I am a new Buyer...are Fiverr Sellers legit?

[sssapphire]

I posted that I needed a new logo on September 16, 2016 and was contacted by quite a few sellers promising to deliver. I chose two sellers after looking at samples of work.

To make a long story short, I gave both sellers the same job, with drawings and information. I PAID both what they requested, did not quibble. Both charged well over the five dollars which I thought was fair if I was to get quality work. My design was simple.

One seller delivered on time (THEY picked the delivery date, which was three days, not me), but the work was not what I expected. They ignored my drawing, went for some clipart and took the easy route. I asked for a revision. Promptly returned a revision that was subpar.

I told the first seller to keep the money for their effort, said I would not post a bad review. I posted no review at all.

I was still hopeful…the second seller had given me a 7 day timeline. On the seventh day I received the work. It was not like I had requested. I requested a revision. Still not correct. The revision was closer to my vision, but there were things I could not use, so askd for another very simple revision.

I had sent a query two days ago and was told the second revision would be done in a few hours. I am still waiting. This is the twelveth day for the second seller.

I was very flexible on my timeline. Now it’s been almost two weeks and I have NOTHING to show for my patience. I’m still waiting to see what happens with the second seller. Hopefully the work will come back soon.

MY TIP TO SELLERS…PLEASE DO NOT PROMISE WHAT YOU CANNOT OR DO NOT INTEND TO DELIVER. KNOW YOUR ABILITY AND BE HONEST WITH A BUYER.

I’ve read these forums and was amazed how many complaints about buyers that the sellers post on this site. It’s like all sellers think they deliver and the buyers are deadbeats (I’m sure there are plenty). I’m not a deadbeat, I paid what was asked without quibbling. I left each seller choose the delivery timeline. I couldn’t be any more fair.

I hope to get my revision back soon as requested AND I hope it is correct. I had even planned on sending a tip but now I’m not so sure I want to do that after this experience. I have more work I need done but you folks are leaving a bad taste in my mouth.

Sign me,
CONFUSED and a bit DISGRUNTLED

[isohail]

I feel your pain…
do not accept the delivery until you are satisfied, if you accept, they will get the payment and they won’t care, request a modification and they will take it seriously!

[sssapphire]

I am on my second request for the second seller…it’s been twelve days. It says at the top of the page that my “gig” will close in three days after a revision is requested. It’s getting close…

[gina_riley2]

My first time as a buyer, I had two bad experiences in a row. I was under the false impression that my time was not worth it and almost quit. I gave it one last shot and behold that third seller delivered a stunning product. I was floored. I gave him a tip. That was several months ago.

I left Fiverr for a while as life got in the way of my side business, but came back last month. So far I have purchased 54 gigs in two months and too many sellers to keep track of. I have a few - very few - saved under “My Favorite” for future work.

So, to answer your question, absolutely, 100% yes. There are great deal of fantastic sellers on this site that deliver fantastic, top notch quality work. Unfortunately, you have to find them. I don’t like to put all my eggs in one basket, so I normally go hunting for other sellers, just in case the awesome one I have goes on vacation or such.

I’m sorry your first two experience in Fiverr has been bad. At least 75% of the time, I get something worth 10, 20 or even 30 times more than what I paid.

I too get frustrated with the “Buyer Function” as it is touch and go. Sometimes it works and other times it was a waste of my time. I had to get a logo done but the functionality wasn’t working so that tested my patience, but since FIVERR never posted my request, sellers could not bid.

There are some glitches and some not so good experiences. Like you, I hear plenty of complaints about customers or buyers but to be fair, I’ve read plenty of complaints about sellers - although not as many - on the “Tips for Buyers” or the “Ranting Pot.”

I have had a few bad experiences with sellers, but the good and great experiences outnumber the few. I am not an advocate for Fiverr, so don’t take what I wrote as me selling this site.

One thing to keep in mind is that at least half of my great sellers come from the “New” section while the other half comes from the experienced Level 2 or TRS section. You just never know where that hidden talent is located. There are thousands of sellers who do logo on this site, the good news is many offer their service for $5 - so why not experiment?

