Does a longer delivery time make the client likely to spend more?

[mitrech]

Hi there community!

In the past 2 weeks one of my gigs (3D medical animation) started to get some constant traction, to the point where everyday, or at least every other day, I get a message from someone interested in ordering.
Today I just started looking through my “competition” and saw that there’s a lot of people asking for 10 times the price I was asking for, but the quality of their work was, at most, equal to mine. So that’s when I decided to up my price as well.

Now, I work really fast, I’ve been in the 3D industry for over 10 years and these animations I produce on Fiverr are really no big deal for me. I do most of those animation in like a few hours. But looking through the other sellers, I noticed they have really long delivery times compared to mine. I used to have my delivery time as 1 day delivery for all the packages I offer, since I can finish everything in just a few hours, and I always thought that a shorter delivery time should be seen as motive to spend more (ie you pay more than you pay the other sellers, but you get your job finished way quicker).

But just now have I thought that perhaps this is exactly the other way around. Maybe the client is thinking “Well if the delivery time is longer, that means it takes him more to do my job, and that means he’ll do a better job, so I’m willing to pay more because a longer delivery time equals better quality”. And perhaps they also think “$400 for 1 day delivery? So this guy wants to work one day for that much money? That sounds off…”
I was looking through what the other sellers have done for their clients, and again, they’re all simple animations I could do in 4 hours, but their delivery time is like 7 - 10 days, and I can’t think of another reason why they would set it for so long, other than “Longer delivery = more working hours in the eyes of the client = it justifies the bigger price”.

What are your thoughts on this?
Since I thought about this I changed my delivery times to like a week, even though I’ll still do the jobs in the same few hours - 1 day at most. But I’m now wondering if I should keep it real, at 1 day delivery time, or leave it like this.

What do you guys think the client’s thought process is on this?

[dani_leezo]

Hey @mitrech

I recently joined Fiverr a few month ago as a buyer only on the hunt for animated portraits for a big project I’m planning in future… so although not the same expertise in your area, from a buyer POV I am much more interested in the quality of images provided by a sellers gigs along with the positive reviews they have on such gigs. In terms of timescale… the thought process you mentioned would never cross my mind… if anything, if it was done in a faster time like you’re capable of for great work, then bonus! - happy days! To me personally, a faster delivery could also mean more experience.

In regards to costs - like I’ve found most people say on the forum, that you pay for what you get. So therefore your prices will reflect professional work and your faster delivery may be what makes buyers choose you over others.

That’s just me though 🙂

[moonstaredits]

Hi there community!

In the past 2 weeks one of my gigs (3D medical animation) started to get some constant traction, to the point where everyday, or at least every other day, I get a message from someone interested in ordering.

Today I just started looking through my “competition” and saw that there’s a lot of people asking for 10 times the price I was asking for, but the quality of their work was, at most, equal to mine. So that’s when I decided to up my price as well.

Now, I work really fast, I’ve been in the 3D industry for over 10 years and these animations I produce on Fiverr are really no big deal for me. I do most of those animation in like a few hours. But looking through the other sellers, I noticed they have really long delivery times compared to mine. I used to have my delivery time as 1 day delivery for all the packages I offer, since I can finish everything in just a few hours, and I always thought that a shorter delivery time should be seen as motive to spend more (ie you pay more than you pay the other sellers, but you get your job finished way quicker).

But just now have I thought that perhaps this is exactly the other way around. Maybe the client is thinking “Well if the delivery time is longer, that means it takes him more to do my job, and that means he’ll do a better job, so I’m willing to pay more because a longer delivery time equals better quality”. And perhaps they also think “$400 for 1 day delivery? So this guy wants to work one day for that much money? That sounds off…”

I was looking through what the other sellers have done for their clients, and again, they’re all simple animations I could do in 4 hours, but their delivery time is like 7 - 10 days, and I can’t think of another reason why they would set it for so long, other than “Longer delivery = more working hours in the eyes of the client = it justifies the bigger price”.

What are your thoughts on this?

Since I thought about this I changed my delivery times to like a week, even though I’ll still do the jobs in the same few hours - 1 day at most. But I’m now wondering if I should keep it real, at 1 day delivery time, or leave it like this.

What do you guys think the client’s thought process is on this?

