Don't message us for work beyond what we offer in our gigs, if you won't pay us fairly for it

[anthonymartinez]

Forgive me if I sound somewhat cold in the following, and also forgive the length…I just have some stuff to get off my chest…(maybe this would fit better in the “Ranting Pot”?)



Lately, I’ve been fielding messages from prospective buyers (perhaps more like “tire-kickers”) where they ask if I will do more work for them than I’ve described in my gig. For example, I have a gig where I offer WordPress setup with theme installation and a few essential plugins along with a WordPress tutorial. I’d say all that for $5 is generous, but (understandably, I hope) it does not include any content (unless one buys the relevant “gig extra”).



Well, just the other day, I got this person messaging me regarding that gig, asking me to build a new site for him, using content from one of his other older sites (the new site is to take the place of the older one). I thought to myself, “Hello, I clearly describe in my gig that I only provide content with purchase of my ‘gig extra’–are you really trying to get me to setup your entire website for $5? I don’t think so!” I didn’t say any of that, however. Instead, I sent him a courteous reply, telling him I’d be glad to help him out with building his site, but making sure to mention that as described in my gig, I do not include any work with content without my gig extra. Not surprisingly, I did not receive any further reply from the guy…useless waste of my time.



I’ve had another waste of my time this week as well. I have a few different gigs where I perform some focused website optimization, such as image file size reduction in one, and enabling of content compression/caching in another. (For the uninitiated, both gigs basically help to make one’s website faster to load.) Anyway, I got this other person messaging me about one of those gigs, asking me if I could speed up his website in accordance with Google PageSpeed (PageSpeed is a set of documentation and tools by Google to help make websites faster). So, I replied, asking if he just wants me to address the PageSpeed concepts that I cover specifically through my gig, or to do more comprehensive optimization beyond my standard gig offering. He expressed interest in the latter. So, I took the time to benchmark his domain, discover and detail around 10 problem areas I could optimize, and told him that with an hour’s work, I could make significant progress toward resolving those problem areas. I told him I would treat this as a custom order, and ask for 6 gigs an hour (or effective rate of $30, which is still very cheap for any decent website maintenance).



So, after I sent that message, I felt hopeful that I would have a new customer in him, but then, he replied to me asking if I’m going to fully optimize his site as I detailed for 6 gigs total, or if I’m looking to get paid $30 an hour… “Cheapskate,” I thought to myself when I read that. “He probably wants me to do 2-3 hours (or longer) of work for $30? No way!” I’m not hopeful anymore about this person anymore, and frankly, I don’t really care anymore–most likely another waste of my time.



***Wrapup / “TL;DR”:



The fact that I’m a seller on Fiverr does not mean I work for cheap. I set up my gigs in such a way that orders typically take me 10-15 minutes tops to fulfill. So, this means that if I’m gonna take on extra work (which I gladly do when asked), I will charge accordingly for it. Simple as that! Buyers, please, if ever you want something more than we sellers offer, you need to be prepared to pay more for it! I’m sorry, but Fiverr is not a virtual sweatshop where you can get away with lofty requests for a mountain of work to be done for only $5. Please don’t treat Fiverr as such, because in doing so, you degrade the experience for everybody.

[Guest mrspanda]

I’m a noob when it comes to website building or SEO or anything like that. Most of the stuff that I use for my tarot website comes from other Fiverr sellers since I am completely clueless when it comes to any of this stuff.



This is my personal opinion, but I think you’re being a little bit of a meanie pants. 😃

anthonymartinez said: I thought to myself, "Hello, I clearly describe in my gig that I only provide content with purchase of my 'gig extra'--are you really trying to get me to setup your entire website for $5? I don't think so!"

I looked through your gigs from a buyer's point of view- as I often buy gigs related to yours. You specifically wrote '***Got any questions? Please feel free to contact me! If you're going to buy any of my gig extras, please contact me to make sure I can provide your requested customizations and/or content in a timely manner. Thanks!'

So, I would have done the same thing. I would have messaged you to clarify what I would get for $5. Often, I message several sellers to get an idea of what they all offer and then choose one that I think would offer me the best deal.

anthonymartinez said: So, after I sent that message, I felt hopeful that I would have a new customer in him, but then, he replied to me asking if I'm going to fully optimize his site as I detailed for 6 gigs total, or if I'm looking to get paid $30 an hour... "Cheapskate," I thought to myself when I read that. "He probably wants me to do 2-3 hours (or longer) of work for $30? No way!" I'm not hopeful anymore about this person anymore, and frankly, I don't really care anymore--most likely another waste of my time.

