Doing a big job, how to keep myself safe?

[jovicdesigns]

Hello guys.

Yesterday I got quite a big offer, creating a character sprite sheet for an upcoming game, job worth in between 1-2k$.

He sent me some work that is done already, he has quite a bit of reviews and they are all 5 stars, he has a website that is not like too good but looks legit.

But I don’t see what is there to stop him from refunding via PayPal when we finish.

What do you think I should do to keep myself safe or should I even accept this job? 🙃

[humanissocial]

Personally I would never do big orders on Fiverr for this very reason.

I never put high stakes on a Fiverr order.

[wolfhowler]

Document evidence of work. Biggest bit of advice I can give anyone. Wether it’s the final delivered work, a screen recording or whatever, this will help if things go wrong, with both Fiverr any PayPal. If you go ahead with the order, just cover your arse from every angle.

You could also possibly ask the buyer to do the job in lots of a separate orders, this will help prove the buyer is serious about it and covers you if they run off halfway through the job.

[jovicdesigns]

Document evidence of work. Biggest bit of advice I can give anyone. Wether it’s the final delivered work, a screen recording or whatever, this will help if things go wrong, with both Fiverr any PayPal. If you go ahead with the order, just cover your arse from every angle.

You could also possibly ask the buyer to do the job in lots of a separate orders, this will help prove the buyer is serious about it and covers you if they run off halfway through the job.

You could also possibly ask the buyer to do the job in lots of a separate orders

I will probably do something like this, but he still can refund all those seperate payments can’t he?

[wolfhowler]

You could also possibly ask the buyer to do the job in lots of a separate orders

I will probably do something like this, but he still can refund all those seperate payments can’t he?

He could. But it would look much more suspicious to Fiverr and PayPal, and you would have a clearer case and less lost if he did do that.

[cubittaudio]

Just to share the other side of the argument - we’ve done many orders for $1,000+ here on Fiverr. Last month we did a job for around $2,500 in a single order, this month we expect to have another, and this is with a brand new seller, with no track history on the platform.

I think you have to apply some of your own business intelligence (what’s your communication with the buyer like? Any red flags?). But also, at some point, you have to put some faith in both people, and the system that’s there to protect you. Outside of Fiverr, you’d invoice. What’s to stop a buyer from not paying your invoice? Sure, you’ve got legal recourse, but what if the buyer goes bust before they can pay your bill? You take them to court, win, and still don’t get paid a penny. I’d argue that Fiverr offers more protection in some ways, due to the escrow system.

It’s your call, because it’s your time on the line. But Fiverr do provide protection to sellers, regardless of what many think. Like @wolfhowler has said, document everything. Protect yourself as though you’re going to get scammed - you hopefully won’t need it, but it’s not the end of the road if something bad happens.

[jovicdesigns]

Just to share the other side of the argument - we’ve done many orders for $1,000+ here on Fiverr. Last month we did a job for around $2,500 in a single order, this month we expect to have another, and this is with a brand new seller, with no track history on the platform.

I think you have to apply some of your own business intelligence (what’s your communication with the buyer like? Any red flags?). But also, at some point, you have to put some faith in both people, and the system that’s there to protect you. Outside of Fiverr, you’d invoice. What’s to stop a buyer from not paying your invoice? Sure, you’ve got legal recourse, but what if the buyer goes bust before they can pay your bill? You take them to court, win, and still don’t get paid a penny. I’d argue that Fiverr offers more protection in some ways, due to the escrow system.

It’s your call, because it’s your time on the line. But Fiverr do provide protection to sellers, regardless of what many think. Like @wolfhowler has said, document everything. Protect yourself as though you’re going to get scammed - you hopefully won’t need it, but it’s not the end of the road if something bad happens.

This person looks like he is legit nothing weird or anything , but there is still that 1% chance that I can get scammed as I am new on this platform and don’t understand some things and I’m trying to minimize that chance.

For this project I would need to pretty much pause my gigs so I can fully focus on this job, and you see how that can turn into even more than a $1000 lose.

