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New Sellers: What NOT to do

Guest mrspanda

By Guest mrspanda
in Tips from Sellers

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Guest mrspanda

Guest mrspanda

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I know most sellers just “don’t know” that you’re not allowed to do certain things, so, just gonna make a few notes so my inbox can be put to better use…



Don’t spam your gig link through PM/forums.

There are many, many, many places to advertise yourself, such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and even here, on the forums, on your OWN thread, or on someone’s thread who is asking for a service that you provide. Putting your link on random threads is rude and it will deter people from going to your gig. If you’re this rude to other members of Fiverr, you must be as rude with customer service… you don’t want to come off that way. Also, a lot of us don’t appreciate getting inbox’d about random gigs, especially if we did not request it!



Don’t ask for money.

This actually happened to me this morning. I got inboxed by someone less than 24 hours old on Fiverr asking for $10… No explanation, just a sad face pleading for help and then begging for $10. Don’t do things like this… You can puppy face all you want but you’d make more begging offline than on Fiverr.



Don’t beg

This is something I see a lot. There’s a new member on Fiverr. They don’t get sales in their first week, they ask on the forums for help. We usually give help, if the member is legitimately trying to fix his or her work. Then a few days later, that member comes back asking why it didn’t work. Then every day after that there is a new thread from the same person asking for more help and begging for buyers, and then even offering the gig for free. I personally check out a lot of new gigs because I find new sellers are more likely to overdeliver and deliver faster. However, if you’re constantly begging and pleading for buyers, it really makes me wonder WHY you’re not getting the sales and it’s a very unprofessional look. Even if you’re sitting in your underwear (or maternity suit, like me), you still need to maintain a professional look through cyberspace. Also, what happens when you actually get REAL buyers? They will see you offer your gig for free and demand a refund or maybe they will think it is unfair that you offered it for free to others and never come back!!



Don’t post external links that aren’t flickr/Youtube without CS’s permission.

I made this mistake and got a warning for it, 3 days into Fiverr. I lost my express privileges and had a strike on my account, preventing me from leveling up. I worked it out with CS about two weeks later, but if you’re unsure, ask on the forums or to be even safer, ask Customer Support directly. Better safe than sorry.



Don’t bash Customer Service.

Honestly, they’re the gods of Fiverr. They can choose to level or delevel you at will. They choose the featured and top rated sellers. Do you REALLY want to get on their bad side? Come on now.



Don’t be cheap.

If you claim to do x,y, and z, don’t delivery just x and y. Deliver w, x, y and double z. You’re new, right? You’re barely getting any buyers and you finally got one, maybe two. How about overdelivering and amazing these buyers so they repeatedly come back for more? Maybe they don’t order another one right away, but in a month they may need your services again. I know my worth, and I am sure you know yours, but when I was brand new, no one was buying my gig outside of personal friends. I offered a buy 2 readings, get 1 free. My sales increased-- slowly, but they increased. Soon, I had to take the offer down because I got bombarded with orders after some positive feedback. Don’t price yourself the same way as the more seasoned sellers and expect to get the same results. They already have a name on Fiverr, already have repeat and steady customers, and are ABLE to make money from not overdelivering, if they choose to. You don’t really have a choice to be picky if you don’t get buyers. I’m not saying sell yourself short, I’m saying really think about it from a buyer’s perspective. Why should I buy your gig? You’re new and I don’t know if this will be a waste of my $5… why shouldn’t I go to the featured/top rated/level 2/1 seller? Why should I choose you? Give them good REASONS.



Don’t complain about the payment clearing time- credit to crcanny

It takes about 2 weeks to clear your money so do not expect it to come quickly. If you are shipping something to your buyer, it will take about a month. No, there’s no way to do it faster, and quite frankly, complaining about it won’t make your payments clear faster, either. It’s just the way it is!



Lastly, don’t put a price on it.

I think this is important. I don’t know about you, but I came on Fiverr grateful for an opportunity where I can express my talents and hobby. I used Fiverr as a way to grow and learn until I actually got a steady stream of income from it. I ENJOYED being on Fiverr and money is not really one of the reasons why. It’s just a bonus. Have fun on Fiverr. I tell everyone I do readings for that what they project is what they will receive. If you come here with the attitude of wanting to make money and always seeking ways to do it, you will stress yourself out. If you come here with the attitude of wanting to have fun and getting some practice for your talents, rather than trying to make money, you’ll see how much of a difference it makes. Attitude is everything. If you don’t believe me, go through some of the threads. Note some of the new sellers that have done nothing but been grateful for maybe 1 buyer a week and always brings a happy attitude. They love being on Fiverr and that’s contagious. People are more likely to click their profile and see their gigs, getting that good ‘vibe’ from them. If you’re always complaining and mopey, honestly, I wouldn’t want to deal with you. You are projecting too my negativity and I will expect your delivery to show the same thing.



That’s just my two cents on what NOT to do as a new seller. 🙂 I may have missed a lot of points, so feel free to add on. Now, off to another six hours in the gypsy wagon for me.

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istanley Newbie

istanley

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Great tips @mrspanda! Just a quick question. What need would someone have for posting an external link that isn’t Youtube or Flickr? I’m only asking because I don’t ever really see external links in gig descriptions or profiles. So I guess the more appropriate question would be, when and why would there be a need to post an external link legitimately?

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Guest mrspanda

Guest mrspanda

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istanley said: What need would someone have for posting an external link that isn't Youtube or Flickr? I'm only asking because I don't ever really see external links in gig descriptions or profiles. So I guess the more appropriate question would be, when and why would there be a need to post an external link legitimately?