[we_write4u]

I feel your pains sssapphire

Checkout this gig

[Rude Spam removed]

[sssapphire]

That’s why I started with two…one was a Level 2 and I think the other was a Level 1. If these don’t pan out I would love suggestions for a great logo designer. I’m already in for a bit of $$ and am gun shy.
I guess it would be impossible to get a referral?

[sssapphire]

Mine was for a logo design…
You have just proven my point. Nobody reads what kind of work that the customer needs done! I do not need word article services.

[omo_derek]

I really know what it is to be disappointed, please I beg you always ask for samples before ordering any body’s gig . Thanks

[serban95]

I am sorry for your bad experience. Fiverr is awesome, you were so patient and I appreciate a patient buyer. But I would not recommend to don’t give a bad review if the seller deserves one. You have no idea how much you will help new buyers to avoid his/her services. It’s better to be honest, always share your experience and believe me there are thousands of devoted and good sellers that doesn’t have any orders you just have to search for the best one.
Always share your experiences even if it’s a bad or good one.
Hope to find new designers that will deliver you awesome work.

[mariokluser]

The problem with theses pro’s ist that they try to offer something impossible.

I can tell you as a pro photographer and retoucher who does NOT offer this kind of work on Fiverr, that it is not possible to get professional work done for the low prices they handle.

An example when it comes to Photoshop work: post processing is never an afterthought in the project. When a so called Photoshop professional promisses you to let your image look like it was shot for a Gucci campaign, an alarm should go off.

Here is why: in order to post process something like Gucci, it has to be shot like Gucci in the first place. This is impossible to do with a vacation snapshot on the beach or a smartphone image in the metro.
(Ask them if they work with frequency separation and you know enough.)

A pro decides before the shoot with the model is scheduled what are the necessities in post and arranges the studio and all other necessities accordingly. This is why you don’t get this kind of work for $5,-

These guys here don’t know an F-stop from a busstop.

In your design case I can urge you to be very careful, even if your requirements are met by the seller.

Here is why: most of these sellers already infringe copyrights and portrait right by using material they not own the rights to in their gig-images. Believe me, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt never signed a model release to a Fiverr seller for commercial use. Neither did Al Pacino or Julia Roberts.
Be careful! If they already infringe copyrights for their gig endorsements, it is very likely that they will use materials in your design, what can bring you into a lot of trouble.
Even if they promise it, they can not transfer the copyrights to you if they don’t own them in the first place.

This probably sounds a little bit like a rant and actually it is, but as I said: stay out of trouble and choose wisely with whom you deal with.

[mariokluser]

Don’t spam!

[eoinfinnegan]

Buyer requests is an absolute joke. I really suggest any buyer looking for quality work stays away from it. Do your own searching for sellers as the majority of sellers who respond to buyer requests are simply hopeless.
I say this as a buyer who has submitted requests myself and received 20+ useless offers from people who would struggle to do anything close to what I want done.
As a seller, I do respond to buyer requests quite a lot, but only when I see a job that is sizable (worth a couple of hundred dollars).
If you insist on using buyer requests (BR) then put an accurate description and reasonable budget. Putting a minimal budget will guarantee that the few decent sellers who look at buyer requests will pass you by as we can only respond to 10 BR per day and the minimal budget is not worth our while.

Regarding your point on how many buyer complaints are shown on the forum, consider how many orders are completed per day, I’m estimating around 100,000. I do not see any more than 2 or 3 complaints per day and of those, the majority actually have no grounds to complain as they either went for the cheapest option or had unrealistic expectations.
Of the few who were genuinely scammed/let down, a quick read of Fiverr ToS and a little look at how the site works would have prevented their loss.

[sssapphire]

…and I did.

[sssapphire]

I personally drew the artwork…I have dabbled at Photoshop and Corel but am not a professional, that is why I cam here to get a polished look for my logo. And I paid more than what their highest paying “gig” was listed at on their personal page.

