Fiverr's outsourcing paradox

[fawhash]

Hi everyone.

I have been on fiverr for 10 days now.I have received three orders in total.2 of those three were from someone outsourcing them.Now,the point I am raising is, that if the buyers are ordering based on the level and ratings, all those considerations dissipate into thin air, when the top level seller outsources it to a newbie.Additionally, the one outsourcing keeps a hefty commission for himself, for which exploitative terms are presented to the newbie.

So,the point is, that if a level 2 seller can trust a newbie, why not buyer.Of course, buyers must take precaution.They must ask for samples etc from the newbie.Blindly rushing towards a seller who is going to outsource it anyways will only perpetuate this exploitation.

[kay2809]

maybe they are just trying to reduce their workload.

If you get the price that you are willing to work for, what’s wrong with that ?

[sara1984]

People like seeing evidence that a job will be done, and be done well. Newbies don’t really have that. Still, if a newbie presents their gig really well, they can still gain buyer trust. Top sellers probably know that better than anyone, which is why they were willing to give you a try.



Outsourcing was a good thing for me. It helped me get to level 2 within 2 months. Outsourcers often come with frequent orders. Once you get to that level, you can usually pick and choose your orders a bit more.



Life’s tough at the bottom. 🙂

[mrproofreading]

I used to get a lot of sellers outsourcing to me when I first started (I offered a higher word count back then).



I wouldn’t be where I am without them.



The person who outsources the work can charge whatever they want for it. Not forgetting they have to deal with customer care, modification requests, quality control, as well the possibility of a negative review.

[fawhash]

Reply to @sara1984: Outsourcing proved useful for me and my ratings as well.My problem is that , those outsourcing makes some outrageous requests of the newbies and keep the profit at the 1:5 level.If sharing only 20% of profit with newbie isn’t exploitative, then what is?

This post was meant to appeal to both the buyers and level 2 to adopt more sensible approach.Buyers should give chance to newbie,once in a while,if queue at level 2 sellers is large.While the level 2 sellers,who are insistent on adopting capitalistic ethos of concentration of wealth, should pay a little attention to disparities as well and try to make it fiverr a place, where everyone can thrive.I realize that life at bottom is tough and it should be.However,it shouldn’t be tough as to drain the spirit of newbie.I am sorry,if it seems super-idealistic to you.

[fawhash]

Yes,true.However,you surely did not come across someone giving 10$ for 10 articles.You might have understood me a little then.

[fawhash]

Reply to @kay2809: If they are going to divert their workload, they should atleast offer more humane terms to newbies.

[kay2809]

Reply to @fawhash: Notice my point “if you get the price that you’re willing to work for”.

Only accept the jobs that seem fair to you. No need to work as a slave.

[sara1984]

Reply to @kay2809:



I agree with Kay.



Outsourcing doesn’t mean somebody gets to treat you as a slave. It just means they make a little more money on your work. Set your price, then stick to that. Then you won’t really mind who buys your gigs.



When I started, I had lots of people trying to abuse my word count. I had people asking if I would write 4000 words for $5. I just said no. I write 400-500 words for $5. No more than that.



When you respect yourself and your skills, most buyers will respect you too. Three of the people who outsource my work gave me $50 tips for Christmas. Those are the people I choose to work for, not the ones looking to squeeze every drop of blood out of me.

[fawhash]

Reply to @kay2089 and @sara1984

Thanks for sharing your experience.I think your suggestions will help me reject any exploitative offers in future.Surely,I should not agree to the unreasonable requests and I just realized half of the fault lies with me, because I was being too impatient.

[tsweezey]

Reply to @fawhash: For what it’s worth, I have buyers all the time resell the products I create for them. To me, it’s no different than another seller on fiverr arbitraging my work. I even have video samples in a dropbox account that aren’t watermarked with “fiverr” so that they have something to show to their customers.



As @kay2809 and @sara1984 noted, so long as they pay my rate, I’m tickled. The good news is that if people want to resell your work at a profit, then at some point you get you raise your rates! I think for many of us, it’s safe to say that because we offer services on fiverr, we’ve already discounted those services. If we wanted to negotiate, we’d offer our services on Ebay 🙂



There are a couple of challenges I’ve experienced with people arbitraging my works though:

1. The buyer manages the relationship with their customer. So if their customer isn’t happy, it might well come back to us. I’ve had this happen on videos where their client wanted me to do something different, but didn’t want to pay for it. Alternatively, the party that buys from us assumes that risk with their client. If their client isn’t happy, they may take a loss (and not us).
   
   
2. It seems to foster a mentality where some expect a discount with the promise of “future work.” I really struggle with this one. To me, I don’t know anywhere else, in the absence of a volume commitment, that merchants provide discounts. Can you imagine if you walked into a store and purchased a candy bar and asked for a discount because you planned to buy 1000 more at a later date? Now, if you wanted to buy a in 1,000 in bulk at one time, sure! So when people ask me for a discount, I ask them if they want to pre-order future videos.
   
   
   
   My 2 cents… stick to your rates, and just plan on over-delivering whenever possible.

[fawhash]

Reply to @tsweezey: Hi, thanks for sharing your experience.It is really amazing to see someone as high level as you , taking time to help newbie like me.What you said was really insightful and will be guiding my future actions.Thank you.

[kimproteanmom]

Buyers, if you’re ever concerned that your seller outsources (it does happen), just ask them before you make the purchase.



Personally, I don’t outsource. It’s not due to some social platform for equal pay for workers. It’s because, if my name is on it, I want to be able to stand behind it. Outsourcing may be great in some instances; there may be a few of my clients who are outsourcing to me. If they are, they aren’t getting much on their sales. Good work costs good money.

[fastcopywriter]

You’re not being exploited, you’re not a slave, you’re making a choice as a free man to work here.



Others outsource because they can’t afford to pay minimum wage or much more than that. A friend of mine is an art director, he charges $500 for a logo, $1,500 to art direct an entire website. You think everyone can afford his fees? They can’t, which is why they come to Fiverr.



As for Fiverr’s commission, you don’t want them making money? You’re making money. I’m assuming each order was $5, so you made $12 or 1220.1 Pakistani rupees. That’s a country where an inexpensive meal will cost you 200 rupees or 550 at McDonalds (for the combo), according to Numbeo. In other words, you’re eating thanks to Fiverr, and if you stick to it, you might make 24,367.00 Rs, an average salary in Pakistan after taxes.



So you see, you’re not being exploited, you’re freelancing, you’re spending $0 on advertising, you’re not wasting your time networking, people are finding you and ordering from you, in spite of the huge biases against non-native English speakers. You should be happy.