Increased my prices and expected to earn less. I was wrong

[torrelles]

As seen in…

Fiverr-wise, pretty good. It’s been my best selling month ever, by a small margin. I expect sales to drop next month.

Well, I was wrong. I sold less, yet I earned more. I wasn’t sure if it would work out, but it has. Jumped from a 5-10-15 model to a 5-15-45 model, with some modifications to what’s included in each.

And in the end…

FEB: 27 sales
MAR: 13 sales

Still got 7 more days to go, but the margin is big enough already. Hope this encourages you to increase your prices - if feasible!

😀

[dasarg]

Yes. I think many of us (freelancers) fall into the trap of thinking that charging less will bring us more clients (and profit). This happens especially here on Fiverr.

I have found, so far in my experience, that that is not the case at all. That strategy might bring you more clients but they will usually be of low quality.

That is not to say that it’s not a good strategy for beginners. It’s actually a very efficient way to get your first orders going (although not necessarily so, and it depends on your niche).

Lately, I have been practicing being fairer with my prices and am already having my profit-to-sales ratio largely compounded. But, I think that wouldn’t have been as easily attainable had I not done the first 30 orders the hard way. E.g. one of my high-paying buyers specifically mentioned that he is choosing me due to my excellent reviews.

[lisabaarns]

As seen in…

Fiverr-wise, pretty good. It’s been my best selling month ever, by a small margin. I expect sales to drop next month.

Well, I was wrong. I sold less, yet I earned more. I wasn’t sure if it would work out, but it has. Jumped from a 5-10-15 model to a 5-15-45 model, with some modifications to what’s included in each.

And in the end…

FEB: 27 sales

MAR: 13 sales

Still got 7 more days to go, but the margin is big enough already. Hope this encourages you to increase your prices - if feasible!

😀

Well, I was wrong. I sold less, yet I earned more. I wasn’t sure if it would work out, but it has. Jumped from a 5-10-15 model to a 5-15-45 model, with some modifications to what’s included in each.

Makes sense to me. That works short term. My only push back is I wouldn’t do that until you get over the 100 review mark or so.

As it stands today, the Fiverr search placement rewards those with more reviews, and until you get to a reasonable number (your choice), having more clients & reviews is a win longer term.

Plus you get to refine your production techniques when doing higher volumes of business. Doing one or two VO per day doesn’t force us to be ultra efficient about our methods. Doing 10 or 20 a day does…

I have raised my prices a few times, and will do it again when I hit 1500 reviews. (Shooting for that before the anniversary of my first gig sale.)

You get far more momentum by having a higher volume of clients in the earlier stages.

[thecreativeguys]

For this very reason, it’s not safe to assume that just because 1 seller has 50 reviews and another seller has 150 that means they have made more money.

Upsell and sell your services at a reasonable rate. You’re worth it!

💡 Joe

[dybe_jobs]

Yes. I think many of us (freelancers) fall into the trap of thinking that charging less will bring us more clients (and profit). This happens especially here on Fiverr.

I have found, so far in my experience, that that is not the case at all. That strategy might bring you more clients but they will usually be of low quality.

That is not to say that it’s not a good strategy for beginners. It’s actually a very efficient way to get your first orders going (although not necessarily so, and it depends on your niche).

Lately, I have been practicing being fairer with my prices and am already having my profit-to-sales ratio largely compounded. But, I think that wouldn’t have been as easily attainable had I not done the first 30 orders the hard way. E.g. one of my high-paying buyers specifically mentioned that he is choosing me due to my excellent reviews.

Thanks alot for sharing your experience with sellers especially @dybe_jobs

[dasarg]

Well, I was wrong. I sold less, yet I earned more. I wasn’t sure if it would work out, but it has. Jumped from a 5-10-15 model to a 5-15-45 model, with some modifications to what’s included in each.

Makes sense to me. That works short term. My only push back is I wouldn’t do that until you get over the 100 review mark or so.

