katakatica

Haha, I wish! I'd be rich! Jokes aside it WOULD be awesome if we could do like a little 'round the world gift exchange' or something for the Holidays or just in general.

Thank you so much. Best advice evers. Jokes aside, this IS actually solid advice. Honestly, it's hard not to feel guilty. Sometimes stuff happens and you're just not the right fit and yes, sometimes clients are a++holes. It's hard for me to remove my sensitive heart from situations like this but... it helps in the end. In the end, as a freelance writer I just provide a service. That's all. Am I perfectly polite and sweet as sugar? Sure. But things can still go wrong and sometimes that's out of my control. Toxic people exist everywhere unfortunately and knowing how not to get caught up in their net is... important for sanity-reasons.

I'd love to hire her to deal with some - childish -clients! I feel like she'd get through to them better than I ever could. (once again, joking!) But I bet she'd love Swedish candy 😄 I just found some that taste like actual cherry, it's crazy. (we raid the candy store on Saturdays which is one thing to look forward to.)

Honestly, good food helps a lot! I might make an iced latte after lunch - in the morning it's a bit hard and (luckily for my pockets) Starbucks/Espresso House don't deliver here xD) when I work from outside I do indulge though, but I've yet to find REALLY good coffee here. One of the reasons I'm off more now is partially the fact that my partner is mostly only free on weekends so I want to be able to go out/do stuff. However, sometimes I still end up writing a bit here and there but.. it can be great xD I'm cooking mala chicken (which is just chicken with sechuan pepper and other spices) tonight and honestly can't wait xD food is also part of my 'love language' so yeah. Ugh, that sounds awful! I hope that you get fired soon (I.. this sounds so weird to write lol) but honestly, 6AM wake-ups I don't miss for sure. 9-5 with all the chronic pain and crap I have really hurt me in the long run. Sometimes I work more now but it's less restricted/I can take time off when not feeling well so it's been really helpful lol. Come on, that's PRECIOUS! I used to work with kids, often lived in the same house so I've... seen that a lot . Kids love being involved (but... obviously, some customers might not appreciate it :D) When my partner isn't home I steal his desk when cooking so I can use his speakers - not sure if the neighbours appreicate the weird pop/kpop lol

Based on your profile, you are a level 2 seller. At this point, even without BR/briefs you should be getting a decent amount of orders if you're doing everything right. That being said, I understand the frustration, but BR was not OK in many ways. It was full of spam, scam, and sellers trying to advertise themselves. Sure, it's great for new sellers to have a chance, but I'm sure there will be something. However, Fiverr IS starting to 'weed out' the bad ones - which means that eventually only sellers who are capable will stay on the site. I assume this will change things a bit as buyers will only have 'good' people to choose from (so maybe briefs will come to new sellers who pass the 'test'?

I feel like many people hate the start of the week - which makes sense as it means 'back to work'. When I didn't take the weekends off writing fully, I didn't really feel it because, well, I worked on the wekeends, too, so... it didn't matter, right? Now that I try not to work over Saturday/Sunday (I reply to messages if needed, but that's all) it's gotten harder to start the week again. Do you feel the same? Or are you one of the people who are happy for the new beginning of the week? (I do have to mention, I think part of the reason I'm so grumpy THIS specific Monday is because our apartment is being renovated so I woke up to drilling at like, 7AM. Whenever they work near the bedroom it feels like everything will fall off the walls! My office desk is right by that window, too, so it's not fun.) And another question. If you do get grumpy on Mondays like I do, how do you cheer yourself up? Do you treat yourself to something nice? Or just power through the day? - When I'm done writing for the day I'll spend the rest of it playing Potion Permit, making some tea (with milk and honey!) and I'm cooking something that I love so it'll feel a bit more special!

Unfortunately CS is like this exactly due to its size. On your screenshot I can see Fiverr added founds for promoted gigs - and then those were the ones taken away (the $72) Is it possible that the month before you should have paid that much but didn't have the funds until now? I would definitely try to ask CS again as it could be a weird miscalculation but it could also be correct and just written there awkwardly.

It could still be that from an older order so they couldn't specify it? Obviously I have no idea how much you've earned in the meantime/how long time has passed but I wouldn't be surprised. Otherwise, maybe it's accumulated from old seller plus subscriptions? Perhaps old promoted gigs stuff? I know for a fact that this month I spent more (and earned more) on promoted gigs than normal but maybe it was past months?

