Fiverr: All About Doers or all About Good Thieves?

[cyaxrex]

A bit of a controversial one here, but in my opinion, this is an issue which really needs some discussion.

In short, I decided to invest this year in an Adobe After Effects subscription. At present, I’m on a three-month (paid) trial and will need to decide soon whether or not to subscribe to a full 12-month deal. Now, I’d love to do this. I have learned how to use the suite quite well and I’m confident I could create some stunning new products. The only problem? I’m probably not going to and here’s why:

In one of my video gig categories, there are several sellers selling Video Hive sourced video templates. Similarly, a lot of sellers offering youtube intros and logo reveal videos are doing the exact same thing.

Is this bad? Well, I wasn’t sure. I mean, theoretically, this would be great for me. - I too could invest in some Video Hive templates, edit and restyle them, and sell them on like hotcakes. - (I mean this stuff does seem to sell very well).

There’s only one problem. After wandering over to Video Hive, I selected several video templates which I would ideally like to resell. When, however, you look at the licensing terms, there is a bit of a snag. Many standard licenses (where you are not allowed to sell work on for a profit) start at $20. Extended licenses in the meantime, (which do allow resale) start at around double this amount.

Big problem? Not necessarily. I mean, yes, I would be looking at $40ish for the right license but add all of those potential resales together and I could well be rolling in it. The catch22, however, comes with the fact that many extended licenses can only be used once. i.e. I can use a Video Hive template and sell on a piece of work. However, for each sale, I would have to spend $40ish again (every time) for the necessary resale rights.

Now, I would actually be happy doing this. The problem comes from the fact that many of my competitors on Fiverr simply can’t possibly be playing by the rules. For example, one template which is being sold by at least 3 different sellers on Fiverr for $25 - $45, is bound by a $45 (per sale) resale license by Video Hive.

In other words, if these sellers were playing by the rules, these sellers couldn’t possibly, be making a profit. In fact, they would be making a substantial loss.

Of course, I’m not saying that this applies to every such seller. There are ways to sell edited Video Hive source material as a freelancer legally, but many Fiverr sellers simply aren’t doing this.

Given all of the above, I won’t this year, be bringing any of my own After Effects video gigs to Fiverr. I may, however, be creating and placing some elsewhere. My point, however, is that this kind of thing simply shouldn’t be happening.

I already have to invest in an annual subscription to the software I presently use to create videos on Fiverr. Ideally, I, therefore, think that Fiverr should implement a system whereby sellers of video and music/audio gigs should be required to provide proof (possibly with every sale) of their rights to be able to sell such services commercially.

Besides, if nothing else, this would put Fiverr on the radar for all the right reasons in regard to quality control, wouldn’t it?

[madein5rr]

A bit of a controversial one here, but in my opinion, this is an issue which really needs some discussion.

In short, I decided to invest this year in an Adobe After Effects subscription. At present, I’m on a three-month (paid) trial and will need to decide soon whether or not to subscribe to a full 12-month deal. Now, I’d love to do this. I have learned how to use the suite quite well and I’m confident I could create some stunning new products. The only problem? I’m probably not going to and here’s why:

In one of my video gig categories, there are several sellers selling Video Hive sourced video templates. Similarly, a lot of sellers offering youtube intros and logo reveal videos are doing the exact same thing.

Is this bad? Well, I wasn’t sure. I mean, theoretically, this would be great for me. - I too could invest in some Video Hive templates, edit and restyle them, and sell them on like hotcakes. - (I mean this stuff does seem to sell very well).

There’s only one problem. After wandering over to Video Hive, I selected several video templates which I would ideally like to resell. When, however, you look at the licensing terms, there is a bit of a snag. Many standard licenses (where you are not allowed to sell work on for a profit) start at $20. Extended licenses in the meantime, (which do allow resale) start at around double this amount.

Big problem? Not necessarily. I mean, yes, I would be looking at $40ish for the right license but add all of those potential resales together and I could well be rolling in it. The catch22, however, comes with the fact that many extended licenses can only be used once. i.e. I can use a Video Hive template and sell on a piece of work. However, for each sale, I would have to spend $40ish again (every time) for the necessary resale rights.

Now, I would actually be happy doing this. The problem comes from the fact that many of my competitors on Fiverr simply can’t possibly be playing by the rules. For example, one template which is being sold by at least 3 different sellers on Fiverr for $25 - $45, is bound by a $45 (per sale) resale license by Video Hive.

