Should I give up on Fiverr?

[spc_weebo]

I’ve received an order for $5 to do in 24 hours. They asked a complex app with many features: code scan, qr scan, database, report with analytics. And also they didn’t describe what they want very well. So there is no way I’ll be able to do it in 24h. I would estimate that it needs 2 weeks or even more (because there are things I don’t know and they didn’t specify the OS). A cancellation takes too much of percent, even a mutual one. I had a gig that I had to cancel yesterday because a laptop I ordered didn’t arrive at time. And even with mutual cancellation I went from 85% to 80%. So it’s a very bad situation. What should I do?

[humanissocial]

When you charge that low, you’re bound to get these kinds of people.

Even if it was a great buyer, why would you charge so little and agree to such a short time frame? Buyers can’t do that autonomously. You had to have enabled it. THAT is your problem, not Fiverr. You’re attracting the wrong kind of people and not attracting the right kind and you’re creating/complying with a scope and terms that aren’t even possible, let alone lucrative. Good business people don’t take you seriously when you do that.

[spc_weebo]

When you charge that low, you’re bound to get these kinds of people.

Even if it was a great buyer, why would you charge so little and agree to such a short time frame? Buyers can’t do that autonomously. You had to have enabled it. THAT is your problem, not Fiverr. You’re attracting the wrong kind of people and not attracting the right kind and you’re creating/complying with a scope and terms that aren’t even possible, let alone lucrative. Good business people don’t take you seriously when you do that.

What did I do wrong? I asked here on forums how to make my gig look better and more serious. And you say I am the worst kind of people? Then why didn’t you say anything in my previous question? I even posted a link to my gigs. So you’re saying I should just give up and close my account?

[humanissocial]

What did I do wrong? I asked here on forums how to make my gig look better and more serious. And you say I am the worst kind of people? Then why didn’t you say anything in my previous question? I even posted a link to my gigs. So you’re saying I should just give up and close my account?

“And you say I am the worst kind of people?” I never, ever said that. Wow.

I think you need to work on your English.

I’m talking about what attracts problematic buyers. You’re the seller, not the buyer.

“So you’re saying I should just give up and close my account?”

I didn’t say that at all. Wow. Did you even read what I wrote?

I said you’re charging too low and the terms of your gigs aren’t possible for what you are offering, let alone lucrative. Why would you deduce that that means to close your account/“you’re the worst kind of people”? That doesn’t make any sense at all.

“Then why didn’t you say anything in my previous question?”

Um, I did. That’s literally what my whole post was about.

“asked here on forums how to make my gig look better and more serious.”

And that’s literally what I did for you.

You really need to work on your communication skills and not attack people who are trying to help you.

[spc_weebo]

“And you say I am the worst kind of people?” I never, ever said that. Wow.

I think you need to work on your English.

I’m talking about what attracts problematic buyers. You’re the seller, not the buyer.

“So you’re saying I should just give up and close my account?”

I didn’t say that at all. Wow. Did you even read what I wrote?

I said you’re charging too low and the terms of your gigs aren’t possible for what you are offering, let alone lucrative. Why would you deduce that that means to close your account/“you’re the worst kind of people”? That doesn’t make any sense at all.

“Then why didn’t you say anything in my previous question?”

Um, I did. That’s literally what my whole post was about.

“asked here on forums how to make my gig look better and more serious.”

And that’s literally what I did for you.

You really need to work on your communication skills and not attack people who are trying to help you.

Anyway I asked to cancel it. About the price it’s because I need for my gig to be visible. I asked other people on Fiverr what is the best strategy and they said that one gig should be as cheap as possible and the other should be more expensive.

And stop lying. You didn’t post anything here: I would like to improve my gig!

Also you didn’t answer the question what I should do in this situation.

Anyway it seems it’s not you who should answer this question, it’s not you I was asking. I need a real advice, not some useless commentary.

[uk1000]

Increase the delivery time on the basic package and the price (you can always create a custom offer if you know exactly what is required which could be lower than the price you decide on) . Also like was suggested in the other thread, you could describe (eg. in the description) what you class as a simple program (ie. what that package can be used to create).

[humanissocial]

Anyway I asked to cancel it. About the price it’s because I need for my gig to be visible. I asked other people on Fiverr what is the best strategy and they said that one gig should be as cheap as possible and the other should be more expensive.

And stop lying. You didn’t post anything here: I would like to improve my gig!

Also you didn’t answer the question what I should do in this situation.

Anyway it seems it’s not you who should answer this question, it’s not you I was asking. I need a real advice, not some useless commentary.

“And stop lying. You didn’t post anything here: I would like to improve my gig!”

