Why Fiverr can take a commission on tips and your soul

[jforjustin]

A commission on my sales for a site like this is fair enough (although 20% is debatably unfair) but what is the reasoning that Fiverr gives us to have a 20% claim of our tips? An additional amount of money that the buyer has given you for your outstanding efforts shouldn’t have to be “shared”. A quick google shows it’s illegal for an employer to take and keep tips from employees (and rightly so) so why is it acceptable here?

[jforjustin]

Reply to @kjblynx:

Does this information come officially from Fiverr?

I doubt that there are many buyers out there who would be willing to follow a seller’s instructions to use extra effort and deceit and pay in such ways. Also, if the buyer tips only after delivery, the unethical seller is risking not being paid for their work at all.
It sounds like an excuse from Fiverr more than a reason.

I’ve found similar posts and lawful or not, it doesn’t feel right.

The seller (and the buyers who want to tip the worker or creator, not the website) shouldn’t be punished by Fiverr’s failure to police people skirting around fees.

[fonthaunt]

Reply to @jforjustin: Yes, the information comes officially from Fiverr. You can read about the feature and commission here:

Fiverr.com

Fiverr Help and Education Center

One marketplace, millions of professional services. Browse. Buy. Done.

It is stated clearly that tips have fees to avoid abuse and fraud.

I disagree with Fiverr routinely but I agree with them on this. It is naive to think sellers wouldn’t use tactics to get around standard fees. There are already unethical practices all over the place. Fiverr cannot “police” millions of users. I would like to see them crack down on people using stock web images for profile photos. What do you think?

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http://support.fiverr.com/hc/en-us/articles/204903447?utm_source=pr_ct&utm_term=S10756//p6.zdassets.com/hc/theme_assets/38806/1752/1980X350_15.jpg

Fiverr Customer Support

http://support.fiverr.com

[zeus777]

This is something you just need to accept.
Believe me, when I started here, I was having the same reaction, not just for the tips, but Fiverr taking 20% every time. $5 turning into $4 was OK, but once I started getting larger orders, it started to make me upset. $25 will be $20, $100 will become $80. I used to hope “If Fiverr took only $1 from each order, and I can keep $99 for my $100 order…” sooooo many times.
After a while, I was able to get to a point where I could finally accept this. I also decided to raise my price, and that really helped. After all, even though I am not happy with all the rules of Fiverr, I am still glad I’ve found this website! 😃

[jonbaas]

Your thread title made me chuckle.

To my knowledge, Fiverr has never taken a commission on my soul. 😉

[fonthaunt]

Reply to @jonbaas: They did on mine. But, granted, I sold 1% of my soul for $5 when my 18 babies were starving and my grandmother had only 1 leg and a terrible grippe. Fiverr took 20% of 1% of my soul. Luckily I was able to buy it back from a nice man at a crossroads.

[jonbaas]

Reply to @fonthaunt:
Wow! Your Fiverr success story is truly inspiring!

By the way, how is your grandmother these days?

[fonthaunt]

Reply to @jonbaas: Oh you know, she still needs a leg up sometimes but at least that 24 year bug is over!

I know… The devil made me say it… OK, OK I’ll stop!

[jonbaas]

Reply to @fonthaunt:
Whew! Good to hear. That’s one heck of a bug!

I remember when I was a kid, whenever the sun came out, those rays… yeah, those rays really knocked us boys out cold. A 24 year bug, incessant rays from the sun – man, those were some tough times!

[fonthaunt]

Reply to @jonbaas: I know. Those were difficult days. That was before we learned how to make hills properly so they’ll all went up on both sides.

[jforjustin]

Thanks for your responses guys. The consensus seems that everyone is unhappy but begrudgingly just lives with it. As soon as a new platform becomes popular that deals with these matters better, everyone is going to jump ship. Alternatively, sellers will reach a point where they just quit. Fiverr are safe for now in lowering their sellers’ satisfaction rates.