How Fiverr protects and profits from fraudulent sellers - My buyer experience

[manuelmagalhaes]

On the 5th of December I purchased from a fiver star seller ( https://www.fiverr.com/*********** ) a $25 Marketing Plan. Before ordering I messaged him detailing what I needed and asked if he was in conditions to accept the gig. He said yes so I went ahead and ordered. I answered his questions thoroughly and made myself available for any doubts he might have. The gig was scheduled to be delivered in five days, on the 10th of December - despite this and with very conservative expectations about it I even stated that “if he was to deliver it by the 8th of December I’d be ecstatic”. Fast forward to the 10th and with no further communication in between I asked him if the gig delivery was on schedule. Within a couple of hours I received a notification asking me to mutually cancel the gig and get my money refunded. No reply and no message accompanied said notice.

After contacting Fiverr support I now know I face two options, accept a refund minus the $1,25 processing fee and get my $25 in a voucher form to exclusively spend on Fiverr or refuse the gig cancellation and risk a begrudged late gig delivery or no delivery at all.

Here’s my issue with those options. As a buyer I have done nothing wrong. I paid in advance in what can be considered an act of goodwill. This goodwill was not reciprocated nor protected by Fiverr. In return they demand a $1,25 fee to refund in Fiverr dollars what I paid for the gig. To make the matter worst, if I accept this “deal” I won’t be able to warn others about the fraudulent seller - as his flawless 5 star rating will be left untouched by me, since I’m not able to rate on a non-finished gig and by Fiverr, that simply ignores the issue and profits the processing fees on mutual cancelled orders. The alternative to this is not any better, just more honest for the community - although exclusively at my expense. I refuse the cancellation and force the buyer to deliver the gig. I will most likely get a sub-par delivery but on the plus side I’m able to warn others about this seller in a form of rating.

As a dissatisfied, disappointed and scammed consumer I warn other fellow buyers that the seller rating system is badly flawed in favor of the seller and doesn’t reflect their credibility. If a case like this happens you’re going to be left hanging by Fiverr who will take no action in punishing the seller and wont properly refund your money as they should. This was just my second purchase here and my confidence in the system will be forever tainted. I can only imagine there’s other sellers on Fiverr with a flawless 5 star rating with the same antics as this one at the expense of buyers like me that face no consequences at all.

[plinux]

I’m afraid my experience so far on Fiverr weights more on the negative side. The reviews are not real in too many cases, as it’s easy to understand that no one would be happy to receive extremely poorly written articles like the ones I keep receiving, yet those sellers have so many full 5*s ratings - as if no one ever asks for articles with no grammar mistakes or articles that actually make sense.
Some sellers clearly have trouble expressing themselves in English, but I see they have enough positive reviews to qualify them as content writers.

I’ve had enough cancellations to get a little angry and have lost a percentage of the money as well, as the buyer above stated.

All in all, I’ve only had 1 (!) valuable delivery and it was, as it happened, the cheapest. The second time, 3 times the same amount of money, the seller cancelled / refunded without a single explanation after initially accepting it and waiting a few days.

So far all of those who wrote for me, except for the one mentioned above, have used automatic writing software like the ones mentioned in Huffington Post and other channels: http://readwrite.com/2013/01/15/why-write-your-own-book-when-an-algorithm-can-do-it-for-you
The problem with these is that whatever comes out, although it sounds sort of good, is utter nonsense and it’s certainly a waste of money.

I’ve explicitly said in my buying offer that I cannot accept that sort of content and that it’s best if those sellers who use such software don’t apply since I will refuse those articles. I’ve even asked for work samples, to try to determine if they can write or not. No luck. But less money already.

Overall, I’m a bit disappointed with Fiverr.

