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TRS / Fiverr Pro Outsourcing and the Potential for Buyer Backlash


cyaxrex

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I’m starting to completely lose confidence in the legitimacy of most Pro sellers. - Yes, sweeping generalizations and stereotypes are never a good thing. However, Pros and TRS sellers keep appearing on my radar who’s behavior beggars belief.

Lately, I’ve come across what to me is the most grievous confidence undermining Pro I’ve come across so far. They have not copied the gig images of another Pro. However, they have copied the exact style (which is very distinctive) of another Pro seller.

As if that isn’t bad enough, their reviews as a buyer suggest that they are outsourcing a lot of their Pro orders to other Fiverr sellers charging as little as $5 - $10.

I find this more than a little bit disgraceful.

Fine, there is nothing wrong with arbitrage or collaborating with other sellers to an extent. However, if I was a buyer paying $100+ for a service, only to discover it had been outsourced from a vetted Pro to a non-vetted Fiverr seller in a completely different country, I’d be absolutely fuming. - After all, we all know how many things can go wrong with something like a $5 logo. - That’s why supposedly vetted Pro sellers exist!

As well as the above, the Pro seller co-opting another Pros branding and outsourcing their own orders, also mentions their off-Fiverr website in their Fiverr profile. There is no link. However, it is a distinctive brand name mention which makes it easy to look this seller up off-Fiverr. I’d quite like to do this too, but apparently, that’s not allowed for us mere mortal sellers.

Unfairness about showcasing your off-Fiverr brand aside, the personal/company website of this Pro seller is not GDPR compliant. It is based in the EU but doesn’t even follow the most basic GDPR compliancy rules and this odd. - It’s very odd considering they basically offer supposedly professional web-marketing services.

In short, I’m a bit dumbfounded with respect to how some Pros and TRS sellers can pass themselves off as such in the eyes of Fiverr? What vetting process actually took place here? Moreover, shouldn’t there be rules preventing Pros and TRS sellers from outsourcing?

To me, this is a ticking time bomb for Fiverr. Outsourcing to non-Pro sellers with bottom of the barrel prices means that all the problems buyers experience with budget sellers are now (potentially) getting passed on much higher up the foodchain.

How long will it be before a big brand buyer of something like a Pro $100+ logo, finds that they have paid $100+ for an autogenerated or copyright infringing design?

When news starts to spread that some Pro and TRS sellers are simply playing a Russian Roulette game of arbitrage, it’s going to make Fiverr Pro look pretty ridiculous. - Also, since I found out about this specific case on a non-Fiverr freelancer message board, you can argue that this is happening already… 🙁

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I’d like to know more about this seller. A PM will do.

I remember back when Pro launched I found one Pro seller in my category that used a video template for their demo video.

I contacted the seller and they responded with: We didn’t have time to make our own demo video so we used a template.

I reported them directly to my Fiverr contact (not via CS) but it was regarded as an attempt to take down a competitor I guess, as nothing happened.

Flash forward to today, said seller is now TRS and has multiple gigs.

On the other hand my SM refused to publish a new Pro gig I made because my demo reel looked like I might be using templates myself. (I did not)

The gig was published after I made some modifications to it.

My point being: I think Fiverr needs offerings that can be sold at a Premium. They do look into your background and skills and past work but they are not that vigilant once a gig has been published. (Not to mention when it performs well)

There’s definitely room for improvement.

EDIT: I think Pro sellers shouldn’t be allowed to purchase gigs from their own category. Pro sellers shouldn’t outsource their work to other Fiverr sellers.

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I’d like to know more about this seller. A PM will do.

I remember back when Pro launched I found one Pro seller in my category that used a video template for their demo video.

I contacted the seller and they responded with: We didn’t have time to make our own demo video so we used a template.

I reported them directly to my Fiverr contact (not via CS) but it was regarded as an attempt to take down a competitor I guess, as nothing happened.

Flash forward to today, said seller is now TRS and has multiple gigs.