[sssapphire]

I am not one of THOSE buyers…I’m not a $5 person that expects a nice job. I guess some folks do, but I don’t. I paid MORE than the highest listed “gig” on the sellers page. And one seller wanted more when I asked if I could see the progress after several days so as to make sure my wishes were understood. I thought it would prevent a miscommunication.

And I did research as many folks as I could…that’s why I went with one seller who is a Level 2. That seller never bid in the buyer request. I took a chance on the other seller, a Level 1 I believe, I would have to check, that responded. I thought I was covered…I guess not.

ONCE AGAIN…DO NOT PROMISE BEYOND YOUR SKILL LEVEL, REGARDLESS OF THE PRICE.

[Guest offlinehelpers]

I get the feeling that whatever any of us say, you’re not going to be happy - understandably so.

Will a collective ‘sorry’ help?

[sssapphire]

LOL…I am not that hard to please. I am sorry if I sound like a difficult customer. All I wanted was the simple line drawing I provided, one small additional item in the logo and the business name. I’d show my drawing but then the identity of the sellers would be obvious. I’m just frazzled that this experience didn’t turn out, so far, as I anticipated.

I have many other friends in the same “business” as I am. They are waiting for me to test the waters here, so to speak, before they use the services.

I will wait to see what happens with the second order, which I should get today or tomorrow. I didn’t expect it to take almost two weeks. I am hopeful!

[Guest offlinehelpers]

I can totally understand why you’re disappointed, and you have been very patient!

If it were me, I’d have cancelled by now to be honest.

It sounds like you’ve been really unlucky (through no fault of your own) with the sellers you’ve chosen.

Stupid question I know - but did you look through the sellers’ portfolios for the gigs you purchased? Samples by message can be fudged, but the live portfolio in the gig will give you a much better idea of the standard of work to expect, along with the buyer’s comment for each portfolio entry.

I do hope it all works out for you!

[sssapphire]

Thank you for your kind words! Yes, I looked through the portfolios, and asked for samples from the several sellers before choosing. I looked at the reviews too.

I tried to be thorough…lol. I think the second seller might get it right but it is very hard waiting when there is no communication for days.

[hackrie]

Buyers Requests is absolutely not a joke. Buyers Requests is the ONLY way for new users to get a foothold on this site.

I’m new here so I don’t know when you’ve started or even if there were buyers requests back then but I know that everyone who starts here these days is going to get their first orders from BR. There’s no way around it for new sellers.

Now it’s easy to say ef the BR if you have over 300 hundred shiny stars on your profile but I’m pretty sure you’d see BR in a whole new light if you were just starting these days.

I just got to level one today (signed up 30 days ago) and only got a few reviews. So how is someone like me supposed to compete with your hundreds of reviews?

BR is IMHO a great way to attract new sellers and give them a chance to prove themselves.

Now as for the original problem here. I don’t know this buyer or what problems he has faced but we also don’t know the other side of the story. Not saying that the OP is not telling the truth. Just saying that a level two seller wasn’t able to put a logo together in two weeks is a little bit harsh IMHO. People don’t become level 2 sellers with good reviews by doing crappy work. Though I completely agree with OP’s shouted advice.

I’d have some advice for buyers, new or experienced, too. And that would be: clearly state your requirements and expectations AND, very important, make it very clear to the seller that you will slap them across the face with the worst review they can’t imagine if they should deliver garbage! This oughta take care of a lot of problems for buyers and I’m pretty sure it would have even for the OP.

And a very important thing to note for buyers is, as I’ve seen it has been said a couple of times on this forum: don’t expect people to deliver a space rocket for 5$. It’s just not possible.

I’ve seen people in the BR request 3D models of some very complex parts and video-animations of those parts working together for 10$. This is just effin stupid. From their provided sketches I saw that it would take me at least a week to deliver what they were asking for. And I wasn’t even sure that I would have been able to create the animations they were expecting, because they were some pretty complicated parts.

Yes, I am(and probably a lot of new users feel the same) ready to do lower the price to a minimum for my services as a new user but I’m not gonna work a week for 10$. Not even if I was starving. So some realistic expectations from the buyers side would also help.

OK. Sorry, this got longer than I intended but as Blaise Pascal siad: “I didn’t have the time to write shorter one”.

