What do you think of sellers quoting very low prices for huge work?

[trooviez9]

There are sellers here who bid very low prices for huge chunks of work. For example, someone promising to write 1000 word content for $5 yet the average rate is 500 words for $5. How do you compete with these desperate sellers? I think this is unfair because such sellers normally deliver very low quality of work because they are targeting buyers who are keen on low prices. What do you think guys? Should Fiverr do something about such sellers?

[gina_riley2]

There are sellers here who bid very low prices for huge chunks of work. For example, someone promising to write 1000 word content for $5 yet the average rate is 500 words for $5. How do you compete with these desperate sellers? I think this is unfair because such sellers normally deliver very low quality of work because they are targeting buyers who are keen on low prices. What do you think guys? Should Fiverr do something about such sellers?

Should Fiverr do something about such sellers?

Nope.

My take is that each seller is a self employed business owner. 5r is just a rental space that you pay commissions to after making a sale.

As a business owner, you can charge what you want as long as you follow their guidelines.

If you were renting an office space, the owner would have guidelines such as must have 2 fire extinguishers, no x rated stuff, etc. You comply, everything is good. They won’t tell you how to set your price or who you can or can not sell to.

When it comes to writing, price isn’t necessarily what drives buyers. The people that I hire has to be better than me. If they have any errors on their gig page or if the description is too short, I’m skipping them.

I like to read long well written description so I can sample what they can do. Granted, I may still test them with the lowest price gig to see what I get.

If you are good at what you do, don’t sell yourself short.

Some have low prices because they are beginners looking for review.

Some have low prices because they are really bad at what they do. These will come and go after the first few bad reviews.

[capitalquality]

Sellers can charge what they like to get orders. You compete by being better than them.

[gina_riley2]

@trooviez9,

You have a nice gig page. My only question is why did you write your personal description in 3rd person?

[misscrystal]

They can charge whatever they want. You cannot worry about what others are doing here, as it doesn’t matter. I never think about or look at my competition. As long as you do very high quality work in a professional manner you will succeed with no relation at all to the things others here do.

[Guest phantompower]

There are sellers here who bid very low prices for huge chunks of work. For example, someone promising to write 1000 word content for $5 yet the average rate is 500 words for $5. How do you compete with these desperate sellers? I think this is unfair because such sellers normally deliver very low quality of work because they are targeting buyers who are keen on low prices. What do you think guys? Should Fiverr do something about such sellers?

Well to me you seem like the desperate one, why are trying to compete with someone who isn’t even in a race? Who said the average rate is 500 words for 5$? Have you ever purchased from any of the sellers to know they deliver low quality work? I started off delivering huge pieces of work for very low rates.

[virtualservice1]

It’s a way to be competitive, so if you are worried about that you should try competing in other ways other than price.

Many people are looking for cheap work/labor, but many are also looking for value and professionalism. Show your expertise, and describe the value you can offer buyers since they are paying more 🙂

[lisabaarns]

They can charge whatever they want. You cannot worry about what others are doing here, as it doesn’t matter. I never think about or look at my competition. As long as you do very high quality work in a professional manner you will succeed with no relation at all to the things others here do.

I totally agree they can charge whatever they want. If they can deliver twice as much quality work as me at a lower price, more power to them. Enough buyers do understand that if someone is offering services way below the rest, they rarely are the highest quality.

Also: Low ball pricing is fine when someone is getting started, but it’s a tough position to defend long term. If someone does 1000 words for $5, there will be someone who decides to try 1100 words for $5, or 1000 words plus something.

That said, I want to build a business that finds the buyers who appreciate quality, because anybody can drop prices. It takes far longer to become excellent at your craft AND continue to grow those skills. You charge more if you’re worth it, and don’t worry about the people pricing at crazy low rates. (That has its own set of issues.)

They will have others coming in later, who set the rates in the same range, and take the “I just want the cheapest” buyers along with them. It’s easy to lose those buyers who just focus on price, because there will always be a beginner on the platform who will work cheap or lose money for a bit.

You cannot worry about what others are doing here, as it doesn’t matter. I never think about or look at my competition.

I have a slightly different take on this: I agree it’s not helpful to worry about the others.

I do pay attention to the people who are successful in my category, to see what I can learn. Sometimes their final product may not be as strong as mine, but they do a better job marketing. (Better gig profile, better samples, or whatever…) -OR- they are more skilled than me in an area, and I decide if that’s a good area to focus my attention moving forward. (I can always improve…)

I don’t obsess over them, but every month or so I take an hour and explore what is working in my category to find if I can upgrade my marketing and/or specific skills.

