Beware, new sellers

[Guest mrspanda]

I felt the need to post this after it happened to a real life friend of mine. I had a friend that I introduced to Fiverr who is waiting to be reunited with her husband and wanted a part time job in the meantime to make some extra money.



New sellers, Make sure that it is an order you are processing before you send it. My friend got 6 inboxes about a ‘hold up a sign’ gig but being new, she had no idea that they had to PURCHASE the gig before she did the work. Luckily she messaged me regarding how to get paid and I asked her to confirm that the gigs were purchased. 5/6 of them were not purchased. She would’ve been scammed of that money.



Never deliver anything through your inbox, no matter who asks. Always go to



Seller > Manage Sales > Deliver in order to deliver your gig to guarantee that you will get paid.



I don’t know if this has happened to anyone else but I thought it was ridiculous that within 12 hours of signing up and posting her gig, she had 5 people try to scam her out of money. I hope none of you fall into this trap.

[kendur]

yeah, the crap never ends, does it? I was just reading through all of the posts here on people trying to game the system with “collecting” each others gigs to increase their rankings. Seems the gamers and scammers are everywhere making it tough on those of us that earn our way.

[zeus777]

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!!!???

I know that there are plenty of scumbags out there ( excuse my language), but

OMG what cheap losers. I’m glad that your friend asked you and you told her what

to do. I hope she reported all of those sellers right away.



Beware new sellers, and good luck!!!

[Guest jeffmoses]

Also ask your friend to drop Customer Support a message detailing these people so they can take appropriate action 😉

[aingham69]

I just want to check that these really were trying to scam money out. I’ve had buyers who’ve contacted me and sent the details of the pieces that they need doing to make sure I’m happy with it. Once I’ve read through it, I’ll confirm the amount of orders they need to place for the whole project to be completed. I’ve not had one say to do the work before placing a gig. I’m perfectly fine with buyers giving me the details in that way and don’t think they’re trying to scam me out of money…



I’m not saying that all cases are like mine - yes, there will be people trying to scam others but I just wanted to make sure that that really was the case. 5 out of 6 is a large amount of scammers at one time.



So, my suggest would be to check if the buyers are just wanting to know if their project is possible. Invite them to order a gig - if they don’t then no loss there; if they have a problem with that, then contact Customer Support to make sure the appropriate action is taken.

[kendur]

Reply to @aingham69: Every day I have over 1000 attempts to break into one of my websites, many spam/scam attempts not to mention the people knocking at my door with some scheme.



I do think sometimes these “people” see a young woman and think her dumb and an easy target. They know she won’t shoot them in the face like some of us would… it does happen.



But you are correct also. Sometimes people imagine things or take them the wrong way. People come to this online business world thinking of easy money, but harsh realities are out there. Especially if you are working for $5 per gig… that is nearly fighting for scraps and that fight is life or death for some…sigh…

[Guest cust0mcr3ationz]

Reply to @kendur: I don’t know if making large collections just makes big rankings for one person or not. It helps all of us. I think that if people notice popular collections they’re inclined to look at a collection and then inclined to order a gig from it. I have a collection for my blog and I have people follow it because I put gigs that i like that I have blogged about in it. I think the real problem is that new buyers or other buyers who think they can crack the system. These are buyers who either try to sell and imitate other sellers gigs, buy multiple gigs and give bad reviews, give order inquiry’s to try and get free orders, and even attempt to sabotage your account. I haven’t seen an increase in my orders by making collections per se. My increase has been by making videos, promoting my gig, and from the popularity of my page.

[mesparks]

@mrspanda



I feel that is more about your friend’s ignorance about the system and less about scamming.

Those people might have attempted to contact and talk about their requirement. I get several inboxes like “I need you to do this or that for me” and thats fine indeed.



Anyway nice post for sellers who are new and don’t understand how system works here. 🙂

[Guest cust0mcr3ationz]

when i first started 2 yrs ago i didnt understand the system well either. i met a lot of

nice fiverr friends in the community before the forum started and before the linkedin group got popular. the best thing to do is make fiverr friends,

[mesparks]

Reply to @cust0mcr3ationz:



Agree friend :D:D

[atechkid]

In my field of work, I’m queried more then being actually hired to do it. So as it happens sometimes i need to explain the buyer what i will actually do and how will it be done and then i never hear from them 8-} So, now i’ve adopted a basic principle “Action Speaks Louder than words” So now if the work is really not time consuming i actually do it and then put it up on my server and then show it to the potential buyer ( Some get Excited) and then they order. B-)

[oliveramays]

Thank you for this, I will keep that in mind as I am very new here and am actually yet to make a sale.