But I’m now wondering if I should keep it real, at 1 day delivery time, or leave it like this.

First things first, in graphic design, animation or editing gigs is unrealistic to promise 1 day or less delivery. Even if the animations are no big deal for you, you can get an order placed while you’re sleeping and then you will have even less hours to work. In consequence, the order can get marked as late or be canceled, which is going to affect your stats for a while.

If I were a buyer I would suspect of the 1 day delivery, specially if other sellers of your category have a longer delivery time. The quality is your priority, but you should also be inside the mind of a buyer. A quick delivery time doesn’t necessarily means you’re going to deliver a half-assed work if you have a short delivery time, but only you know that. A new buyer doesn’t knows that, and it’s going to suspect you’re not fitting for their project, and obviously they’re not willing to risk 400$ to get to know if you really are.

My advise is to offer a more reasonable delivery time. It doesn’t matter if you offer a 7 day delivery or a 14 day one, if you deliver before the deadline is what counts. Underpromise and overdeliver, that is the method to surprise the buyers in a positive way and leave a good impression. IMO offering a 1 day delivery is unrealistic and dangerous to your account and reputation. You can’t promise to deliver in one day or less simply because if you get to have orders in queue, lose your internet connection, are sick, need family time, etc. you’re not going to be able to meet that deadline. Everything that you display in your gig is a promise you should be 100% sure you can keep, no matter what. Everything you offer in your gig is like the terms of the contract if an order gets placed. You’re bound to comply to those terms. So, think about that and maybe you will come to a more reasonable delivery time.

[lilychinadancer]

If I were you, I would consider setting it up in 3 days ,it doesn’t seem like a long time or a short time to buyers . When you have several orders at the same time, you can also have enough time to arrange your work .

[visualstudios]

Never have your default option be 1 day delivery. There’s no reason for it. Make all your standard deliveries 5-7 days, and then you can upsell faster delivery (“I will prioritise your project and deliver in 24 hours for an extra $x”). That way you can make more money, control order flow, if you get multiple projects at once you don’t get swamped, you can deliver earlier than what the client is expecting if you want (which is good for ratings and tips), and you avoid showing your hand in terms of how much you’re making per hour, basically (that’s none of the client’s business).

[mitrech]

But I’m now wondering if I should keep it real, at 1 day delivery time, or leave it like this.

First things first, in graphic design, animation or editing gigs is unrealistic to promise 1 day or less delivery. Even if the animations are no big deal for you, you can get an order placed while you’re sleeping and then you will have even less hours to work. In consequence, the order can get marked as late or be canceled, which is going to affect your stats for a while.

If I were a buyer I would suspect of the 1 day delivery, specially if other sellers of your category have a longer delivery time. The quality is your priority, but you should also be inside the mind of a buyer. A quick delivery time doesn’t necessarily means you’re going to deliver a half-assed work if you have a short delivery time, but only you know that. A new buyer doesn’t knows that, and it’s going to suspect you’re not fitting for their project, and obviously they’re not willing to risk 400$ to get to know if you really are.

My advise is to offer a more reasonable delivery time. It doesn’t matter if you offer a 7 day delivery or a 14 day one, if you deliver before the deadline is what counts. Underpromise and overdeliver, that is the method to surprise the buyers in a positive way and leave a good impression. IMO offering a 1 day delivery is unrealistic and dangerous to your account and reputation. You can’t promise to deliver in one day or less simply because if you get to have orders in queue, lose your internet connection, are sick, need family time, etc. you’re not going to be able to meet that deadline. Everything that you display in your gig is a promise you should be 100% sure you can keep, no matter what. Everything you offer in your gig is like the terms of the contract if an order gets placed. You’re bound to comply to those terms. So, think about that and maybe you will come to a more reasonable delivery time.

Well I don’t have any problems in delivering on time, even with the 1 day delivery. That’s what I said. I’ve had some orders and all my clients were incredibly impressed by everything I’ve done, especially by how fast I delivered. You can check my reviews and see the clients being impressed by how much I overdelivered.

