Credibility is Important Even if it's FIVE bucks

[edume]

Well, more than four years on fiverr, thousands of completed orders, rarely redo a video, lots of happy customers.



Of course, fiverr is not our main business. We are in the broadcast media industry. But, no matter if it’s $5 or $50,000 your credibility is on the line.



We are not just a seller on fiverr, but also a buyer and we’ve spent a lot over the years. The main problem we’ve seen and I’m sure other buyers have seen is the seller’s lack of responsibility to provide the proper service. This is unfortunately a sign of the times. But, it’s also the reputation of the seller going into the sewer. If a seller doesn’t care about you as a buyer, then there’s always someone else to fill the spot.



Also, if you are buyer, remember the old phrase, you get what you pay for. Of course, there are people who simply want a cheap video from us and we’re ok with that. But, investing a little more will also get you more which will in turn build credibility and trust! Reliability and building credibility are essential for success no matter if it’s on fiverr or elsewhere or in your own job working for a company. It all works together!

[funkygfx]

So true. Very well written.
If I may ask, how long did it take you to achieve TRS?

[edume]

Reply to @funkygfx: TRS was achieved long ago during the first year on fiverr. Everything was different in 2011-2012. But, really TRS is not that important, focusing on what you want to provide buyers is the key. Socialize on FB and through Google+, build your ideas and let people know. Tell them you’re on fiverr unless of course you have your own website! Use a video to promote your services. You can get in touch with me regarding that, I’m happy to help. But, the important factor is that we are in the digital age where socialization is the key rather than a telephone.

[rosieone]

So, so true. I am a new buyer here and just experienced a very unprofessional seller. I had posted a custom order request and they responded (among many others). I selected them and gave them more specifics including a link to a sample. It wasn’t a complicated job for a competent designer. I was using it as a test to find someone who I could give bigger projects to in the future. They kept me waiting for days, then came the excuse that the power went out…then they sent me a logo from another business (my request was not a logo), then when I asked for a modification thinking they just attached the wrong thing…nothing. I then requested a cancellation (now 3 days later) to get a message with more excuses about an exam and that $5 was too little for the work (address label layout). I had to accept the cancellation but couldn’t give feedback so this seller is probably doing this to other buyers and keeping their 5 star reviews! As a seller myself on another platform, I work HARD to please my customers and it pays off in spades. I do hope many sellers read your post.

And the kicker…had they done a good job, I would have tipped them.

I am sure I am not alone as a buyer. When I work with a new contractor, I want to test them out before giving them bigger jobs - especially designers. Your attitude is wise and should be adopted. Relationship building is key with customers. I know who I’ll be contacting should I need a video 🙂

[edume]

Reply to @rosieone: Thank you for your words. Our 27 years in broadcast has helped us shape what we do and how we do it. It’s like that saying, as you get older you become wiser and that’s the case with us. Although we don’t feel that old! LOL.

[greatlikes]

Sheriff’s Note: Self promotion removed again. For ease of search: keyword - spam greatlikes

[rajkumar11]

Sheriff’s Note: Please do not spam the forums, especially in other people’s threads. Note that someone who posted hours before you did the same thing and it was removed. You may post self-promotion only in My Fiverr Gigs.

[edume]

@greatlikes and @rajkumar11 - these are fake services. This posting is not for promoting your fake services. Buyers take note.

[adilsama]

I agree with you, we should take great care in whatever we do because the work would be important for buyers and it in the end helps us eventually because sometimes buyers do need that service again and they might come back to the person whose service they are familiar with.

[hispeedlaptops]

Good advice! I need to focus on that moving forward if I want to be successful.

[edume]

Update…

Building trust and credibility these days is extremely important. It’s better to be honest and direct rather than play a game. If you play games and lie, guaranteed, it will come back to haunt you and you’ll loose that trust and credibility you built over time.

[julipalmer7]

@edume great advice best wishes.

[mrproofreading]

Reply to @edume: How did you lose your top-rated badge?

[edume]

Reply to @mrproofreading: We are outspoken and tell it the way it is, but unfortunately fiverr didn’t appreciate one or more of our posts and decided to reduce our TRS to Level 2. They told us to remove all youtube links from our gig descriptions just because we show an email address on youtube. So, now we changed to vimeo instead not showing anything in the description. Those youtube links in our description were there for well over a year without issue. They are watching what we do and what we say. But TRS has little to do with doing your business the right way. Fiverr is not our main business, but it’s best to honest and build your reputation and have multiple streams of income.

