Offering money-back for review

[leonpetroff]

Hello, I would like to ask if I’m allowed to offer to return the money to buyers of my gigs to their paypal in order to get reviews from them (genuine review).



I see a lot of Fiverr sellers on various forums offering to return the money to sellers on paypal just to get a review.



Does this brakes the Fiverr rules?

[seantrott]

I don’t support this idea. This is kind of buying review and surely nobody is going to refund money for a negative review.

[leonpetroff]

Reply to @seantrott: Thank you for your reply however I was not asking about the ethical and moral aspects of the action, I want to know if Fiverr is OK with it and won’t ban me if I do that

[ozzieuk]

If you ask for a PayPal address or try to conduct any monetary transaction outside of Fiverr you will be breaking the Terms of Service

[prohelper27]

I am not too sure if they will warn/ban you for having members give you a positive review in exchange for a refund, specifically.



HOWEVER, to do this, you would need to complete transactions outside of Fiverr, which IS against the Fiverr TOU. You are not allowed to ask for a members Paypal email and send them a refund. All transactions must be completed within Fiverr and no personal information is allowed to be exchanged.



So, basically, no, you cannot do what you are wanting to do without getting a warning (and possible ban if you do not comply after warnings) from Fiverr.



Why not be an honest seller on Fiverr and just work for positive feedback like everyone else? Yes, it requires you to put forth effort with promoting your gigs and maintaining good customer service… but so does any other business. Let’s not be lazy or try to cheat. 🙂

[leonpetroff]

Reply to @prohelper27: I’m in a dilemma weather or not to start selling on fiverr, I see that new gig’s without any positive feedback are avoided by buyers like they are cholera infested, so that scares me.



Regarding the “No outside contact” rule of Fiverr I think there is a loophole, if I get the fiverr username and paypal email of the buyer who will enroll in my refund-for-review offer before he places the order or even before he becomes a member of Fiverr I don’t think I will be braking any rules, it’s not fiverr’s business what I do outside of Fiverr and who I send money to. What if I know that buyer in person? Will fiverr forbid me of talking to him about fiverr???



I think this is completely ethical and doesn’t brake the fiverr’s fascistic-paranoid rules of contacting the buyers, because A. Buyers will get the service done and B. I will not enforce positive feedback but objective feedback so I may improve my service, buyer’s will get top quality work and a sweet refund and fiverr get’s their precious 20% loan-shark cut of the deal, so to me it seems like win-win-win situation.

[blackfolder1]

Reply to @leonpetroff: I too, was a new seller at one time… and made level one in 8 days - level 2 in under a month, so I think if your gig is good it is not “avoided like it’s cholera infested”.

[leonpetroff]

Reply to @blackfolder1: Thank you for your feedback, seeing that you are Level 2 Seller with only 1 gig within 2 months period encourages me.



Off-topic. Seeing your success with your gig, will you mind sharing with us what off-fiverr advertising methods you used to get that much sales?



And also if you are comfortable can you give me a rough estimate of the approximate purchase value of your gig (including the extras ofcourse)

I’m compiling a plan on how to operate on fiverr so I really need to know if purchasing extras is common or rare practice of Fiverr buyers so I can optimize my upsales

[prohelper27]

Reply to @leonpetroff:

leonpetroff said: I think this is completely ethical

I don't agree. It's not ethical or morally right because you are not being an honest seller if you do that. You are getting fake positive feedback to make yourself and your gig look more appealing. Basically cheating on Fiverr.

[prohelper27]

Reply to @leonpetroff: Everyone on Fiverr was a new seller at one point with no orders, no feedback, nothing. Yet, you see tons of members who are level 1, 2, or even Top Rated Sellers with loads of customers and positive feedback.



How did they do it? They put in a lot of effort and hard work creating good gigs that will sell, promoting, providing good customer service, etc… and being patient.



Yes, a lot of people would prefer to buy from a seller with a lot of positive feedback. But there are obviously buyers who will give a newbie a chance if their gig is good… then, if you provide them with good customer service, you will probably get positive feedback!



I haven’t been on Fiverr long, I don’t have the best gigs, but I am getting orders and positive feedback. So, there is no need to cheat because you are too lazy to work for your positive feedback.



Sorry if I sound harsh, but it’s the truth.

[fiverphil]

Reply to @leonpetroff:

Have a quick response for you about this:

" I see that new gig’s without any positive feedback are avoided by buyers like they are cholera infested, so that scares me."



It’s not that bad at all! I got my first sale recently with VERY little promotion. I’d be more worried about making sure your services or products are sought after and that you can offer more than your competitors! (Or have a niche with very few competitors) WAY MORE IMPORTANT! If you have those two things, you WILL make a sale even without a single positive review. Just be ready to take orders, and if you don’t feel like waiting a day or two for the first sale…spend that time to PROMOTE!

[prohelper27]

Reply to @fiverphil: Right on! 🙂

[seantrott]

Reply to @ozzieuk: and its for sure that if you want to refund then you have to communicate with the buyer directly, which also violets the Fiverr rules.