Fiverr Review

Established in 2009, Fiverr is an online marketplace for digital services connecting freelancers from around the world with those who need their services. Such services include everything from PR to social media management, graphic design to web development or even writing the copy for a new restaurant’s menu.

The beauty of Fiverr is that the entire process of hiring a freelancer occurs online, from the initial search, through to the job order, to payment and delivery of work. There is no need to pick up the phone, or hold a physical meeting, the whole process is managed from your desk. There’s even a mobile app — perfect for those on the go.

One can use Fiverr to have a ukulele jingle written, or a thirty-second radio spot produced, or even receive relationship advice! Small business owners will find professional services such as content writing, web design and marketing strategy aplenty on this site  The opportunities really are endless.

The platform is not coincidentally named, and this is because all basic services start at five dollars, increasing in price by multiples of five for additional requested services.

Fiverr Services

Fiverr has a number of categories to choose freelancers from, including graphics and design, online marketing, writing and translation, video and animation, music and audio, programming and tech, advertising, business, lifestyle, gifts, fun and even bizarre offerings like psychic readings.

Fiverr Pro

Fiverr also recently launched a new premium service, Fiverr Pro. With Fiverr Pro, users can access hand-vetted professionals, who have more experience in their respective fields of interest. This does mean that services offered through Fiverr Pro are a bit more expensive, but quality is ensured.

Another major plus of Fiverr Pro is there is no membership fee. 

As of now, users can access the following Gig categories through Fiverr:

• Graphics & Design > Logo Design
• Writing & Translation > Articles & Blog Posts
• Video & Animation > Whiteboard & Explainer Videos
• Digital Marketing > Social Media Marketing

What is Fiverr?

Millions of talented professionals from around the globe, known as ‘sellers’ offer their freelance services through Fiverr each day. Each seller has their own profile, where they can advertise various services (known as ‘Gigs’ on Fiverr).

‘Buyers,’ (Fiverr’s term for a person seeking a service) can browse categories within Fiverr’s marketplace, or search directly for the job they need done. Buyers can even post a request for sellers to bid over, and choose the best freelancer to complete their project.

All users on Fiverr – both buyers and sellers- must sign up for a free account. Overall, Fiverr is a great solution for projects with a quick turnaround time, and for those with a smaller-than-usual budget.

How to Choose a Freelancer with Fiverr

Fiverr’s marketplace is extremely transparent, telling you what you will get, an expected timeframe and how much it will cost you. There are a few ways to choose a freelancer who meets your business needs. First, you can go to Fiverr’s homepage, and explore its over 100 categories and subcategories of services.

Alternatively, you should also consider performing a keyword search based on the service you need. After this, the search bar will yield a list of sellers who fit your criteria.This allows you to view their profile and qualifications.

Let’s say, you want to build a website for your small business, you have your company’s goals in mind, but you know that hiring a web developer will take a substantial amount of time and require a large budget. This is exactly what Fiverr is perfect for, freelance jobs that require a smaller budget, and typically with a quick turn-around time.

You could go to Fiverr, perform a search on web developers and get instant pricing information.

From there, you can contact, view their rating, see their average response time, language they speak, and get an overall timeline for the project’s timeline and compare pricing.

Once you find the right person for the job, you can then send them a private message to discuss specifics, which will look something like what you see below:

Below, are some of the things you should be on the lookout for:

Level 1 Sellers

• 30 days active on Fiverr
• Completed at least 10 individual orders
• Maintain a four-star rating and above
• Have a low cancellation rate

Level 2 Sellers

• Completed at least 50 individual orders in two consecutive months
• Maintain a 4.5 star rating or above
• Have a low cancellation rate

Top Rated Sellers

• Maintain a high star rating (4.7-5 star)
• Exceptional customer care
• Have a low cancellation rate
• Community leadership
• Volume of sales

What About SEO Gigs?

Many of Fiverr’s freelancers do offer SEO packages. It is however important to note, that with SEO services, you always want to make sure the professional is practicing only the most current and best practices offered by Google and other leading authorities on SEO, as bad SEO is not something that is easily reversible.

This is where doing your homework comes even more in handy, you should learn key terms, and best practices, so you can talk shop with your freelancer to get a feel for his/her level knowledge of SEO.

By knowing what to be on the lookout for, you can choose the best fit to work on your project and do so successfully.

Revisions

You should always check the terms and conditions of a Gig for things like how many revisions sellers will offer for their basic package. If the plan you sent to the seller was not comprehensive enough, or the freelancer simply failed to deliver what you asked for, you should know most plans come with at least one revision.