Simmer down, my friend. I honestly would have done the same thing. I would have wanted to know if you wanted to be paid per hour or if you had a fixed priced. On two other websites where I sell my writing services, we have the option of using fixed or per hour, so his question was fair! Some people work for fixed priced and some work per hour and he wanted to know which one you were working for. How is that being a cheapskate? Would you have rather he assumed than ask you?

Personally, I know I have harassed a number of sellers to get clarification. Like, there is someone I have been wanting to design my tattoo but what I want done is worth so much more than $5. I ended up messaging him for hours trying to get to a solution on whether he would do my custom work and how much I should pay him and if I should pay him all at once or over a period of time.

This is a business world on Fiverr and you gotta be a bit more flexible. ;) Happy days.

[thisisrealnifty]

I don’t let experiences like this get to me. Just archive the message and its out of sight and move on. Many people just don’t understand that we just don’t spend a few minutes on a gig. Actual time, and expertise go into producing a quality gig. My view is… anytime I feel undervalued, I tell myself that fiverr is extra income and I just helped someone out.

[twistedweb123]

thisisrealnifty is right, this isn’t just about the time involved - but the expertise which comes with it.



I remember seeing a seller stating most programmers have spent hours learning their trade, have qualifications, a degree and numerous other inputs to make them an expert - yet they are treated badly when quoting above $5. You are not just paying for the time it takes work to be completed, you are charging for the expertise that user brings.



I have a lawyer, I want to see him for an hour, do I pay him the UKs minimum wage £6.91 p/h? God no, he is a professional with an hourly rate of £150.



Just because we are freelancing, doesn’t mean we are not professional.



I wouldn’t be mad about a lead not going anywhere tho, that’s a cost of business. I will always provide free quotes and take the time to connect with a user of their needs - because at the end of the day, helping them helps me. As I improve their website and sales, they come back to me for more work.

[lparziale]

In any freelance work time spent attaining clients is never time wasted. You will always have to answer questions and you won’t land every customer.

[chaihock]

Yeah, I always have the same thought to myself.



Why on earth do BUYERS in fiverr would want to pay $5 and expect a $500 worth of job to be done ? If you are really expecting a professional piece of work for whatever you’re buying, go out there in the real world and pay REAL professionals to get you the job done.



Why waste your time here in fiverr looking for freelancers? Of course, professional fees are expected out of it which make it expensive. We are freelancers, working on our free time to make some beermoney and hence we don’t charge professional fees.



Now that if you are feeling cheap and only willing to fork out $5 to get a job done, then the job should be justified by the $5 that you paid. WHY ASK FOR MORE WHEN YOU YOURSELF ARE NOT WILLING TO PAY MORE!

[Guest mrspanda]

Reply to @lparziale: exactly how I feel!!



Like I stated, I dont always know how much something is worth, especially when it comes to web design so it’s not fair that a seller gets all huffy with me for wanting too much work. Calmly explain to me what it is worth and I will GLADLY pay for it or bargain with you. If you ignore me or throw a fit, fine. I’ll keep your advice in mind but take my business elsewhere.



I’ll use my art example again. I wanted a huge custom tattoo with lots of detail done. I know it was worth more than $5 but I didn’t know how much so the seller and I went back and forth a little bit. How would this be considered a waste of time? I wanted to pay him properly for his work but I did not want to be ripped off.



Is communication such a bad thing?

[seo_gal]

@anthonymartinez People are different. I know EXACTLY what you are describing. Some people think they own you for the $5 they let loose from their tight grip 🙂 I have a few gigs where I offer a custom WordPress template design with clear “extras” for extensive revisions. Some order a simple $5 gig and ask me to modify it 15-20 times. No fun when I get one of those customers. I usually refund them and let them have the template that I already built and delivered. Easier that way because if you really let them hear about it then they will most likely leave you a neg feedback and it is worse then $4 you might have had. Having said that there are tons of great people who understands that you aren’t really doing it because you have nothing else to do and they are appreciative. Those folks I usually go extra mile for!

[musiclover]

I completely understand where you’re coming from. I got tired of busting my butt for $4 profits, so I paused all my mobile web design gigs. I have a past customer who bugged me to do a mobile page for an event. I told him I’m not doing those at this time. Long story short, I gave in and did his order. He then wanted to bypass purchasing my gig extra, for the branding removal. I refused, and he asked if I would do it for a cheaper price. I then requested a cancellation. I refuse to sell myself short anymore. Other buyers know the value of my work and gladly order the gig extras. His motive is to resell the page, so he should charge his clients more to offset my prices. I’ve been taken advantage of for too long on Fiverr, and I finanlly got things flowing the way I want. So you’re entitled to do things your way. I don’t think you’re being a meanie like one person suggested. You just sound like someone who is fed up. That happens, and its normal. I wish you much success.