You can be not good enough at what you want to offer (by Fiverr's new standards, which is hard to specify as this 'reject at account creation' thing seems to be new) and still follow rules. You need to tick both boxes to be approved. We are mostly sellers and buyers here though, so of course you won't get an official response, but it's very possible that your account just didn't pass the quality check. Using your own pictures/samples/text/video should be the BARE minimum. I understand the frustration, but think about it like... taking a test in Math or something. Maybe you follow every single rule: you're dressed up in your uniform for the test/exam, you don't cheat, only bring a calculator and no cheatsheet... you might still fail. I'm sorry this happened, but Fiverr is getting rather strict - unfortunately it's possible that they are letting less and less people into certain categories that are already overcrowded.

Is it possible that you had an order that was cancelled after it was completed/you got the money for it? That's the first thing that pops into my mind. Sometimes, visual glitches can occur, so maybe it just didn't pop up with the right text?

To me this looks like (just based on the writing and frequency) new 'sellers' who think that they are already selling on the site - but have no gigs (basically the type who spams inboxes, etc.) I've gotten a few before but I think those were genuinely just mistaken order or someone who wasn't paying attention. I don't think this is anything malicious, just... misguided people I'd say.

No - they can just accept the order (or let the system accept it on its own after 3 days). Some people are busy, others might not want to leave a trace (maybe they purchase gifts/etc.). Fiverr won't add a review when there's none, but you will be able to get your payment after 2 weeks or so. I personally believe that not forcing the buyer to review is the best because they can get agitated/etc. if it feels like it's a must. (and then, of course, there's also private reviews and all though I'm not sure whether most people even bother with those or not.)

Other than what was said before, this is definitely a surefire way to get a warning if it's suspected that you also talk to your buyers this way. I get it. You're furious. But talking like this to CS or just anyone on the forum (who can't help) is NOT okay. It screams 'avoid this seller at all cost'. And... your post is public now, so it's not just CS who can see it. Now, cancellations are not fun. I've had a few this year. You know what I did? Tried to see why they happened and make sure they don't happen again. I understand it looks 'sketchy' to you but based on the screenshot..it WAS the buyer who wanted to cancel. Now the 'why' is obviously hard for me to see, but... perhaps they realized they didn't get what they wanted? Or... weren't as nice as they seemed to be? This happens, and it's not fun but the only way to even try getting help is by being polite, cool-headed and assertive - not cursing and threathening like you were. Just to clarify once more: this is NOT the way you talk to someone who might be able to help you get your money back. Take a deep breath and hope the CS agent who deals with you (if this was your message to them exactly) has dealt with this a lot.

Waste of time - yes. Unacceptable? Nah. You place an order - and then you get a delivery. The seller might have known they aren't great (and could even be a copycat), which is why they send you whatever and hope you'll pay, but... it's on you for not placing an order, too. I don't write a single word without an order. I know it's frustrating but since you never really paid (and you don't seem like you have the intention to do so) it'd be a bit unfair for you to leave a review, wouldn't it?

Almost everyone has had ups and downs on here. It's not fun and no one likes it, but Fiverr has a lot of gigs and... Also, in all genuine honesty (though I might get corrected on this) your services feel borderline against TOS - I do realise that these servives exist and all but I'm not sure I personally would pay someone on Fiverr to do it? Might be a popular thing so I could be in the wrong but I did notice that Fiverr is silently cracking down on stuff that can be 'sketchy' (though if the category and stuff exists I guess that wouldn't be the case.) I also have to repeat what the others have said - things don't happen on here for 'no reason'. It's not fun, and in some niches I guess repeat customers aren't THAT much of a thing so it's not so easy to come back on top, but... all you can do is tinker your gigs, do research on what you can improve on and see what happens.