As it stands today, the Fiverr search placement rewards those with more reviews, and until you get to a reasonable number (your choice), having more clients & reviews is a win longer term.

Plus you get to refine your production techniques when doing higher volumes of business. Doing one or two VO per day doesn’t force us to be ultra efficient about our methods. Doing 10 or 20 a day does…

I have raised my prices a few times, and will do it again when I hit 1500 reviews. (Shooting for that before the anniversary of my first gig sale.)

You get far more momentum by having a higher volume of clients in the earlier stages.

and will do it again when I hit 1500 reviews

Why not now? 😃 I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between 1300 and 1500

[Anna]

Congrats. I recently increased my prices as well and it was a good decision to do so.

[lastay]

I increased my prices last month and I was a bit worried at first because I did have a slump in sales. But when I calculated my profit, it was basically the same as the previous month, so I sold less gigs, had less work, but made the same. This month has been off to a good start, less orders but bigger and better paying projects. So I would recommend taking a chance and increasing your prices, especially if you think your product is of a high quality.

[lisabaarns]

and will do it again when I hit 1500 reviews

Why not now? 😃 I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between 1300 and 1500

Why not now? 😃 I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between 1300 and 1500

I’ve raised them recently, and for me that’s only a month or so to get to the 1500 mark.

When we raise rates, we will make more if we are offering a quality product and we keep a reasonable percentage of our buyers overall. (My primary focus is building repeat buyers, who appreciate and will pay for value.)

Each time we raise, we cut the volume a little. Not a bad thing. Same money, less gigs. I call that a win.

That said, I’m a longer term player. If I raise them now, I cut the rate of raw gig growth, and there is some value for new clients finding you. If you rank higher in your category, you’re exposed to more buyers. (I’ve been in the top 3-5 for female VO category for months, based on “Ave Customer Reviews”.)

When the Fiverr rankings system rewards total dollar volume rather than having such a bent on gig numbers, I’ll go higher again, because I have the value.

There is some value in high review numbers. You became a safer choice for a larger set of buyers. It’s also easier for them to justify the extra spend.

I want the value buyers… In that area, those of us who do quality work can do very well.

When to pull the trigger on price raises is a personal choice based on where you want to be in a year or for some, next month.

[abdulmoti]

Well, I was wrong. I sold less, yet I earned more. I wasn’t sure if it would work out, but it has. Jumped from a 5-10-15 model to a 5-15-45 model, with some modifications to what’s included in each.

Makes sense to me. That works short term. My only push back is I wouldn’t do that until you get over the 100 review mark or so.

As it stands today, the Fiverr search placement rewards those with more reviews, and until you get to a reasonable number (your choice), having more clients & reviews is a win longer term.

Plus you get to refine your production techniques when doing higher volumes of business. Doing one or two VO per day doesn’t force us to be ultra efficient about our methods. Doing 10 or 20 a day does…

I have raised my prices a few times, and will do it again when I hit 1500 reviews. (Shooting for that before the anniversary of my first gig sale.)

You get far more momentum by having a higher volume of clients in the earlier stages.

I agree with you @lisabaarns, you can’t just increase your prices and encourage others to do the same, it might work for you for a while or for a long time, it might backfire on you in time, it also may not suit everyone, besides I had a pleasant surprise today, I have done $5 dollar gig (small job) and got $25 tip on top of it, so you can also provide quality services with your gigs regardless how low the price might be and be rewarded for excellent customer service and quality work. My advice would be price your gigs for what it is worth, do not underprice or overprice and do excellent job and all will work out fine. Good luck

[lisabaarns]

I agree with you @lisabaarns, you can’t just increase your prices and encourage others to do the same, it might work for you for a while or for a long time, it might backfire on you in time, it also may not suit everyone, besides I had a pleasant surprise today, I have done $5 dollar gig (small job) and got $25 tip on top of it, so you can also provide quality services with your gigs regardless how low the price might be and be rewarded for excellent customer service and quality work. My advice would be price your gigs for what it is worth, do not underprice or overprice and do excellent job and all will work out fine. Good luck

My advice would be price your gigs for what it is worth, do not underprice or overprice and do excellent job and all will work out fine

I agree with that… although I keep raising my prices and as someone grows I recommend others to the same. Being cheap does get additional buyers, but it has some negative side effects too…

There are many paths to success. Balancing price vs. client quality and overall revenue is a constant tweaking process.