[jhallawalla]

That’s really sad
Not all the sellers are like that,Right now i have 2 buyers in my inbox they are asking for revisions and have not paid a dime yet…

Well you should cancel the order if he/she is taking too much time or if you are not satisfied eventually you can always find me

Click contact ( No Order Required )
Get the job done
Pay ( When you decide to keep the transparent )

[Guest offlinehelpers]

…and breathe!

eoinfinnegan was giving his/her opinion, which they’re entitled to, as are you.

There are two ways (obviously) to look at buyer requests - from a buyer’s point of view, and from a seller’s.

You’re looking at it to get some much deserved feedback, and buyers are looking to find something specific, which perhaps they can’t find by doing a search through Fiverr.

The two aren’t mutually exclusive, but problems will arise sometimes - that’s all everybody’s saying.

I think if you read what the OP has said, he/she took every possible precaution before choosing which sellers to work with, so it would certainly appear that the fault doesn’t lie with him/her.

I would certainly not choose to work with a buyer who threatened to ‘slap me across the face with the worst review they can’t imagine if I delivered garbage’. That would be a cancellation and a referral to CS for threatening behaviour.

[gina_riley2]

I am a writer, so, unfortunately, logo design is the one thing I do not have a favorite seller. I tried to get one done last week, but a glitch in Fiverr functionality technically forgot about me and never posted my request in the “Buyers Request” section. I had to trek outside to get it done.

I have no idea if giving referral is against ToS as no one has asked me for one, therefore I’ve never looked it up. I guess I still won’t look that up as I do not have a logo designer that I have tried on Fiverr.

I have editors, proofreaders, eCover, designers, poets, blurb/synopsis, artist - in practically every field from pencil to caricatures to Disney to realistic to cartoon and lately, I am trying out photoshop editors for a large expensive ongoing project - but alas, no logo. Wish I could help you.

I can practically feel your frustration as I too have been ignored. I do NOT believe the seller owes us the world for $4, $8, or even $12 (Fiverr takes a 20% from them) but a simple and quick response would have been nice in your case.

[hackrie]

I’m chill…

Of course, everybody is entitled to his/her opinion(s) and I never claimed otherwise.

Well, I agree with you in general but I don’t think that all what eoinfinnegan was saying is ‘problems will arise sometimes’.
He’s bashing BR, publicly, without any real evidence and ‘suggesting any buyer that wants to get quality work to stay away from it’. And with all his shiny stars people (buyers) are likely to take his words at face value.

Like I said I’m pretty new here. All (11) orders I got were from BR. Not a single one of the clients expressed any kind of complaint about my work. All but one contacted me for subsequent orders. This might have been because I did my best and I offered the lowest price I could for those jobs but, certainly, I can’t be the only one over there (BR) delivering in time and according to buyers requests, can I ?

As for the slapping part. I don’t see how making clear to the seller that he/she will get a bad review for delivering crap is a threat? Now buyers don’t have to word it like I did in my first comment here but you can’t report anyone if he tells you (or me) to think carefully what they promise and what they deliver. Because if they don’t keep their word they will get a bad review, which is in accordance with fiverr TOS.

Nothing threatening or offensive in this IMHO.

[eoinfinnegan]

You are right, BR is very useful for new sellers and I am not denying that. However, what I am expressing is that any time I have attempted to use it I got rubbish responses from incompetent sellers. I would love it to be different and wrote the post below to help new sellers to respond better.
Fiverr Forum http://forum.fiverr.com//images/default-apple-touch-icon.png

My Experience as a Buyer with Buyer Requests - Useful for Sellers

Almost a year ago I wrote a post about how bad the responses I got to a Buyer Request I posted were. I decided not to use it again as it was simply a waste of time. However, as I was unable to find someone specifically offering what I was looking...

It could be so useful for buyers but at the moment it isnt and more than likely puts a lot of buyers off using Fiverr.
Anyone coming to Fiverr from the other major free lance sites might assume that BR is the best way to go. If their first experience of Fiverr is the same as my ones, they will run away and never return.