Bait and Switch - is it just me?

[hashtagtampa]

I have ordered the same project through several different sellers and every time they have responded with me having to pay more money. It clearly states in their ad what they are willing to do, and what I’m asking for is nowhere near outside of those parameters. One seller tried to get me to pay $250, another $100, and the other wasn’t too bad, only $30. Then when I try to get them to cancel the order, they decline because they say it will look bad on their profile. It’s not like I’m ordering a 30 word voice over and sending them the script for Gone With the Wind. Is it just me or is this a common occurrence on Fiverr?

[hashtagtampa]

Not trying to be discriminatory against any location, but it has only happened with sellers out of certain countries.

[fastcopywriter]

Well, I don’t know what your project is, but I know people charge different prices for different things, that’s not bait and switch. Bait and switch is when they tempt you with something and give you something else. I hired a guy to analyze my website and all I got in return was a pdf about improving websites, not mine, just websites in general. That’s bait and switch.

Besides, if it’s just 30 words, I’m sure anyone can record that for $5. However, if you want someone to be on camera, to wear a certain outfit, to have a background behind him or her, that cost extra. But $250? I doubt it.

Why not explain your project a little bit more? You don’t have to give us the brand name or the product you’re selling, just what you’re trying to get done.

[rahulkajla1]

I will suggest you to contact seller before you place the order and also read their description to get an idea of what they offer.

[ronasia]

Reply to @hashtagtampa:

Happens a LOT (NOT related to Seller geography).

Example just this week. One Seller says they will
do YouTube Channel for a client. 1 gig.

Then it turns out it’s 1 gig for the Account Set-up
(takes maybe 15 minutes) PLUS 1 gig for the ‘Cover’.
(with the graphics and type supplied, should take
maybe 30 minutes). I agree to 2 gigs. Seller then
asks for FOUR DAYS to complete. Again, I agree.

After several emails requesting progress updates,
hear nothing from Seller for 3 days. Finally Seller
requests ‘Cancellation’ “because Buyer is in a hurry”.
Serious rookie.

[luckygutsy]

While the seller who requested a cancellation because you were in a hurry acted totally unprofessionally in doing that, many sellers on here have other jobs and/or a backlog of orders, which is why what seems like a quick job may actually take longer. Personally I deliver within a day if it’s my only order, but if I have a few orders queued up it might take longer.

I really recommend you write to sellers first. It’s a great way to tell how their communication will be in general, for starters, and you can save yourself time and money in the long run if you shop around a bit. Though there are scams on here, there are also lots of honest sellers.

[tallgrassappare]

I’ve had this happen too. I had one guy say he’d do the job for $30 and then come back and say it will actually cost $750.

I also have people that say they won’t give me the file unless I mark them good ratings. There should be an easy way to report this stuff.

[hashtagtampa]

I’m trying to get a basic CSS header, it’s not even close to a difficult task. Matter of fact, you can do it completely free on enjoycss.com - but I just don’t have the time. I would rather pay someone $5 for the 5-10 minutes it would take to get done. The sellers I hired all had titles that said something similar to, “Will do CSS layout for website” or “Will design full HTML/CSS Website” - and the only upgrades were to receive it faster. What I sent is no where near a complete website, it’s not even a complete web page. It’s one 100% x 300px DIV header with an image background, bold text, and one image – like I said, not hard.

But ever seller I’ve hired has come back and asked for more. Almost to the point where I’m insulted because I’m starting to question my communications skills as to whether or not I presented the project correctly. I even spent the time to do a .JPG mock-up.

To me a bait-and-switch is when they say they’ll do something for $5 to get you committed, and then change the script saying you have to pay more or fight to get your money back. Actually, I’m pretty sure that’s the legal definition of a bait-and-switch.

[fonthaunt]

Reply to @tallgrassappare: http://support.fiverr.com/hc/en-us/requests/new

[sincere18]

Well, how are you presenting it? Keep in mind that there are language barriers for sellers who are not native English speaking. So communication could be an issue, not necessarily on your side though.

Are you contacting the sellers BEFORE you place an order? Or do you buy it and then send the details? I would make sure you are contacting seller BEFORE. Can you show us a sample of the email you write to each seller?

Also, I don’t understand…you say you can do it yourself for free, but do not have the time, but then you say it will only take 5-10 minutes…so how do you not have the time? I would think you have spent more than 5-10 minutes just searching for sellers and writing to the sellers when you could have already had it done.

[nicktribedesign]

As a regular Fiverr Seller, I can let you into the secret that it is the buyers who call the shots around here! Bad sellers might try and get you to pay up lots of money, but you have two weapons at your disposal - negative reviews and cancellations!

Your feedback on a gig will affect that seller’s gig performance. As such, they rely on your positive experience to be successful on Fiverr.

[magicadabra]

It has happened to me twice by the same buyer. They offer one thing and then send a counter offer. You give the seller a description of what you want and then don’t get anything close. I also found that this seller states they are from the U.S. when in fact they are not. Very frustrating and I think Fiverr needs to get a handle on this.

[donnajmaske]

Today I received an email from the person I had ordered a gig through. I was told that they accidentally added my ad to an extra 25000 visitors and that I needed to pay an extra $50usd for that, plus an extra $5 for 4000 extra.
Besides really ticking me off by assuming that I would pay extra, I personally feel, if the mistake is on their end, they eat it, not me. I’m not the one that messed up.
Is this allowed?

[graphjamal]

Check out My gigs Friends I am a professional Desiger

I’m offring : Flyers; Logos; Regular business cards; Die-cut business cards; menus; brochures; Facebook,twitter,google+ covers and banner ads and much more.

https://www.fiverr.com/graphjamal

[sincere18]

Reply to @donnajmaske: No, you should not pay it. And just say politely to them, thank you for brining that to my attention, but since this was not part of my original order I do not feel I need to pay anything more.

Then see what they say, Do not reply back again, but just send a report to Customer Service and report them for this. Maybe even ask for a refund.

[mark74]

Reply to @graphjamal: please stop spamming the forum! If you want to promote your gigs post a thread in MY FIVERR GIGS section!