigs goes lower. From 5.0 to 4.9 and if it continues, it's just a matter of some months to reach 4.8 and go below. 

As said @donnovan86 in your case, to have a score of 4.9 on your gig with 17k reviews, you need to receive 1900 reviews at 4.0. I just need to have a couple of clients to get to this score. And a couple more to get to 4.8. 

Edited November 30, 2024 by alexiscottray

[donnovan86]

15 minutes ago, alexiscottray said:

receive 1900 reviews at 4.0. I just need to have a couple of clients to get to this score. And a couple more to get to 4.8. 

Wrong. Fiverr only takes reviews from the last 2 years into account for the review average these days. I had 4.9 as an average until the success score came in. Now the average is 5.0, after that, because they only take into account the last 2 years. So any review can be very damaging, and that's the reason why they do it like this, so it reflects the current performance.

16 minutes ago, alexiscottray said:

One simple search for some of my gigs, do you see any score below 4.9 inside the first results on the result page? 

Well I do see very new gigs, with no or very few reviews. Which shows new people can easily get their first gig rank high, despite dealing with someone that has a lot of reviews. Because the more reviews you have, the more danger you end up with. Because in your case, you might have 5 buyers that could leave a bad review. I could have 15-20 people that could leave a bad review. 

Of course, you have your own situation and can't see things objectively, I get it. But offering a safety line to new gigs means any dude can start a new gig, manipulate the system and receive protection, whereas older sellers end up being affected by every single review.

The only solution here is to ensure you deliver your best possible work. And just like any business on Google, don't expect people to leave only 5 star reviews. You have a business here too, and there are always people that rush to get their work and leave, some just don't leave 5 star reviews, etc.

As I told you, Fiverr only takes into account the last 2 years of reviews for the review average. So even a few bad reviews can easily damage me, just like you. They did this specifically to maintain fairness because otherwise accounts with many reviews would have an advantage. Your success score is also compared with other people within your niche, and if they have better performance, your score could be lowered. Public reviews are not that important for the success score, they just matter to buyers. And realistically, people will look at the bad reviews to see what was going on, how you, the seller presented yourself and explained, etc.  

However, if all that matters are numbers to you, then there's nothing else to say here. Not everyone cares about numbers, they just focus on what value they get for their money. At least that's my experience for over a decade here. And if it is a bit cheaper than they wanted, that's great.

 

[donnovan86]

39 minutes ago, alexiscottray said:

It's very simple to calculate. On the gig that you have with 17k reviews, you need to receive at least 1900 reviews at 4.0 so that your gig goes from 5.0 to 4.9 ... I only need 3 orders to get to 4.8 with 3 ratings at 4.3 and then what, I have to pause or remove the gig and try again?

The new success score brought a change where only reviews from the past 2 years are taken into account. Old reviews are not deleted, but they are not taken into the review average for any gig. And one of my metrics is 4.9 as the average instead of 5 stars, due to one 4 star review. The way things are calculated are very different now and when I talked with someone from Fiverr, it's actually very unfair towards older gigs. Because you worked years for those older reviews, and they are not taken into account, just the last 2 years of reviews from the current day. So if you're not consistent and you don't have good reviews, it can get even worse for an older seller as well. 

You just calculated stuff without all the info. Fiverr ensured that older sellers won't have any advantage, so in this case, 17k is just a number, the real number of reviews that matter over the past 2 years is wayyy smaller. And that's the same for any niche, so new gigs and sellers can have an advantage. So, how am I at an advantage? When only the last 2 years of sales are taken into account for the review average for EVERYONE?? 🙂  I am not, if anything gigs with many reviews are targeted sometimes by competitors, "give me work" dudes and all kinds of stuff lowers the success score.

I don't want to talk about this anymore, continue pursuing this thing that was talked about countless times. 

[alexiscottray]

52 minutes ago, donnovan86 said:

The new success score brought a change where only reviews from the past 2 years are taken into account. Old reviews are not deleted, but they are not taken into the review average for any gig. And one of my metrics is 4.9 as the average instead of 5 stars, due to one 4 star review. The way things are calculated are very different now and when I talked with someone from Fiverr, it's actually very unfair towards older gigs. Because you worked years for those older reviews, and they are not taken into account, just the last 2 years of reviews from the current day. So if you're not consistent and you don't have good reviews, it can get even worse for an older seller as well. 

