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Do not be fooled into being "friends" with buyers or potential buyers

Your Fiverr Experience Conversations
#1

Do not be fooled by friendly people who want something from you. Say no to free work or work without an order first.

There are some out there who are very good at seeming polite, friendly, appreciative of your work, as if they are your friend when actually all they want is you to do free work.

They might try to get you into long chats with them. Don’t do this. Your time is worth money even if you are simply chatting. I just put this here for general information.

They might tell you about their problems, or otherwise get sympathy, or complain about other sellers, or promise more work in the future. The longer they try to simply get you to chat with them the more cautious you should be of them. Don’t spend a lot of time simply chatting. This will not be to your benefit, only theirs.

Think of all the time you spend as money. It all has value including any time you spend simply chatting or discussing a project.

So this is a warning to be suspicious of those who tell you personal problems, wanting you to talk about them. Or have too much discussion while never placing an order. Do not be fooled.

In this business of freelancing you need to have very strong boundaries. Put up a block or a defense and be able to shut down long conversations without orders. Stick to your boundaries. If you are not being paid, do not chat, do not engage. Do not make the mistake of thinking someone is your friend here. You are here to do a job for pay only.

Have strong boundaries and don’t be too nice.

36 Likes
#2

I agree, but to an extend. I have long-term buyers who became like friends over time. I love chatting to them on occasion, and it makes my experience here so much more authentic. In the real world, you can become close to actual clients, can’t you?

6 Likes
#3

I’m warning people not to be fooled and it’s possible to be fooled over a long period of time, without realizing the true motives behind it. Particularly for females, this can be very deceptive.

Of course you can think you have friends here. But this entire thread is to warn people, never be fooled. People can have hidden motives you won’t see for a very long time. Don’t be trusting on this site of anyone. You aren’t here for friendship.

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#4

I just say that I don’t get compensated for chats so here’s my (very) short brief to fill out. Once that’s done, I’ll be happy to answer any questions (regarding the brief) and we’ll be good to go.

It weeds out the talkers right away. Any specificity goes against their personality type. Sometimes they leave me with sweet parting words like these:

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#5

I’ve seen “friendly” chatters show their true nature quickly as soon as I indicate, in a polite professional way, that I’m here for only professional reasons and don’t engage in long personal chats.

I think there are lots of sellers, and as I said females are especially vulnerable, who are very very nice people and see anyone wishing to chat as a potential friend. Unfortunately there are skilled manipulators out there who study and practice taking advantage of this.

It’s really best to set strict boundaries on chats.

Yes you can chat very briefly now and then but please no ongoing regular chats of a very personal nature with anyone. And gender is not always the reason. It can be anyone of any gender who tries to get you involved in these chat sessions, often about their personal lives.

Or even if the chat is about their project they want done. It is the same thing. Some people only want someone, anyone willing, to listen to them.

And this: You aren’t the only seller here they do this with. Don’t be flattered. I guarantee you they are doing it or trying to with others. There is a small persistent subset of buyers who do this routinely.

4 Likes
#6

Say no to free work or work without an order first.

What I don’t understand is how some people (eg. with multiple orders in the queue) want work done and delivered to them but say they don’t have any money in their account(s) for it when they ask for it to be done.

Like how likely is it they don’t have at least $5 in their bank account even if they didn’t have cleared funds from their sales in their Fiverr account?

1 Like
#7

That brief is excellent.

I’m going to craft a short message to try to weed out the time wasters right away. I have one now but it does sound harsh so this next one will be more gentle in tone but still do the job.

I get a lot of people fishing for free information from me who have no intention of ordering.

3 Likes
#8

Sometimes it IS possible to meet actual friends here and I’m not strictly ruling that out. But it would have to be mutual benefit to both. It would never be mostly one sided, about them. Just don’t be totally trusting. And never chat outside of your fiverr inbox of course!

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#9

Looks like racism to me. :slightly_frowning_face:

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#10

A gross assumption rather. With a pinch of good old fetishization of Slavic women.

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#11

I’m glad you walked away but I’m sure you wish you had done it sooner.

#12

Thank you @misscrystal

1 Like
#13

I don’t see why anyone would want to work for FREE. Fiverr is not a Charity website.

I’ve had this happen a few times, but it didn’t work. I shut it down immediately. Some tend to get extra friendly and airing out their dirty laundry. This is not Facebook, this is a business. In fact, some were bold enough in their interactions, inviting me to their country or offering to fly :airplane: me out to visit and take me shopping.

There are customers, who disguised themselves as being interested in my services. However, they are using 5r as a dating service as well. Pretty Strange! :woozy_face:

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#14

This is one tactic they may use. They tell you very personal things, very quickly, about themselves. They may send you selfies. They may tell you about their personal friends or relationships. They want you to take an interest in their lives and can be very good at telling and showing you their homes, pets, family, friends or anything else about themselves so you feel like you have a connection with them. This is called manipulation. Shut it down quickly when you notice it.

People who do this do it routinely to lots of people at the same time to see who “bites” on the bait.

This is a business website for one purpose, that is for people to order your services.

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#15

Well, Fiverr is cheaper than specialized sites, so…

Ukrainians aren’t a race.

I’m glad I often get mistaken for a guy. :smile_cat:

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#16

Miss Crystal, this is a excellent reminder for all. :ok_hand:t4:

Sadly, there are people out their preying on users. Trust me, I have had some really weird encounters on this website. My spidey senses are good at picking up these vibes. My tactic is to DISENGAGE.

HAHAHAHAHAHA… You’ve got a point there. But I’m not falling for their shenanigans. :sweat_smile:

7 Likes
#17

And they might not want free work. It could be anything at all, such as having someone hear all about their project, going on as long as possible about it. It could be for any reason at all.

We want to be liked, make new friends, seem friendly and approachable, get lots of orders. So it can make us vulnerable to those who might have motives that are hidden. Just stick strictly to only business and only chat or message with people who place orders. And even then, be sure you are not giving away your free time to them to talk about other things than their order.

2 Likes
#18

Where is your long thick braid, how dare you! :slight_smile:

Thank you. I’ve tried hard to build a very streamlined process for myself. The talkers get extremely offended when you tell them that you do things a certain way and a 3-hour long discussion which may or may not lead to purchase is not happening.

I always had a philosophy that if a buyer wants you to talk them into placing an order, they don’t really want or need the thing to begin with. That leads to disappointment, endless revisions and cancelation threats.

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#19

Building a rapport with Clients is encouraged. Something that I practice. However, as soon as it crosses the line of wanting to know what I had for dinner last night or what my weekend plans are, and asking personal questions. It gets creepy! :grimacing: I get it that many people are lonely and need a friend. There are many websites on the net to explore these friendships. Especially, during the times we live in people are at home and bored.

1 Like
#20

I get that a lot, and it is always from someone with a new account where they start by telling me how much they’ve been scammed and then ask how am I different. I don’t really bother with those at this point. I don’t understand what they are up to. I ask who scammed them and they say they don’t remember, or it was someone off fiverr.

Others obviously want me to try to talk them into making a purchase like they are hoping to see an eager mouse running after some cheese.

Some might be competitors thinking I have some clever way to talk people into buying from me.

I probably get a lot of curious people including other sellers. Yesterday one was assuring me the only reason I get a lot of good reviews is due to my communication skills, then was trying to question me about what exactly I do and became enraged when I wouldn’t go into the details.

2 Likes