In other words, if these sellers were playing by the rules, these sellers couldn’t possibly, be making a profit. In fact, they would be making a substantial loss.

Of course, I’m not saying that this applies to every such seller. There are ways to sell edited Video Hive source material as a freelancer legally, but many Fiverr sellers simply aren’t doing this.

Given all of the above, I won’t this year, be bringing any of my own After Effects video gigs to Fiverr. I may, however, be creating and placing some elsewhere. My point, however, is that this kind of thing simply shouldn’t be happening.

I already have to invest in an annual subscription to the software I presently use to create videos on Fiverr. Ideally, I, therefore, think that Fiverr should implement a system whereby sellers of video and music/audio gigs should be required to provide proof (possibly with every sale) of their rights to be able to sell such services commercially.

Besides, if nothing else, this would put Fiverr on the radar for all the right reasons in regard to quality control, wouldn’t it?

Yep,you’re totally right.

There are many thieves who sell stolen logo designs, provide cracked software to buyers via teamviewer, copyrighted graphics, svg packs, wordpress and videohive templates etc.

And in fact that the majority of sellers uses illegal software (Adobe soft, Office, OS and so on)

[djgodknows]

[thewriterfiver]

semms-legit_c_797395.jpg500×505 48.1 KB

Is that why I woke up with a peg leg?

(Is what I would say if this applied to me. I admit nothing.)

👀

[idostuff74]

A bit of a controversial one here, but in my opinion, this is an issue which really needs some discussion.

In short, I decided to invest this year in an Adobe After Effects subscription. At present, I’m on a three-month (paid) trial and will need to decide soon whether or not to subscribe to a full 12-month deal. Now, I’d love to do this. I have learned how to use the suite quite well and I’m confident I could create some stunning new products. The only problem? I’m probably not going to and here’s why:

In one of my video gig categories, there are several sellers selling Video Hive sourced video templates. Similarly, a lot of sellers offering youtube intros and logo reveal videos are doing the exact same thing.

Is this bad? Well, I wasn’t sure. I mean, theoretically, this would be great for me. - I too could invest in some Video Hive templates, edit and restyle them, and sell them on like hotcakes. - (I mean this stuff does seem to sell very well).

There’s only one problem. After wandering over to Video Hive, I selected several video templates which I would ideally like to resell. When, however, you look at the licensing terms, there is a bit of a snag. Many standard licenses (where you are not allowed to sell work on for a profit) start at $20. Extended licenses in the meantime, (which do allow resale) start at around double this amount.

Big problem? Not necessarily. I mean, yes, I would be looking at $40ish for the right license but add all of those potential resales together and I could well be rolling in it. The catch22, however, comes with the fact that many extended licenses can only be used once. i.e. I can use a Video Hive template and sell on a piece of work. However, for each sale, I would have to spend $40ish again (every time) for the necessary resale rights.

Now, I would actually be happy doing this. The problem comes from the fact that many of my competitors on Fiverr simply can’t possibly be playing by the rules. For example, one template which is being sold by at least 3 different sellers on Fiverr for $25 - $45, is bound by a $45 (per sale) resale license by Video Hive.

In other words, if these sellers were playing by the rules, these sellers couldn’t possibly, be making a profit. In fact, they would be making a substantial loss.

Of course, I’m not saying that this applies to every such seller. There are ways to sell edited Video Hive source material as a freelancer legally, but many Fiverr sellers simply aren’t doing this.

Given all of the above, I won’t this year, be bringing any of my own After Effects video gigs to Fiverr. I may, however, be creating and placing some elsewhere. My point, however, is that this kind of thing simply shouldn’t be happening.

I already have to invest in an annual subscription to the software I presently use to create videos on Fiverr. Ideally, I, therefore, think that Fiverr should implement a system whereby sellers of video and music/audio gigs should be required to provide proof (possibly with every sale) of their rights to be able to sell such services commercially.

Besides, if nothing else, this would put Fiverr on the radar for all the right reasons in regard to quality control, wouldn’t it?

I, therefore, think that Fiverr should implement a system whereby sellers of video and music/audio gigs should be required to provide proof (possibly with every sale) of their rights to be able to sell such services commercially.