 

I have a Facebook page AND a .com website both that are devoted to my gigs and I go really in-depth into some of the issues I cover with my buyers through my .com website but I am actually not allowed to link it to them and I just cross my fingers and hope they find it on their own. As for the Facebook page, it is more of a page where I can keep in contact with buyers and let them know if I am offering new services or anything like that. I've gotten quite a few 'likes' and I've been able to drive traffic to other gigs through it. It is currently undergoing review through Customer Support and they will let me know whether or not I can link it.

 

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istanley Newbie

istanley

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Ah ok, I was just curious. I am currently planning my first gig and like you, I will have a separate .com for this gig as well as a full social media presence. It’s good to know that we can’t post the links ahead of time. I probably wouldn’t have without seeing some other profiles that did it, but it’s still good to know. When it comes to that I usually go with what I see. So if I didn’t find any other profiles that had external links, I probably wouldn’t have posted any in mine either.



Thanks for the tips!

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twistedweb123 Enthusiast

twistedweb123

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Great post. Points 1 & 2 annoy me on a daily basis, I hate to hit that spam button, but some sellers just send messages over and over and over again… then they come onto the forum and ask why their account cannot send messages.



Everytime someone posts this issue, I always ask about point 1, and they always say they did it.



I had a bit of a tough time when I was featured as Fiverr’s First Super Seller, I literally got hundreds of messages begging for either money, orders or for me to revolutionize all of their gigs - I’m happy to help and give advice, but not when someone begs, or worse yet, EXPECTS you to do things for them

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Guest mrspanda

Guest mrspanda

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Reply to @twistedweb123: Yup. It’s not fair. I tried really hard at first to tell people to not spam… but what got me really irritated was when someone tried asking me for money. Earn it. I lived in NYC all my life. I know all the sob stories. Just because it’s the internet doesn’t mean you get a free lunch.

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crcanny Newbie

crcanny

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Great post! (I’d also add read carefully the withdrawal rules before you start complaining how Fiverr won’t give you your money. If you ship an item, you need to expect at last a month wait before transfers are available. That’s just how it is, if you don’t like it, don’t do business here.)

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Guest mrspanda

Guest mrspanda

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Thanks everyone for the feedback and support. 🙂


crcanny said: Great post! (I'd also add read carefully the withdrawal rules before you start complaining how Fiverr won't give you your money. If you ship an item, you need to expect at last a month wait before transfers are available. That's just how it is, if you don't like it, don't do business here.)

I added your suggestion, crcanny! :)
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istanley Newbie

istanley

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I have a few great tips for new sellers from a situation I am currently dealing with as a buyer.



DO NOT ask your buyer for more money after you’ve delivered late work and failed to address all of the information in the original order request…ESPECIALLY when you’re a NEW seller!



I hired someone to do a logo the day before yesterday, and the work was supposed to be delivered by about 6pm EST yesterday. At after 8pm, I had not heard from the seller nor had the work been delivered. So I sent a message asking what was going on. A few hours later I got the response that my samples (note the plural) would be delivered soon. No specific time was given. I wrote back to get a more specific time but there was no response.



Ah hour or so ago, a logo was delivered with this message:



Heyy here is your file.

Heyy you made me do very hard work on this, i request that it is beyond 5$.

Please look into this and let me know if you agree with me or not.



My response was anything but nice, but still I couldn’t believe this. This seller had delivered nearly 24 hours LATE, not done everything I’d asked for (logo was not placed on a transparent background and did not include the .com of my website name as I’d asked and did not include any gradients or 3D effects like I’d asked for), and not delivered multiple samples. Yet they felt the work I made them do was too hard and worth more than $5??? They didn’t even specify how much more they felt it was worth, as if they just wanted to be able to use Fiverr to charge whatever they wanted to. I wish I could post the image of the logo they sent (don’t know if it’s allowed). It’s ridiculously simple! Looking at it, I cannot tell what made this work so hard for them. They even left out a bunch of stuff I asked for! I am not a graphic designer myself, but my fiance is and we’re both in the web design field (as is my sister). I know enough to know that that logo is WAY too simple to warrant more than $5, especially after being delivered late and lacking key elements I asked for.



And might I remind everyone that this is a new seller. I was their first order, and instead of trying to do a good job to get positive feedback (I’m not even talking about over-delivering), they felt they deserved more money.



So my advice to new sellers is this: realize that you are NEW, and that you have to do actual WORK and not BEG for more money without having done a good job or delivered on time. That’s the fastest way to a dead gig in my opinion. Needless to say this person will definitely be getting negative feedback from me if they don’t just request a cancellation first. I’m sure they’ll try to give me negative feedback right back (another thing I DO NOT recommend, particularly when you know you’re in the wrong), but I don’t care. I’ve worked with other graphic designers on much more complex projects here with NO problems. And I clearly pay, since I have not choice and am forced to put the money up first. So whatever negative feedback they give me won’t bother or affect me in the slightest.



If you want money, you treat your buyers (especially your first one) MUCH better than that!

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Guest mrspanda

Guest mrspanda

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Reply to @istanley: Yup, that is a big reason why I wrote ‘Don’t be cheap.’ If you’re a new seller and you are struggling to get buyers to begin with, there’s no reason to skimp out on quality. There have been times I went above and beyond for certain buyers… and then to my surprise, they’ll tip me and say “I know you spent a lot of time on me, worth more than $5 so here is a gift!”

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