Fiverr SUCKS and we’re not afraid to say it, Fiverr really does suck.
If you’ve been a part of the freelance industry either as a buyer or seller, then you’ve probably come across the “famous” Fiverr website.
Why Fiverr Sucks – And Why You Should Never use it
For those who haven’t experienced Fiverr, we’ll give you a quick overview. Fiverr is an online marketplace where users offer tasks or “gigs” in exchange for money. Starting from $5, hence the name, freelancers and other services providers earn money by completing these gigs for users.
Since its launch in 2010, Fiverr has become a very popular website and currently has over 3 million gigs available. From graphics design to writing to music creation, it’s easy to see why so many people use Fiverr.
As good as Fiverr might sound, there are in fact, several problems which make it terrible.
From the low prices to the cowboy sellers, when you combine everything together you’re left with a terrible user experience for both sellers and buyers. To save you the hassle and frustration of using Fiverr, we’ll give you some strong arguments as to why Fiverr sucks so much.
Let us explain.
Why Fiverr Sucks for Buyers
Buyers are a very important part of Fiverr, without the constant inflow of buyers buying gigs then Fiverr would cease to exist. If you’re thinking about buying something from Fiverr now or in the future, then hold your horses! Here are the top reasons buying from Fiverr SUCKS.
The Name is Misleading
With a name like “Fiverr” you’d expect everything on the website to be $5. However, there are numerous gigs that are actually over $5 and go as high as $500. This is a problem for a number of reasons.
The first reason is that the $5 is most of the time, a teaser deal. They might lure you in with the idea that everything is $5, but you’ll quickly discover this is not true and you often have to pay more to get something decent. Many gigs will have 3 different payment tiers, the first obviously being the $5 which is the bare minimum then they’ll offer other packages such as standard and premium.
Most users only offer the $5 gig as a taster and to appear as the cheapest when assorted by price. In reality you shouldn’t expect anything of good quality from the $5 gig and they will most likely try to upsell you the more expensive gig.
Gigs Have to be Automated
The current federal minimum wage in the US is $7.25 while the current minimum wage in the UK is £7.50 for everyone over 25.
At $5 a gig do you think this equates to any of the minimum wages? Definitely not.
Considering the service that people offer for a $5 gig it can be hard to believe that they aren’t using software to automate the process.
Take the following gig, for only $5 this guy will create 5 animated video intros with music! If you’ve ever done animation before, then you’d understand how long it takes just to make 1 intro let alone 5.
This means that this seller is most likely using some kind of software to speed up the process. This is not necessarily bad as long as the end result is good and the client is happy. It’s just a bit misleading to the buyer as they probably think the animator is putting a lot of time and effort into the project, yea right!
It also means the type of gigs on Fiverr shift to fast automated ones that can be duplicated very easily, hence more money for the seller!
If you want a customised and highly detailed intro animation that does something specific, then the chances are you won’t be able to get it for $5
Not High Quality Services
At $5 a gig, do you really think freelancers are putting maximum effort and attention into the service?
Absolutely not.
Given the amount of time the freelancer has to create something for you, if they’re not used an automated system as covered earlier, then they’re probably doing something much worse. This could be stealing other people’s work to speed up time or just selling you the same thing they sold to the 10 customers before you.
When you think about the quality of gigs from Fiverr, one thing should come to mind:
CRAP!
Let’s face it, if they were any good at their job then they would be charging much more than $5. If you want a high-quality logo, then you would expect to pay a high price. For $5 they’ve either never designed a logo before or are just stealing them from someone else.
Why Fiverr Sucks for Sellers
Sellers on Fiverr are constantly battling it out with other sellers to win over buyers. If one seller offers 2 logos for $5 then another seller will offer 3 instead. In such a cut throat market, there are several reasons why Fiverr is bad. Here are the top reasons selling on Fiverr SUCKS.
Don’t Make as Much Money as You Think
If you can sell 100 gigs at $5 each then you’ll make $500 overall right?
WRONG!
The maths might sound easy and obvious but what Fiverr doesn’t tell you about is the numerous fees it charges for using its service.
The first big fee is the commission from Fiverr itself. Fiverr has to make money somehow and currently they do that by taking a 20% commissions from all gigs.
That means that for every $5 gig you sell, Fiverr takes $1! Again, what a totally misleading name!
If you thought that was pretty cheeky of them, then that’s not even the worst bit.
After you’ve been left with a measly $4, you still have to pay 2.9% in PayPal fees in order to withdraw the money. By the time you’ve paid the 20% from Fiverr and the 2.9% from PayPal, you are left with $3.58 from your initial $5.
Suddenly Fiverr doesn’t seem to be worth your time and effort.
Very Competitive
Let’s face it, Fiverr attracts thousands of different sellers from all over the world.
The main problem for sellers is the constant undercutting and competition from other sellers on Fiverr. If 2 people have the same gig but one offers 3 logos instead of 2 then people are most likely to go with the guy who offers 3. It’s common sense.
Considering they are both getting paid $5 for their work, it means the guy who has to make 3 is likely to cut corners. By cutting corners, this lowers the standard of the work.
The next time the seller lists a gig he goes for 4 logos instead of the original 2 he did before. In an aim to win over more buyers he’s just made the overall market even more competitive. This cycle continues until it gets to the point where it’s really not worth it due to the cost being so low.
This pushes out a lot of workers from the market, especially the good ones and you’re only left with the people who basically love working for nothing. You’ll also notice that most of the workers come from poorer countries were $3 an hour is an excellent wage for them. This actually brings up a lot of new problems which we will cover next.
International Workers
When prices get pushed too low for sellers only people who find it worth their time will stay in the market.
If you look at all the big sellers on Fiverr who are selling gigs for $5 then you’ll notice that none of them are from countries such as the USA or UK. Instead they are all from much poorer countries where the cost of living is much lower.
This is a problem for a few reasons.
The first problem is the language barrier. A lot of sellers don’t know English as their primary language, this can cause a lot of problems when trying to explain what you want done on the project.
The second problem is the time zone difference as many users will be different country from the other side of the world. This can often mean sellers will be replying in the middle of the night while you are bed. Not only is this not convenient but if you’re on a tight deadline it can make things even more stressful.
Now you know about the dark side of Fiverr, the next time you’re thinking of buying or selling some freelance work, think again! There are much better websites to use which will yield much better results.Never Trust an SEO ‘Guru’
Now you know why Fiverr sucks, be careful not to fall for any of the other scams out there.
If someone is offering you SEO services for a super cheap price, then be wary.
Find out the most common tricks SEO “guru’s” and “specialists” use your mind.
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