[djgodknows]

Raising prices, by justifying it with “Quality Product” may not EVER be applicable to some categories.

If I fix a bug on a website for $5.

After having 2000 reviews, I cant jack it up to $30/$20/$15 or even $10.

Why? Because fixing a bug for $5 would remain a static value based on MY category and based on the number of sellers providing it.

There simply isn’t a “QUALITY BUG FIX”.

So again a “May not apply to all” disclaimer at the end of everyone’s recommendation would be the ideal thing to do. :rolling_eyes:

[torrelles]

Raising prices, by justifying it with “Quality Product” may not EVER be applicable to some categories.

If I fix a bug on a website for $5.

After having 2000 reviews, I cant jack it up to $30/$20/$15 or even $10.

Why? Because fixing a bug for $5 would remain a static value based on MY category and based on the number of sellers providing it.

There simply isn’t a “QUALITY BUG FIX”.

So again a “May not apply to all” disclaimer at the end of everyone’s recommendation would be the ideal thing to do. :rolling_eyes:

So again a “May not apply to all” disclaimer at the end of everyone’s recommendation would be the ideal thing to do. :rolling_eyes:

if feasible!

I’ll have to bold that part 😂

[lisabaarns]

Raising prices, by justifying it with “Quality Product” may not EVER be applicable to some categories.

If I fix a bug on a website for $5.

After having 2000 reviews, I cant jack it up to $30/$20/$15 or even $10.

Why? Because fixing a bug for $5 would remain a static value based on MY category and based on the number of sellers providing it.

There simply isn’t a “QUALITY BUG FIX”.

So again a “May not apply to all” disclaimer at the end of everyone’s recommendation would be the ideal thing to do. :rolling_eyes:

Because fixing a bug for $5 would remain a static value based on MY category and based on the number of sellers providing it.

There simply isn’t a “QUALITY BUG FIX”.

I respectfully disagree. IF there are tons of others doing it for $5, you actually may get away with it.

Fixing bugs is an art and a science. Some people are far better at it than others. IF you are great at it, then it would be worth more than having someone else do it.

Almost all marketplaces have room for a few premium sellers. From pizza to perfume, to writing and almost all other service, some buyers WILL select the one who is charging a premium, especially if someone has the experience to back it up and/or a great backstory.

Starbucks kills it selling coffee for more than McDonalds. Is the coffee really worth almost double?

If I need a bugfix, I would prefer to find the premium provider. If it’s related to a business, I want the most experienced person, not the cheapest.

Just saying, it’s a very rare marketplace that doesn’t support some who charge a premium, because there are a set of buyers, even on Fiverr who want more, and will pay for it. I see it in the voice over category, and as a business principle there are a few names for it:

For example:

Veblen goods, (people associate higher price with status and exclusivity)

Bandwagen Effect (if 2000 others select you, you must be worth it…)

There are plenty of people who subscribe to “No free lunches” and “You get what you pay for…” even on Fiverr.

For some, and extra $5 is worth it IF they believe you are faster, better, more experienced or otherwise better than the rest. Some of that is how you position yourself… Again: These marketing concepts have been around for decades and still apply, even in the gig economy.

It can’t be that everybody is equal when it comes to fixing bugs. Some people are far better at locating, predicting and fixing bugs than others. (It’s an art and science.)

I’d also say, if everybody else is $5, it’s the perfect time for someone to take a stand and be double. That person will do very well IF they are good, and market wisely.

[oloyedejamiu]

Learnt alot from your conversations guys and ladies…

[abdulmoti]

Raising prices, by justifying it with “Quality Product” may not EVER be applicable to some categories.

If I fix a bug on a website for $5.