This was not a question of “Will I be able to deliver on time”, because I 100% am able to. I’ve had $120 orders that I finished in 40 minutes, delivered, and the client was impressed with the result right off the bat, without even a need for revision. This was a question of how do you think the buyers will think, not of what I’m able to do. As I mentioned, I’ve got a huge experience in this domain - worked on well known video games and film VFX, what I do on Fiverr is simply just a way of adding some quick hundred dollars per day into my income streams.

I wouldn’t worry about the orders in queue, as I run a company and can easily have those orders done by an employee.

If I put myself in the shoes of the buyer, I’d be thrilled to see the 1 day delivery. As long as I see good work in the portfolio, I wouldn’t care how long it takes him to finish my projects. As far as I care, he could finish it in 10 minutes and invoice me $500. If the work is as good as I wanted it to be, then that’s all I care.

But I know most people don’t really think like that, and that’s why I want to hear some more opinions.

[visualstudios]

Well I don’t have any problems in delivering on time, even with the 1 day delivery. That’s what I said. I’ve had some orders and all my clients were incredibly impressed by everything I’ve done, especially by how fast I delivered. You can check my reviews and see the clients being impressed by how much I overdelivered.

This was not a question of “Will I be able to deliver on time”, because I 100% am able to. I’ve had $120 orders that I finished in 40 minutes, delivered, and the client was impressed with the result right off the bat, without even a need for revision. This was a question of how do you think the buyers will think, not of what I’m able to do. As I mentioned, I’ve got a huge experience in this domain - worked on well known video games and film VFX, what I do on Fiverr is simply just a way of adding some quick hundred dollars per day into my income streams.

I wouldn’t worry about the orders in queue, as I run a company and can easily have those orders done by an employee.

If I put myself in the shoes of the buyer, I’d be thrilled to see the 1 day delivery. As long as I see good work in the portfolio, I wouldn’t care how long it takes him to finish my projects. As far as I care, he could finish it in 10 minutes and invoice me $500. If the work is as good as I wanted it to be, then that’s all I care.

But I know most people don’t really think like that, and that’s why I want to hear some more opinions.

Optics are everything. You may get the ocasional client that is impressed you were able to do it so fast. But you can also get the guy going “What, I paid you 500 bucks for an hour of work???”. Better not risk it.

[mitrech]

Optics are everything. You may get the ocasional client that is impressed you were able to do it so fast. But you can also get the guy going “What, I paid you 500 bucks for an hour of work???”. Better not risk it.

Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking the client might be thinking as well, unfortunately.

[visualstudios]

Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking the client might be thinking as well, unfortunately.

Why unfortunately? This has literally no downside for you. Just increase delivery time and offer faster as an extra. Those who need it fast, will pay you more, and understand it’s more expensive because you’re prioritising them. Those who don’t, won’t, and won’t think they’re getting ripped off. And you’ll be able to take 5, 10, 20 orders at once without running any risk of being late. It’s win-win-win.

[mitrech]

Why unfortunately? This has literally no downside for you. Just increase delivery time and offer faster as an extra. Those who need it fast, will pay you more, and understand it’s more expensive because you’re prioritising them. Those who don’t, won’t, and won’t think they’re getting ripped off. And you’ll be able to take 5, 10, 20 orders at once without running any risk of being late. It’s win-win-win.

Thanks! Your comments were pretty much the confirmation I needed for my thoughts. I’ll do so.

[moonstaredits]

Well I don’t have any problems in delivering on time, even with the 1 day delivery. That’s what I said. I’ve had some orders and all my clients were incredibly impressed by everything I’ve done, especially by how fast I delivered. You can check my reviews and see the clients being impressed by how much I overdelivered.

This was not a question of “Will I be able to deliver on time”, because I 100% am able to. I’ve had $120 orders that I finished in 40 minutes, delivered, and the client was impressed with the result right off the bat, without even a need for revision. This was a question of how do you think the buyers will think, not of what I’m able to do. As I mentioned, I’ve got a huge experience in this domain - worked on well known video games and film VFX, what I do on Fiverr is simply just a way of adding some quick hundred dollars per day into my income streams.

I wouldn’t worry about the orders in queue, as I run a company and can easily have those orders done by an employee.

If I put myself in the shoes of the buyer, I’d be thrilled to see the 1 day delivery. As long as I see good work in the portfolio, I wouldn’t care how long it takes him to finish my projects. As far as I care, he could finish it in 10 minutes and invoice me $500. If the work is as good as I wanted it to be, then that’s all I care.