You just calculated stuff without all the info. Fiverr ensured that older sellers won't have any advantage, so in this case, 17k is just a number, the real number of reviews that matter over the past 2 years is wayyy smaller. And that's the same for any niche, so new gigs and sellers can have an advantage. So, how am I at an advantage? When only the last 2 years of sales are taken into account for the review average for EVERYONE?? 🙂  I am not, if anything gigs with many reviews are targeted sometimes by competitors, "give me work" dudes and all kinds of stuff lowers the success score.

I don't want to talk about this anymore, continue pursuing this thing that was talked about countless times. 

Once again, while the impact may be smaller for established gigs, it’s clear that you can absorb far more lower ratings without severely damaging your overall gig rating. For newer sellers, even a single 4.3 review can have a disproportionately large impact, and that’s the core of my concern.

That being said, I’m looking for support and constructive dialogue from the community here. If this situation doesn’t affect you directly, I kindly ask you to focus your energy on other discussions. My point is simple—it’s about basic math and fairness in how ratings affect sellers at different stages.

If you still choose to dismiss this perspective, that’s fine. Let’s agree to disagree and move on. I’ve made my case here.

[alexiscottray]

7 hours ago, alexiscottray said:

I have a new one from today. 

 

The client is happy and want to order a new form... 



So the client want to come back, but I don't want to repeat an order with him if I can possibly receive the same score review. 

I've just received the feedback from the client: 

"Hey Alexis, sorry about the score. The Communications was checked as five-star but for whatever reason posted lower. " 
(...)
"Thanks, and again, sorry about the review. Perhaps you can get with Admin on Fiver and tell them I meant for you to get 5-stars across the board." 

Edited November 30, 2024 by alexiscottray

[alexiscottray]

1 hour ago, donnovan86 said:

continue pursuing this thing that was talked about countless times. 

And yet, here we are again. If this has been discussed countless times, perhaps it’s because there’s an underlying issue worth addressing. Ignoring it doesn’t make it go away.

[donnovan86]

1 hour ago, alexiscottray said:

Perhaps you can get with Admin on Fiver and tell them I meant for you to get 5-stars across the board

I encourage you to not do that because it will be seen as review manipulation and you will most likely receive an account warning.

From what I saw on the forum, it seems that there is a bug with the mobile app where people end up leaving 5 across the board, or they think they do, but the app layout or something registers as 5 stars. If that's the case, it was already reported and people at Fiverr know about it. You could ask if they reviewed via their phone, it could be that 🙂 But I also encourage you to not speak about the number of stars or stuff like that, because as I said, they could see it as review manipulation and you could get in trouble. I had a similar issue, the buyer left a 3 star review, it was years and years ago, and he did not intend to do that, clearly based on their written review. I asked what was wrong, the person apologized, they went to customer support and the review was deleted. I never asked for any deletion or change, but I received an account warning because the buyer asked for deletion. Again, it was 3-4 years ago, something like that, so maybe things are a bit different. But in general, talking about reviews and the number of stars in chat could get you in trouble, just so you know. 

[alexiscottray]

5 minutes ago, donnovan86 said:

I encourage you to not do that because it will be seen as review manipulation and you will most likely receive an account warning.

From what I saw on the forum, it seems that there is a bug with the mobile app where people end up leaving 5 across the board, or they think they do, but the app layout or something registers as 5 stars. If that's the case, it was already reported and people at Fiverr know about it. You could ask if they reviewed via their phone, it could be that 🙂 But I also encourage you to not speak about the number of stars or stuff like that, because as I said, they could see it as review manipulation and you could get in trouble. I had a similar issue, the buyer left a 3 star review, it was years and years ago, and he did not intend to do that, clearly based on their written review. I asked what was wrong, the person apologized, they went to customer support and the review was deleted. I never asked for any deletion or change, but I received an account warning because the buyer asked for deletion. Again, it was 3-4 years ago, something like that, so maybe things are a bit different. But in general, talking about reviews and the number of stars in chat could get you in trouble, just so you know. 

Hello Alex, you are right. Maybe this can explain some of the 4/5 ratings I've received since the new system has been updated. It's been months since we have the new system, I guess it would be a priority to fix this issue... 

In any case, a few months ago, I've reported the error on desktop that makes that if you click on any PDF from the chat, you will only see the first page of the PDF. The resolution of this by CS was "indicate to users that they cannot click on it, they have to download the PDF first then open to see all the pages", and it was left there. 

It looks like this issue is happening for everyone, still no one reported this issue to Fiverr. When you say "If that's the case, it was already reported and people at Fiverr know about it." I wish everything that doesn't work on the platform was reported, but sellers don't take the time to do it. And when reported, CS don't always take the time to forward this to product development. 

