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I'm disgusted by how people are using the fiverr community as slaves or cheap labour

chaihock

By chaihock
in Tips for Sellers

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chaihock Newbie

chaihock

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Below is my conversation with a guy after I messaged him on his request on article writing.



ME:



Hi there!

I can do this for you.

This is my gig on writing essays and doing assignments.

LINK: http://fiverr.com/chaihock/do-your-homework-assignments-projects-power-point-slides

Kindly get back to me with more information.



HIM:



Thank you very much for your inquiry concerning my need for essays. Here is some info:

  1. I will be commissioning the writing of at least 100 essays this year, ranging between 5000 to 20,000 words.
  2. A large number of subjects are available, and practically every writer is given subjects in his/her field of specialization.
  3. We pay 4 to 5 Gigs per 5000 words for original work. Plagiarized work or cut-and-paste work is rejected immediately.
  4. Essays are meant for common folk, so simple language is needed. No references or footnotes are needed.
  5. We expect prompt work – a maximum of around 5 days per 5000 words.

    If the above looks interesting to you, then kindly get in touch with me and do send one or more of your writing so we can assess your capacity to write well.



    ME:



    Hi!

    Only 4-5 gigs for a 5000 words essay ?

    Okay, thank you for your time.



    HIM:



    Obviously, my payment is based upon the rates that people have offered me. And some of them have delivered excellent quality for this rate.



    (As far as I’m aware, the basic rate offered in fiverr is AT LEAST $5 per 500 words.)



    ME:



    Yea and obviously to resell it at a much higher price elsewhere.



    HIM:



    What I do with what I source is my business. Your comment is most unwarranted.



    —End of conversation—



    What are your thoughts guys ?



    Please, don’t sell your services to these people. They bring the standards of fiverr down. We are not slaves or cheap labours!
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twistedweb123 Contributor

twistedweb123

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This is all about setting your basic gig’s service and additional prices and being happy with it - no matter what the buyer does with the work.



If you suspect a buyer is reselling your work, then you need to be ok with this, even if they only paid $5 for your basic service. Reselling happens everywhere - outsouring is very common.



As long as you are happy with your pricing structure and your service, what a buyer does with that is completely up to them.



In this scenario, your prices didn’t match - end of, move on. Yes, they can probably find someone to do this at their price and the quality may or may not suffer. It is completely up to the seller to manage their own pricing and initial service, there is no “norm” or trend which is followed on Fiverr 🙂



On one of my gigs, my $5 service consists of a PDF being sent, with my own personal branding. If someone wished for me to create this as a white label product for resale, an additional $10 must be paid. I am happy with this, and buyers are too.

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chaihock Newbie

chaihock

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Yeah I knew where he was coming from. I will usually know whether a buyer is an honest buyer or he’s just buying to resell.



I wasn’t arguing with him so don’t get me wrong. I just like poking fun at these people who aren’t honest 🙂



And also just doing this so new sellers who comes around here are aware that people actually buy to resell for much greater profit on all your effort, not theirs.



So please don’t go that low of such extent.

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ghostblogger Newbie

ghostblogger

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People do not purchase articles to paper their walls, they purchase them to make a profit, otherwise why purchase them.



If someone offer you less simply say no and move on, and I know how you feel but that is what it means to be in business for yourself. If someone buys a widget from you for one dollar they can turn and sell it for two dollars.



I write articles as well, and all rights, once the work is accepted, go to the buyer to do as they wish. It is that simple, I write based on the customers instructions which means I am commissioned to do work for them, it is their work period after they have accepted it.


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vfowler Newbie

vfowler

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I had to get really firm with a potential buyer once because he wasn’t taking my ‘no’ for answer and it was tempting to get snarky, but didn’t want to drag myself down by having an argument. Several times I’ve turned offers down with a “good luck with your business!” while thinking to myself, “You have GOT to be kidding.” 1000 words for one gig? Holy smokes! My time and energy is worth way more than that for sure.

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hellographic Newbie

hellographic

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Simply fiverr is a tool everyone can harness. If you know certain market value is plummeting (because of massive outsource) it means you need to find new ones! You cannot really do anything about re-sellers and people who under price, because it’s their choice to use fiverr as a tool.



Call me idealistic or naive but I am a firm believer that you can earn enough without depending on re-sellers. I just keep things simple, when I face new buyer I must not have negative thought, if I can’t stand the buyer after I tried my BEST, I’d leave the conversation politely.

