We have to admit, the allure of cheaper-than-cheap prices on Fiverr is what makes its success. After all, who doesn’t like the idea of paying $5 for a custom logo or get an article that you can use for online marketing for your business at $5? If you are a newbie to the site that calls themselves “The Marketplace for Creative & Professional Services”, it’s natural that you want to find out if this is all too good to be true. Fiverr Explained by us below:
Fiverr Explained: Can Creativity and Professionalism Really Come Cheap?
Well, that might be one of the biggest questions you might have when you chance upon Fiverr. The old school thinkers will certainly give you a negative response to that but surprisingly, some people have indeed walked away with creative and professional services at the price of a cup of Starbucks coffee on Fiverr.
But such situations were far more common 5 years ago. When Fiverr started in early 2010, many of the pioneer batches of gigs offered were indeed at $5. There was no way a Fiverr freelancer could charge more than $5 per gig and if they wanted to make more than $5 from the same client, they had to ask the client to purchase multiple gigs or purchase added on extras.
Fiverr Explained: So, How Much Do Gigs Cost on Fiverr Today?
Since June 2013, Fiverr has rebranded their services and allow gigs to be priced between $5 and $500. Well, yes, adding that double “0” behind the big 5. You can also see the importance of the word “starting” since gigs now start from $5 onwards.
Most Gigs® on Fiverr are offered at a base starting price of $5. Some Gigs are offered at a base price of more than $5.
Ref: https://www.fiverr.com/terms_of_service
We actually don’t have an issue with that, and we think that it’s a great move to reinvent their services – just like how a hobby turns into a business. So, what’s the issue then?
Fiverr Explained: Is It Really $5 When You See That It’s $5?
If someone has advertised their services right from the start as more than $5, for example, $100 for creating a custom whiteboard animation style, that’s fine.
The freelancer is clear and upfront about the price of the service, and the potential buyer knows exactly what he or she is getting into. But the problem is that most of the Fiverr freelancers do not advertise the actual rates they are charging clearly for the basic gig. If we want to be nice, we can call it a marketing strategy – after all, Fiverr is known for $5 gigs and that’s what buyers go looking for. But if we want to be brutally honest, it’s simply deception.
Putting yourself in the shoes of a potential buyer, just imagine the tons of gigs you have to go through, only to discover each time that that service is actually not $5. This is not only frustrating, but it costs precious time which can be put to better use.
Fiverr Explained: The Art of Fiverr Gig Deception
To give you a better understanding, here are some varied examples of how Fiverr freelancers claim to offer $5 gigs but actually have other hidden intentions when it comes to pricing.
Example 1: Basic Gig is $5 But That’s Just an Extra Charge!
This gig looks really cool since it advertises a service for the creation of web pages for only $5. Your happiness turns into dismay when you read on further.
What? So, now the basic gig is presumably an extra charge and one web page costs $90 to create? Even if we assume that we want to order the creation of two web pages and thereby qualify for the promotion, the total cost of this gig comes up to $95. One professional copywriter even spent $154 for 12 fiverr gigs and discovered that it was a very hit and miss affair.
So… where’s the $5 service advertised?
Example 2: The Ask-Me-for-a-Quotation Trick
Who won’t be enticed by such an offer? Getting a website conversion into a mobile ready site for $5, I’m in!
…and I’m out!
This is pretty much like a kick in your face by stating that the gig will not cost $5 as advertised. We wonder why in the first place the youngsters who called themselves “serious businessmen” would even want to rate their service as $5 and then presumably invite buyers to ask for a quotation.
This is just not right!
Example 3: Oops, I Changed My Policy!
And when you think that you have found a credible offer that comes at $5 because there’s nothing suspicious in the gig description, the surprise arrives in the inbox.
That’s a perfect way to implement a policy change, mate!
If you want to discover more about the art of Fiverr deception in the form of $5 services, this is another worthy article to read.
Fiverr Explained: Are the Fiverr Guys Only Concerned About Creating More Gigs?
While we have established earlier in this post that Fiverr gigs are not all $5, you should have realized by now that the main problem isn’t about the price. It’s perfectly fine to charge $10, $50 or even $500 for your gig as long as you are delivering quality and you are upfront about it. The main problem that so many Fiverr buyers face today is the need to filter through many deceptive $5 gigs to find what you really need.
Though the people behind Fiverr offer a Help Center for both sellers and buyers to enjoy their experience on the Fiverr platform, nothing is mentioned about how sellers should keep their gig offers authentic and how buyers can learn to tell the gold from the scrap metal.
Fiverr Explained: Fiverr is Not All Bad
After so much has been said about deceptive Fiverr gigs, you must be thinking that Fiverr is not worth your time. Before you jump to that conclusion, let us clarify things up. Fiverr is not all bad; we have enjoyed many great gigs from freelancers who provide quality services at affordable rates on this platform.
We can always take comfort in the fact that there are still treasures to be found on Fiverr – all you need is a keen eye to spot the charlatans and time to do the search. And as they always say, when you find gold at the end of the rainbow, it will always be worth it!
Check this out that we had done for $5!
We had this made a few years and ago and what we got back blew us away! All we said was “please pretend you have been ripped off by a web designer so now you have decided to learn it yourself.”. We happily gave a $20 tip!