[letys_favors]

Hi, Thank you so much for this warning. I am new and have no idea what happens after someone purchases a gig. I’ve asked if there is some type of handbook but was told no. It would be good to have one to know the whole process. You have definitely informed me. Thanks again.

[Guest mrspanda]

You’re welcome.



No, I took at the inboxes and they were definitely orders, not even asking her, not even hello. Simply a link or message. 3 of them wrote something along the lines of “you get paid after you do the work” and another even wrote “you only get paid if I like it” when she tried To ask the buyers how the system worked. She thought it sounded a little fishy and decided to ask me instead. Just, be careful, new sellers. Don’t give yourself a reason to hate fiverr because someone is dishonest.



Later on, I’ll make a guide for new sellers on what happens after someone places an order… But I can’t do that now with a squirming newborn in my lap lol

[nida_ishtiaq]

Thanks for the warning but fiverr provides clear intruction for sellers as far as my experience is concrned!and even if some problem occurs the easiest way i discovered for a solution is THIS FORUM!So i just come here and post my question and not even once was ignored by fellow fiverrers 😉

This case seems more about your friend being unfamiliar with computer and internet (no offense, i also face such problems while trying to get my gig completed and getting somrthing downloaded for it so i go to my sibs as ur frnd contacted you). If really she faced some scammers reporting is the best option there!

[Guest cust0mcr3ationz]

Reply to @letys_favors: You want a good crash course in Fiverr read Fiverr blogs. A few good ones are “Fiverrtastic” and “YourFiverr”. The first one is my own and the other one is twistedweb123’s. I really like to read it. There are a lot of other good sources to get Fiverr knowledge too. Just do a little searching. There are Fiverr advice ebooks just look for them online.

[nida_ishtiaq]

@mrs panda: just read your latest comment and OMG! Kendur has a big point there! Ppl see a young girl and try to take advantage! It sure was an unusual amount of scammers at once lol but Thanks again for the warning!

[Guest cust0mcr3ationz]

That is an unusual amount of scammers or order inquiries all at once. People see new original gigs or fresh updated gigs and circle them like sharks, Every time I update my gigs or put up a video my orders go up and my order inquiries go up by like 20%.

[letys_favors]

Reply to @cust0mcr3ationz: Thank you for the info. I was not familiar with what is available. I’ll definitely be checking these out. Thanks again! 🙂

[adsensewizard]

People like this should be IP-banned from fiverr. Trying to scam a hard working seller. [-( It’s only $5.

[Guest mrspanda]

Reply to @cust0mcr3ationz: yeah I noticed that too.

[sassygirl23]

I have never had anyone ask me to do work before placing an order but do get inquires about my gigs. I simply provide the details and inform them of the order they need to make for me to complete the work. As for ip banning, that could be difficult because doing so, you could ban others who share the same ip.

[Guest cust0mcr3ationz]

Reply to @mrspanda: You gave me a brilliant idea. There should be some sort of knowledge think-tank of some sort. There should be something out there where experienced sellers provide advice and experience. Maybe there should be some sort of way where veteran Fiverr’s can give valuable advice to newbies. I would love to hear peoples thoughts. I would be even willing to blog about it with actual advice from actual sellers who have been in the game a long time. Top rated and level 2 sellers who I have done blogs on before feel free to chime in.

[itsyourthing]

Reply to @cust0mcr3ationz: This is an April Fools joke, right? 'Cause if it isn’t, you just described this forum. 😉

[referencelady]

Great tip, @mrspanda! With that many inbox scams, it’s obvious they saw their opportunity and tried to take advantage. It’s a shame.



However, I would like to say for those reading -



Because I often like to see the best in people, I do consider the fact that a buyer may be new as well (and thus, prone to mistakes).



If someone DOES try to get you to complete work through your inbox, remember to stay professional before assuming it’s a scam. They could have money in hand BUT accidentally made a wrong turn at Albuquerque. 🙂