In fact, most sellers note the exact amount of revisions allotted within the terms of the agreement. In some instances, sellers will set unlimited revisions. In which case, it is their responsibility to revise until the buyer is satisfied. Alternatively, some freelancers may request a nominal fee for additional revisions.

In the end, if you are pleased with the work your freelancer has done, you can leave a review, and help them get more Gigs through Fiverr. Even better, you can hire them again, and recommend them to others.

You can also view a sample of a seller’s pricing structure right below. This will give you an idea of the kinds of revision-related specifications detailed in seller’s Gigs.

Payments

With Fiverr, buyers are required to pay for orders prior to the tasks completion. There is no exception.

Although PayPal is the most common option for paying on Fiverr, you can also pay using credit card, debit card and Fiverr balance, (which is money made selling on Fiverr).

Pricing does go up based on popularity and demand of a seller, and there is also some fierce competition. Most of Fiverr’s basic packages do offer $5 Gigs. For more comprehensive services, the price will rise in multiples of $5.

After a transaction is completed,  buyers can view their invoice through the “Order” page, by clicking “View Invoice.”

Cancellation

You can always ask a seller to cancel an order, and explain why you would like to cancel the order. Once the order is cancelled and processed, you will receive a refund.This comes only after your request is approved by Fiverr’s customer support team, and you must meet the following criteria to qualify for a refund:

• Violations of Fiverr’s terms of service
• General misconduct, such as harassment, unlawful behavior, etc
• Improper usage of Fiverr’s delivery system

It does state on Fiverr’s website that orders cannot be cancelled based on quality, and quality alone. In the end, you must ask yourself: Did the delivered product meet the scope of work initially agreed upon by both parties?

If the answer is yes, then buyers cannot ask for a refund.

Buyers can however rate their experience with the seller on his / her order page. This includes rating the overall level of service, and the quality of work received.

What if You Don’t get the Work You’re Promised?

You’ve found who you believe to be the perfect seller, but he or she has failed in the end to deliver what you want.

What do you do?

If talking directly with the seller does not go in your favor, you can always reach out to customer support in hopes of receiving a refund. Below are a few examples of what you can receive a refund for, when you use Fiverr’s services.

Getting a Refund

• If the seller is late and / or unresponsive for more than 24 hours after the order is marked late

• For abuse
• If users supplied or included trademark or copyrighted information in the order
• If a seller withholds the final delivery for improved ratings

Buyers can also have their requests cancelled if they do the following:

• If buyers who abuse the “Request Revisions” button and ask for additional services
• If buyers threaten to leave poor ratings in order to gain more services (free of charge) from the seller, which are not originally in the agreed terms

Repeat Offenders

Fiverr does not allow habitual or repeat offenders to remain members, and does suspend seller accounts if multiple reports are filed. Alternatively, if there is a question about the work’s authenticity, customer support will review it and make a decision to suspend, accordingly.

Customer Support

Fiverr offers a wide list of internet-based options for support. This includes FAQs, a forum, how-to guides and numerous video tutorials. Fiverr’s platform also lets buyers and sellers submit queries on a wide range of topics.

You can also access forums, Fiverr Academy, listen to Fiverr’s podcast and read a list of FAQs from the point of view of the seller and buyer.

Fiverr even offers a set of video tutorials on a wide range of topics, again, it is separated into two different sections, for buyers and for sellers.

Pros & Cons of Using Fiverr

Pros:

• One of the main advantages of using Fiverr is the ability to work with millions of talented individuals from around the globe

• As a result, buyers benefit from highly affordable services , as “Gigs” start at $5
• Additionally, Gigs are usually completed within a matter of days as opposed to weeks or months with traditional freelancers.
• You’re also working with a ton of leading industry experts, who know their craft well
• The marketplace has a clean and easy to navigate website design
• The community members using Fiverr are fairly active and fun, and can provide a ton of insight
• Freelancers on Fiverr seem to offer some of the highest quality digital services on the internet
• Then again, if you don’t get what you wanted, you only lost five bucks

Cons:

• Fake reviews can be problematic, especially when looking for the freelancer who best meets your needs. Highly-rated freelancers can have a lot going on at once, with the ability to house more than 50 Gigs in a single queue at once (which could slow down their turnover time)
• There doesn’t appear to be a customer service number, only online support. .

Bottom Line

Fiverr is an excellent service for those looking for experts in a wide range of fields to help complete their small business-related projects, and it is a great bargain.

Even with the threat of minimal risks, the most you will lose is $5 — a well-worth-it risk. For sellers, it is a way to make a living, in an otherwise tough economy, and for buyers, it is an affordable, and quality option for finding a freelancer.