😉

[cyaxrex]

I, therefore, think that Fiverr should implement a system whereby sellers of video and music/audio gigs should be required to provide proof (possibly with every sale) of their rights to be able to sell such services commercially.

fiverr2.jpg1604×984 364 KB

😉

You know, I’m not actually amused by any of this. If I was the original creator of a piece of work and saw that some chimp with two fruit pastels for brain cells had sold 100’s of copies of my work without paying me for copyright, I’d be fuming.

Also, this would be a bit bigger and a bit more damaging for Fiverr if it ever went the way of the Amazon fake reviews expose. Amazon was one entity. Your talking here about hundreds of people with a very easy to prove individual claim against 100’s of sellers and perhaps Fiverr itself. That and a massive plummet in trust among consumers.

I get the ha ha, there wouldn’t be anything on Fiverr if people played by the rules. But come on, this is a case of not “have you got something you can do that you can sell?” This is a case of, “are you prepared to break the law just to be able to compete on this platform? - We’re not saying that you should, we’re just saying that it would be very very inconvenient for everyone if we actually did something about the law breakers here already.”

[idostuff74]

You know, I’m not actually amused by any of this. If I was the original creator of a piece of work and saw that some chimp with two fruit pastels for brain cells had sold 100’s of copies of my work without paying me for copyright, I’d be fuming.

Also, this would be a bit bigger and a bit more damaging for Fiverr if it ever went the way of the Amazon fake reviews expose. Amazon was one entity. Your talking here about hundreds of people with a very easy to prove individual claim against 100’s of sellers and perhaps Fiverr itself. That and a massive plummet in trust among consumers.

I get the ha ha, there wouldn’t be anything on Fiverr if people played by the rules. But come on, this is a case of not “have you got something you can do that you can sell?” This is a case of, “are you prepared to break the law just to be able to compete on this platform? - We’re not saying that you should, we’re just saying that it would be very very inconvenient for everyone if we actually did something about the law breakers here already.”

Yeah, I totally get you. I feel like a carpenter among mere assemblers of (mostly stolen) IKEA furniture. Do I think that’s funny? Hell, no. But as long as buyers are seemingly satisfied with buying from copypasters and see no whatsoever problem here (one example out of many. The same can be made with the eye, the car, the smoky splash bottom right, etc. - but you know this…):

… nothing is going to change. So I might as well make cynical jokes about it 🙂

Would love to hear a buyer’s opinion, though.

[cyaxrex]

Yeah, I totally get you. I feel like a carpenter among mere assemblers of (mostly stolen) IKEA furniture. Do I think that’s funny? Hell, no. But as long as buyers are seemingly satisfied with buying from copypasters and see no whatsoever problem here (one example out of many. The same can be made with the eye, the car, the smoky splash bottom right, etc. - but you know this…):

… nothing is going to change. So I might as well make cynical jokes about it 🙂

Would love to hear a buyer’s opinion, though.

Well, I’m assassinating one of my competitors. I don’t see how/why he should be able to undercut me on price by selling stolen goods. In this case, I’m contacting the original copyright holder.

Maybe this could be a new past time for new sellers also. Eliminate your competition by calling out their copyright thievery.

Let the lawsuits commence!

[gina_riley2]

Yeah, I totally get you. I feel like a carpenter among mere assemblers of (mostly stolen) IKEA furniture. Do I think that’s funny? Hell, no. But as long as buyers are seemingly satisfied with buying from copypasters and see no whatsoever problem here (one example out of many. The same can be made with the eye, the car, the smoky splash bottom right, etc. - but you know this…):

… nothing is going to change. So I might as well make cynical jokes about it 🙂

Would love to hear a buyer’s opinion, though.

There are many buyers who are unaware they are receiving stolen pictures, logos, art design and so forth. I never did a reserve search of anything before I learned of it on 5r forum.

The first time I tried to get a logo was from a level 2 seller with either close to or over a 100 reviews. The typical “Outstanding Experiences” along with glowing reviews sprinkled throughout.

It looked really good, so I spent $25 to get a flat 2D tri-color logo designed by her. Her first delivery was awful, I thought she gave me the wrong one. Her second delivery was stolen. Which I would have never know, except that I was lurking on the forum and found a thread about how to reverse search.

I found out every one of her logos were stolen. They all belong to some other company that she downloaded and passed onto her clients.