Even IF I was the best in my category, I can lose business to someone who is smarter about their marketing than me, or has a skill set would be a good growth area for me.

Over time cheap prices are a tough way to go, because that set of buyers is not very loyal and a seller is always chasing new buyers. Those buyers can always find someone else who is cheap.

Quality is far easier to defend… assuming you have a category where you can build repeat buyers. In my mind repeat, happy buyers are the goal.

It takes plenty of work but there are strong rewards too, and checking out what is working for others has helped me refine things far faster than most.

[trooviez9]

@trooviez9,

You have a nice gig page. My only question is why did you write your personal description in 3rd person?

Thanks for viewing my gig page. I wrote it in 3rd person because I wanted it to look more professional

[trooviez9]

Well to me you seem like the desperate one, why are trying to compete with someone who isn’t even in a race? Who said the average rate is 500 words for 5$? Have you ever purchased from any of the sellers to know they deliver low quality work? I started off delivering huge pieces of work for very low rates.

Yes. A regular client of mine purchased from a seller who quoted low price and the work was poorly done. She had to request me to rewrite the whole content. That’s why I got concerned with this topic

[trooviez9]

I totally agree they can charge whatever they want. If they can deliver twice as much quality work as me at a lower price, more power to them. Enough buyers do understand that if someone is offering services way below the rest, they rarely are the highest quality.

Also: Low ball pricing is fine when someone is getting started, but it’s a tough position to defend long term. If someone does 1000 words for $5, there will be someone who decides to try 1100 words for $5, or 1000 words plus something.

That said, I want to build a business that finds the buyers who appreciate quality, because anybody can drop prices. It takes far longer to become excellent at your craft AND continue to grow those skills. You charge more if you’re worth it, and don’t worry about the people pricing at crazy low rates. (That has its own set of issues.)

They will have others coming in later, who set the rates in the same range, and take the “I just want the cheapest” buyers along with them. It’s easy to lose those buyers who just focus on price, because there will always be a beginner on the platform who will work cheap or lose money for a bit.

You cannot worry about what others are doing here, as it doesn’t matter. I never think about or look at my competition.

I have a slightly different take on this: I agree it’s not helpful to worry about the others.

I do pay attention to the people who are successful in my category, to see what I can learn. Sometimes their final product may not be as strong as mine, but they do a better job marketing. (Better gig profile, better samples, or whatever…) -OR- they are more skilled than me in an area, and I decide if that’s a good area to focus my attention moving forward. (I can always improve…)

I don’t obsess over them, but every month or so I take an hour and explore what is working in my category to find if I can upgrade my marketing and/or specific skills.

Even IF I was the best in my category, I can lose business to someone who is smarter about their marketing than me, or has a skill set would be a good growth area for me.

Over time cheap prices are a tough way to go, because that set of buyers is not very loyal and a seller is always chasing new buyers. Those buyers can always find someone else who is cheap.

Quality is far easier to defend… assuming you have a category where you can build repeat buyers. In my mind repeat, happy buyers are the goal.

It takes plenty of work but there are strong rewards too, and checking out what is working for others has helped me refine things far faster than most.

This is really impressive. I never thought of it like this before. I sure will try checking on the competition.

[divyagoel]

If the seller is charging less for some work then its their loss and also i think the smart buyer would have know that if the seller is offering in almost half then the quality will affect and the buyer will go for the order only when he/she is ready to compromise with the quality and money matters to them.

There is nothing fiverr or anybody can do…There are many buyers for whom quality is the priority … just target them and forget about those who are ready to bear the losses.

[grydlynnes]

Some of the time, the need to come out of obscurity may push newbie Sellers into undervaluing their gigs. At such giveaway prices he/she would very likely make sales, get rated/accumulate ‘successful orders’ and thus gain credibility. This gig quality may not be substandard in this instance.

[saddu_writer]

I guess new sellers are the ones that do more work for less $$$. its because they want to have some reviews and build their profile. So its their own choice.

[idostuff74]

Personally, I am more concerned about sellers who use stockimage-prettycollegestudent.jpg as their profile pic.

[Guest laureat]

Personally, I am more concerned about sellers who use stockimage-prettycollegestudent.jpg as their profile pic.

It is a minefield out there.