On the other hand my SM refused to publish a new Pro gig I made because my demo reel looked like I might be using templates myself. (I did not)

The gig was published after I made some modifications to it.

My point being: I think Fiverr needs offerings that can be sold at a Premium. They do look into your background and skills and past work but they are not that vigilant once a gig has been published. (Not to mention when it performs well)

There’s definitely room for improvement.

EDIT: I think Pro sellers shouldn’t be allowed to purchase gigs from their own category. Pro sellers shouldn’t outsource their work to other Fiverr sellers.

My point being: I think Fiverr needs offerings that can be sold at a Premium.

I’m not arguing against this. However, someone creating a premium gig but outsourcing what they do to a budget seller is absolutely ridiculous. As for background checks, I’m not buying it. The rumor (being discussed elsewhere) is that vetting = Has lots of social media followers.

Anyway, you can find the ‘Pro’ in question quite easily. Just look up a Pro who used to be a regular here on the forum. Look at her gig images. Then look for other Po seller gig images which look just like hers. The supposedly coincidental similarities are quite striking.

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My point being: I think Fiverr needs offerings that can be sold at a Premium.

I’m not arguing against this. However, someone creating a premium gig but outsourcing what they do to a budget seller is absolutely ridiculous. As for background checks, I’m not buying it. The rumor (being discussed elsewhere) is that vetting = Has lots of social media followers.

Anyway, you can find the ‘Pro’ in question quite easily. Just look up a Pro who used to be a regular here on the forum. Look at her gig images. Then look for other Po seller gig images which look just like hers. The supposedly coincidental similarities are quite striking.

The rumor (being discussed elsewhere) is that vetting = Has lots of social media followers.

That is 100% untrue. Yes Fiverr does favor “influencers” since it makes sense to have them broadcast how awesome Fiverr is, but that’s not part of the background check. It is however, part of the application form, that is correct.

I have 0 social media presence, not 1 single follower on any platform and yet I had to provide past work samples and proof that I was the one who worked on said pieces.

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Emma was made a Pro and had no social media followers, or didn’t at the time. She does have a listing on linked in and similar sites with a list of places she has worked. So it might only be some Pro sellers who were chosen for that.

They would be naive to be leaving feedback for the sellers they buy the cheap gigs from to resell, knowing that they will get reviews from those sellers, exposing what they are doing.

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The rumor (being discussed elsewhere) is that vetting = Has lots of social media followers.

That is 100% untrue. Yes Fiverr does favor “influencers” since it makes sense to have them broadcast how awesome Fiverr is, but that’s not part of the background check. It is however, part of the application form, that is correct.

I have 0 social media presence, not 1 single follower on any platform and yet I had to provide past work samples and proof that I was the one who worked on said pieces.

That is 100% untrue.

Ok

Yes Fiverr does favor “influencers” since it makes sense to have them broadcast how awesome Fiverr is, but that’s not part of the background check.

Ok

It is however, part of the application form, that is correct.

So that makes it kind of 33% factual… 🙂

I’m not arguing about this. Its a case of if walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and flaps its wings like a duck, it’s probably not a combine harvester. You can say it is not true, But you can not stop people thinking that it is true, given how many ‘Pros’ and TRS sellers seem to slip through Fiverr’s rigorous vetting processes.

Anyway. my point with this thread was to make a case that TRS and Pro sellers should perhaps be barred from outsourcing. Apparently, that is being missed by everyone.

In either case, it cheapens the Fiverr brand and that is why I’m surprised it is allowed to go on.

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I’d like to know more about this seller. A PM will do.

I remember back when Pro launched I found one Pro seller in my category that used a video template for their demo video.

I contacted the seller and they responded with: We didn’t have time to make our own demo video so we used a template.

I reported them directly to my Fiverr contact (not via CS) but it was regarded as an attempt to take down a competitor I guess, as nothing happened.

Flash forward to today, said seller is now TRS and has multiple gigs.

On the other hand my SM refused to publish a new Pro gig I made because my demo reel looked like I might be using templates myself. (I did not)

The gig was published after I made some modifications to it.

