It's No Longer a Fiverr!!!!!

Alright... it's been a while since I've written. And, let's face it! Fiverr never rescinded the STARS feedback program. Big surprise! The Powers-that-be have never been smart about things on this site. The worst of all has just been seen.

Fiverr implemented Fiverr 3.0, which tanked many sellers' sales - mine included. The month of October was horrible in the way of earning money. However, the newest move, which this time doesn't directly affect sellers, will and has.

50 Cent Increase...

Fiverr recently implemented a .50 cent fee per transaction. Therefore, each time a person orders a $5 gig, they are charged $5.50. Fiverr calls this an admin fee. But, what it's doing is scaring buyers away. Many buyers, using the power of the Fiverr Forum, have claimed they are done with Fiverr (of course, that really remains to be seen) But, if this holds true, we know what that means for sellers. Yep, less sales!

Here's their new TOS: Our Terms of Service (www.fiverr.com/terms_of_service) were recently updated to reflect any additional fees that may be associated with your order. Processing fees are added at the time of purchase where a buyer can review and accept the total amount requested to pay. These fees cover payment processing and administrative fees. As of November 2014: $0.5 on purchases up to $10 and 5% on purchases greater than $10.

Why would Fiverr implement such an idea? After all, they already get 20 percent of the $5. Sellers only get $4 after Fiverr takes their cut and only gets $3.92 per gig after PayPal gets its cut. We're already working for peanuts, and now we may not even get that. It's a good thing, I've started to extend my branch outside of Fiverr once again.. it's really time to ramp it up because this is retarded!

Thanks Fiverr, you were great for a time but unless you decide to repeal this, I have a feeling many buyers will turn to other methods to get their work complete. And, you're making us sellers suffer once again.

Bravo!!!!!!

How Fiverr Sellers Can Take A Much-Needed Vacation

Everybody needs a vacation every now and then, and when you work on Fiverr, you have three primary ways in which to take your vacation without worrying about work:

• Turn on vacation mode
• Suspend your gigs

  

  Schlitterbaun Water Park in Kansas City's Verruckt

• Increase the delivery times of your gigs to the maximum

There are drawbacks to every one of these options. And, I do mean every one of them. Let's take a look at what are the good and bad aspects of these options, from MY point of view:

1 - Vacation Mode

With the first option, Fiverr's vacation mode is buggy at best. I have read many times where a seller went on vacation mode, only to discover that they had an order or two slip through. This can be bad if you planned on going on vacation for several days or a couple of weeks.  

On top of that, many of the Fiverr CS reps will claim that the order was there BEFORE you went on vacation and was completed after you went on vacation. However, many of my fellow Fiverrians have shown that these orders were actually made after vacation mode was turned on, not before.

A real problem to say the least.

Another problem with Fiverr's vacation mode is that sometimes the On button gets stuck in the ON position, even after you turn it off.  Oh boy! What a hassle...

To top it off, you're only given 28 days a year to use vacation mode.

Personally, I don't bother with vacation mode. It's just not worth my time or the aggravation.

2 - Suspending Gigs

This is certainly a more worthwhile method if you plan on being gone for an extended period of time. The drawback to this method, however, is that you lose your place in search rankings.  So, if you were at the top of the pack (high rated) and you suspend your gigs, the system pushes your gig down at the bottom of the pile when your return. Thus, you are fighting to win buyers back.  (This is the one drawback to what I see with gig suspension).

3 - Increase Delivery Times To Maximum

My usual chosen method of going on vacation is to increase the delivery time of all my gigs to 29 days. I do this because it's not as buggy as vacation mode and I don't lose my ranking in Fiverr's searches. On top of that, you can still get orders from prospective and repeat clients.  You should always stipulate why you are increasing the delivery time in your gig description so that buyers understand the reasoning.

For me, I let them know that I am on vacation from one date to the next. I've also turned off my extra fast delivery options so buyers don't request the service while I'm on vacation.

Is there a negative aspect to this option? Of course!

Prospective buyers will still click on the gig and be able to order. Some of these buyers WILL NOT read the description and demand that the work be done quicker. This is where you need to reply carefully. You can suggest a mutual cancellation (which no longer affects you) or you can work out so that the buyer understands the situation.  If they really want your service, they will stick with you and allow you to do the gig upon your return.

Another drawback is that many prospective buyers will look at the delivery time and immediately be turned off, even with your message about being on vacation. It's certainly a useful idea for repeat buyers - if you have any. It all depends on the buyers and how soon they need something.

