greystorm2

A fair observation if you’re not planning on breaking a bone, catching Covid, experiencing a death in the family, a huge move across several states, etc. etc. etc. I don’t see any reason why freelancers should be punished if they have to take more than 30 days in any stretch of time. When you’re not available, you don’t show up in search. When you are available and ready to work again, you should show back up as usual. Flexibility is one huge reason we love freelancing. If I wanted to be punished for needing time off, I’d go back to work for the government. 🤣 It’s a good start, not to sound ungrateful. But we’re professional adults here, running our businesses as we need or want to run them. I still say there’s no need to be negatively impacted even if someone does have to (or want to) take that much time off.

Honestly, I don't know what to think of the new updates because communication about them has been cryptic, secretive and vague. Now that they're apparently live, I still don't really know what Pro 2.0 even is, what exactly Certified is, how Neo works its match-making magic and if it's going to be any better than briefs ever were, etc. etc. etc. At a glance, it just looks like some eye-candy may have changed a bit, badges changed colors, some names changed, and now we have our very own Chat GPT sibling that may or may not regurgitate anything useful or accurate. I'm always cautiously optimistic, but communication about these changes and updates has been more like movie teaser trailers than anything actually informative. 😕

Well, several things. New businesses pop up every day, everywhere. Everyone, without exception, starts off somewhere, some how. That pilot flew professionally for the very first time once, after a whole lotta training, and you may or may not have been on that plane. The folks we always go to now didn't burst onto the scene with their current level of real-world experience. Presumably a lot of training, yes, but not actual real life hands on experience. HOWEVER... even that's changing, at least for freelance platforms. We must also think that freelancers here on the platform are brand new to their field, just because they're new to Fiverr. As Fiverr has improved over time, that is NOT the case anymore. More experienced folks are starting to learn that the whole "gig economy" thing isn't going away, and they're starting to dip their toes in the gig/freelance waters. So you could very well be passing up freelancers who ARE experienced, just late to the platform party. 😄

Good points here! This can be a very confusing platform to navigate if you're not used to its quirks. So if you're new, teaming up with a seasoned pro who can walk you through the steps is extremely helpful. Then, as you get familiar with the platform, you'll naturally feel comfortable rummaging around a bit further for promising newcomers, and you can in turn help THEM. I liked these points in particular, in no particular order: YES. Please don't just say Hi. 1. If the person you're trying to contact doesn't automatically assume you're just a spammer/scammer and flag you as spam, the system very well may automatically move your message to the spam folder anyway. 2. It will save you some time trading messages back and forth, because the person you're trying to contact won't have to ask you what you want. 😂 And 3 as an afterthought - I'm not sure at what point the system will automatically flag you as spam if you're sending the same message to a bunch of people while you're shopping around. Just be mindful that spamming several people at once to see who's available may be flagged as just that - spam - even if you're legitimately searching for an available seller. I would definitely agree, with very few exceptions. I may work with most reasonable budgets, if someone's in a pinch, it's a reasonable offer, I have the time and availability to accommodate, and if you're willing to work with ME in return. Example: Your budget is CLOSE, but you can give me an extra day or two to fit your project into my recording schedule. My primary rule for working with reasonable budgets is: be reasonable, perhaps also be flexible in another area to allow the seller to accommodate your budget, and DEFINITELY don't be rude about it. If I provide a quote, and someone comes back with, "That's way too much," I will politely block you and encourage others to do the same. One thing I would definitely agree with 100% is not to promise future work for a discount today. In the immortal words of Professor Snape, "Don't. Lie. To me." Loyalty discounts don't kick in on the first order. 😉 Also agree, depending on your field. In some areas, like mine (voiceover), it can be expected to have to provide BRIEF samples, like an audition. However, it can be subject to availability, and please do not expect to receive a full project (a read of your full script, or a complete mock-up of whatever) as a "sample". We spend a lot of time and money putting together demos and samples that showcase our range and skills. I'm not gonna lie, it gets tedious when every single message that comes in is a request for a custom sample - we may receive several of these kinds of messages on any given day. Especially when those requests say things like, "we really like this one particular spot in your demo, can we get a sample like that?" Be mindful of this, reference specific portfolio samples, and be prepared to pay a minimum session fee, or a sample fee, if required. This is why this is a great set of suggestions, and it's a great idea to pair up with a very seasoned seller if you're a newcomer. Ask, and we'll be more than happy to guide you through your first steps until you're rummaging like a pro, yourself. 😄

All. Of. This. And this, too! The important thing to remember is that you're dealing with another human being and their business. Their craft. Their baby. Their livelihoods that they've spent hours, blood, sweat and tears honing and perfecting. We also have bills to pay. 😄 It certainly doesn't hurt to POLITELY ask, even if your budget is limited. Your chosen seller may be able to work your project in, if you're flexible with your time frame. I certainly know my value, but I'm not heartless, and I try to be understanding and flexible when and IF I possibly can. If I can't, it's not personal, it's strictly business. Unless you're being insulting, then it's personal. 😉 I'll smack that block button faster than your head can spin around, and if someone's being abusive, I will not hesitate to report. Appreciate the human behind the computer screen that you're hoping to work with, and you might be pleasantly surprised.