[alexiscottray]

14 minutes ago, donnovan86 said:

But in general, talking about reviews and the number of stars in chat could get you in trouble, just so you know. 

I am fully aware of this. Still, when the client comes back to me today to ask for a new offer, and I refuse to send one because the review left was 4 stars, OR I can lie to the client, or block him (following CS recommendations) but I cannot say that I was not pleased with the rating and this is the reason why I don't want to follow the collaboration. 

We are supposed to be a free marketplace. Buyers can provide any feedback they want, sellers can just close their mouths, give a happy face, and "move on". 

I always give 5/5 star to my clients in general, and then when I see the score they give to me, I always regret such an "exceptional" rating for this buyer.

I think I will start providing 4/5 stars to the buyers except I am "fully satisfied" with the communication and experience, which is not always the case as most buyers don't provide any feedback after accepting the delivery. 

[donnovan86]

44 minutes ago, alexiscottray said:

We are supposed to be a free marketplace. Buyers can provide any feedback they want, sellers can just close their mouths, give a happy face, and "move on". 

You know it seems like sellers are desperate when they complain they got less than 5 stars right? Not everyone is a 5 star seller here on the platform. And while mistakes can happen like the one you mentioned, most of the time there's a reason why people leave a review that's under 5 stars. Or under 2 stars, for that matter. 

As a service provider anywhere, you need to come to terms with the fact that you offer the service, and the buyer can leave a review that you might not like. It's the cost of doing business. No one will be universally liked, and you can see that everywhere.

46 minutes ago, alexiscottray said:

OR I can lie to the client, or block him (following CS recommendations)

It's ok to block someone that you don't feel comfortable working with. That's why they made that button in the first place. And the discomfort can be from previous orders, how you were rated, their communication, etc. One of the best things for freelancers is they can choose their clients. Sure, Fiverr made this a bit more difficult since they can order directly. But you can stop working with someone if the previous experience was not ok. 

The thing is, over the years, I learned to just move on from bad things, as it ends up affecting my health and wellbeing. And for what? A review that in 2 years will not even be taken into account for my overall rating? It's not worth it. 

[lalitsdmittal]

4.7 is 5 now.

[alexiscottray]

27 minutes ago, donnovan86 said:

A review that in 2 years will not even be taken into account for my overall rating? It's not worth it. 

I will ask Fiverr about this, I understand the level system takes into account the history for 2 years only, but I am not sure that the overall gig rating takes into account only the last couple of years. 

Can you confirm that you are saying that the overall score on this gig here (4.9) is taking only the reviews from the last couple of years out of the 217 reviews? 



I guess I have once again I have to repeat that I am not talking in this post about how the current rating system can affect: 

• Your public overall profile score (scale 1-5) 
• Your success score (scale 1-10) 
• Your specific gig success score (scale 1-10) 
• The rating from the level overview (scale 1-5) that I understand from your comments @donnovan86 that it's limited to 2 years of sales history 

I am talking about how the current rating system can actually affect: 

• Individual gig total review score on search and on profile 
• New gigs / new profiles (your comments are true for new gigs with 0 reviews, but then if the first review is 4.7/5 on a new gig OR LESS, you won't see it on the first results page anymore)
• The community as it makes it normal to accept a 4-star review as "great" and which leads in the long term to a two-group separation of gigs, as explained before

Edited November 30, 2024 by alexiscottray

[uk1000]

24 minutes ago, alexiscottray said:

I will ask Fiverr about this, I understand the level system takes into account the history for 2 years only, but I am not sure that the overall gig rating takes into account only the last couple of years. 

There's this link:

https://help.fiverr.com/hc/en-us/articles/25072782273041-Recent-updates-to-Fiverr-s-Ratings-and-Reviews-system

Quote

Public ratings will now only reflect the past two years of your activity. This change aims to better represent your current performance, as we know skills continuously improve and recent projects best showcase your capabilities.

We've updated the total score calculation to consider ratings from the last two years (from the most recent review), instead of your entire history. The total number of reviews, and the reviews themselves, will still reflect your lifetime work, but the rating score itself will only take into account recent feedback.

If a Gig hasn't received new reviews in the past two years, your existing score will remain. Once you receive new reviews, your rating will be recalculated based on the most recent feedback.

but I thought they talked about the overall account's average rating only looking at the last 2 years now, maybe not the gig's avg rating. But maybe the gig avg works like that now too

Edited November 30, 2024 by uk1000