But I know most people don’t really think like that, and that’s why I want to hear some more opinions.

If I put myself in the shoes of the buyer, I’d be thrilled to see the 1 day delivery. As long as I see good work in the portfolio, I wouldn’t care how long it takes him to finish my projects.

Yes, that’s why there’s no reason to put the 1 day delivery. When I tell you it’s trouble, it’s because it is.

On the other hand scammers also use unbelievable offers to attract victims 👀 So I would be cautious with that.

[moonstaredits]

Never have your default option be 1 day delivery. There’s no reason for it. Make all your standard deliveries 5-7 days, and then you can upsell faster delivery (“I will prioritise your project and deliver in 24 hours for an extra $x”). That way you can make more money, control order flow, if you get multiple projects at once you don’t get swamped, you can deliver earlier than what the client is expecting if you want (which is good for ratings and tips), and you avoid showing your hand in terms of how much you’re making per hour, basically (that’s none of the client’s business).

Never have your default option be 1 day delivery. There’s no reason for it. Make all your standard deliveries 5-7 days, and then you can upsell faster delivery

That’s the best option. Charge more for quick deliveries. If a buyer doesn’t mind waiting, it’s okay too. That means more money and more control over your work flow. 1 day delivery is not reasonable at all

[english_voice]

Never have your default option be 1 day delivery. There’s no reason for it. Make all your standard deliveries 5-7 days, and then you can upsell faster delivery (“I will prioritise your project and deliver in 24 hours for an extra $x”). That way you can make more money, control order flow, if you get multiple projects at once you don’t get swamped, you can deliver earlier than what the client is expecting if you want (which is good for ratings and tips), and you avoid showing your hand in terms of how much you’re making per hour, basically (that’s none of the client’s business).

Never have your default option be 1 day delivery. There’s no reason for it.

I was thinking similar. All I wanted to add is that another reason for not offering a 24 hour service is that ‘life happens’. People become ill, broadband can drop out, family and friends can need help, etc. Plus some clients can be in different time zones and / or not great communicators.

What I’m getting at is that while you might have the skills and experience to complete jobs within 24 hours - sometimes other aspects outside of your control can influence your ability to deliver on time. As sellers, I believe that we need to allow for these possibilities by offering a more realistic delivery time - even if that’s 48 hours instead of 24.

One thing is for sure, sooner or later 24 hours won’t be long enough and your order will be marked as late. Some people are naturally obnoxious and will want to slap you down in the feedback with a lower rating because of this.

[tenebres_telrei]

Just because you’ll set your time delivery to 3 days (for example), doesn’t meant a client will receive their order on a 3rd day. Plus it saves you extra hassle, as others have mentioned, if you receive an order when you are unavailable. And if something emergency happens, you have those extra days to cover you up.

Additionally, 1 day indeed may look “fishy” for some people. If what, you can always clarify to your potential clients via inbox in case they have questions about due time.

As for a price. That’s you being professional so once you grow your ‘customer base’ you can raise your plank ^^

[psykkopatte]

But I’m now wondering if I should keep it real, at 1 day delivery time, or leave it like this.

First things first, in graphic design, animation or editing gigs is unrealistic to promise 1 day or less delivery. Even if the animations are no big deal for you, you can get an order placed while you’re sleeping and then you will have even less hours to work. In consequence, the order can get marked as late or be canceled, which is going to affect your stats for a while.

If I were a buyer I would suspect of the 1 day delivery, specially if other sellers of your category have a longer delivery time. The quality is your priority, but you should also be inside the mind of a buyer. A quick delivery time doesn’t necessarily means you’re going to deliver a half-assed work if you have a short delivery time, but only you know that. A new buyer doesn’t knows that, and it’s going to suspect you’re not fitting for their project, and obviously they’re not willing to risk 400$ to get to know if you really are.

