I have been banned already 3 months ago and today is the time I can withdraw the funds that was left before. I've been so angry at that time when the ban happened, and I just want to express here how much I hate Fiverr one last time.
I have been a seller on Fiverr for almost two years. I have already become a level 2 seller, achieved 50+ 5 star reviews, and earned an average of $2000+ a month. My gig focuses on blockchain development, specifically automating transactions or serving as a platform for exchanges in the Ethereum blockchain for various purposes.
Just the day before I was banned, I changed a single word on my gig's title to be more precise with my services. After the gig's name was changed, my gig was suddenly marked as "denied". I brought up the issue to customer service for clarification or to fix it. I assumed it was a faulty automated security error.
A few hours later, customer service replied and told me that my account has been disabled because I violated Fiverr's terms of service. Here's what they said:
The relevant team reviewed your gigs and account and your account was permanently disabled after a careful review by our dedicated Team due to violations of our guidelines.
Fiverr is an open marketplace where users can offer or request a variety of services. However, certain types of services are prohibited, as they can pose unwanted risks for our users like legal or financial risks. Some other services simply do not align with our values and Community Standards.
I asked repeatedly what part did I violate, and I kept on explaining how none of my gig ever violated their ToS. I've read their prohibit services multiple times, and it was ambiguous. If my gig violates their terms of service, then hundreds of other gigs that currently exists in their platform should be violating it as well. There are several other gigs that offers extremely similar services to what I had. What's more ironic is I found a user that copied the exact description I had on my banned gig and account on Fiverr, but his account is still up and running. Some people have been stealing my work and yet I, the original developer, got banned on Fiverr.
They have mentioned that my services posed certain unwanted risks to users like legal or financial risk. However, as I've mentioned, my gig and services only specifically offer development of platforms and tools for the Ethereum blockchain. Half of the orders are even for non-profit purposes (Tools for token developers). I do not sell any form of pre-made strategies or fully automated trading bots for profits. I never advertise any form of guaranteed profit in my gigs that may just actually pose financial risks on the users. My gig simply falls into their categories, "Exchange Platforms" and "Decentralized Applications (dApps)" which are both subcategories under "Blockchain & Cryptocurrency". Where is the borderline between "Blockchain development services" and "services that can pose financial risks"?
The review and judgement made by Fiverr has been completely unfair. I demand Fiverr to review this case again and reconsider bringing back my account. Two years of hard work of building up profile, and disabled like it was nothing. How come the gig was up for almost two years without issues, and all of a sudden it violates their ToS? How about all the other similar Blockchain development gigs?
Talking to Fiverr's customer service is like talking to a brick wall. Avoid Fiverr at all cost if you plan to be a freelancer that plans to make a gig that involves Cryptocurrency.