Got myself in a pickle! Agreed to a fixed price for a guaranteed year of work

[katiekoschalk]

I started writing on Fiverr in Decemer 2020. A week later, a buyer messaged me on Fiverr and wanted to lock in a fixed price in exchange for guaranteed monthly work through 2021. Since I was just starting out on Fiverr, I didn’t know any better and agreed to lock in a fixed price per article for this buyer. I wrote these exact words to her:

“I’d be happy to lock in a price for you. I recently raised my rate for a 700-word article to $35 to adjust to my increasing demand, but I’d be willing to do $30 per article for this request due to the volume and commitment. I could create a custom order each month with 4 articles (1 per week) at the price of $120. Does that sound okay to you?”

She agreed to this offer, so I “locked in” a price of $30 per article for the rest of 2021. I didn’t create an order for the whole year or anything — I just agreed to send her a monthly custom order with her fixed price of $120 (4 articles). Well, now, due to my increasing demand, my price for a 700-word article is $60 so she’s getting articles for half the price of what I now charge facepalm

My question is, does anyone know if I’m legally bound to honor the agreement I made with her over Fiverr chat? Or can I tell her that I can no longer honor this deal because circumstances have changed and my prices have increased? I just want to be sure that if I tell her I can no longer honor the price of $30 that she can’t come after me legally. I Googled it and it seems an agreement made in an email is generally legally binding, but I don’t know if there’s any loophole since it’s on Fiverr. Does anyone know?

This is definitely a lesson learned to never “lock in” a deal. Ugh. Rookie mistake. Any advice would be super helpful!

Note: I previously posted about this issue, but didn’t include enough info, so I’m asking again with all the facts. Thank you!

[seoalamin10x]

You can contact with the support, they can give you the solution

[looseink]

I’m also a writer.

I have all kinds of rates depending on the client, the amount of research required, type of article (technical, blog, etc.).

I also have a couple of contracts in place with non-Fiverr clients I had before I came to Fiverr about five years ago.

I think you would do yourself a favour by honouring the rate you agreed upon.

I’ve done that with a couple of my clients who gave me referrals as a result and I was able to charge the referral customers full rate.

It really depends on you.

I have been a full-time freelancer since 2016 (freelancing since 2014) and I think being flexible enough to have different rates for different circumstances is wise and earns you more in the long run.

[thatwordchick]

Do you proactively send the new custom each month? If it’s not part of an active, ongoing contract, then you are absolutely not bound in any way. Circumstances DO change, and a chat (not an order) on Fiverr doesn’t constitute a legally binding agreement. Until money changes hands for that specific order, you’re not obligated to complete it.

[katiekoschalk]

Do you proactively send the new custom each month? If it’s not part of an active, ongoing contract, then you are absolutely not bound in any way. Circumstances DO change, and a chat (not an order) on Fiverr doesn’t constitute a legally binding agreement. Until money changes hands for that specific order, you’re not obligated to complete it.

Yes, I send a new custom order to her each month. It’s not part of an active, ongoing contract. I just consented in Fiverr messaging to lock in a fixed rate for all of 2021. Thanks for the info!

[katiekoschalk]

I’m also a writer.

I have all kinds of rates depending on the client, the amount of research required, type of article (technical, blog, etc.).

I also have a couple of contracts in place with non-Fiverr clients I had before I came to Fiverr about five years ago.

I think you would do yourself a favour by honouring the rate you agreed upon.

I’ve done that with a couple of my clients who gave me referrals as a result and I was able to charge the referral customers full rate.

It really depends on you.

I have been a full-time freelancer since 2016 (freelancing since 2014) and I think being flexible enough to have different rates for different circumstances is wise and earns you more in the long run.

Thanks for your input!

[thatwordchick]

Yes, I send a new custom order to her each month. It’s not part of an active, ongoing contract. I just consented in Fiverr messaging to lock in a fixed rate for all of 2021. Thanks for the info!

Yeah, I’d be polite about it, but explain that at your current work queue, it is no longer sustainable to work for less than your base rate. Stop yourself from over-defending (female freelancers, particularly writers like us, are prone to it) and be matter-of-fact about it; if they “contracted” with you before you hit level 1, you can also blame that - e.g. “due to my recent promotion to Level 1 here on Fiverr, I’ve had to restructure my business approach…”

[travelscape]

I’m also a writer.

I have all kinds of rates depending on the client, the amount of research required, type of article (technical, blog, etc.).

I also have a couple of contracts in place with non-Fiverr clients I had before I came to Fiverr about five years ago.

I think you would do yourself a favour by honouring the rate you agreed upon.

I’ve done that with a couple of my clients who gave me referrals as a result and I was able to charge the referral customers full rate.

It really depends on you.

I have been a full-time freelancer since 2016 (freelancing since 2014) and I think being flexible enough to have different rates for different circumstances is wise and earns you more in the long run.

Great advice! I think what you’re touching on here is the short term gains vs long term “invisible” gains, of honoring this deal and gaining lots of future goodwill. As someone who has seen this myself with so many referrals over the years, I can definitely vouch for referred customers (as well as having this steady bit of work from the client for those inevitable slow months).

[benedictrm]

Initially I would say honor thine commitments as it is the mark of a man (or woman, or goat so no one thinks I am being sexist).

However if this is a floating arrangement and they are taking advantage of you (even tho you said they could), you can at least have an exploratory conversation. Yes they may be 💩y but if you can replace them with two articles a month at a more sane rate, they are not exactly a loss as they will only complain to people as bad as they are - the people you don’t want tap tapping at your chamber door.

Only you can decide bit it does seem like it might be time to make a decision bout what you value as this arrangement still has most of a year to run.

🙂