[gracebjarnson]

Hi there. I’m a voice over artist on fiverr, so this is coming from my perspective. I completely understand your frustration because I have also bought on fiverr. The policy that if you cancel you can only use your money on fiverr is ridiculous, especially for those who just wanted a single job done, for say, personal use, and don’t anticipate using fiverr again. From the seller’s point of view we also get frustrated with fiverr’s policies. We have no control over whether we accept or deny an initial gig. Say we have someone who keeps on bullying us and wants us to do extra things for free or they will threaten to give us a bad review. We can’t ban that person from ordering. We can ask for a mutual cancelation, but if they are jerks they will refuse and will keep on ordering (I’m not saying you are one of these people). So the system is messed up on both sides. We don’t see any reviews of those who are buying, but they can see our reviews. So if a buyer is a bully and is going around ordering gigs and treating people like slaves, we as buyers will never know, and we can’t refuse the gig even if we did. So Fiverr has some things they could improve on to say the least. It makes it hard for those who really are trying to create a positive professional experience here on fiverr. They have been making improvements to the site, but I hope they will take these issues seriously for both the sellers and the buyers. Have a great day, Grace.

[edume]

Hi,
I can understand the situation. I’m a seller and also a buyer since 2011. I’ve had similar problems in the past with purchasing. It’s unfortunate that there’s a lot of sellers that don’t have the respect of running a business on fiverr and communicating with customers. It’s a big problem.

Being in business for almost three decades (fiverr’s a small part) I’m constantly baffled why those people provide a service that can’t be fulfilled.

In my opinion, it’s best to cancel the order, accept the loss and find another provider. It takes time to find a good reliable provider and a Top Rated Seller, level 2 or level 1 should have little to do with your decision as it’s the credibility of the individual as well as showing proof of history that the task can be completed.

I was told years ago, if you can’t prove your history in business, your ship will sink fast. Fortunately I’m in the video business and can prove everything I’ve done since the beginning!

I wish you well in your purchasing. You can always message me if you need any other details. - Andy

[eoinfinnegan]

Sorry you have had a bad experience with Fiverr. Like everywhere, there are many people some doing good work, others doing bad work. I agree that people should deliver whatever they offer, regardless of the price. However, that is seldom the case.
I suggest you stop placing bigger orders and “interview” your potential sellers by giving them a small order for $5, if it’s good then place a slightly bigger order, and so on. Alternatively, you could send them a badly written piece of text and ask them to rewrite it. I prefer this method as it shows whether they understand the fundamentals of English.
I also suggest that you review what you are looking for. If you want 500-1000 original, topic specific, well written and ready to print words for $5 then I am afraid you are not going to be satisfied unless you get VERY lucky with a new seller who is doing it just for reviews. It just doesn’t happen. Why? Any native English speaking person lives in a western society and therefore needs to be paid accordingly.
As I said, you SHOULD get what you are promised for whatever price but, with a very few exceptions, you will get very little if you pay very little.

[magy1808]

Well, I am a seller on here, and I have to tell you only one thing guys, there are bad sellers, there are good sellers, and same goes with buyers. Just like with everything else in the world, good and bad. Sometimes we hit with the right person sometimes we don t. I am sorry for you guys that you had a bad experiences on fiverr, but it doesn t mean all of us sellers are bad or that whole platform/site is bad. Just as we don t judge the nation or race by the act of individuals, lets not judge this whole system, site and sellers/buyers by the acts of the individuals.

[Alex.M]

You’re not following the rules on the forum… probably you didn’t follow the rules on that gig either

[manuelmagalhaes]

No. On both instances. Keep to the logos and leave the reading to someone else.

[manuelmagalhaes]

Unfortunately my Fiverr experience is ruined. And it’s not because of the seller, I face people like this in business all the time. What I didn’t expect was a system that protected this kind of behaviour. Successful online marketplaces have one similarity, the consumer is always protected. I feel the opposite here.

[manuelmagalhaes]

You’re absolutely correct, there are probably more good sellers than bad ones. Unfortunately the one criteria they’re judged upon apart from their work, which a buyer can only see after a successful purchase, is their rating. And I now know that’s not enough, since cases like this are not accounted for. But what really ruined my experience is how the Fiverr support dealt with the case, and unfortunately there’s only one Fiverr.

[manuelmagalhaes]

I’m sure the system is also faulty on the sellers end. Apart from denouncing the seller, the objective of my rant was to denounce and warn other buyers that the rating system is faulty and that Fiverr won’t have their backs in case something like this happens. Fiverr is more at fault here than the seller, who just abuses the system. Thanks for your words and have a nice day too.

[emmaki]

She’s not wrong about the forum rules, though. You’re not allowed to call out others (buyer or seller). This is a universal rule.

[manuelmagalhaes]

It seems a silly rule to me if I can back what I wrote - which I can. I don’t see how can this harm Fiverr’s honest community. Regardless, I only resorted to the forum because I was advised to do so by Fiverr’s own costumer support. You may check it yourself if you open the attachment on the opening post.

[emmaki]

Ah, I missed that! Fiverr’s image posting is kind of glitched at the moment so I tend to gloss over images in OPs. You were directed here, that’s true.

I don’t know. I don’t disagree with you, but there’s not much to be done here. All the call-outs will be deleted, leaving you with a husk of a thread that doesn’t really go anywhere, your present two options and a little more waste of your time (it looks like an automated message anyway).

You could try the NY Party Question thread in…Conversations, I think? Anyway, you’ll know the one from the horrible 50 minute cellphone video. Long story short, the CEO etc was going to talk to buyers and sellers alike at that party, but then didn’t for reasons, but they would be answered at a “later date”.

You do have another option, but you can do the legwork on that. Believe me, both sellers and buyers have horror stories alike. There’s only one winner sometimes, and it’s not us!

[fastcopywriter]

There are three reasons why someone might write a positive review.

1. They liked the work

2. They don’t like saying negative things

3. It was a paid review

#3 is unlikely, what’s the point of paying for reviews if later on your lack of talent is discovered?

Obviously, some people are desperate and will do anything from money. Why not hire someone with 100+ positive reviews? Or a TRS? Or someone with no ratings but a well-written profile?

[fastcopywriter]

"if I accept this “deal” I won’t be able to warn others about the fraudulent seller "

Well, it is a deal. It’s bad enough the seller won’t get his money, now you want to trash him? Fiverr isn’t Yelp.

“minus the $1,25 processing fee and get my $25 in a voucher form to exclusively spend on Fiverr”

Oh the horror, $1.25 fee. Seriously, you knew the rules. If you sell on Fiverr, you can buy gigs with your money and not pay processing fees. If you only buy, there are processing fees. Everything has fees, I pay PayPal a buck when I withdraw my revenues, I’m fine with that fee.

Fiverr is smart, Fiverr wants you to give someone else a chance.

Frankly, I think you’re going way overboard with this. That seller you’re trashing has 93 reviews, most of them positive.

His gig extras are expensive because people are obviously willing to pay that. Is he perfect? No, for example, he got this review:

“Although the vendor missed the delivery deadline, I ddn’t cancel the service. However, I’m disappointed with the final result. We’re a charity which was clearly communicated to the vendor. However, the plan that I’ve received was targeted for a business . Would like to mention more, but no space…”

The following is his reply:

“If you do not manage your non profit like a business you will fail. I am only giving one star because of the poor communication. I asked questions daily and you never replied.”

I agree, a charity must be managed as a business. The problem is a lot of people running charities are SOCIALISTS, and socialists aren’t famous for their business skills. They’re famous for wasting money and hating the rich.

In conclusion, you had a bad experience, forget about it, hire someone else.

[edume]

@manuelmagalhaes There’s a lot to say on this topic but I can say much here.

[plinux]

I’m aware of the good work / bad work principle. My disappointment was that the services offered were not subpar - as one could expect to receive when small rewards are involved, but unusable.

[plinux]

At least one of the sellers had 100+. And most had reasonably writtem profiles.

[fine_articles]

I am sorry about your experience. Yes, it is not right to use writing software. But, all sellers are not the same. You just happened to meet the wrong seller. There are sellers who will write good articles for you provided you give clear instructions of what you want. I can help you if you want a unique and human-written article. Just contact me.

[magy1808]

Well, saddly I had just recently problem where I as well think CS didn t do fair on me, but there is nothing we can do about it. To you as a buyer I am suggesting to fallow some of this tips I wrote from sellers perspective http://forum.fiverr.com/discussion/how-to-hire-a-right-person-for-your-task/

[misscrystal]

Speaking of horror stories, I would love the next installment from the buyer’s side… 😃