My advise is to offer a more reasonable delivery time. It doesn’t matter if you offer a 7 day delivery or a 14 day one, if you deliver before the deadline is what counts. Underpromise and overdeliver, that is the method to surprise the buyers in a positive way and leave a good impression. IMO offering a 1 day delivery is unrealistic and dangerous to your account and reputation. You can’t promise to deliver in one day or less simply because if you get to have orders in queue, lose your internet connection, are sick, need family time, etc. you’re not going to be able to meet that deadline. Everything that you display in your gig is a promise you should be 100% sure you can keep, no matter what. Everything you offer in your gig is like the terms of the contract if an order gets placed. You’re bound to comply to those terms. So, think about that and maybe you will come to a more reasonable delivery time.

is unrealistic to promise 1 day or less delivery. Even if the animations are no big deal for you, you can get an order placed while you’re sleeping and then you will have even less hours to work. In consequence, the order can get marked as late or be canceled

It’s for this reason I don’t make extra fast delivery and that it has to take the time that it takes, I get most of my messages during night by people mostly coming from America.

So the 1 day delivery would be 16 hours, if I have some orders in queue for editings that take entire days, it’s just impossible to deliver on time, unless working non stop but when I did this my health was going down.

[moonstaredits]

is unrealistic to promise 1 day or less delivery. Even if the animations are no big deal for you, you can get an order placed while you’re sleeping and then you will have even less hours to work. In consequence, the order can get marked as late or be canceled

It’s for this reason I don’t make extra fast delivery and that it has to take the time that it takes, I get most of my messages during night by people mostly coming from America.

So the 1 day delivery would be 16 hours, if I have some orders in queue for editings that take entire days, it’s just impossible to deliver on time, unless working non stop but when I did this my health was going down.

unless working non stop but when I did this my health was going down.

That was my point. I don’t offer deliveries of 1 day because of this. Fiverr isn’t my only job, I work in a company at the afternoon. I only have half of the morning and a little bit of the night to complete orders. I even made custom offers to my buyers that added 2 days more to the default delivery time and explained the situation, no one seemed to mind it, I delivered in the standard time or earlier, but I was feeling safe if any trouble happened. It’s unrealistic to say one can always deliver in 1 day or less, we are humans, not robots. Not even in the easiest works, because sometimes things out of our control happen.

[psykkopatte]

unless working non stop but when I did this my health was going down.

That was my point. I don’t offer deliveries of 1 day because of this. Fiverr isn’t my only job, I work in a company at the afternoon. I only have half of the morning and a little bit of the night to complete orders. I even made custom offers to my buyers that added 2 days more to the default delivery time and explained the situation, no one seemed to mind it, I delivered in the standard time or earlier, but I was feeling safe if any trouble happened. It’s unrealistic to say one can always deliver in 1 day or less, we are humans, not robots. Not even in the easiest works, because sometimes things out of our control happen.

The thing i don’t understand is that those video editors working for cheap have 11 orders in queue, deliver around 3 days, and have to analyze hours of streams to make videos around 5 minutes.

I don’t understand how do they do this, maybe they work with family, or have full templates ready, I don’t know, quality isn’t there tho.

[moonstaredits]

The thing i don’t understand is that those video editors working for cheap have 11 orders in queue, deliver around 3 days, and have to analyze hours of streams to make videos around 5 minutes.

I don’t understand how do they do this, maybe they work with family, or have full templates ready, I don’t know, quality isn’t there tho.

I don’t understand how do they do this, maybe they work with family, or have full templates ready, I don’t know, quality isn’t there tho

Yes, probably. Things can’t be cheap, quick and good all at the same time. One of those have to be sacrificed in a work. If it’s cheap and quick… It probably is not good.

Also I don’t get why people here are so willing to work at such exploitation rates. And I say that coming from a third world country. Maybe cheap prices work for the very first days in the platform to get customers (sometimes it doesn’t, sometimes you have to offer an outstanding work though), but keeping those prices even with a good rating doesn’t make sense.

[psykkopatte]

I don’t understand how do they do this, maybe they work with family, or have full templates ready, I don’t know, quality isn’t there tho

Yes, probably. Things can’t be cheap, quick and good all at the same time. One of those have to be sacrificed in a work. If it’s cheap and quick… It probably is not good.

Also I don’t get why people here are so willing to work at such exploitation rates. And I say that coming from a third world country. Maybe cheap prices work for the very first days in the platform to get customers (sometimes it doesn’t, sometimes you have to offer an outstanding work though), but keeping those prices even with a good rating doesn’t make sense.

It’s what I don’t understand too.