So, what method is best for you? For me, method three is the lesser of three evils. I've heard horror stories about options 1 and 2 and have decided that, for me, option 3 is a far better one.  Going on vacation should mean fun and relaxation, but if you're worried about orders coming through, how can you have fun and relaxation?

I'd rather have fun on my vacation like I was recently been able to with my kids....

Schlitterbaun Water Park In Kansas City, KS. 

Do you know of other problems associated with the three above or do you use another method to go on vacation while on Fiverr? Share them in the comments section.

When You Are Writing As A Subcontractor

One of the hardest parts about being a writer is dealing with clients who are subcontracting the work out. Why is that? Well, you not only have to worry about what your clients are going to say - although they are the ones that leave the review - you also worry about how the end client is going to take the work.

For example: 

I recently had a client who hired me to do some work for him that he was hired to do for a client. Well, everything seemed to go along fine except for one thing. He never made an order. He actually got upset with me that I hadn't done the work for him. Well, I explained to him that I never got an order from him. When he realized his mistake, he apologized, made the order and then I proceeded to do the work.

I wait until practically the last minute to send in the work - edit the material carefully, rereading it, rearranging it and making sure that it's in tip-top shape. Not just for my client but his client too. My client absolutely LOVED what I wrote... Left a glowing feedback and that was that!

Fast forward to this morning - hence the reason I decided to write today - I wake up to find that he's very sorry but he'll need to cancel our new order. He hates the idea because he said he absolutely love what I wrote.  The problem is with his client... she didn't!  He said he believes it's more of a style issue than the actual writing. I have to agree!

She's also a journalist, and we have our own ways of doing things. My thinking is this... it's not going to matter who he hires to write for him and her... she's not going to be happy with the end result UNLESS she is the one writing it!

I've been there so I know. Sometimes the only person that can do it best is yourself!

This is the biggest issue with being a subcontractor for two clients. The person you're dealing with may be perfectly happy with your material, but the person they are dealing with may have a total different take on it.

Needless to say, I am glad the topic is off my hands BUT it does kinda suck that she didn't like it! But, again, it's all about taste. I'm just glad MY client loved it... even if she didn't!

In the end, I did my job to the best of my abilities. If she wants it a different way, she needs to do it herself because no one who is going to meet her expectations.

That's my two cents on the matter.  Do you have any horror stories about being a subcontractor or something similar?

July 1 Fiverr "Vacation Day" ARS Protest

July 1 - TOMORROW - and due to Fiverr's unwillingness to listen to its sellers - the people who help keep them going - many of us (perhaps just a few of us) are standing up for others who use the site. We are doing this by shutting down our gigs and making it known WHY we are doing this in our profiles.

Why would we do this? Are we only hurting ourselves?

Not at all! Think about this scenario if you will:

You're a Top Rated Seller. You have a buyer who orders your gig that has a timeframe of 7 days.  You have a queue already of 5 buyers who also need their order complete. One day passes and you get a message from the new buyer asking if their work is complete yet. You write back and explain that you have seven days to get it done in. They understand that, but they need the work now. And, if it's not done, they'll give you 1-star for not getting it complete in their timeframe. You tell them they need to order an Extra Fast option to give it to them quicker. They write back, saying they know about it but refuse to pay for it. Either give them the work now or you get a 1-star rating for response.

Yep! THAT'S THE PROBLEM WITH THE STARS SYSTEM.

It's an unfair system. Does Fiverr acknowledge this? Of course not! They've got their heads stuck in the sand, refusing to believe that this could happen - that IT IS happening already to hard-working sellers.   You can read about it via the Fiverr Forum and Fiverr Blog.

What Issues Should Fiverr Really Work On 

There are so many other issues that Fiverr could have been working on to make this site the great it was turning out to be including but certainly not limited to:

• Ensuring delivery of messages
• Offering sellers the ability to accept/decline button
• Show buyer ratings (to go in hand with accept/decline button)
• Reduce hold on monies (it's increased from 14 to 15 days (after buyer approval) or from 17 to 18 days (without buyer approval)
• Removing unwarranted feedback
• Improve search rankings 

Again, this is just SOME of the many bugs on the website. Scary isn't it? How can one do business with a website where sellers (and buyers too) are revolting against an unfair buyer-sided system? I wouldn't want to do "business". And, without buyers, Fiverr cannot make money. And, without sellers, there are no buyers, which means no made can be made for Fiverr..

So, are we shooting ourselves in the foot? No... we are making sure that we are heard!  A one to three-day protest is all it takes to shake things up. That and lots of publicity. Spread the word! Share the posts about it....

