I used to sell on a marketplace for freelancers called Fiverr. In fact, I did quite well there for some time. However, it got to a point that my gigs were no longer selling, competition was becoming more fierce and I had forgotten about it for a while.
I had forgotten about Fiverr for some time until someone had brought it up. In fact it was a very kind woman who offered training for being successful on Fiverr. I checked what she offered out and after that I thought about possibly utilizing it again. However, the next thing I knew, my account was deactivated probably due to being inactive for so long. After thinking long and hard, I decided not to do it. In fact, I do not recommend Fiverr to any freelancer out there. I will list seven reasons as to why to avoid selling on this platform.
1. Fiverr rips sellers off. If you sell a gig for $5, Fiverr takes $1 from you, so you are really earning $4. And after you have your money transferred to PayPal, that is another 2.9{a0065375a7e2d1c093abc1aba7894b1ad713a40df7f413d8a34d916c8e570350} and $0.30 as well. After all said and done, you are left with only $3.58. Fiverr now allows you to sell packages and add additional services to your basic $5 gigs. However, they take 20{a0065375a7e2d1c093abc1aba7894b1ad713a40df7f413d8a34d916c8e570350} off of anything more you make! Therefore, if you sell something for $100, they will pocket $20, and you are left with $80. You end up losing a lot in the end.
2. Their customer service sucks. If you have an issue that needed to be sorted out, customer service doesn’t help you at all and will not answer your questions. If there is a platform that I am using to make money, I expect decent customer service.
3. Your perceived value is tarnished. Even though Fiverr has allowed sellers to sell higher end services by letting them offer packages, it still has a reputation as being cheap. If you add working at Fiverr on your resume, I am not sure how impressive that would really look. Or if you have your own business and it is known you sell on Fiverr as well, same thing. It doesn’t look very good.
4. Unreasonable Buyers. I understand you will be dealing with unreasonable clients where ever you sell, and how ever you sell. But those who buy services from Fiverr expect to get a great deal for a low, low price. Even if the price is higher than $5. Many of them expect sellers to work magic, and if the job you do is less than perfect for them- they will demand a refund or leave a negative review which is not something you want. In the end you would have put a lot of hard work into nothing.
5. Your account could be deactivated without warning if you violate their very strict TOS. Fiverr constantly monitors messages between buyers and sellers. They forbid you from sharing your contact information, which includes your email or Skype. If you inadvertently violated their TOS, your account could be gone without warning, and you may be screwed out of your earnings.
6. You have to wait a while to receive your earnings. I don’t know about you but I would prefer to be paid right away. With Fiverr, it takes two weeks for your money to be delivered!
7. You are still responsible for your marketing. It may have been the case at one time, Fiverr did market your services. However, now they don’t. You are just as likely to be hired by marketing your Fiverr gigs as you would if you marketed your own services on your website. There is a lot more competition, and those who have the most exposure are the ones who have the highest ratings. Most sellers do not have that advantage. That means Fiverr is really taking advantage of your own hard work to make them richer! Again, it is not worth it.
You are better off marketing your own services, where you will be paid what you are worth without any other party (except for PayPal, and yes the bank takes their cut) taking much of what you earn!