siridhata

I've been saying the private reviews system is unfair to sellers. Then lately I've been reading more and more stories of similar experiences from a lot of sellers and it got me thinking maybe this is just how the new algorithm works. I mean I'm starting to find it weird that all of us are getting bad private reviews while having perfect public reviews. So maybe buyers leaving the private reviews unattended could also cause problems for sellers? Then again I also see some sellers in my category who always have orders in queue. So whatever is effecting us somehow is not effecting them? I don't know, I think all the answers are just not as simple as we thought they were.

It's possible you received one or two bad private reviews (not the public ones that you can see) from those orders. It can totally remove your gig from the search page hence dropping your gig's impressions, etc. That's what's been happening to many sellers since this system is implemented.

The private feedback is such a flawed and unfair system for sellers. One or two bad private reviews are enough to kill your best performing gig despite you performing well & having perfect metric score for years.

I think it had happened to me before, in the latter half of last year but back then I didn't know about private reviews yet so I just thought something else must've happened. Then January started picking back up for me until March. And this month it's been happening again. The difference is, last time it happened I was getting some orders from repeat buyers. This time even less, close to none. So I still wonder what would happen if there were no orders at all including from repeat buyers. Would the problematic gig recover at all?

That's fantastic! Were you still getting orders from repeat buyers in those 8 days? Maybe that could be a factor that help your gig rise again?

Were you still getting order from repeat buyers within the 60 day block?

Hi Ben, I'm currently experiencing the same thing. But I see your gig is still generating orders. Has the situation improved for you?

Same's happening to me. have your situation improved?

What do you mean you're a new seller but have been serving these clients for more than 5 years? Did you have an old account?

I don't think the average public rating for the last 60 days matter all that much to be honest. Mine is 5 and always have been. All my metric scores (response rate, delivered on time, etc.) are alll 100%. However I'm in the same boat as you, Kareem. My gig is no longer in the search page, my impressions went down from 1000+ to only around 100. No new briefs, no new messages despite me still using the gig promotion feature. My eligibility to use the Seller Plus program was also removed. I think we both received bad private reviews although our public ratings are fine. Only the buyers and Fiverr know this since it's private. I can only rely on repeat buyers for the time being, even though most of them have been inactive. Otherwise I don't know if Fiverr will let our gigs recover to their previous positions without getting new orders.

I think this is what's happening to me currently. My gig impressions dropped from 1000+ to 100 within days and I lost the eligibility to use the Seller Plus feature also. CS said it's due to "internal factors" that they can not tell me. I'm guessing the private feedback was the cause. I'm assuming you have now recovered and can use the feature again?

Is the private feedback sent via e-mail or is it done via web after they accept a delivery?

Congrats! That's awesome to hear. How long was the bad phase and did your impressions rise again?

Yeah, it's so weird that possibly one bad private survey just sends our gig to the abyss never to be found without considering all our good efforts. Like how are we suppose to amend and get better ratings if our gig can't be seen therefore won't generate new orders? That's why I'm wondering if we can recover from this despite not getting orders.

Mine started on the 22nd of March, then this month it worsened. Now is probably the worst time for me on Fiverr since I started in 2016. My gig doesn't even show up in searches. According to Fiverr Support it's based on overall performance, ratings, number of completed orders but I got flawless scores in all of them. Then they also tell me there's an "additional internal factors" which they can not tell me due to it being internal. There's really nothing else I can do but hope and wait for an order from an old client or get lucky with the algorithm again.

That's how I've gotten through before but lately even my repeat buyers haven't been active (based on their last seen and me reaching out offering discounts but no response).

So yesterday I checked to renew my Seller Plus subscription but found out that I am no longer eligible to use the program. When I searched the words & phrases that are part of my gig title and keywords my gig doesn't even show up in all 20 pages. No wonder my gig impressions are only in the 100s for days now which is very concerning. So I tried reaching out to the support team and they told me there are many factors that determine the position of my gig, such as overall performance, ratings, number of completed orders. Most of us already know this. But what's bothering me is my scores are flawless in those factors. So I asked why I'm no longer eligible to use the Seller Plus program and a different person from the team said that the cause is related to "additional internal factors" and these are classified. Are these "additional internal factors" the private surveys? And will my gig ever recover despite no longer receiving orders? I'm very distressed because Fiverr has been one of my main income for years and I've done everything I can in keeping my scores flawless including promoting my gig but instead of getting results, I am seemingly being punished for something outside of my capabilities.

I personally think this private review system is so unnecessary and unfair to sellers. How long do you think it takes to recover from it?

Yeah, slump for me too. A week without new briefs (not that that I miss them), days without orders and without messages from new potential buyers. Gig impression went from 1000+ to 100 real quick even while being promoted. Repeat buyers haven't been active even after I offered some coupons. Top rated seller, all metrics 100%, 1 hour response rate and 5 star average ratings. Even applied the top keywords based on the seller plus program. I don't know where it went wrong.

I feel you. We're pretty much in the same boat. I am already a top rated seller with 100% in all metrics (response rate, order completion, etc.) and Fiverr is a big part of my income source as well. My main gig has been doing well since 2016 but starting from the later half of last year to now I feel it has been the worst it has ever been in terms of gig performance. My gig's impressions were 1000+ a day and now can drop down to 300-100. I am also running the promoted gig feature but it doesn't help much if any. Tried the seller plus program as well, updated my keywords according to it and still didn't help. As of now, I am not getting any new messages from potential buyers (they used to be daily) neither am I receiving any new briefs. A lot of my past clients have also not been active. I just really don't know where it went wrong and how to improve the situation.

The more I lurk in the forums the more I think this is becoming more common for a lot of sellers. Messages and orders just decreased if not totally disappeared in the last 2-3 months. It's also been my personal experience, getting lesser messages and orders but then once in a while about every week or two, messages and orders start coming in again and then disappear again for the next week or two, like it's a cycle. And it started in the last 2-3 months. Maybe it's the new algorithm or just how Fiverr works nowadays.

I think I'm going through the same thing. After my last message here I got a few orders and messages and briefs started appearing again. I noticed an increase in my gig's impressions as well. Now that some orders are in, the briefs disappeared again. I think we may be in the same loop of algorithm of how one week it's totally quiet and the next the floodgates open. And I agree this is totally different from my previous years here also.

So I'm wondering how you and your gigs are doing now. Is everything back to normal for you? My impression went up about two weeks ago but then it started going down again since last week. And now I'm not even getting any briefs.

Same. Gig impression went down also.

I am just like you. But it's been happening to me since the beginning of the year. I am also a top rated seller with over 1700 5-star reviews. My price is relatively normal compared to competitors and I know I can give better results & service than a lot of them, but for some reason I stopped getting messages and orders like you while my competitors are still getting consistent sales. I know my gig isn't the problem because it's been doing wonderful since 2016. I've also been trying the promoted gigs feature to no real results. My impression is pretty much the same without it. I tried reaching out to CS and they said everything's normal and my gig is searchable. Even if so, it's still odd that suddenly there's no conversion or interaction when it's been the opposite all these years. The only interaction I can get is from the new briefs feature however it's mostly useless too because about 80% of them are looking for something I don't offer or just have too low of a budget. And I still try to take them on anyway just to keep my gig alive and earn something. I also hate complaining but this really has been keeping me worried for a couple of months now. I've tried everything including updating my gig's metadata to no avail so I just want to vent off and share my similar experience. I'm attaching a graph of my monthly earnings for 2022 just to show how it's been declining.