After having 2000 reviews, I cant jack it up to $30/$20/$15 or even $10.

Why? Because fixing a bug for $5 would remain a static value based on MY category and based on the number of sellers providing it.

There simply isn’t a “QUALITY BUG FIX”.

So again a “May not apply to all” disclaimer at the end of everyone’s recommendation would be the ideal thing to do. :rolling_eyes:

Why? Because fixing a bug for $5 would remain a static value based on MY category and based on the number of sellers providing it.

No pricing is ever static, prices go up and down, based on many factors, in here, I understand many buyers are attracted to $5 thing, but also just because many offer “Bug Fix” for $5 don’t mean they are good at what they do or you should put your price down just because too many are offering for $5, clients also know what a job is worth, and if the price is way below what is worth, they know not to waste their money and time. So raising prices could apply to all categories. It depends on the market, target clients and etc… High prices might bring you quality clients who are serious about their business and want the best, low prices will bring you cheap clients, who want ok work for way less money, which also shows, their clients are also low paying client.

Price determines prestige and brand and determines what kind of buyers will come to your way 🙂 Makes sense???

[djgodknows]

Why? Because fixing a bug for $5 would remain a static value based on MY category and based on the number of sellers providing it.

No pricing is ever static, prices go up and down, based on many factors, in here, I understand many buyers are attracted to $5 thing, but also just because many offer “Bug Fix” for $5 don’t mean they are good at what they do or you should put your price down just because too many are offering for $5, clients also know what a job is worth, and if the price is way below what is worth, they know not to waste their money and time. So raising prices could apply to all categories. It depends on the market, target clients and etc… High prices might bring you quality clients who are serious about their business and want the best, low prices will bring you cheap clients, who want ok work for way less money, which also shows, their clients are also low paying client.

Price determines prestige and brand and determines what kind of buyers will come to your way 🙂 Makes sense???

I thought my comment was pretty explanatory and obvious. And it was based on Fiverr’s market solutions not any other.

---

I will simply leave you with this:

The pipe under your sink burst, so will you hire your regular market priced plumber, or will you want to hire the plumber that fixes Brad Pitt’s pipes?

If you can hire Brad Pitt’s plumber, more power to ya! 👍

Sadly Fiverr has not been established as a market that caters to prestige and celebrities… yet!

Hope that made sense.

[webdealspro]

Some buyers prefer expensive gigs because they think this way the provided service is of better quality.

[abdulmoti]

I thought my comment was pretty explanatory and obvious. And it was based on Fiverr’s market solutions not any other.

---

I will simply leave you with this:

The pipe under your sink burst, so will you hire your regular market priced plumber, or will you want to hire the plumber that fixes Brad Pitt’s pipes?

If you can hire Brad Pitt’s plumber, more power to ya! 👍

Sadly Fiverr has not been established as a market that caters to prestige and celebrities… yet!

Hope that made sense.

Your post does make sense, and I am not disagreeing the facts you have mentioned, just adding my couple cents, where prices could be raised in any categories, of course, there is the risk of losing clients and on the other hand get quality clients who think high prices grantee quality, of course, they might not be right but that is what they might think.

[lisabaarns]

I thought my comment was pretty explanatory and obvious. And it was based on Fiverr’s market solutions not any other.

---

I will simply leave you with this:

The pipe under your sink burst, so will you hire your regular market priced plumber, or will you want to hire the plumber that fixes Brad Pitt’s pipes?

If you can hire Brad Pitt’s plumber, more power to ya! 👍

Sadly Fiverr has not been established as a market that caters to prestige and celebrities… yet!

Hope that made sense.

The pipe under your sink burst, so will you hire your regular market priced plumber, or will you want to hire the plumber that fixes Brad Pitt’s pipes?

If you can hire Brad Pitt’s plumber, more power to ya!

If the difference between a regular plumber and Brad Pitts plumber is a small amount, most will select the one who is attached to a brand name. In this market that’s probably not an ideal example.