I wasn’t lying. Oh my goodness. I didn’t know that’s what you were referring to because you don’t communicate properly. “Then why didn’t you say anything in my previous question?” – That doesn’t at all mean you were referring to another thread. No one would know this is what the heck you meant. Do you think I memorize every “Improve my gig” thread? And why are you lecturing me for not giving you this advice in that thread, anyway?

My answer is easy to infer: instead of giving up on Fiverr, change the fundamental issues that are causing your problems. That was what my entire post was about. Why else could I have meant by saying those things?

This is absolutely absurd. You ask a question about your problems. I explain why you’re having issues and how to avoid them in the future. You respond by attacking me and lecturing me for not giving this advice in your thread about how to improve your gig? I’m speechless.

[spc_weebo]

Increase the delivery time on the basic package and the price (you can always create a custom offer if you know exactly what is required which could be lower than the price you decide on) . Also like was suggested in the other thread, you could describe (eg. in the description) what you class as a simple program (ie. what that package can be used to create).

If I increase the delivery time it will be less likely to be chosen. And I cannot find a good description of what is simple and what is not. It’s not possible to measure. But I can estimate before starting. And it’s also not possible for other people to estimate.

[uk1000]

If I increase the delivery time it will be less likely to be chosen. And I cannot find a good description of what is simple and what is not. It’s not possible to measure. But I can estimate before starting. And it’s also not possible for other people to estimate.

How many people urgently require a program/app in 1 day though? Your original post describes some of the things which would make it too complex to create and deliver in a day. You could use something like that to put a limit on the basic package (say which/how many of those things could be done in the basic option). Say what can’t be done in it.

Increase the delivery time and you could let them know you can create a custom offer after discussing their requirements (where you could create a lower price/delivery time if you’re sure you can deliver it in time). Also what if you get 10 orders for the basic package at the same time? Increasing that and the price would be best. You can also use the BR page an send offers there if you know exactly what is required.

Since there’s no option for the seller to accept/deny an order you need to set the prices/delivery times high enough just in case they do order without discussing it and confirming it with you first and order more complex things than you thought they would and in case you have quite a few orders at the same time (in the queue).

[miiila]

Why do you think about giving up, just because there are some people who aren’t reasonable? Those exist everywhere, whether on digital platforms, as customers when you own a brick and mortar shop of any kind, as colleagues or bosses if you’re an employee, …

Try to find the best way to deal with issues when and ideally already before they happen.
If often people order 24-hour gigs and ask for things that are impossible to do in 24 hours, don’t offer 24-hour gigs, if too many people who order $5 gigs cause issues, don’t offer $5 gigs, if too many people don’t understand what your gigs offer, do your best to set them up so that they will.

I don’t really get all the people who post “Should I give up on Fiverr?”
How is anyone else supposed to know if you should give up?
IMO it only makes sense to post concrete issues and ask other people how they did or do or would solve and overcome them, and preferably when they first arise, not after your rating already dropped so much.

Whether anyone should give up on Fiverr or not is down to so many personal things that the person who asks is the only one who could know.

[spc_weebo]

How many people urgently require a program/app in 1 day though? Your original post describes some of the things which would make it too complex to create and deliver in a day. You could use something like that to put a limit on the basic package (say which/how many of those things could be done in the basic option). Say what can’t be done in it.

Increase the delivery time and you could let them know you can create a custom offer after discussing their requirements (where you could create a lower price/delivery time if you’re sure you can deliver it in time). Also what if you get 10 orders for the basic package at the same time? Increasing that and the price would be best. You can also use the BR page an send offers there if you know exactly what is required.

Since there’s no option for the seller to accept/deny an order you need to set the prices/delivery times high enough just in case they do order without discussing it and confirming it with you first and order more complex things than you thought they would and in case you have quite a few orders at the same time (in the queue).

There are people who make orders without asking first. Most of the time these are student programming problems, so it can be done in 24 hours without discussing and planning too much. But yeah, I always ask to first describe what they want before ordering. And also it seems there is a limit on the number of simultaneous orders.

Normally the basic package is for orders that can be done in less than 1 hour (it’s never the case though). I don’t like it, but it’s there to not get buried too deep in the search results. If I put the price higher it might also reduce the visibility of my gig. So I have no idea what to do.

[miiila]

There are people who make orders without asking first. Most of the time these are student programming problems, so it can be done in 24 hours without discussing and planning too much. But yeah, I always ask to first describe what they want before ordering. And also it seems there is a limit on the number of simultaneous orders.

Normally the basic package is for orders that can be done in less than 1 hour (it’s never the case though). I don’t like it, but it’s there to not get buried too deep in the search results. If I put the price higher it might also reduce the visibility of my gig. So I have no idea what to do.

If I put the price higher it might also reduce the visibility of my gig.

Yes, exactly right. If you put the price higher or make the delivery time longer, it might also reduce the visibility of your gig.

That’s true for all of us. You need to find a balance that works for you.