[edume]

Thanks julipalmer7 for your kind words. Take care

[artisticdreamer]

Well said! It’s good to see that there are still people, like you, who care about good customer service and credibility. Without these two things, what do we have left? Not much really.

[edume]

Funny enough and though we are outspoken about different issues, fiverr took away our TRS, reduced to level 2 just for making comments. And, they didn’t even tell us exactly what we said wrong! I guess we have lasted in business for more than 27 years because follow the simple rules of business while others don’t have any idea how to run a business.

[jeromae]

Totally true. Recently, A customer asked me to do little more than what my gig tells with only $5. I still did my best. She bought all my extras after seeing the finished product and a $10 tip. 🙂

[edume]

Reply to @jeromae: That’s excellent! Some buyers know the value they are receiving is much more than if purchased elsewhere. And, especially in your case, you obviously made a great impression which leads to more referrals and more buyers.

[jonbaas]

Reply to @edume:
I’m sure Fiverr had a good reason for reducing your seller level here on the site. They don’t take away seller levels without valid reasons. Just because you’ve been in business for 27 years (a mantra on this forum that is getting old fast) does not mean you are immune from the effects of how you choose to present yourself. Perhaps people complained at the comments you were making, and Fiverr felt that the removal of TRS was an appropriate response to those comments. If they removed your TRS rating, it would appear that they no longer feel that you are top rated seller material.

My advice, pull back on the putting down of other sellers, while presenting yourself as better and more experienced than everyone else. We are all equal as sellers here on Fiverr.

[teenytinypress]

What troubles me is when sellers do a bit of a bait and switch and aren’t explicit about what they are actually offering for $5. On the other hand, I have found sellers who offer something really cool and unique for just $5.

I’m willing to pay more, of course, for more detailed/time-consuming services, but I also appreciate when sellers respect the basic concept of offering something useful for the $5 base fee. As a seller, I try to offer something concrete at the $5 rate.

[edume]

Fiverr was no meant for ALL services to be $5. In our case, it’s not possible to produce a high quality HD video for $5. It’s like anything else in life, you get what you pay. Many buyers have come to us after a bad experience with another provider on fiverr. Buyers go for $20 video with inexperienced people on camera only to find that it creates more of a problem than a positive solution. When you invest a little more with experienced people, then the result is always much better.

This applies to anything you buy in the store. Product A is $5 looks cheap, not lasting. Produce B is $10 is the same, looks and feels higher quality and lasting, name brand company. Most of us buy the cheaper $5 item only to find after a month it breaks. We get angry but if you bought the product for $10, it would have lasted a much longer time.

So, you need to realize that some sellers do have value for their abilities when they charge more.

[edume]

One other thing… Sellers need to be upfront with a buyer by posting all relevant information and costs in the gig description so it doesn’t anger the buyer.

[jonbaas]

Reply to @edume:
Actually, yes, Fiverr IS meant to have all services be $5. Every gig MUST sell something tangible for $5. The sales and extras beyond that $5 can be customized however a seller chooses. It is then up to the buyer whether they want to remain with the $5 sale, or purchase extras to make their project more inclusive.

Of course, it’s also worth noting, that the claims that $5 services are less valuable than more expensive services is merely your opinion. I have seen some fantastic Fiverr services priced at only the required $5.

[ronasia]

Reply to @rosieone:
From a Buyer’s perspective | To re-inforce your experience (and edume’s opinion from another topic’s post), there seem to be a lot of rookie Sellers on here. They may have some varying degree of tech skills, but little or no sense of business practices).

Here’s a crazy example that just happened. Had been in communication with a SELLER over several weeks about a small web site assignment.

Sent him client’s concept layout (ugly) - asked if he thought he could improve the layout.
They reply it could be made beautiful. So last week, tell him that client will give him a try to see a sample of his work. He maintains (up to late afternoon yesterday), that it will be “outstanding” design and be viewable later. I so advise client that he will be able to see this morning.

At 9PM, writes to say, he CANNOT DO the assignment at all.

Says he only works in Word Press. I reply, (a) why didn’t he say that a week ago; (b) why not adapt the layout/copy to a Word Press template.

SELLER now asking for a “Cancellation” so it won’t affect their Fiverr ranking.

I felt like saying, he shouldn’t have ANY sort of ‘ranking’ - maybe not even be here in this community. There needs to some method established for VETTING Sellers.

PS Am taking this time to post, due to procrastinating about what I am going to say to client (and their opinion about MY poor judgement in selecting the Seller). Oh well…