My point being: I think Fiverr needs offerings that can be sold at a Premium. They do look into your background and skills and past work but they are not that vigilant once a gig has been published. (Not to mention when it performs well)

There’s definitely room for improvement.

EDIT: I think Pro sellers shouldn’t be allowed to purchase gigs from their own category. Pro sellers shouldn’t outsource their work to other Fiverr sellers.

I contacted the seller and they responded with: We didn’t have time to make our own demo video so we used a template.

Flash forward to today, said seller is now TRS and has multiple gigs.

Don’t leave us hanging like that, Frank - did they find the time to make their own demo after becoming TRS with multiple gigs? 😉


I might not be fuming but I’d definitely not be happy as a buyer if I noticed PRO or TRS sellers outsourcing, especially if they market themselves as a person and not an agency. If I buy a box with PRO/TRS packaging, there should also be PRO/TRS quality inside.

I guess in some categories, some of those who do outsource might argue that they pay someone to do the footwork and then use their golden hands on it. If that actually happens or not, who knows but the customer, and depending on what and who, that’s not sure either.

I tend to think Fiverr aren’t too fond of outsourcing generally, as the whole idea seems to be that single freelancers offer their own skills to customers as nicely packaged and quick-to-purchase services/gigs, as persons, what with the “use a picture of yourself” recs, etc.

EDIT: I think Pro sellers shouldn’t be allowed to purchase gigs from their own category. Pro sellers shouldn’t outsource their work to other Fiverr sellers.

I wouldn’t say “category” (a writer might offer a writing gig and write but have a proofreading extra which they outsource to a proofreader as a “second pair of eyes”, for instance) but I agree with the sentiment. They shouldn’t outsource their actual work which a buyer hires them to do.

Anyway. my point with this thread was to make a case that TRS and Pro sellers should perhaps be barred from outsourcing. Apparently, that is being missed by everyone.

I agree with that, barred from outsourcing their actual work which they claim they are doing in their gigs.

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I don’t see how fiverr can stop any seller from outsourcing. How would you police that? And what if their clients are all happy with what they got? Should they then be told that they didn’t get the actual work from the person they paid? So they turn from happy to angry? I understand your point, just not sure what it would take to enforce it.

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I have simply raised my prices to a point i’m comfortable re-sellers will have a hard time using my demos as there own or being a middle man . I don’t think i’ll offer $5 gigs or $10 ever again.
If this busts me as a seller so be it, there is a major problem on here with organised gigs that just do nothing but sell other peoples work as their own. Fiverr seems not to have a problem with it.
Working with Pro sellers recently Ive had a good experience. However Iv’e noticed some of these Pro gigs are a little sad looking. If fiverr was an upscale HOA (Home Owner’s Association)
you would think it would tell Pro sellers to maintain their grass a bit better.

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I’m starting to completely lose confidence in the legitimacy of most Pro sellers. - Yes, sweeping generalizations and stereotypes are never a good thing. However, Pros and TRS sellers keep appearing on my radar who’s behavior beggars belief.

Lately, I’ve come across what to me is the most grievous confidence undermining Pro I’ve come across so far. They have not copied the gig images of another Pro. However, they have copied the exact style (which is very distinctive) of another Pro seller.

As if that isn’t bad enough, their reviews as a buyer suggest that they are outsourcing a lot of their Pro orders to other Fiverr sellers charging as little as $5 - $10.

I find this more than a little bit disgraceful.

Fine, there is nothing wrong with arbitrage or collaborating with other sellers to an extent. However, if I was a buyer paying $100+ for a service, only to discover it had been outsourced from a vetted Pro to a non-vetted Fiverr seller in a completely different country, I’d be absolutely fuming. - After all, we all know how many things can go wrong with something like a $5 logo. - That’s why supposedly vetted Pro sellers exist!

As well as the above, the Pro seller co-opting another Pros branding and outsourcing their own orders, also mentions their off-Fiverr website in their Fiverr profile. There is no link. However, it is a distinctive brand name mention which makes it easy to look this seller up off-Fiverr. I’d quite like to do this too, but apparently, that’s not allowed for us mere mortal sellers.