Oooh, a lot has happened! 1. I didn't take courses BUT I started working on a bigger variety of games (and played a lot more as well.) I'm also going for the PGA (it's a big game thing in Poland) in two weeks which is like - super exciting! 2. I'm getting closer and closer 😄 I will definitely hit this goal, but now I'm hoping to do even more than that (though I feel like it's already been amazing so far. This month I'll hit a new personal milestone even if I get no more new orders so... I'm doing pretty good on that front. Though that is because: 3. This happened. Twice, in the end, once before vacation and the next time right after I hit TRS. It's been... great. Definitely less work but I earn the same/more than ever, so it was the right call. Obviously at this point I sometimes get the 'but why so pricy' question but most people are OK to pay well for quality writing, which this post might not be as I can barely see through my glasses 😄 BECAUSE I raised my prices, I have more time to just... be. Exist, have fun, even just work on some of my own stuff. 4. So..no amazing portfolio yet, but a bunch of stuff I've worked on is coming out soon which is great! I did started on a personal project - slowly - and it will be awesome! 5. Started this, currently working on a few new ones! Some extra-special ones for the holiday included. 6. YES. So this was done maybe... last week or something? It took a while to figure it out because logistics but now I have my own 'spot'. Soon there will be fairylights and some decoration, but even just having double screens and a fixed space for my laptop and all is amazing. And yes, we did get curtains. They are awesome. I've been generally well over the past few months - had some ups and downs work-wise, definitely got a bad private review here and there but business has still expanded greatly. I love writing and the fact that I make money out of it still feels insane to me but I think I'm slowly growing into the 'yeah, I'm genuinely good at this' thing. My mental health (it's important, though I didn't mention this in the previous post!) has also gotten way better, but that makes a LOT of sense when it's been nearly half a year now that I don't work late into the night/early into the morning seven days a week (okay, it wasn't THIS bad, but...) AND don't commute 4 hours twice a week. Stockholm is a very chill city with decent food (though expensive) and a lot of fun stuff to do so... it was the right call to move here!)

In just one year, I tripled my average monthly earnings. Do you know how many BRs I had? 0. If you have no orders, maybe the problem is with your profile and you are right. Patience will not help. You know what helps? Trying to understand what you're doing wrong. Maybe your desings aren't eye-catching enough. Maybe your bio is boring. Maybe in this field, you need more than decent-looking gigs to stand out. Despite your 6 years of experience, your profile looks exactly the same as any other 'graphic designer' I've seen. If you're truly an artist, show it. If not... maybe after a year it's time to try something else?

The real question (for me) is: do people GENUINELY believe that TRS/Pro/popular sellers do nothing but stay online? Like... It just sounds like such an unhealthy 'hack' to me. I'm not a good sleeper - never was - but just the idea that my success comes from not sleeing (or using borderline illegal programs to pretend that's the case) sounds so off to me. Sure, if you can, adjust your schedule a bit so that you're able to be online when you get the most messages but like, don't break yourself (or your computer) while doing so. Persistence is great but not always, is what I'm trying to say I guess.

What skill do you get from staying online? Be honest! Nothing, right? That's exactly why it does nothing. Your account is just one of the thousands of others listening to the same dumb advice. Do research, expand your skillset, tinker your gigs and you might stand a chance.

You'd still be selling the same thing - you might get a small boost the first week or so but after that it'll be exactly the same... Instead of making a new account i would look into why your gigs aren't doing it for you. Perhaps you can invest in some classes to improve?

Is it just me though, or this sort of 'cheat and then complain' sellers are frequenting the forum more than ever? I don't like directly pointing things out in the (unlikely) scenario that I'm wrong, but it feels like people are shifting strategies slightly? Or was this common before and I was living under a rock?

Are you really Dimitry, a TRS who still has their account open? If yes, I'm not sure why you've made a new account, but... If Fiverr suspends your gigs, there's probably a reason for it. I'd make sure that your services are in line with the current TOS (and...just go back to my TRS account because why make a new one?) If you're name is not Dimitry... I think that answers the question by itself...

I think I'm sold. If it's a relatively small starting fee, I think it might benefit everyone (sellers and buyers, and the site). I guess what I'm worried about the 'paywall' would be actually talented people not having that 'extra' money to spend, but I've been thinking and... it would erase so much of the spam/scam/fake orders/etc. In the end, I feel like people who are serious about their business will know that a small investment is normal (I did not know 5 years ago, but if I was starting out now, I'd likely be aware of it.) I'm honestly curious about all the changes coming and hoping that they will help with a lot of the 'nasty' stuff going on. (though I'm not sure what will stop people from creating multiple buyer accounts and spamming 'gimme order' that way but... I think there'd also be ways to filter that out so!)

Yeah, I... I suppose I should have known! Still a good tip, though! To be fair, I feel like it'd probably function as a rant as well, I just felt like people might actually read it as a tip (but most probably just open, comment, bye on it)

I can see it now, thank you! I think I missed it as well - I was switching between phones so I wouldn't be surprised if it somehow landed in a 'read' pile when the old phone went crazy!