On Fiverr, if most people are $5 for a bug fix, you’ll see someone who does it for $15 or $20 and makes a killing at some point. Assuming they are good at it.

Why, because when you need a bug fixed and it’s important to you, $15 or $50 is lunch money. Most won’t need that, but some do and will.

Combined with the focus this year where Fiverr is adding “Average Price per Gig” to the ranking system, if someone does sell a few of the higher priced gigs, they will get ranked better, and enjoy higher viability over time.

Just a matter of time where someone joins and takes a stand for “Premium” fixes… Either an existing seller, or someone new.

[saddu_writer]

The pipe under your sink burst, so will you hire your regular market priced plumber, or will you want to hire the plumber that fixes Brad Pitt’s pipes?

If you can hire Brad Pitt’s plumber, more power to ya!

If the difference between a regular plumber and Brad Pitts plumber is a small amount, most will select the one who is attached to a brand name. In this market that’s probably not an ideal example.

On Fiverr, if most people are $5 for a bug fix, you’ll see someone who does it for $15 or $20 and makes a killing at some point. Assuming they are good at it.

Why, because when you need a bug fixed and it’s important to you, $15 or $50 is lunch money. Most won’t need that, but some do and will.

Combined with the focus this year where Fiverr is adding “Average Price per Gig” to the ranking system, if someone does sell a few of the higher priced gigs, they will get ranked better, and enjoy higher viability over time.

Just a matter of time where someone joins and takes a stand for “Premium” fixes… Either an existing seller, or someone new.

If 2 + 2 = 4, no matter YOU do the addition or Andrew Wiles do it, the answer will same.

Bug fixing is same like that. There is no point or no different ways to do it the BRAND way.

[eoinfinnegan]

I thought my comment was pretty explanatory and obvious. And it was based on Fiverr’s market solutions not any other.

---

I will simply leave you with this:

The pipe under your sink burst, so will you hire your regular market priced plumber, or will you want to hire the plumber that fixes Brad Pitt’s pipes?

If you can hire Brad Pitt’s plumber, more power to ya! 👍

Sadly Fiverr has not been established as a market that caters to prestige and celebrities… yet!

Hope that made sense.

In addition to what Lisa said above, I would suggest that you include the other advantages that you have over others. For example, your communication skills are excellent and when compared to many others I have met here, the time taken to communicate with you will be far less. My time is valuable to me and so I would prefer to deal with someone who “gets it” first time.

Also consider including an explanation to the bug, what caused it, how they can prevent similar in future etc. If you already do this then you are already offering value above what others are and deserve to be paid for it. Have a look over these two posts and assess how you can add/communicate your value and increase your base price.

Fiverr Forum

Communicating the Value of Your Gig to Buyers - UPYOUR

Following a comment from @jamesbulls a couple of days ago regarding communicating value to buyers I have spent some time thinking on this extremely important topic. It is something that we have all heard people say to us "You must explain your...

Reading time: 6 mins ? Likes: 46 ❤

Fiverr Forum

How to Up Your Prices Sensibly and Sustainably - UPYOUR

This post is about pricing and is primarily aimed level 2 and TRS sellers. The aim is to help you grow towards sustaining yourself as a freelancer and really making it possible to make an actual/better living from it! Others may find it useful too...

Reading time: 4 mins ? Likes: 37 ❤

[Guest render_worx]

I thought my comment was pretty explanatory and obvious. And it was based on Fiverr’s market solutions not any other.

---

I will simply leave you with this:

The pipe under your sink burst, so will you hire your regular market priced plumber, or will you want to hire the plumber that fixes Brad Pitt’s pipes?

If you can hire Brad Pitt’s plumber, more power to ya! 👍

Sadly Fiverr has not been established as a market that caters to prestige and celebrities… yet!

Hope that made sense.

The pipe under your sink burst, so will you hire your regular market priced plumber, or will you want to hire the plumber that fixes Brad Pitt’s pipes?

Last time I talked to Brad Pitt, he said he fixes his own plumbing :thinking: