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Buyers: How do you Feel When Sellers Raise Their Prices?


cyaxrex

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Ok, so you are a buyer on Fiverr and you have a seller you work with who you are used to getting a lot for your $5. Maybe we’re talking about 500 words of writing. Maybe we’re talking about some fancy graphics work, the kind of gigs you order doesn’t really matter.

What I would like to know, is if you are a buyer, how would you feel if your seller suddenly started offering just 300 words of writing for $5, meaning that you would have to pay $10 for what you usually receive per order?

Would you look for a new seller? Or would you pay up because you realize that really what you are paying for is still fantastic value?

To clarify, I offer writing at $5 for 300 words at the moment and it seems like one of my old buyers has decided to work with someone who can provide them with faster delivery. The only problem, (despite the fact that my ex-buyer can’t seem to see that they have a problem) is that the quality of writing which they are now paying $5 is as follows:

“Bert’s Motors has certainly come up with some wonderful variety for individuals, who are disposed to hiring wedding cars. One must realise that wedding is a once in a life time affair and every arrangement needs to be perfect. This is just the reason why we have painstakingly arranged for some of the best options for people in need of wedding car hire Derby. Operational since 2004, we offer plenty of variety in the wedding car section. Does one need a limo with a difference for the big day? The fact that we have online presence certainly helps. As a customer, one need not come down all the way. From the confines of a cozy room, one can log on to the website and have a look at everything we offer. Other than the grandeur and luxury, as a reputed limo hire Derby firm, our USP lies in offering first class customer service.”

(Note to admin, company name and location changed in respect of privacy).

Now I’m sorry, but the above is utter garbage and I’m actually shocked that someone would even dare attempt to populate a business website with such rubbish.

However, at present, I need to increase my prices simply to be able to handle the volume of sales I have. Much more importantly, I really don’t like the idea of equating my work as equal in quality to the above. After all, if I and the above seller both charge $5, I’m basically telling my prospective clients to expect the same level of quality aren’t I?

So buyers, if you regularly use a seller, would you simply jump ship if they raised their prices? Or would you appreciate something like a short letter with your next order stating why this increase is necessary, before choosing to continue to work with your seller regardless?

I look forward to any responses.

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MAYBE just increase your prices if that´s what you must do. The right buyers will come to you. If your regular buyers don´t like your new prices then let it be. Maybe they have limited budget. But I believe those who recognised how you are wouldn´t mind with your new prices, and as time flies you will get new buyers. A Michelin Star restaurant will always get customers no matter what the prices are, so will great writers and you are one of them (me thinks).

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As with any change to your gigs, think it through.
Your writing is definitely worth more than $5/500 words.
One thing to consider is what your clients are buying your gigs for, what is the purpose? In the case of articles, most article directories require 350 words + title and summary to post them. On top of that, it is widely believed that Google views articles of 400+ words as considerably more valuable than those with 300 words.

If you offer 300 words then the client will not get what they need from you. To get the content they require they will have to pay double and will have articles which are better, approx 600 words but they will not really have gained in their mind.
That said, you may want to move away from that kind of writing and so it won’t be a problem.

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This is a tricky subject. I know my profile says I’m a newbie, but I’ve been on this site before. My old account got restricted due to me using a public computer when my personal one got damaged pretty badly. The response I got was that I had multiple accounts, and when asked to provide proof of this, I was only met with automated responses, so I gave up for a while. Now, I’m starting from scratch. Getting back to the subject at hand, I have raised my prices a few times, but I have only reduced my workload once. I was doing about 10000 words for five bucks when I started out on Fiverr, and I managed to do well and gather a nice amount of return customers. The reason for the rise in price was due to the fact that more buyers wanted to take advantage of what I offered, and I ended up doing more work for extremely low pay. I’m talking about full 200 page books for less than one hundred dollars! It really got bad when I had to juggle my classwork with my gig work, and my grades began to suffer. I was just starting my second college semester and I was doing everything online. Some people wanted me to deliver 20,000 words in less than 24 hours, and I had homework modules to complete. That’s when I decided to raise my prices, increase my delivery time, and decrease the amount of words I allowed. To accommodate my loyal customers, I did special favors for them and explained to them why the price was going up while the word count was being lowered. Most of them were pretty understanding and continued to buy my services; others left, but I made sure not to make anyone feel bad if they decided to find a cheaper seller. Most of the ones who left usually returned with complaints about the quality they got from the new seller. When I was able to get more gigs done, I put my old word count back up, but kept the new delivery time, and as a level two seller, I was able to make a little more money for the extra work buyers wanted. My point is, if you feel like you need to raise your prices for any reason, try to explain it to your customers. Let the quality of your work speak for itself. Don’t worry about customers leaving; your rating and feedback will bring you new ones. Just don’t jack up the price too high.

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Yes, I notice this too with my higher-paying buyers. They are much easier to work for and because of this, I am much happier to throw in reviews and work on pieces until clients are 100% happy that their work is a perfect match for the purpose they intend to use it for.

As it stands at present. I’m simply getting tired of working for cheapskate buyers who obviously think that creating work for them is easy. This and worrying that having so many small orders to get through is compromising the quality of what I am delivering.

I have 10 sofa related articles to write today followed by a $30 order for a single piece. This being the case, I’d ideally like to eventually have my day made up of 3-4 $30 orders which I can really sink my teeth into, rather than 10 which it just feels like I am punishing myself writing.

Alas, one day… I’m just worried about ostracizing people.

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I wouldn’t worry about losing some buyers - you’ll gain others. Remember the old quality adage ‘fit for purpose’? Some people take a ‘good enough’ approach. If that’s what they want to pay for then let them get what they pay for. If the lower quality has repercussions they’ll come back. Or not. So what? You’ll be happier dealing with clients who are happy to pay for the quality of your work.

@eoinfinnegan makes a good point though - think about the customer desired outcome rather than then number of words, but then price for that.

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