Sure, sometimes "all's fair in love and war" and all, I suppose, and attitudes like this have absolutely caused me to make adjustments to my own gigs over time. HOWEVER. Fiverr's layout and extras aren't always perfect. In my category, the whole "commercial rights" vs. "broadcast rights" can be confusing, and absolutely does NOT cover some of our buyer's license needs. We only have so many gig extras to work with to cover every possible scenario. So yes, sometimes we do have to create custom offers based on specific needs that might differ from what can be calculated on the gig page directly. That's what good communication and custom offers are for. I will outline every reason why I charge what I charge line by line when I'm asked for a custom order so that everything is transparent and on the up and up. If you KNOW something you need isn't covered on the main gig, you KNOW what you're doing is duplicitous and taking advantage of the person you're supposedly working with. That's not really a great tactic to brag about and recommend to others. You might think it's a neat trick, but if you're dealing with someone who isn't keen on letting themselves get taken advantage of, you can only pull it off once before you get yourself blocked, or even reported for demanding free work outside of the scope of the gig you purchased. A better recommendation would be this: Be polite, professional, and decent in all of your dealings. A working relationship is a business partnership, not one person taking advantage of the other (and that goes both ways, for buyers AND sellers). Communicate your needs to make sure all your bases are covered in your order. That way you can continue working together in the future, rather than "sniping" for more targets to take advantage of. And if all that's still too much, just treat people the way YOU want to be treated. You say you don't like to be taken advantage of, so don't take advantage of someone else.

Congratulations! TRS takes a lot of work to achieve, you deserve the party. 😃 I’m also a huge fan of meditation. Not so much the cold showers. :rofl: 🍻

In order to sell here, we don’t have to pay up front. While some might consider 20 percent a bit of a steep commission, the alternative is to pay a large chunk up front in order to set up shop. On one hand, that might not be a bad idea, considering the number of people who flock to the site under the misguided impression that they’re going to “get rich quick.” On the other hand, that would be quite a hinderance to a lot of freelancers who are serious, and do have great value to offer, but not necessarily a lot of start-up funds. Along the same lines, I think the fees they’re charging buyers was also an attempt to cull scammers and less-serious buyers? I mean, yes, more money, more profit of course, a business is going to do what a business needs to do not only to survive, but to thrive and expand. But Fiverr has made a lot of improvements over the years, especially fairly recently, and I think forcing folks to have a little more skin in the game, so to speak, was also an attempt to improve the quality of buyers to the platform as well. I also think spreading the love a bit is also better than absorbing an even higher commission than our current 20%. Fiverr does a LOT of advertising. The amount of advertising Fiverr does on our behalf is WAY more extensive than I could pull off on my own. You could always try to round up as much traffic as they do, yourself. :woman_shrugging: Frankly, I’m happy to put that time and effort into other areas of my business, and let Fiverr do its thing. 😃 I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s a perfect system. It does make me twitch a little to see that 20 percent cut, and I have struggled through some bugs and glitches in the system, as well as a handful of less than pleasant customers. I’d love to see something along the lines of a scale of reduced fees the more money spent, or even as a reward for achieving higher levels as sellers. But since I’m not privy to Fiverr’s overhead, payroll or other costs (is there a way to find that information out?), I have no idea if that’s even a feasible suggestion. But they aren’t just sitting stagnant letting a swamp of unscrupulous scammy buyers and lackluster, get-rich-quick sellers take over the whole platform. They’ve improved over time, and those improvements aren’t free, or cheap. And since cost of living pretty much everywhere on the planet never ever decreases, don’t be surprised when you see fees getting adjusted to compensate. We just have to remember to adjust our own businesses to keep up, as well.

@tiakovolana is correct, it shows up in your order page, so I don’t bother creating any other certificates, myself, as a personal preference. To address the OP’s concerns: As mentioned above, when you purchase commercial and/or broadcast rights, it shows up in your order page so you don’t need any additional documentation. As for what the consequences are for using something that you didn’t purchase the appropriate license for, or refused to purchase the appropriate rights for, the seller would be in his/her rights to report you for Intellectual Property Claims infringement. You might wonder how they would ever find out, but it is possible in this day and age where you can find just about anything and everything with a google or youtube search. You can check out Fiverr’s TOS and Intellectual Property Claims Policy for more information, and I’d highly recommend familiarizing yourself with those. Now, if you’ve purchased something that you didn’t originally include appropriate rights for, you can go back later and request to pay the rights for. It can either be added onto an order that’s still open, or the seller can send you an extra, or they can send you a custom offer specifically for rights to a previous order. That way, you’re covered.

You’re very welcome! Best of luck! 🙂

Honestly, the best thing to do is read the TOS, because it will tell you specifically what not to discuss with your buyers. For example, never asking for certain reviews, or not sharing personal information or information outside of the platform–which protects us from potential scammers and problems. Just from personal experience, I can’t see why “course” or “assignment” would raise any flags. What will raise flags I know for certain are things that specifically go against TOS.