Unfairness about showcasing your off-Fiverr brand aside, the personal/company website of this Pro seller is not GDPR compliant. It is based in the EU but doesn’t even follow the most basic GDPR compliancy rules and this odd. - It’s very odd considering they basically offer supposedly professional web-marketing services.

In short, I’m a bit dumbfounded with respect to how some Pros and TRS sellers can pass themselves off as such in the eyes of Fiverr? What vetting process actually took place here? Moreover, shouldn’t there be rules preventing Pros and TRS sellers from outsourcing?

To me, this is a ticking time bomb for Fiverr. Outsourcing to non-Pro sellers with bottom of the barrel prices means that all the problems buyers experience with budget sellers are now (potentially) getting passed on much higher up the foodchain.

How long will it be before a big brand buyer of something like a Pro $100+ logo, finds that they have paid $100+ for an autogenerated or copyright infringing design?

When news starts to spread that some Pro and TRS sellers are simply playing a Russian Roulette game of arbitrage, it’s going to make Fiverr Pro look pretty ridiculous. - Also, since I found out about this specific case on a non-Fiverr freelancer message board, you can argue that this is happening already… 🙁

However, Pros and TRS sellers keep appearing on my radar who’s behavior beggars belief.

I’m totally against PROs outsourcing. I think the PRO market has been influenced by the Fiverr IPO, and the perceived need to enhance the PRO offerings - leading them to approve people who would have been vetted more carefully in previous times. In trying to make the company more marketable, Fiverr is undermining the PRO program, in my opinion.

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I have simply raised my prices to a point i’m comfortable re-sellers will have a hard time using my demos as there own or being a middle man . I don’t think i’ll offer $5 gigs or $10 ever again.

If this busts me as a seller so be it, there is a major problem on here with organised gigs that just do nothing but sell other peoples work as their own. Fiverr seems not to have a problem with it.

Working with Pro sellers recently Ive had a good experience. However Iv’e noticed some of these Pro gigs are a little sad looking. If fiverr was an upscale HOA (Home Owner’s Association)

you would think it would tell Pro sellers to maintain their grass a bit better.

upscale HOA

Home Owner’s Association?

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Yes indeed…

It just makes our own abodes look all that much better! :houses: A few things I’ve seen on Pro seller gigs are some negative reviews that give the impression of carelessness, not just when there are a few of course but some have many, giving a bad overall impression.

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Outsourcing is totally legal and shouldn’t be prohibited. It’s the seller’s job to ensure the work they outsourced is to their standards. As long as they have commercial use, they’ve done nothing wrong. Some sellers get a lot of orders and might not want to spend the time writing them when they can still turn a profit.

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I’d like to know more about this seller. A PM will do.

I remember back when Pro launched I found one Pro seller in my category that used a video template for their demo video.

I contacted the seller and they responded with: We didn’t have time to make our own demo video so we used a template.

I reported them directly to my Fiverr contact (not via CS) but it was regarded as an attempt to take down a competitor I guess, as nothing happened.

Flash forward to today, said seller is now TRS and has multiple gigs.

On the other hand my SM refused to publish a new Pro gig I made because my demo reel looked like I might be using templates myself. (I did not)

The gig was published after I made some modifications to it.

My point being: I think Fiverr needs offerings that can be sold at a Premium. They do look into your background and skills and past work but they are not that vigilant once a gig has been published. (Not to mention when it performs well)

There’s definitely room for improvement.

EDIT: I think Pro sellers shouldn’t be allowed to purchase gigs from their own category. Pro sellers shouldn’t outsource their work to other Fiverr sellers.

The vetting definitely needs improvement. I’ve seen some pretty sketchy Pro gigs/sellers.

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Outsourcing is totally legal and shouldn’t be prohibited. It’s the seller’s job to ensure the work they outsourced is to their standards. As long as they have commercial use, they’ve done nothing wrong. Some sellers get a lot of orders and might not want to spend the time writing them when they can still turn a profit.