Some gigs are obvious scams and they get 20 friends to buy their gig and write great reviews, then the person refunds the friends. That way he bought credibility for $20, which is what Fiverr retained as commission.

How seriously can the buying public take Good Reviews… Thankfully Bad reviews are genuine.!!

[lisabaarns]

It is a minefield out there.

Some gigs are obvious scams and they get 20 friends to buy their gig and write great reviews, then the person refunds the friends. That way he bought credibility for $20, which is what Fiverr retained as commission.

How seriously can the buying public take Good Reviews… Thankfully Bad reviews are genuine.!!

How seriously can the buying public take Good Reviews… Thankfully Bad reviews are genuine.!!

IF your requirements need excellence and you can’t take chances: Find sellers who have a few hundred reviews and have been around 6 months, a year or longer and probably charge a little more. As you said, getting 20 orders from friends wouldn’t be that hard, but a couple hundred certainly is far tougher.

Other than that it’s always a mix of great new sellers, and sellers who read that they can make money on Fiverr, even if they have few actual skills.

A few new sellers on Fiverr have years in their category before Fiverr, and those are the bargains. (Although in a couple months their prices will probably go up…)

[eoinfinnegan]

I had a message from a buyer who wanted a sci-fi novel translated to English - approx 200,000 words and told me that I needed to beat the current best price which was $750. I told him that my minimum would be more than double that and that I also need to see the book first which he would not do.
So some idiot has made an offer of approx 90% less than the going rate for translation and has not even seen the book. I suspect they have not done much translating before. I also suspect we will see the buyer on the forum complaining at some point. I pointed out to the buyer that the rate he was suggesting I beat is lower than minimum wage in any English speaking country and wished him good luck. This is not being a little cheaper than the going rate, this is less than half the cheap Fiverr rate - roughly $3/1000 words after fees - outside of Fiverr this would be in the region of $30/1000 words, a total of approx $6000.

The person who gets that job will be delighted that they have a huge order but then one of two things will happen: 1. the seller will realize that the $600 they earn is nowhere near worth the amount of time they are spending on it and try to cancel (or else just exhaust themselves), or 2. the seller will send an awful translation and the buyer will cancel/complain to CS/chargeback.

Honestly, I do not understand how some people are in business, this guy was quoted a price and didn’t stop to think about whether it could be possible for someone to work for 90% less than the going rate but instead he continued asking other people to try get a CHEAPER rate!

[lisabaarns]

I had a message from a buyer who wanted a sci-fi novel translated to English - approx 200,000 words and told me that I needed to beat the current best price which was $750. I told him that my minimum would be more than double that and that I also need to see the book first which he would not do.

So some idiot has made an offer of approx 90% less than the going rate for translation and has not even seen the book. I suspect they have not done much translating before. I also suspect we will see the buyer on the forum complaining at some point. I pointed out to the buyer that the rate he was suggesting I beat is lower than minimum wage in any English speaking country and wished him good luck. This is not being a little cheaper than the going rate, this is less than half the cheap Fiverr rate - roughly $3/1000 words after fees - outside of Fiverr this would be in the region of $30/1000 words, a total of approx $6000.

The person who gets that job will be delighted that they have a huge order but then one of two things will happen: 1. the seller will realize that the $600 they earn is nowhere near worth the amount of time they are spending on it and try to cancel (or else just exhaust themselves), or 2. the seller will send an awful translation and the buyer will cancel/complain to CS/chargeback.

Honestly, I do not understand how some people are in business, this guy was quoted a price and didn’t stop to think about whether it could be possible for someone to work for 90% less than the going rate but instead he continued asking other people to try get a CHEAPER rate!

Honestly, I do not understand how some people are in business, this guy was quoted a price and didn’t stop to think about whether it could be possible for someone to work for 90% less than the going rate but instead he continued asking other people to try get a CHEAPER rate!

I agree! Some buyers are looking to get something for nothing and they think everybody is equal, except for the price. In most services businesses, there is a wide range of quality. (Can’t anybody translate? I know anybody can do voice over well, it’s just talking. 😉 )

That’s the guy that gets my, “If price is your primary focus, I’m the wrong seller for you. I’m focused on quality, and assisting buyers who want one of the best…”

I wish them the best and politely say “Contact me when you need quality and understand that requires a slightly higher investment.”

Those sellers who are extremely low priced will either wash out in a few months, or raise their prices (or find buyers who don’t care about quality…)

Too many of those buyers will just complain that Fiverr is a terrible market place, not realizing that even on Fiverr, you still have to pay a little more to get some of the stronger, experienced sellers. Price is only one factor.

