I think this is true and some of the pros and cons aren’t even fully realized yet. I would like to see some adjustments to the cancellation issue when the cancellation is not the seller’s fault. I’ve found that I could rewrite portions of my gig descriptions and add better FAQs and avoid even more of the cancellations, though. The number I do get still isn’t enough to bump me below 90% even though I am not a high volume seller. So, I’m open-minded.
As for response rate, I think it’s very fair to expect an answer to messages within 24h even if they are junk. It takes less than a second to hit the canned-reply button and not doing so is just hurting your own rating for no reason.
Delivery time is also almost completely controllable by the seller. I’ve had some that made me feel like an idiot for missing a deadline but they were my fault, even if just barely. Those learning experiences brought me up to 100% and when a real emergency happens and I miss one, I’ll be able to stay above 90%. If I miss two, I’ll probably lose a level for a month and then recover.
The biggest advantages I’ve seen from the monthly evaluations are obvious.
- There are far fewer leveled sellers in most categories now. As a buyer I find premium sellers more easily. As a seller I was able to raise prices.
- There are more buyer requests available for me to bid on now if things get slow, even after wading through spam. The buyers in BR still get some junk offers, so I benefit even if I bid late.
- The level 0 or 1 sellers that stick with their plans still seem to be showing up as the cream at the top in the categories I’ve watched. I’ve seen a number of level 0 and 1 sellers give up and quit because their gig descriptions were written poorly, their profile pics were fake or they were faking locations. Since quitting means they get a few orders and then auto1-star reviews, they drop off the radar and buyers can find the best of the new or recovering lower level sellers.
- There were a very few TRS (not only that are currently forum active that I can think of) who had been granted their badges when Fiverr was new. Some of them were flying by but actually had really dropped the quality of their services. They seemed untouchable. Some of those are now having to improve or move on. Again - the ones I can think of are not active on the forum, so if you want to know who I mean, you’d have to look at the history, not the forum.
I don’t think the system will have to stay this rough to keep Fiverr good in the long run, but I do see some positive. I know some people will take issue with my comments and I’m not trying to fight, just adding points.
The “Pro” system I have less confidence in. I think without some changes the newer ones may struggle to get enough orders to make it worth it over time. This is a wild guess, though.