Well, that’s against Fiverr policy so no.

You can’t do a gig without some personal details, which means the Pro seller would be sharing that with whoever they are outsourcing and that’s not allowed for obvious reasons.

When you hire a seller, you expect that person is going to do the work. It’s deceptive to pretend to be the person doing the work. Also not allowed on Fiverr for obvious reasons.

Outsourcing is fine, but not when you’re masquerading as the creator of the services. Buyers hire people on Fiverr, not agencies. That’s deception and fraud.

This is totally not allowed and downright unethical.

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Well, that’s against Fiverr policy so no.

You can’t do a gig without some personal details, which means the Pro seller would be sharing that with whoever they are outsourcing and that’s not allowed for obvious reasons.

When you hire a seller, you expect that person is going to do the work. It’s deceptive to pretend to be the person doing the work. Also not allowed on Fiverr for obvious reasons.

Outsourcing is fine, but not when you’re masquerading as the creator of the services. Buyers hire people on Fiverr, not agencies. That’s deception and fraud.

This is totally not allowed and downright unethical.

Where in the TOS does it say outsourcing is against policy?

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Where in the TOS does it say outsourcing is against policy?

It doesn’t say that outsourcing is forbidden, but it does say that sellers have to keep all the information they receive confidential, especially all the personal information. If you send that kind of information to another seller and hire them to do the work, you’re no longer keeping it confidential.

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Well, that’s against Fiverr policy so no.

You can’t do a gig without some personal details, which means the Pro seller would be sharing that with whoever they are outsourcing and that’s not allowed for obvious reasons.

When you hire a seller, you expect that person is going to do the work. It’s deceptive to pretend to be the person doing the work. Also not allowed on Fiverr for obvious reasons.

Outsourcing is fine, but not when you’re masquerading as the creator of the services. Buyers hire people on Fiverr, not agencies. That’s deception and fraud.

This is totally not allowed and downright unethical.

Outsourcing is fine, but not when you’re masquerading as the creator of the services. Buyers hire people on Fiverr, not agencies. That’s deception and fraud.

This is totally not allowed and downright unethical.

I completely agree! This practice only diminishes the reputation of the Fiverr Pro program.

If the buyer is not aware that their job has been outsourced, it is a material misrepresentation - which is fraudulent.

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Where in the TOS does it say outsourcing is against policy?

As @catwriter says, by giving the work to another person, you are breaching confidentiality, which breaks the ToS.

Also in the ToS, “Sellers warrant that any content included in their Gigs shall be original work conceived by the Sellers.” Note “conceived by the sellers.” You aren’t conceiving the work. You’re handing it off for someone else to do it. Fiverr also explicitly says being misleading is not allowed. What you’re doing is definitely misleading. “Your profile information, including your description, skills, location, etc., while may be kept anonymous, must be accurate and complete and may not be misleading, illegal, offensive or otherwise harmful.” Note “description, skills.” In your gig details, you have to say what skills you have. But really you’re sharing the skills of the person you’re outsourcing to, regardless if you yourself have these skills.

Also in the ToS, Fiverr requires a verification of the identity of the seller. It is YOU and YOU alone as the seller who are reviewed and approved. Another reason Fiverr requires this is to vet the seller in case of issues. They can’t vet a third-party, so this isn’t allowed and is really unethical. Verification is performed for the sake of buyers.

In any case, you shouldn’t need ToS to motivate you to operate ethically. Positioning yourself as being the one doing the work when you actually aren’t is morally wrong. You are positioning yourself as a freelancer but performing as an agency. And note that that there is no option to create a Team seller account on Fiverr. You’re just assuming that’s okay.

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As @catwriter says, by giving the work to another person, you are breaching confidentiality, which breaks the ToS.

Also in the ToS, “Sellers warrant that any content included in their Gigs shall be original work conceived by the Sellers.” Note “conceived by the sellers.” You aren’t conceiving the work. You’re handing it off for someone else to do it. Fiverr also explicitly says being misleading is not allowed. What you’re doing is definitely misleading. “Your profile information, including your description, skills, location, etc., while may be kept anonymous, must be accurate and complete and may not be misleading, illegal, offensive or otherwise harmful.” Note “description, skills.” In your gig details, you have to say what skills you have. But really you’re sharing the skills of the person you’re outsourcing to, regardless if you yourself have these skills.

Also in the ToS, Fiverr requires a verification of the identity of the seller. It is YOU and YOU alone as the seller who are reviewed and approved. Another reason Fiverr requires this is to vet the seller in case of issues. They can’t vet a third-party, so this isn’t allowed and is really unethical. Verification is performed for the sake of buyers.

In any case, you shouldn’t need ToS to motivate you to operate ethically. Positioning yourself as being the one doing the work when you actually aren’t is morally wrong. You are positioning yourself as a freelancer but performing as an agency. And note that that there is no option to create a Team seller account on Fiverr. You’re just assuming that’s okay.

Well said and completely accurate, @humanissocial! This practice should be stopped by Fiverr!

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If a video maker buys a voice- over the buyer of the video is under no illusion that the video maker has outsourced this.
The problem is for me is when they claim it as there own. Using the samples and creating a gig as if it was there own work. This absolutely should be stamped out. It’s not hard to identify with audio.

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If a video maker buys a voice- over the buyer of the video is under no illusion that the video maker has outsourced this.

The problem is for me is when they claim it as there own. Using the samples and creating a gig as if it was there own work. This absolutely should be stamped out. It’s not hard to identify with audio.

Even if that’s allowed, which I doubt for the reasons I stated (like confidentiality. You’re handing off the work to someone else), you are still morally and legally obligated to disclose that you aren’t actually doing the work.

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Well said and completely accurate, @humanissocial! This practice should be stopped by Fiverr!

Thank you! It really should. What’s the point in vetting people for Fiverr Pro if they’re not even doing the work?! It’s so deceptive.

Buyers purchase from Fiverr Pro BECAUSE it is vetted. The whole reason it exists is to create accountability.

"Who are the Sellers labeled as Pro?

Freelancers that are eligible to open a Fiverr Pro Gig have gone through a vetting process conducted by our team of experts. We have verified that they are experienced professionals, with a great track record and high-level deliveries.

Fiverr Pro offers you access to hand-vetted, high-quality talent at a relatively affordable rate. You can now collaborate with verified professionals, that come with excellent credentials and extensive experience." https://buyers.fiverr.com/en/article/what-is-fiverr-pro

What this seller is offering doesn’t comply with this.

So how is this seller being vetted? Is she submitting others’ work for vetting? Hmm! In any case, it’s deceptive and misleading to sellers.

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Thank you! It really should. What’s the point in vetting people for Fiverr Pro if they’re not even doing the work?! It’s so deceptive.

Buyers purchase from Fiverr Pro BECAUSE it is vetted. The whole reason it exists is to create accountability.

"Who are the Sellers labeled as Pro?

Freelancers that are eligible to open a Fiverr Pro Gig have gone through a vetting process conducted by our team of experts. We have verified that they are experienced professionals, with a great track record and high-level deliveries.

Fiverr Pro offers you access to hand-vetted, high-quality talent at a relatively affordable rate. You can now collaborate with verified professionals, that come with excellent credentials and extensive experience." https://buyers.fiverr.com/en/article/what-is-fiverr-pro

What this seller is offering doesn’t comply with this.

So how is this seller being vetted? Is she submitting others’ work for vetting? Hmm! In any case, it’s deceptive and misleading to sellers.

I’ve just contacted the person I interact with at Fiverr PRO, to ask that they read this forum thread, and let me know if Fiverr is aware of this practice, and if they have any plans to address outsourcing without the buyer being aware. I’ll let you know what I hear.

Buyers purchase from Fiverr Pro BECAUSE it is vetted. The whole reason it exists is to create accountability.

Exactly, @humanissocial. I think long term, this whole secret outsourcing practice could undermine the whole concept of the Fiverr Pro program.

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