Just life in the open market.

[dianeherneyvo]

Honestly, I do not understand how some people are in business, this guy was quoted a price and didn’t stop to think about whether it could be possible for someone to work for 90% less than the going rate but instead he continued asking other people to try get a CHEAPER rate!

I agree! Some buyers are looking to get something for nothing and they think everybody is equal, except for the price. In most services businesses, there is a wide range of quality. (Can’t anybody translate? I know anybody can do voice over well, it’s just talking. 😉 )

That’s the guy that gets my, “If price is your primary focus, I’m the wrong seller for you. I’m focused on quality, and assisting buyers who want one of the best…”

I wish them the best and politely say “Contact me when you need quality and understand that requires a slightly higher investment.”

Those sellers who are extremely low priced will either wash out in a few months, or raise their prices (or find buyers who don’t care about quality…)

Too many of those buyers will just complain that Fiverr is a terrible market place, not realizing that even on Fiverr, you still have to pay a little more to get some of the stronger, experienced sellers. Price is only one factor.

Just life in the open market.

To add to your great comment; I understand that a buyer may feel that there are so many talented people out there that it just takes finding the right person who has the combination of great skills and desperation. And, maybe that does happen. But more often than not a buyer will get someone who does not have the skills or simply does not have the experience to fully understand what they’re getting themselves into.

[lisabaarns]

To add to your great comment; I understand that a buyer may feel that there are so many talented people out there that it just takes finding the right person who has the combination of great skills and desperation. And, maybe that does happen. But more often than not a buyer will get someone who does not have the skills or simply does not have the experience to fully understand what they’re getting themselves into.

But more often than not a buyer will get someone who does not have the skills or simply does not have the experience to fully understand what they’re getting themselves into.

You are exactly right! There is nothing wrong with looking for the lowest price possible, but frankly the sellers who have paid their dues don’t need to work at the cheapest prices, because they offer additional value.

And look what people are willing to pay for coffee (at least here in the States). Often a cup or two is the difference between a new seller and one with some experience. Value never goes out of style, but it isn’t always the cheapest vendor.

[zeus777]

I had a message from a buyer who wanted a sci-fi novel translated to English - approx 200,000 words and told me that I needed to beat the current best price which was $750. I told him that my minimum would be more than double that and that I also need to see the book first which he would not do.

So some idiot has made an offer of approx 90% less than the going rate for translation and has not even seen the book. I suspect they have not done much translating before. I also suspect we will see the buyer on the forum complaining at some point. I pointed out to the buyer that the rate he was suggesting I beat is lower than minimum wage in any English speaking country and wished him good luck. This is not being a little cheaper than the going rate, this is less than half the cheap Fiverr rate - roughly $3/1000 words after fees - outside of Fiverr this would be in the region of $30/1000 words, a total of approx $6000.

The person who gets that job will be delighted that they have a huge order but then one of two things will happen: 1. the seller will realize that the $600 they earn is nowhere near worth the amount of time they are spending on it and try to cancel (or else just exhaust themselves), or 2. the seller will send an awful translation and the buyer will cancel/complain to CS/chargeback.

Honestly, I do not understand how some people are in business, this guy was quoted a price and didn’t stop to think about whether it could be possible for someone to work for 90% less than the going rate but instead he continued asking other people to try get a CHEAPER rate!

or 2. the seller will send an awful translation and the buyer will cancel/complain to CS/chargeback.

A good numbers of those people come to me asking to fix it. I give them my rate, sometimes they say “Wow too expensive!” or in other cases they’ve learned their lesson from their previous order and agree to pay. The ones that complained about my price being too high do sometimes return asking me work on it later on.

Funny thing is, in many cases they say stuff like “I’m paying a lot, you’d better do a good job.”

Buddy, you get what you pay for. If you agree to pay the quote I gave you, I’ll do a great job…if I can say so myself! 😛

On the bright side though, there were other people said “I tried asking other translators and they did a horrible job, I guess they are cheap for a reason…I notice your rates are a bit higher, I hope I can trust you. I guess if I wanted quality work, I do need to pay for that.”

Well, I’m glad you noticed that. 🙂 Seriously!

[trooviez9]

or 2. the seller will send an awful translation and the buyer will cancel/complain to CS/chargeback.

