How To Know A Seller is a Pro & Not a Crook

[adwordsadvisor]

I know everybody sort of think that’s what they should do, but since the basic price here in Fiverr is $5 the only real way to differentiate sellers is to read what they are…writing.

Here are some basic tips:
a) Read some info about how sellers like the one you are addressing are doing their job. Make sure you learn what are the best practices that are used in order to deliver a job. Only learning about the best practices tells you if someone is a crook or at least an unprofessional because best practices is something that a professional always seeking in order to make a better job. For instance if someone is a PPC campaign manager he/she has to know about how to conduct A/B testing & explain what he/she does.

b) Ask about the limitations of the job that the seller delivers including the amount of timr he/she will have to put into it. Rational & experienced sellers make an offer in accordance to limited set of expectations. They won’t promise you to do anything for a limited price. Thus, If you will take the PPC manager for instance, he/she won’t offer you to manage a large scale campaign that demands dozens of labour hours for a hundred bucks while the cost of one hour of labour in his/her country is $100.

c) If the job that you demand is complicated & you know it - ask the seller a general solution for your complicated job. For instance, if it’s a PPC campaign management ask him for to write steps he/she approaches to the setup and/or management of a campaign.

d) Repeat some of the professional questions you’re asking in different versions. Only a serious seller will reply you coherently. Those who are unprofessional will only try to satisfy you. In the case of PPC campaigns management if you will ask to always have your ads first on the search engine & be replied that it’s definitely possible but afterwards for the repeated question he/she will tell you it’s not always possible, this inconsistency should alarm you that all he/she wants to do is to keep you happy without connection to reality. A serious & professional seller will consistently tell you that this request cannot be complied due to the auction model PPC engines use.

Hope this will help you,

AdWordsAdvisor

[capitalquality]

Interesting post, however I think it’s over the top for Fiverr. This is the level of engagement I might expect through my consultancy firm where the value of my hour is higher but I wouldn’t engage with a buyer that went this far. It just wouldn’t be worth my time.

[thevideostore]

Interesting post, however I think it’s over the top for Fiverr. This is the level of engagement I might expect through my consultancy firm where the value of my hour is higher but I wouldn’t engage with a buyer that went this far. It just wouldn’t be worth my time.

I wouldn’t engage with a buyer that went this far. It just wouldn’t be worth my time.

I can understand this… This is where I would screen the buyer to figure out if they were coming at me with a set of questions for a $5 order or if those same questions were coming with a $100 order.

If I can smell it’s for a $5 order , I’m not going to waste my time either.

Buyers , do with that what you will. It doesnt necessarily mean I’m a poor seller… You have to take into consideration the marketplace of buyers here that want us to move mountains for $5… It gets old…

So when you come to a seller and want a serious order from them… and you have legit questions that you want to screen your seller with (By all means I recommend screening your seller) – Be sure to make it worth their time and possibly let them know you are hoping to conduct serious business with them.

(Something more than $5-$15 dollars here I’d say…)

[uxreview]

I would agree with @capitalquality and @videostore. Unless you’re hiring someone for a really complex project, it’s way too much. We might have a different experience, but I think if a customer knows anything about A/B testing and would be able to test seller’s knowledge about PPC tactics and methodology then they wouldn’t be looking around in Fiverr.

You said

They won’t promise you to do anything for a limited price

However, you can only hire someone in Fiverr for a fixed price. I agree that if it’s a complex project you should ask first if the seller is able to do the job and maybe even get a short summary on which steps will be taken to achieve campaign goals, but you can’t order the gig and negotiate hours later.

I think asking for references or previous work will give you a better overview if you’re dealing with a pro or a crook 🙂

[thevideostore]

I would agree with @capitalquality and @videostore. Unless you’re hiring someone for a really complex project, it’s way too much. We might have a different experience, but I think if a customer knows anything about A/B testing and would be able to test seller’s knowledge about PPC tactics and methodology then they wouldn’t be looking around in Fiverr.

You said

They won’t promise you to do anything for a limited price

However, you can only hire someone in Fiverr for a fixed price. I agree that if it’s a complex project you should ask first if the seller is able to do the job and maybe even get a short summary on which steps will be taken to achieve campaign goals, but you can’t order the gig and negotiate hours later.

I think asking for references or previous work will give you a better overview if you’re dealing with a pro or a crook 🙂

you can’t order the gig and negotiate hours later.

I think asking for references or previous work will give you a better overview if you’re dealing with a pro or a crook 🙂

Amen. A good seller will have either LOTS of great work to show you… or very little great work to show you if they are obviously a new seller on the fiverr platform. Regardless, they should have SOMETHING to show you or present themselves as “learning and willing to do a good job” … then that risk is on you of course.