The funny thing is, if I recall correctly, she was charging commercial use license - I can’t remember how much. All those people who bought CUL thinking they are safe - I wonder what they would do, if the real owners of those logos were to sue?

This is slightly different from what you are talking about, but not that far off.

I really think that there are some people who genuinely believe they can get 3D, high resolution, vector original design etc. for $5 or $10.

Nowadays, I google search anything and everything before buying or accepting when it comes to everything but portraits of actual people that I send to the seller.

[djgodknows]

There are many buyers who are unaware they are receiving stolen pictures, logos, art design and so forth. I never did a reserve search of anything before I learned of it on 5r forum.

The first time I tried to get a logo was from a level 2 seller with either close to or over a 100 reviews. The typical “Outstanding Experiences” along with glowing reviews sprinkled throughout.

It looked really good, so I spent $25 to get a flat 2D tri-color logo designed by her. Her first delivery was awful, I thought she gave me the wrong one. Her second delivery was stolen. Which I would have never know, except that I was lurking on the forum and found a thread about how to reverse search.

I found out every one of her logos were stolen. They all belong to some other company that she downloaded and passed onto her clients.

The funny thing is, if I recall correctly, she was charging commercial use license - I can’t remember how much. All those people who bought CUL thinking they are safe - I wonder what they would do, if the real owners of those logos were to sue?

This is slightly different from what you are talking about, but not that far off.

I really think that there are some people who genuinely believe they can get 3D, high resolution, vector original design etc. for $5 or $10.

Nowadays, I google search anything and everything before buying or accepting when it comes to everything but portraits of actual people that I send to the seller.

I google search anything and everything

I’ll take technology for $100 please.

“Who is a GOOGLER?”

[frank_d]

@cyaxrex

Hey there, a couple of things:

A) the extended license on VH is not for you to resell the modified template several times. Both the single and extended licenses are SINGLE USE ONLY.

B) Even if the copyright holder contacts Fiverr there’s a 1/5 chance they will take down the gig in question. Several VH sellers happen to be friends of mine and they stopped trying months ago as Fiverr is hiding behind some pretty cool legal loopholes. Try and find someon who swnt Fiverr a DMCA and you’ll see. 🙂

C) I too create videos and found that the best way to leverage the game is to offer high quality content. You know how many clowns out there offer VH templates in my category? Hundreds. I’m still selling gigs though. 🙂

Something needs to be done though. We need to protect the marketplace and we need more cool gigs.

[cyaxrex]

@cyaxrex

Hey there, a couple of things:

A) the extended license on VH is not for you to resell the modified template several times. Both the single and extended licenses are SINGLE USE ONLY.

B) Even if the copyright holder contacts Fiverr there’s a 1/5 chance they will take down the gig in question. Several VH sellers happen to be friends of mine and they stopped trying months ago as Fiverr is hiding behind some pretty cool legal loopholes. Try and find someon who swnt Fiverr a DMCA and you’ll see. 🙂

C) I too create videos and found that the best way to leverage the game is to offer high quality content. You know how many clowns out there offer VH templates in my category? Hundreds. I’m still selling gigs though. 🙂

Something needs to be done though. We need to protect the marketplace and we need more cool gigs.

Hey,

Maybe I didn’t make it as clear as I wanted to but my whole point was that yes, I know both standard and extended licenses are single use only. This was the whole point of my post.

As for creating better quality yes, I agree. However, this doesn’t level the playing field. The point is, no one should be able to sell work which they don’t hold the necessary rights to.

I’m looking at it from this angle: My overheads before any sale on Fiverr are going to be at least double those of somebody not playing by the rules.

I knew that copyright was a nagging issue on Fiverr, but over the past week, as I have realized the full scope of Video Hive piracy alone, I am beyond appalled!

[frank_d]

Hey,

Maybe I didn’t make it as clear as I wanted to but my whole point was that yes, I know both standard and extended licenses are single use only. This was the whole point of my post.

As for creating better quality yes, I agree. However, this doesn’t level the playing field. The point is, no one should be able to sell work which they don’t hold the necessary rights to.

I’m looking at it from this angle: My overheads before any sale on Fiverr are going to be at least double those of somebody not playing by the rules.

I knew that copyright was a nagging issue on Fiverr, but over the past week, as I have realized the full scope of Video Hive piracy alone, I am beyond appalled!

Maybe we should do something about it. 🙂