Like with people who offer unlimited revisions, they think it gets them more orders, and they may be right, but at what price?

If offering unlimited revisions is virtually your only chance to get orders, it might make sense to do so (again, all depends on the personal circumstances of the seller in question). If you also get orders without offering it? Probably makes not so much sense then.

Can’t you separate your gig in such a way that you have a 24-hour gig that clearly is only for quickly done jobs, and another gig for more complex things like a whole app, with a sensible delivery time? Sensible buyers might not be averse to sensible delivery times. Many people know that quality work takes time, so they might still order.

Try to focus on possible solutions for your issues.

[lenasemenkova]

The issue here is how vague your gigs are. What does a “simple program” mean? It leaves space to anyone to come in and go: “Well, I consider my 500+ screens app is very simple, do it”.

It’s not going to work long-term.

[spc_weebo]

The issue here is how vague your gigs are. What does a “simple program” mean? It leaves space to anyone to come in and go: “Well, I consider my 500+ screens app is very simple, do it”.

It’s not going to work long-term.

Yeah, perhaps I should learn something else, like drawing or translation, where there is a way for both sides to estimate the amount of work…

[miiila]

Yeah, perhaps I should learn something else, like drawing or translation, where there is a way for both sides to estimate the amount of work…

Sorry but that’s a petty excuse and not exactly nice thing to do to people who spend their time answering your question and trying to help.

There are just as many things that can go wrong in our niches as in yours, including estimation of work/time. Give up or don’t give up, good luck.

[shajibul_islam]

I think your gig description should be more clear about what service you provide. And the packages you set have to be more clear.
Cancellation is not good for your account.
Buyer should discuss about the the job with you before purchase.

[spc_weebo]

I think your gig description should be more clear about what service you provide. And the packages you set have to be more clear.

Cancellation is not good for your account.

Buyer should discuss about the the job with you before purchase.

I wish there was a way for me to approve orders before they start. But I’ve read some posts and it seems to be an old problem that will not be resolved soon.

[uk1000]

I wish there was a way for me to approve orders before they start. But I’ve read some posts and it seems to be an old problem that will not be resolved soon.

I wish there was a way for me to approve orders before they start

In your “write a computer program or application…” gig you don’t ask them to contact you before ordering. If you asked them in it they’d be more likely to and there’d be less need to cancel etc.

For the current order you could ask them for a time extension (“I need to extend the delivery time”) if you haven’t already (unless you don’t want to do that due to the price/complexity of the project).

[lloydsolutions]

I’ve received an order for $5 to do in 24 hours. They asked a complex app with many features: code scan, qr scan, database, report with analytics. And also they didn’t describe what they want very well. So there is no way I’ll be able to do it in 24h. I would estimate that it needs 2 weeks or even more (because there are things I don’t know and they didn’t specify the OS). A cancellation takes too much of percent, even a mutual one. I had a gig that I had to cancel yesterday because a laptop I ordered didn’t arrive at time. And even with mutual cancellation I went from 85% to 80%. So it’s a very bad situation. What should I do?

What should I do?

You are on Fiverr from November 2019 and you have 10 reviews already. Some sellers take months to get their first order.

Take on board the practical advice offered by @uk1000.

Try different things re pricing and delivery times. If it doesn’t work you can change it back to how it was.

Giving up is not the answer!

[spc_weebo]

What should I do?

You are on Fiverr from November 2019 and you have 10 reviews already. Some sellers take months to get their first order.

Take on board the practical advice offered by @uk1000.

Try different things re pricing and delivery times. If it doesn’t work you can change it back to how it was.

Giving up is not the answer!

Thank you. I’ll try to find another strategy.

When trying to determine the packages, I read several of the highest ranking gigs in my category, and they all seem to have the same problem: it’s very difficult to make it easy to estimate for both sides. Some say “more complex” programs, some use other words like “projects” vs “applications”, but in the end none of them is precise enough.

[imagination7413]

Be proactive. A good way to think of it is:
“If I were a buyer, how could I abuse this?”
Then figure out how to fix it.

English is a difficult language, huh?

[spc_weebo]

Be proactive. A good way to think of it is:

“If I were a buyer, how could I abuse this?”

Then figure out how to fix it.

English is a difficult language, huh?

Everyone has always told me that I was good at English.

[imagination7413]

Everyone has always told me that I was good at English.

From what I can tell, you are. That doesn’t make English any less difficult.

Which do you find harder? Written or spoken?

[oskars25]

Never offer a service, if you dont have tools to do with it…
Its not buyers fault your laptop didnt arrive in time 😉

[spc_weebo]

From what I can tell, you are. That doesn’t make English any less difficult.

Which do you find harder? Written or spoken?

Spoken is more difficult. Often when they speak to me on the phone I cannot continue the conversation because I don’t understand. On paper I always have the opportunity to re-read and to use a dictionary.