A good numbers of those people come to me asking to fix it. I give them my rate, sometimes they say “Wow too expensive!” or in other cases they’ve learned their lesson from their previous order and agree to pay. The ones that complained about my price being too high do sometimes return asking me work on it later on.

Funny thing is, in many cases they say stuff like “I’m paying a lot, you’d better do a good job.”

Buddy, you get what you pay for. If you agree to pay the quote I gave you, I’ll do a great job…if I can say so myself! 😛

On the bright side though, there were other people said “I tried asking other translators and they did a horrible job, I guess they are cheap for a reason…I notice your rates are a bit higher, I hope I can trust you. I guess if I wanted quality work, I do need to pay for that.”

Well, I’m glad you noticed that. 🙂 Seriously!

I’ve had similar experiences with some buyers before. The buyer contacted me and I quoted my price for the whole piece of work. She sent me all the files via inbox but refused to accept the custom order I sent her. After 24 hours I saw she was still shopping for cheaper rates on Buyer Requests page. Fortunately or unfortunately she did find a cheaper seller whom she gave the order. However, a few hours later she returned on my inbox telling me the seller she chose had to cancel the work and so she has agreed to work with me.

I agreed to help her but deep down in me I knew the seller had cancelled the work because it was too much for that low prices.

I think, as a seller you need to have a personal brand. Sometimes you have to turn the buyer down becuase you’re just not ready to compromise on your value.

[lisabaarns]

I’ve had similar experiences with some buyers before. The buyer contacted me and I quoted my price for the whole piece of work. She sent me all the files via inbox but refused to accept the custom order I sent her. After 24 hours I saw she was still shopping for cheaper rates on Buyer Requests page. Fortunately or unfortunately she did find a cheaper seller whom she gave the order. However, a few hours later she returned on my inbox telling me the seller she chose had to cancel the work and so she has agreed to work with me.

I agreed to help her but deep down in me I knew the seller had cancelled the work because it was too much for that low prices.

I think, as a seller you need to have a personal brand. Sometimes you have to turn the buyer down becuase you’re just not ready to compromise on your value.

I think, as a seller you need to have a personal brand. Sometimes you have to turn the buyer down becuase you’re just not ready to compromise on your value.

Right on! I get at least a 3rd of the ones I turn down returning later. In some ways it’s better because now they appreciate the quality, and realize the potential saving $5 or $10 just cost them a couple days or more.

All this assumes we deliver on our quality, and aren’t just higher priced for the fun of it.

I know my processes take a bit more time than others in my category, but it produces superior results, so I invest the extra time. Most clients notice, but especially the ones who return after trying some of the cheap options.

Turning down some business is totally appropriate for those who want to grow. The right clients are a better long term play. The right fit means repeat business, and in my mind that’s the real trick to making Fiverr work for both the sellers AND buyers.

[gogeinag]

I think, as a seller you need to have a personal brand. Sometimes you have to turn the buyer down becuase you’re just not ready to compromise on your value.

Right on! I get at least a 3rd of the ones I turn down returning later. In some ways it’s better because now they appreciate the quality, and realize the potential saving $5 or $10 just cost them a couple days or more.

All this assumes we deliver on our quality, and aren’t just higher priced for the fun of it.

I know my processes take a bit more time than others in my category, but it produces superior results, so I invest the extra time. Most clients notice, but especially the ones who return after trying some of the cheap options.

Turning down some business is totally appropriate for those who want to grow. The right clients are a better long term play. The right fit means repeat business, and in my mind that’s the real trick to making Fiverr work for both the sellers AND buyers.

Hello guys. I am new in here (just 11 days ago) and to be honest, I am shocked especially in my field (design field). I am a designer and graduated from a university in design major. From that and my freelance experiences (in real life since 2013), I know how hard it is and how much it is to hire a freelance designer. And at the first time I knew Fiverr, I saw some people offer service: do background removal and you know how much they ask?? ONLY $5 for 30 photos!!

Wow. Really wow. I was so speechless at that time. Even you are an experienced designer or Photoshop advanced user, background removal is “easy”. But please… 30 photos for just $5?? It means 1 photo’s price can’t buy you the cheapest Strbck coffee!

I absolutely agree with @lisabaarns and @trooviez9. We need and we MUST make our personal brand! Don’t mind about the price. If you think you are valuable with that “expensive price for buyer”… Then use it as your standard. Value yourself, value your work, and people will value you more 🙂

Best Regards,

Gogein Alois Gontoro