What my flag says about me

[viser1000]

Hi, I have recieved an inquiry about a gig and the prospect told me that he was interested in working with me as he was impressed with the positive reviews in my gigs ‘despite seeing my flag’. I’m not really sure how clients see our flag nowadays. Please help me out, guys, what is your first impression when you see our flag? I wouldn’t get offended, In fact this would be helpful. Thanks!

[jtengle]

Was he talking about your Philippines flag? I wouldn’t think twice about it.

[viser1000]

Heh, nice to hear that, thanks for the input, jtengle 🙂

[nickih]

I’ve seen some forum posts where users say that they wouldn’t want to place an order from a seller who is not from the US or a Western country. According to what they expressed, they believe that US-based users would be more reliable, easier to work with, have better communication skills and be able to deliver better quality. They also thought that gigs from non-Western countries were more likely to be scams. For example, see this forum thread: forum.fiverr.com/discussion/22474/never-trust-the-flag.



However, I personally think this is total BS. There are great sellers from the US as well as really, really bad ones. Likewise, there are incredibly talented and awesome sellers all over the world. In fact, most of my all-time favorite sellers that I purchase from are based in Asia.



While everyone is entitled to their own personal preference (maybe some people just feel more comfortable purchasing from someone in their own country), I think that a lot of the ill feelings towards purchasing or not purchasing from certain countries are simply due to a misconception that some countries produce better quality goods/services than other countries, which, on an individual level, simply doesn’t make sense. Someone from the US is just as capable of delivering junk as someone based in Africa. Likewise, someone based in Africa is just as capable of blowing a US-based seller out of the water in terms of talent and skill.

[cheezees]

Reply to @nickih: I couldn’t agree more. Bigotry and persistent negative stereotyping are everywhere, including Fiverr. If I were dependent on generalizations made from anecdotal evidence, I would hate:



All White people

Black people

Asian people

Every Hispanic

Every Jewish person

Native Americans - didn’t think you’d get away, didya?

Men, the whole lot

"Wymmin"

Pitbulls



The list continues… 😛

[nickih]

Reply to @cheezees: Haha! And I’m sure the list would just get sillier and sillier. Basically, you’d be a grumpy hermit who doesn’t like anyone (but not to worry - no one would like you, either).