I have experience after all I have worked for quite a few projects but thing is I wanted to ask if there is anything I can do to protect myself that I missed, like for example using milestone option as it has some more protection (Just an example of what I expected, not saying that it does).

[cubittaudio]

This person looks like he is legit nothing weird or anything , but there is still that 1% chance that I can get scammed as I am new on this platform and don’t understand some things and I’m trying to minimize that chance.

For this project I would need to pretty much pause my gigs so I can fully focus on this job, and you see how that can turn into even more than a $1000 lose.

I have experience after all I have worked for quite a few projects but thing is I wanted to ask if there is anything I can do to protect myself that I missed, like for example using milestone option as it has some more protection (Just an example of what I expected, not saying that it does).

I understand.

One piece of advice I would give you, is not to take on a project that requires you to stop everything else that you’re doing. Perhaps you need to change the timeframe of the order, to allow you to keep working on all of your jobs? But the idea of saying no to other work, to focus on one order… THAT would make me nervous.

but there is still that 1% chance that I can get scammed

That’s always gonna be there, no matter what. You’ll never get to 100% certainty, which is why I’d be uncomfortable putting all my eggs in one basket when it comes to your orders.

like for example using milestone option

I believe the milestone feature is essentially broken… I’ve never used it, perhaps some other sellers who have can jump in here. But I remember reading a few posts saying that milestones weren’t working particularly well.

Good luck, whatever you decide to do.

[davidstudio]

Over 5 years on Fiverr and never had any troubles with buyers refunding the orders. Had very big orders $500 - $2k and everything went smoothly as possible but I know a lot people had troubles with this kind of stuff.
The best way is to have as much evidence as possible so when something happens you can defend your work and send everything to CS so they know what has been done. Also another great option is to use Milestones, idk how the refund goes with that type of order tho 😕

@humanissocial

Then where do you get these kind of orders done if you don’t accept them on Fiverr 😕 ?

[humanissocial]

Over 5 years on Fiverr and never had any troubles with buyers refunding the orders. Had very big orders $500 - $2k and everything went smoothly as possible but I know a lot people had troubles with this kind of stuff.

The best way is to have as much evidence as possible so when something happens you can defend your work and send everything to CS so they know what has been done. Also another great option is to use Milestones, idk how the refund goes with that type of order tho 😕

@humanissocial

Then where do you get these kind of orders done if you don’t accept them on Fiverr 😕 ?

Fiverr isn’t the only freelancing I do.

I stick to smaller, lower stakes orders here, but thanks for your insights. It’s awesome that you make it work so well.

[nyamutumbu]

I personally haven’t had a big order. But I think you are right to be concerned especially judging by the number of cancellations for completed work reported on the forum recently.

But I think it all comes down to you, how much are you willing to take the risk.

Trust is two way.

I feel if the buyer has given you the go ahead to do the job, let’s give them the benefit of the doubt and say they will be honorable enough to respect your work the same way they saw it fit to entrust you with their project.

Do not be myopic though, research your client’s reputation before dedicating your time and effort on the project.

[lenasemenkova]

Document evidence of work. Biggest bit of advice I can give anyone. Wether it’s the final delivered work, a screen recording or whatever, this will help if things go wrong, with both Fiverr any PayPal. If you go ahead with the order, just cover your arse from every angle.

You could also possibly ask the buyer to do the job in lots of a separate orders, this will help prove the buyer is serious about it and covers you if they run off halfway through the job.

You could also possibly ask the buyer to do the job in lots of a separate orders

Yeah, I second this. You can even add something like “for safety reasons”. I always do that in these cases. Just to let them know you’re aware it might be unsafe if they are up to something.

If things do go wrong, I suspect you have a higher chance to get compensated by fiverr if it’s multiple smaller orders. Maybe not all of them but at least some of them. I haven’t seen anyone get compensated for a chargeback of $1000+ but someone did for a $500 (ish) order.

It’s not a perfect solution but it’s something.