[psychicbunny]

Same with what capitalquality said, I don’t really respond to messages anymore either.

[fonthaunt]

I know everybody sort of think that’s what they should do, but since the basic price here in Fiverr is $5 the only real way to differentiate sellers is to read what they are…writing.

Here are some basic tips:

a) Read some info about how sellers like the one you are addressing are doing their job. Make sure you learn what are the best practices that are used in order to deliver a job. Only learning about the best practices tells you if someone is a crook or at least an unprofessional because best practices is something that a professional always seeking in order to make a better job. For instance if someone is a PPC campaign manager he/she has to know about how to conduct A/B testing & explain what he/she does.

b) Ask about the limitations of the job that the seller delivers including the amount of timr he/she will have to put into it. Rational & experienced sellers make an offer in accordance to limited set of expectations. They won’t promise you to do anything for a limited price. Thus, If you will take the PPC manager for instance, he/she won’t offer you to manage a large scale campaign that demands dozens of labour hours for a hundred bucks while the cost of one hour of labour in his/her country is $100.

c) If the job that you demand is complicated & you know it - ask the seller a general solution for your complicated job. For instance, if it’s a PPC campaign management ask him for to write steps he/she approaches to the setup and/or management of a campaign.

d) Repeat some of the professional questions you’re asking in different versions. Only a serious seller will reply you coherently. Those who are unprofessional will only try to satisfy you. In the case of PPC campaigns management if you will ask to always have your ads first on the search engine & be replied that it’s definitely possible but afterwards for the repeated question he/she will tell you it’s not always possible, this inconsistency should alarm you that all he/she wants to do is to keep you happy without connection to reality. A serious & professional seller will consistently tell you that this request cannot be complied due to the auction model PPC engines use.

Hope this will help you,

AdWordsAdvisor

he/she won’t offer you to manage a large scale campaign that demands dozens of labour hours for a hundred bucks while the cost of one hour of labour in his/her country is $100.

I just want to know this - in what country is the average payment for an anonymous freelance service typically $100 per hour? I might need to either live there and work or avoid living there in case I need to buy something. 😃

[seofanatics]

It is not in all cases that a seller will feel comfortable to answer such questions. Your tips would be complete only if you tell the sellers how to identify the prospects that are ready to spend $10,000+ for professional services on fiverr. Again, what will the questions look like if you’re ordering graphics design when you don’t even know which software is needed for the project?
How would you identify those who are here to get ideas and zoom off?
As much as i take my time to answer every question from prospects, it won’t be that comfortable for me to answer some questions that directly challenge my skills even if the answer is simple YES/NO.

[mahmud685]

Best idea is, take an interview before you order him.

Specially , tell him exact need of you with a clear requirements. I love to get that in doc.

Then surely he will honest , I see 85% hones if he able to do it or not 🙂

In this way surely you get your right candidate 🙂

[samanthalove22]

I have learnt something in life and i am now applying it to my business on fiverr…If a person is good at what he or she does, then he or she should be ready to send whatsoever samples to prove of his expertise in providing the best services.I personally don’t get scared when dealing with my customers because i will send my works to him or she before any order is made and since i am 100% sure of myself,then getting the order and delivering the best services will just be a small thing.So buyers getting samples from your sellers will help with quality services.!

[silkroute]

I’ve dealt with a ‘potential buyer’ like this. I do not think this is the right template for either the buyer or seller.

This is what works :
Buyer : This is what I NEED, give me a time and cost estimate.
Seller : sends time and cost estimate
Buyer : judges the seller based on their first response and makes a decision based on all the data available, including the portfolio of previously delivered work and feedback received on it.

This is what doesn’t work :

Buyer : Hello, I need a new landing page made, do you know how to use [insert name of software]?
Seller : Responds in the affirmative. Let me know what kind of page you need so that I can send you a time and cost estimate.
Buyer : Do you know how to use [insert name of another software]? I need to migrate leads from that software to [new software]?
Seller : Responds in the affirmative.
Buyer : What is your hourly?
Seller : Provides rates. [X gigs/hour]
Buyer : Do you do front end work?
Seller : Yes.
Buyer : Do you do back end work?
Seller : Yes.
Buyer : Is your hourly different for front end and back end?
Seller : Provides rates.
Buyer : Can you show me examples of previously delivered work?
Seller : All of my previously delivered work is on my Fiverr profile along with the comments of buyers who hired me to do it.
Buyer : Can you work USA time? Will you provide source code? will you sign an NDA?
Seller : responds affirmatively
Buyer : Are you willing to talk on Sykpe to see if you’re a good fit for our project?
Seller : Reminds buyer of Fiverr TOS.

