My First €100. Overworked and underpaid

[garybaitson]

So Ive just made my first 100 euro. Happy days, and have another few quid on the way. They are only small paying jobs, so I still have another 300 to go before becoming a level 1 seller.

It feels good…

I am doing a LOT of work for a fiver, but getting good feedback and ratings.

[gina_riley2]

If you feel overworked, then perhaps you should consider raising your prices.

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with being slightly underpaid when you are new, to build a reputation. I don’t believe anyone should be both overworked & underpaid.

Well, best of luck to you.

[gourav1207]

If you think you are underpaid you should raise your gig prices.If you think lowering the prices will bring more customer,its not always true because customers want good work and they are willing to pay good too for that.Also pricing little high will increase its reputation in customer mind.

[garybaitson]

I dont think its a BAD thing necessarily at this stage to be over worked and underpaid, as yes, I am trying to build the profile and get ratings. So I dont really mind doing a lot of extra work. For instance, the last gig I did for instagram stories took me 4 hours and I only got a fiver :). If I worked for 4 hours in my other business I would get about 300 quid. Ha.

But maybe I should raise them a LITTLE 🙂

[johnnydepth]

That’s great man. Looking forward to saying something similar soon :crossed_fingers:t5:

[sweetps]

If you believe that your work is worth more, and you feel like the work output does not match your prices, you should raise prices a bit. Or adjust delivery times.

[english_voice]

I dont think its a BAD thing necessarily at this stage to be over worked and underpaid, as yes, I am trying to build the profile and get ratings. So I dont really mind doing a lot of extra work. For instance, the last gig I did for instagram stories took me 4 hours and I only got a fiver :). If I worked for 4 hours in my other business I would get about 300 quid. Ha.

But maybe I should raise them a LITTLE 🙂

I would say it is a very bad thing at any stage to be overworked and underpaid.

Far too many people on Fiverr think it’s okay to work cheaply and for long hours - particularly new sellers trying to establish their reputation.

While there are many genuine and excellent buyers who are willing to pay the market rate and above for skills, there are also just as many scam territory buyers who rely on sellers willing to sell their soul, grandmother and second child for $5.

You make a joke of earning £300 outside of Fiverr and $5 on Fiverr for the same time investment on your part. But it’s not a joke. Your buyer has ***** you, ***** you of your hard-earned skills, and denied you the opportunity to earn an honest living.

Far more seriously from my point of view, you’ve assisted in further devaluing the Fiverr platform for other genuine sellers who have invested their time and hope in the marketplace. You sold a gig for $5 when another seller might have been able to sell the same gig for $150 or $300. I say that based on your own comment.

At a time when many skilled people are struggling to be able to pay their bills and keep a roof over their head because of job losses, it is not acceptable to undervalue skills by such a massive margin.

Mod Note: Trigger words removed

[garybaitson]

I would say it is a very bad thing at any stage to be overworked and underpaid.

Far too many people on Fiverr think it’s okay to work cheaply and for long hours - particularly new sellers trying to establish their reputation.

While there are many genuine and excellent buyers who are willing to pay the market rate and above for skills, there are also just as many scam territory buyers who rely on sellers willing to sell their soul, grandmother and second child for $5.

You make a joke of earning £300 outside of Fiverr and $5 on Fiverr for the same time investment on your part. But it’s not a joke. Your buyer has ***** you, ***** you of your hard-earned skills, and denied you the opportunity to earn an honest living.

Far more seriously from my point of view, you’ve assisted in further devaluing the Fiverr platform for other genuine sellers who have invested their time and hope in the marketplace. You sold a gig for $5 when another seller might have been able to sell the same gig for $150 or $300. I say that based on your own comment.

At a time when many skilled people are struggling to be able to pay their bills and keep a roof over their head because of job losses, it is not acceptable to undervalue skills by such a massive margin.

Mod Note: Trigger words removed

Well i don’t mean to undermine anyone skill. I have worked hard for years and years at my own skills and yes, I feel like they are worth so much more, and yes, other people are charging more for the same gigs.

So maybe I’ll up the price accordingly. I dont however feel I have devalued the fiverr platform. I think that was slightly harsh.

But thank you for your input.

[cubittaudio]

I would say it is a very bad thing at any stage to be overworked and underpaid.

Far too many people on Fiverr think it’s okay to work cheaply and for long hours - particularly new sellers trying to establish their reputation.

While there are many genuine and excellent buyers who are willing to pay the market rate and above for skills, there are also just as many scam territory buyers who rely on sellers willing to sell their soul, grandmother and second child for $5.

