Fiverr Community Forum

Providing Samples Rules

Your Fiverr Experience My Fiverr Gigs
#1

Hi there,

Today a prospective client messaged me asking for if I wrote telecoms articles, I said yes, and he requested that I provide some samples

I showed him a couple of my recent deliveries, as well as a jpeg of work I have done professionally in my full time job.

The buyer has since threatened that I am faking my way through my sales, and has reported the action of providing such samples to the Fiverr support team. I reported the whole experience to a f
Fiverr support person, who advised that sharing any of your own work for samples is not against the terms of service. The prospective client has since sent a screenshot of his chat with support and they are saying that because the person who recommended him to me is a former customer, who I have delivered work (that I have written myself) to, that providing such a sample is against the rules.

Now I’m not sure what to believe but I’m definitely considering writing up some of my own articles just for the sole purpose of them being a “sample” and only a sample, not to post anywhere else.

Am I in the wrong here?

Should I worry too much about potentially getting a warning, I was never aware providing samples in such a manner was against the Terms of Service, perhaps it is disrespectful to the previous client as they are most likely using that content for their own website now?

#2

The buyer owns the copyright to the delivered work so you shouldn’t really be giving it to other users without the original buyer’s permission, even as a sample. You should ask the previous client’s permission if you want to do that. So it’s a rights thing (the buyer owning rights to the delivery (normally exclusive rights) and also a privacy thing maybe).

From the terms of service:

When purchasing a Gig, Buyers are granted all rights for the delivered work, unless otherwise specified by the Seller on their Gig page…

You could make up a sample of your work that you’ve never delivered to a buyer and that would be okay - you’d own the rights to it.

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#3

Hi there, so it is a wider issue of copyright in effect - Which I can understand better now that I know buyers are granted all rights for the work. I will definitely provide work only dedicated to be used as samples moving forward.

So this wasn’t a direct breach of the T.O.S?

#4

It depends whether or not it’s a breach of the buyer’s copyright. The buyer owns the copyright to delivered work (so you should have got their permission, like stated). Though you’re not claiming to own it.

The TOS allows a buyer to choose whether a work sample is shown in the gallery but that’s only for images/videos.

Also from the TOS:

Ownership and limitations: When purchasing a Gig on Fiverr, unless clearly stated otherwise on the Seller’s Gig page/description, when the work is delivered, and subject to payment, the Buyer is granted all intellectual property rights, including but not limited to, copyrights for the work delivered from the Seller, and the Seller waives any and all moral rights therein…the delivered work shall be the exclusive property of Buyer, and Seller assigns all rights, title and interest in the delivered work

#5

That makes much more sense now, thank you :slight_smile:

I have now added a mandatory requirement in each of my gig that buyers will have to answer yes or no to whether they’re happy for the work to be used in my portfolio and/or samples to future buyers

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