This keeps on and on. This is not consultation, this is interrogation.

A consultation is when the buyer tells what they want and sniffs out the work ethic of the seller based on their first response.

The aforementioned buyer never tells what they want, they just keep asking questions and there is no forward movement on the project. They keep asking for hourly rates even though Fiverr does not have the system to do an hourly tracking so all custom orders have to be estimated beforehand for a fixed price quote, but the buyer doesn’t care. All the work is available on the portfolio, but the buyer doesn’t care. All the previous buyers have left raving reviews about my work and communication, but the buyer doesn’t care. << This is precisely because they read ‘buying tips’ on a forum somewhere which asserts that they aren’t doing the right thing unless they ask a million questions first.

[emmaki]

I’ve dealt with a ‘potential buyer’ like this. I do not think this is the right template for either the buyer or seller.

This is what works :

Buyer : This is what I NEED, give me a time and cost estimate.

Seller : sends time and cost estimate

Buyer : judges the seller based on their first response and makes a decision based on all the data available, including the portfolio of previously delivered work and feedback received on it.

This is what doesn’t work :

Buyer : Hello, I need a new landing page made, do you know how to use [insert name of software]?

Seller : Responds in the affirmative. Let me know what kind of page you need so that I can send you a time and cost estimate.

Buyer : Do you know how to use [insert name of another software]? I need to migrate leads from that software to [new software]?

Seller : Responds in the affirmative.

Buyer : What is your hourly?

Seller : Provides rates. [X gigs/hour]

Buyer : Do you do front end work?

Seller : Yes.

Buyer : Do you do back end work?

Seller : Yes.

Buyer : Is your hourly different for front end and back end?

Seller : Provides rates.

Buyer : Can you show me examples of previously delivered work?

Seller : All of my previously delivered work is on my Fiverr profile along with the comments of buyers who hired me to do it.

Buyer : Can you work USA time? Will you provide source code? will you sign an NDA?

Seller : responds affirmatively

Buyer : Are you willing to talk on Sykpe to see if you’re a good fit for our project?

Seller : Reminds buyer of Fiverr TOS.

This keeps on and on. This is not consultation, this is interrogation.

A consultation is when the buyer tells what they want and sniffs out the work ethic of the seller based on their first response.

The aforementioned buyer never tells what they want, they just keep asking questions and there is no forward movement on the project. They keep asking for hourly rates even though Fiverr does not have the system to do an hourly tracking so all custom orders have to be estimated beforehand for a fixed price quote, but the buyer doesn’t care. All the work is available on the portfolio, but the buyer doesn’t care. All the previous buyers have left raving reviews about my work and communication, but the buyer doesn’t care. << This is precisely because they read ‘buying tips’ on a forum somewhere which asserts that they aren’t doing the right thing unless they ask a million questions first.

I kind of float away after the third question when that happens to me.

[silkroute]

he/she won’t offer you to manage a large scale campaign that demands dozens of labour hours for a hundred bucks while the cost of one hour of labour in his/her country is $100.

I just want to know this - in what country is the average payment for an anonymous freelance service typically $100 per hour? I might need to either live there and work or avoid living there in case I need to buy something. 😃

No, I was just kidding, you are right. Even the highest paid skillset in the costliest market (full stack developer in San Francisco) doesn’t pay 100$/hr as a standard rate for someone who is not a full time, long term employee entrenched into the company with stock options. For everyone else it hovers around 65$ to 85$ for the top 10%tile.

Just to add context, the people who worked on building the world’s largest A-380 airbus airliner were on a ~45$/hr payroll, and even then, 30% of the team had to be downsized after 2 years of working on the project, due to cost overruns! << and this is the case on a massive groundbreaking project.

Ain’t nobody got time for a 100$/hr anonymous freelancer.

It would mean an additional 100$/hr on top of their advertisement budget (let’s say 300$/hr. That’s an advertisement budget of 90k a month). Someone spending 90k$/month on their ad campaign has inhouse staff to take care of business.

[silkroute]

I kind of float away after the third question when that happens to me.

I’m a newbie paying the newbie tax. Part of it involves scraping the bottom of the ocean. Sometimes I find pearls, sometimes it’s just shark poop.

I’ve made it a rule never to fire potential buyers myself. I just stick with it, even if it means giving one line answers, but I stick with it just because.

[haileydwriter]

Well detailed info. Not a bad one

[samanthalove22]

Sometimes some buyers don’t want a badly done job so the g extra miles to question the seller.I believe that if you work hard to make a penny, rightfully spending it is a key way of showing you really worked for it and that is what I think some buyers will always want to prove.