[wolfstarpicture]

I know I understand your situation and it happens to me regularly. However until I reach lvl 2 or top rated selling status I will work an hour… sometimes even 2 for $4 (£2.60 in scotland, which wouldn’t even buy you a pint of beer)



Video work, is both intensive and lengthy… especially when dealing with animation. But until I become a higher level I will work for cheap, as I see it as an investment. As a lot of top rated sellers extra’s are VERY Pricey. But they get a ridiculous amount of sales. So I bite the bullet until I can get up there and charge a more fair price for myself.

[beatcraigslist]

There are always people in this world that will try to get something for nothing. It happens in Hyperspace and in the real world. You just have to learn to gauge the situation. I have had several types of businesses over the years. It is more frustrating to take phone calls from people wasting your time than taking an email, trust me. I have wasted hours answering questions for people on the phone to find out later that they either never made a decision, or they went with someone else and were just picking my brain. I have had that happen here also. I used to answer every single email thinking it would lead to a sale. I dont bother any more. I get a feel for which emails are genuine interest and which are a waste of your time. I had a guy the other day ask me to recommend stuff and give him advice on stuff (for FREE!). So I said “Sure, buy one of my gigs and I’ll tell you anything you want to know”. No response. I knew this would happen so I didnt bother too much. There are always people in this world that think they are smarter than you. They may be smarter than some people in some cases, but not all people in all cases. There is an old saying that I can’t remember exactly how it goes, but its something like “The Devil knows how to fool people not because he is the devil, but because he has lived more than all of us combined”. Experience counts for something folks. Just live and learn.



BTW @mrspanda…meani pants? Gotta love that. You must be a laugh riot to be around. 😃

[ynneblack]

Uh, you won’t go under $30 an hour? You sure are from USA. 😃



But I see what you mean. The worst is when the person orders it & asks for more and more. I mean… the negative reviews and cancellation and everything quite much put seller into bad position when it’s already ordered.

[finalstep]

1. This should rarely happen if your description is very clear as to what your gig offers.

    

    

2. Use it to your advantage. I can’t tell you how many times someone messaged me with a much larger request than what the gig provided and I ended up selling them for far more money in the end.

[finalstep]

Reply to @ynneblack: I rarely go under $35/hour. It doesn’t really make sense to drop below your regular wage, unless you’re just starting out and need to build a reputation or if this is more of a hobby for you. If $30/hour is what they need to make a living where they live than that is what they should be aiming for.

[aingham69]

ynneblack said: Uh, you won't go under $30 an hour? You sure are from USA. :D

 

I rarely go under £30/hour. That's at least $60/hour.

 

finalstep said: If $30/hour is what they need to make a living where they live than that is what they should be aiming for.

 

That is very true. The problem is so many people don't aim for that. They also forget that they need to cover so many other expenses (rent, bills for their work, other expenses and just to put food on the table!) Even if you work from home you have all these expenses.

 

 

[finalstep]

Reply to @aingham69: I don’t think that’s right, $1=£0.65



In any case if it’s even close to that, you are officially the fastest writer alive lol

[est1990]

Reply to @finalstep: No, i’m the faster writer alive!! Anybody want to have a type off? 😛

[aingham69]

finalstep said: In any case if it's even close to that, you are officially the fastest writer alive lol

 

I don't do that on Fiverr. Fiverr isn't my main income and is really just to keep my going. I thought we were talking about offsite. I have my own website and that's where I make the higher amount.

 

Maths isn't my strong point though. I think I might be doing the conversion the other way round and I'm useless at that part...calculators are my friend lol

[faceofboe]

I agree with MrsPanda. A buyer who asks questions is exactly what you want. I’ve “kicked the tires” as I look around for the best gig and have often come back later as a customer…sometimes months later.



In the content case, the buyer already had the content. All you had to do was move it, so his question and request was legitimate since you didn’t have to provide the content.

[Guest cust0mcr3ationz]

Reply to @est1990: I really don’t think it’s how fast you can type it’s how good your skills are.

[est1990]

Reply to @cust0mcr3ationz: I was kidding… since when did you get all serious? 😛