You make a joke of earning £300 outside of Fiverr and $5 on Fiverr for the same time investment on your part. But it’s not a joke. Your buyer has ***** you, ***** you of your hard-earned skills, and denied you the opportunity to earn an honest living.

Far more seriously from my point of view, you’ve assisted in further devaluing the Fiverr platform for other genuine sellers who have invested their time and hope in the marketplace. You sold a gig for $5 when another seller might have been able to sell the same gig for $150 or $300. I say that based on your own comment.

At a time when many skilled people are struggling to be able to pay their bills and keep a roof over their head because of job losses, it is not acceptable to undervalue skills by such a massive margin.

Mod Note: Trigger words removed

Far more seriously from my point of view, you’ve assisted in further devaluing the Fiverr platform for other genuine sellers who have invested their time and hope in the marketplace. You sold a gig for $5 when another seller might have been able to sell the same gig for $150 or $300. I say that based on your own comment.

At a time when many skilled people are struggling to be able to pay their bills and keep a roof over their head because of job losses, it is not acceptable to undervalue skills by such a massive margin.

I have to say, I agree with @garybaitson that this did come across quite harsh (which, based on all of your previous posts, I’m sure wasn’t your intention). In a free economy, people are entitled to price themselves at whatever amount that they wish, and for whatever reason they wish. Certainly, on a platform like Fiverr, I would expect to find fundamentally the same service (albeit at different levels of quality) at all different levels of the pricing spectrum, from dirt-cheap to ‘HOW MUCH?!’ expensive.

I get that seeing people offer huge amounts of work for relative peanuts can be frustrating, and feel as though it’s ‘bringing down’ the platform. But suggesting that a $150 sale was somehow lost because this seller offered to work for $5 doesn’t really make sense, as a buyer with $5 in their pocket isn’t going to suddenly stump up an extra $145 just because you take away the $5 sellers. There is a market for high cost/high value sellers to do really well here, and to co-exist with the sellers offering a lot for cheap. I guess it’s like the wine section in a supermarket in that respect - you don’t suddenly assume that the supermarket selling a £150 bottle of Dom Perignon is rubbish, just because they also sell Blue Nun for £2.99.

Not to mention, offering a lot for cheap is a very legitimate tactic for building a successful profile. We did it, back in the day. 10,000 word voice overs for $50? Yup, we did that, sinking 8 to 10 hours into the project for a £ return that would barely buy us dinner. But, had we not have done that back then, we wouldn’t be able to charge what we charge today.

[bizconsult7248]

Well the issue of been underpaid and overworked is a thing of choice and the seller involved. Some sellers thinks that doing that will help them more to build their gig but others don’t.

So, everybody have what works for them and as for me I was lucky to have high paying client at the very start of my fiverr career.

The bottom line is that don’t over labour your yourself for a job you know you deserve more… if the client can’t afford it don’t get involved. Always know your worth and the limit you can go as a professional and this will speak for you in your freelance career.

Thanks.

[janali]

Harsh or not, I have to agree with @english_voice. I’ve had so many potential clients saying "Well other sellers are only charging [any amount less than what I offer, mostly hundreds less while my prices are still way below average market value] and if I was in a situation where I needed to get jobs, I would be underpaid for my work, or overwork myself and quite possibly feel bad because someone else doesn’t value my work the way I do. So in that sense, I do agree that competition that is undervaluing their own work is harming one’s own business. Of course, it’s up to the seller to decide what they charge but I think it’s healthy and for your own sanity’s sake and that of your competitors to at least research the average selling price of a specific service.

[shopify_genius]

Keep working and Congratulations.

[english_voice]

Far more seriously from my point of view, you’ve assisted in further devaluing the Fiverr platform for other genuine sellers who have invested their time and hope in the marketplace. You sold a gig for $5 when another seller might have been able to sell the same gig for $150 or $300. I say that based on your own comment.

At a time when many skilled people are struggling to be able to pay their bills and keep a roof over their head because of job losses, it is not acceptable to undervalue skills by such a massive margin.

I have to say, I agree with @garybaitson that this did come across quite harsh (which, based on all of your previous posts, I’m sure wasn’t your intention). In a free economy, people are entitled to price themselves at whatever amount that they wish, and for whatever reason they wish. Certainly, on a platform like Fiverr, I would expect to find fundamentally the same service (albeit at different levels of quality) at all different levels of the pricing spectrum, from dirt-cheap to ‘HOW MUCH?!’ expensive.