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twistedweb123 Contributor

twistedweb123

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It is also good to mention, whilst this buyer may not need you now, or agree to your price now - he may do in the future on other projects. However, if a sour taste has been left is his mouth, he probably won’t



I have used the request gigs a few times to pass the time. Sometimes, they have already been fulfilled, but I often get those buyers coming to me in the future for other work they need, or other gigs I have available.

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originalh Newbie

originalh

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As the owner of a web hosting company myself, I will admit that I do resell work from fiverr. The reason I do this is not for cheap labour but rather the fact that I trust the quality of the work I can get from fiverr sellers because of the features like live portfolio, I also like the fact that I am protected as a buyer here. Obvously the fact that it’s cheap is great, but that’s not my main reason for buying on fiverr. I also charge my clients more for me actually going through the designers and sourcing it rather than the actual work. I always ask beforehand and if you are happy to work on fiverr then you can’t be picky who you want to work for. Business works by selling things for a higher price. Just look at most clothing shops for example… somebody manufactures them in a factory cheap and they are then sold on for more. Without resellers there would probably be a lot lot less demand for your work if I am honest.



-Original

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mrspanda Newbie

mrspanda

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Eh. Some people WILL work for $5 for 5,000 words. I did it once and my husband kept his mouth shut because he knew I was struggling to find a job and did not want to upset me. This buyer probably looks at Fiverr like we are all struggling people that are willing to work for less so he exploits that. I was not aware of how much my writing was worth until I saw my $5 e-book get resold under my contractor’s name for $85 to a bigger contractor. I was ticked off, but what could I do but take it as a learning lesson.



A lot of people, like I was, are not aware of the worth of writing. I currently charge 1 cent per word, no matter what, but there are some that are willing to do that $5 for 5,000 words.

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chaihock Newbie

chaihock

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Reply to @mrspanda: Yeah, that’s why I made this discussion topic. It’s to raise awareness and to make note to others that we are not cheap labours!



I understand some people who are willing to do it. There is nothing wrong with that at all and I’m not saying that it is from any perspective.



But from a seller’s perspective, it’s totally not worth the time and effort.

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kuzzmedia Newbie

kuzzmedia

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This reminds me of an exceedingly ridiculous job offer I got to work over 40 hours a week per month and get paid .64 cents an hour.



In my opinion, some people do take advantage of others in this medium. I suggest people build your brand and value for themselves.



I don’t feel this way when folks want a revision of the work. In fact, I just see revisions as part of the job and even like when I recognize their request made the final product better.



I mean it’s preposterous offering someone way less than minimum wage.



There’s something correct about the word “slave” when I think about people’s expectations with such offers.



@chaihock The person who makes that offer is in my opinion taking advantage of people. It just pushes too far into that realm. I am sure through creativity and tenacity that sellers can do way better for themselves through value and creativity.

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bonusgiverr Newbie

bonusgiverr

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I wouldn’t argue with him. I would basically just tell him that I couldn’t do it for that price. I would need twice as much, and if that’s what he’s willing to pay he should probably go with someone else who is willing to do it for that price. And I even think that getting paid $4 for 500 words is very LOW amount of money to pay. Why do you think they outsource it? Because they don’t want to do it themselves. It’s much better for them to pay $5 for a 500 word article, and for this guy basically $5 for 1000 words!



I agree with you that people should just not accept this order at such a low price. And with all the work he’d want you to do, you’re going to be working twice as hard for the same amount of money.

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greenlandng Newbie

greenlandng

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This is really a very simple case to me, it’s a thing of choice, if you think the price is ok for you, do the job, if it’s not, then say no thanks, i sell gigs on fiverr and i am buyer too, what i do with things i buy from other sellers is really not there business, but that’s my opinion anyway.

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cust0mcr3ationz Newbie

cust0mcr3ationz

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I quote low and sell high. If the job is more than the person first requested I quote more. I have a long term customer who orders stories where he has a 10k word story where he just needs the story proofread and the storyline changed…usually the beginning and end to have a better flow. I have a few other customers who are the same way. Never let a customer order something you’re not comfortable with. A job of 5k words if you’re doing all the writing should be at least 10-12 gigs minimum! believe me I have been doing writing gigs awhile now and the more customers I get the more my rates go up sometimes.

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