Will Fiverr EVER bring back BUYER REQUESTS?
My name is Vakar Malik and I have been working on Fiverr since 2019. It took me a long time to become a level 1 seller and even longer to become a level 2.
I received loads of redundant advice like working on SEO for your gigs, working on gig descriptions, and working on gig images. It just feels really frustrating because I tried everything and nothing seems to be working. If you ask me from my experience what helped me get orders? Well, my answer would be buyer requests. I got most of my orders from buyer requests. It allowed me to directly engage with the buyers and let them know about my thoughts on their project and how I would approach it. I have had satisfied sellers only ever since I started working on Fiverr.
Imagine my surprise when Fiverr announced that it was going to remove the buyer request feature. I knew it was going to be devastating for me but promises were made that Fiver's own algorithm would work to match buyers and sellers. it felt great on paper but feels abysmal in implementation. It removed the chance for new sellers to struggle on Fiverr. It removed the human element from Fiverr. Now a dystopian algorithm will decide whether you are worthy of work or not. You get no say in whether you are competent or not. The algorithm will DECIDE FOR YOU.
Everyone can agree that people usually start at the bottom and work their way up. They could be improving their skills or establishing themselves as a reliable seller on Fiverr. BUT NO MORE, because let Fiverr decide for you. Oh, you have not worked on Fiverr before? you must be a novice you cannot handle this... goes the Fiverr's algorithm.
I understand that the reason Fiverr's buyer request was removed was because of buyers spamming it and not using it properly. I acknowledge that it must have been a problem. But was REMOVING buyer requests altogether the way to go? Instead of putting a badaid on a limb fiverr decided to rip off the limb itself. You could have worked on making Fiverr's buyer request a better experience for both the buyer and the seller but you decided to simply remove it. How is that helping it? Because Platforms like Upwork, freelancer, etc. work on the same principle and they are FINE! You cannot use the excuse that it was a problematic system that needed to be removed. If it was problematic then fix it! Don't REMOVE it.
I also understand that Fiverr is well-connected with its community and asks its top sellers for advice on how things are going. Which is great! ( ON PAPER ).
The thing is... Fiver's top sellers were doing fine without buyer requests. They had an established brand and clients they could rely on. So Fiverr listening to THEIR feedback did not help the middle and low-level sellers on Fiverr.
I feel like I have been ranting for too long. But I needed it. This post is an amalgamation of months of frustration and constant disappointment and not feeling good enough and trying hard but not even understanding HOW to try hard on Fiverr other than making a gig and sitting and waiting for Fiverr's dystopian algorithm to notice you.
My apologies if I said something wrong or got the facts wrong. This is written from my point of view.
I hope This gets noticed by the relevant people. This is just not just my frustration. I am not alone in this.
Please try to work on this issue.