I get that seeing people offer huge amounts of work for relative peanuts can be frustrating, and feel as though it’s ‘bringing down’ the platform. But suggesting that a $150 sale was somehow lost because this seller offered to work for $5 doesn’t really make sense, as a buyer with $5 in their pocket isn’t going to suddenly stump up an extra $145 just because you take away the $5 sellers. There is a market for high cost/high value sellers to do really well here, and to co-exist with the sellers offering a lot for cheap. I guess it’s like the wine section in a supermarket in that respect - you don’t suddenly assume that the supermarket selling a £150 bottle of Dom Perignon is rubbish, just because they also sell Blue Nun for £2.99.

Not to mention, offering a lot for cheap is a very legitimate tactic for building a successful profile. We did it, back in the day. 10,000 word voice overs for $50? Yup, we did that, sinking 8 to 10 hours into the project for a £ return that would barely buy us dinner. But, had we not have done that back then, we wouldn’t be able to charge what we charge today.

I never intend to cause offence and if I did, then I’m man enough to apologise.

However the moment a Fiverr seller admits to selling their service for around 1 or 2 percent of its actual value outside of the Fiverr platform, just to build a reputation, I will take issue with it.

Cheaply priced gigs don’t do anyone a favour, except arguably the buyer.

Fiverr is simply a marketplace. As a seller, it’s another way to offer services in order to make a living.

Services offered shouldn’t be any cheaper or more expensive than what you would charge a client outside of Fiverr. And that’s my point.

[garybaitson]

I never intend to cause offence and if I did, then I’m man enough to apologise.

However the moment a Fiverr seller admits to selling their service for around 1 or 2 percent of its actual value outside of the Fiverr platform, just to build a reputation, I will take issue with it.

Cheaply priced gigs don’t do anyone a favour, except arguably the buyer.

Fiverr is simply a marketplace. As a seller, it’s another way to offer services in order to make a living.

Services offered shouldn’t be any cheaper or more expensive than what you would charge a client outside of Fiverr. And that’s my point.

ok, now I get where you are coming from.

Outside fiverr I am not a professional designer. My ‘day job’ is in project Management. So when I referred to how much I would earn for a similar time INSIDE fiverr on this occasion, I was referring to my day job.

I just love to design and for years I did it for free, in my spare time. But recently started to build a fiverr profile in the hope of building a decently paying side hustle.

hope that clears that up

[cubittaudio]

ok, now I get where you are coming from.

Outside fiverr I am not a professional designer. My ‘day job’ is in project Management. So when I referred to how much I would earn for a similar time INSIDE fiverr on this occasion, I was referring to my day job.

I just love to design and for years I did it for free, in my spare time. But recently started to build a fiverr profile in the hope of building a decently paying side hustle.

hope that clears that up

Outside fiverr I am not a professional designer. My ‘day job’ is in project Management. So when I referred to how much I would earn for a similar time INSIDE fiverr on this occasion, I was referring to my day job.

I just love to design and for years I did it for free, in my spare time. But recently started to build a fiverr profile in the hope of building a decently paying side hustle.

I started out in almost the exact same situation as you. My day job was in Learning and Development, and Voice Over on Fiverr was my side hustle. I now consult occasionally for L&D, and do Voice Over as my main source of income, and often have months where I earn more from this than I ever did in L&D, so your side hustle could totally become your main source of income one day (assuming this was something you wanted).

Starting cheap to gain some credibility is something that, in an ideal world, you wouldn’t have to do. But we don’t live in an ideal world, and it’s something we did back in the day. It is, in my opinion, a legit method of getting started on Fiverr. My advice would be to keep a close eye on your review score, and once it hits maybe double-digits, adjust your price accordingly. Keep doing this in-line with your review score and over the months and years, you’ll see not only your skills improve, but also your earning potential.

Good luck!

[garybaitson]

Outside fiverr I am not a professional designer. My ‘day job’ is in project Management. So when I referred to how much I would earn for a similar time INSIDE fiverr on this occasion, I was referring to my day job.

I just love to design and for years I did it for free, in my spare time. But recently started to build a fiverr profile in the hope of building a decently paying side hustle.

I started out in almost the exact same situation as you. My day job was in Learning and Development, and Voice Over on Fiverr was my side hustle. I now consult occasionally for L&D, and do Voice Over as my main source of income, and often have months where I earn more from this than I ever did in L&D, so your side hustle could totally become your main source of income one day (assuming this was something you wanted).

Starting cheap to gain some credibility is something that, in an ideal world, you wouldn’t have to do. But we don’t live in an ideal world, and it’s something we did back in the day. It is, in my opinion, a legit method of getting started on Fiverr. My advice would be to keep a close eye on your review score, and once it hits maybe double-digits, adjust your price accordingly. Keep doing this in-line with your review score and over the months and years, you’ll see not only your skills improve, but also your earning potential.

Good luck!

Great story :). Thank you