Here's an article written about this July 1 protest: http://www.onlinenewsheardnow.com/fiverr-sellersbuyers-plan-july-1-protest-in-light-of-new-ars-system/3279/

Read it and spread the word - let people hear it (buyers will go elsewhere and potential sellers will opt not to sign up).  And, maybe the hurt Fiverr feels will get them to realize this system is lacking real sustenance. Perhaps they'll start to realize that the only person they're hurting is themselves. It'll take time but it can be done!

We have the power to make a change! 

WE CAN DO IT! 

Fiverr sellers and buyers.. this is the time we need to unite!

BRING IT ON!

Share your feelings about the Fiverr protest in the comments. Do you agree that change can be made?

Fiverr Sellers/Buyers Plan July 1 Protest Against New ARS

Today, I opted to write an article - for free and for a good cause - against Fiverr's new ARS through a long-term client's website. I provided him with the article and he published it for me..  If you're interested in reading the article, you can check it out here:

http://www.onlinenewsheardnow.com/fiverr-sellersbuyers-plan-july-1-protest-in-light-of-new-ars-system/3279/


Now, this is just the tip of the iceberg on the problems but it's more to highlight the July 1 protest that I, and many other sellers, will be partaking in.  Let's hope it catches their attention.. finally!

Fiverr's New STARS Rating System

I cannot stress enough.. how hard I worked to maintain a 100% rating... only to have Fiverr implement a STARS rating system that just makes it harder for sellers to maintain it.

How so,  you may ask?

Well, with the previous system, buyers only had the Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down rating to choose from. And, with it, they could post a comment. In this comment, even if they were unhappy about an aspect - time delivery for example but were happy with the overall product - they could leave a positive thumbs up and leave a remark about the delivery.

Bear in mind that sellers choose the timeframe in which to deliver their order. For example: my main rewrite gig:  http://www.fiverr.com/emeraldawnn/humanly-rewrite-1-piece-of-work-up-to-600-words  has a delivery timeframe of 29 days.. There are several reasons for this:

• Fiverr doesn't increase the timeframe for multiple orders. Therefore, if your gig is set for 3 days for a $5 order and buyer orders $40 worth of stuff, several times, you still have to complete the order in 3 days for all those orders. That's just not possible.. especially if you have to work for a living and have a family.  (Most of my orders are bulk too, as buyers seem to love what I do.. but I still worry about those $5 orders that I cannot get to until the last minute BECAUSE of the bulk orders... it has and will continue to happen).
• It stems from the fact that everybody has a life outside the Internet - may not seem like at times - but we do! We cannot stay on Fiverr 24 hours a day, 7 days a week...
• We have other orders to work on.... and they may not even be on Fiverr!

WHAT THE HELL WAS FIVERR THINKING!!!!



Now, with this STARS review, a buyer can leave feedback on responsiveness (hello, we're not always available), Service As Expected (that was seen with the old rating system) and Buy Again or Recommend (What if the buyer doesn't need anything of the sort again).  

Seriously, too much power has been given to the buyers. They can and will abuse this system. For example, there's no reason to have them buy the add-ons for quicker delivery anymore. They can just threaten me with a 1-star... Gee thanks!

Also, Fiverr claims that we can also rate buyers, and sure we can, BUT, the ratings don't show up and what good is it for us anyway when we don't have a system that allows us to accept or decline a job without using the mutual cancellation option.  This is a system sellers have been begging for for months...

Fiverr is a cheap service for goods... it doesn't need all the bells and whistles other freelancing sites have - After all,  it's just $5, not $100 or $500 an order. I would feel differently if that were the case. Fiverr thinks that to stay "Hip" it needs to make this change..

Simplicity is best.... and that's what made Fiverr great!

Fiverr needs to really look at fixing its other issues:

• Lack of customer service response (I rarely have these but have heard horror stories)
• Problems with notifications (I have this happen on a regular basis)
• Implementing an accept/decline button (something we sellers need)

And, that's just 3 issues I see from my angle..

Fiverr really needs to worry more about these and other problems, and stop trying to fix something that's not broken!

The backlash that Fiverr has received about this new system seems to go unheard. They read it and say they're still implementing it! DO WHAT?! In response to that, many sellers - myself included - are taking a 1 to 2-day sabbatical from Fiverr... starting July 1.. Let's just see how much it hurts their pocketbook when they don't see orders coming in for their sellers across the board.

In fact, many sellers have or are contemplating leaving Fiverr for good.. So sad....