Coming from France, I really can’t work less than 10€ per hours, this wouldn’t fit at all with wage that people get in my country, so fiverr being an international platform, people who can afford for my services are coming from north america, western europe, israel, new zealand, so the world pool becomes limited, and then those people prefer to buy cheap services 😕

[moonstaredits]

It’s what I don’t understand too.

Coming from France, I really can’t work less than 10€ per hours, this wouldn’t fit at all with wage that people get in my country, so fiverr being an international platform, people who can afford for my services are coming from north america, western europe, israel, new zealand, so the world pool becomes limited, and then those people prefer to buy cheap services 😕

Have you tried to say you also offer services in french? I specify I also speak Spanish (it’s my native language) and half of my customers come from hispanic countries, so I don’t have to rely too much on only certain customers. Maybe re-thinking something that people are more willing to pay at a good rate?

[psykkopatte]

Have you tried to say you also offer services in french? I specify I also speak Spanish (it’s my native language) and half of my customers come from hispanic countries, so I don’t have to rely too much on only certain customers. Maybe re-thinking something that people are more willing to pay at a good rate?

Yes, but it’s useless to mention this in native language because it wouldn’t be highlight and sellers have an option to pick sellers from their areas.

Out of 35 orders I got 2 orders from French and the rest is North America and Western europe

[mitrech]

The thing i don’t understand is that those video editors working for cheap have 11 orders in queue, deliver around 3 days, and have to analyze hours of streams to make videos around 5 minutes.

I don’t understand how do they do this, maybe they work with family, or have full templates ready, I don’t know, quality isn’t there tho.

I’m working pretty much 12-17 hours everyday of the week, including weekends, perhaps some of the streamers you mentioned are like this, too.

Working is what I consider having fun, so I don’t see why I wouldn’t want to do it all the time from the moment I wake up until I go back to sleep.

Of course I take some time to work out at the gym everyday and have a walk that helps me think, but other than that, working is pretty much what I love doing and wouldn’t trade it for anything else.

[psykkopatte]

I’m working pretty much 12-17 hours everyday of the week, including weekends, perhaps some of the streamers you mentioned are like this, too.

Working is what I consider having fun, so I don’t see why I wouldn’t want to do it all the time from the moment I wake up until I go back to sleep.

Of course I take some time to work out at the gym everyday and have a walk that helps me think, but other than that, working is pretty much what I love doing and wouldn’t trade it for anything else.

some of the streamers you mentioned are like this, too

Yes, even those who can afford for quality…

I got every kind of streamers, some were random people, some were popular and wanted to grow youtube channel, some of them didn’t need video all the time or didn’t feel to make videos again, or maybe later, working for streamers is completly random about getting an order.

[moonstaredits]

Yes, but it’s useless to mention this in native language because it wouldn’t be highlight and sellers have an option to pick sellers from their areas.

Out of 35 orders I got 2 orders from French and the rest is North America and Western europe

Yes, but it’s useless to mention this in native language because it wouldn’t be highlight and sellers have an option to pick sellers from their areas.

I see, maybe the problem is that people want to go cheaper if it’s for youtube videos… I mean, most channels upload at least 1 video weekly, I won’t have 50$ every week to edit a decent video, so I need to rely on 5$ sellers even if it’s not the ideal quality. Don’t know if you have other gigs, but if video editing is your field there are a lot of other niches to work in that maybe will perform better. Though freelancing is a rollercoaster, so we all have to keep that in mind.

[psykkopatte]

Yes, but it’s useless to mention this in native language because it wouldn’t be highlight and sellers have an option to pick sellers from their areas.

I see, maybe the problem is that people want to go cheaper if it’s for youtube videos… I mean, most channels upload at least 1 video weekly, I won’t have 50$ every week to edit a decent video, so I need to rely on 5$ sellers even if it’s not the ideal quality. Don’t know if you have other gigs, but if video editing is your field there are a lot of other niches to work in that maybe will perform better. Though freelancing is a rollercoaster, so we all have to keep that in mind.

Yes, you are completly right, it’s a huge investment to spend minimum 45€ per week, maybe I have to target another concept other than youtube videos through twitch clips, but unfortunatly, gaming and streaming is the thing that works the most since the covid 😕