They said my bids all sounded like the same template and that killed any trust. Did tweaking your approach actually land you more gigs or was it a waste of time?
Was scrolling through the Fiverr terms yesterday because I was bored and saw they take 30% on your first $500 in earnings per transaction. Upwork takes 20% but that drops to 5% after $10k with a client. I thought both were around 15%. How is anyone starting out supposed to build anything when the platform eats a third of their income? Has anyone actually made decent money in those first few months after fees?
Some teenager was telling his friend that nobody uses Fiverr anymore because AI can do everything, and I just sat there sipping my drink thinking about how I built my whole side hustle on there back in 2018. Has anyone else felt like the platform is dying or is it just me?
Some guy on YouTube kept saying spam buyer requests was the secret to getting started. I did that for 3 weeks straight, sent out maybe 80 custom proposals, and got zero replies. Turns out most buyer requests are just lowball clients or scammers fishing for free work. Has anyone else noticed those requests are mostly garbage now?
I paid a Fiverr seller $50 for a logo last month and ended up spending 6 hours trying to fix the vector file myself because they gave me a flattened PNG. Then I had to pay another freelancer on Upwork $100 to rebuild it from scratch. Has anyone else lost money by going cheap on design work and regretted it?
I decided to test Fiverr for a small project last month, a simple logo for a side thing I'm doing. Paid $75 for a seller with decent reviews, thinking it would be safe. What I got back looked like something from a free clip art site from 2005, all jagged and generic. Had to go to Upwork and pay a proper $250 to get it fixed by someone who actually asked about my brand. Anyone else get burned on a cheap Fiverr gig that ended up costing more in the long run?
I spent 2 years on Upwork chasing $15 writing gigs and got nowhere. Then I switched to Fiverr in March and listed my basic package at $20. Within 3 weeks I had 5 orders from buyers who actually gave detailed feedback. The platform takes 20% same as Upwork but I earned $340 my first month. Has anyone else found Fiverr easier for landing that first solid review?
I knew Fiverr's fees were bad, but I just did a $50 logo gig last week and they took $10 right off the top. That leaves me with $40 before taxes. The client paid $56 total after their own service fee too. I get that they run ads and host the platform, but 20% feels like robbery compared to Upwork's sliding scale that goes down to 5% after $10k with a client. Has anyone else done the math on how much you lose to fees per year on Fiverr vs Upwork?
I needed a quick logo for a new freelance profile and thought $50 on Fiverr was a steal. The guy sent me something that looked like it was traced from a free vector site in 10 minutes. Did anyone else burn cash on a cheap gig before realizing you gotta pay more for real quality?
I used to swear Upwork was the only platform worth my time, but last week I had a long talk with a guy who rents space in my moving warehouse. He showed me he made $4,700 in one month just doing short logo tweaks and quick edits on Fiverr, and he doesn't even have a profile picture. I always figured Fiverr was for cheap gigs, but he explained how he uses the 'buyer requests' feature to grab repeat clients. Has anyone else flipped their opinion after seeing real numbers from somebody on the other platform?
I swapped my boring headshot for a picture of my golden retriever wearing a tie, and suddenly my gig messages tripled. Did a dumb experiment for 2 weeks last month and the dog photo out-performed the human one by 40%. Anyone else try weird profile tricks like that?
Back in 2022 I was doing simple logo gigs for $25 each, then this guy messages me asking for a whole ecommerce site with 15 pages. I laughed and said sure without thinking because I was half asleep. Anyone else ever agree to something ridiculous on autopilot and then regret it instantly?
I was browsing the Upwork forums and noticed someone mentioning how they bundle small tasks into single milestones instead of separate contracts. I tried it on a writing gig where I had 5 short articles for $20 each, bundled them as one $100 project, and the fee dropped to $10 instead of $14 across 5 contracts. Has anyone else played around with milestone bundling to dodge those annoying per-project cuts?
It was a Tuesday afternoon, and I was finishing up a logo design for someone who sounded legit. They paid the $150 gig fee, and I delivered the files within 48 hours like normal. Three days later, Fiverr sent me an email saying the payment was reversed because the credit card was reported stolen. I was pissed because I already spent 6 hours on that project and they took the money back. I filed a dispute with Fiverr support, but they basically said tough luck and kept the platform fee anyway. Has anyone else had to deal with a chargeback scam on either platform and actually got your money back?
I was at a shared office in Brooklyn last Thursday and this hiring manager told her buddy that if your Upwork profile has a giant skill list, she assumes you're a jack of all trades and master of none. Made me rethink my own profile since I have like 8 things on there. Has anyone else heard specific things recruiters hate seeing on profiles?
I spent two weeks sending proposals on Upwork for a data entry project and got zero replies, so I switched to Fiverr and had a gig accepted within 3 days. The client paid $150 for a 5 hour job and left a good review, which I never seemed to get on Upwork. Has anyone else found they get quicker results on one platform over the other?
I had this crazy week back in March where I somehow picked up 5 orders within 3 days for my logo design gig. I was stoked, thought I finally cracked the algorithm or something. But then by Friday, 4 of those clients just stopped replying after I sent the first drafts. One of them even left me hanging for 2 weeks before finally coming back and asking for a full refund because they 'changed their mind.' I ended up spending like 15 hours on those projects for nothing. Upwork at least has that escrow system so you don't get totally screwed. Has anyone else had a hot streak turn into a ghost town like that?
I had a buyer on Fiverr about 6 months ago who paid me $50 for a blog post. He kept asking for changes like 5 times, which drove me crazy. But he showed me exactly how to structure paragraphs for reader engagement, even drawing it out in a PDF for me. That one cheap interaction stuck with me way more than some $500 orders I've done. Anyone else learn something real from a low-ball client?
I had this repeat logo design client on Upwork who vanished after I finished a batch of work back in March. Figured they found someone cheaper on Fiverr or just ran out of budget. Then last Tuesday they hit me up with a rush project, no questions asked. I was nervous but I told them my rate went from $35 to $50 because I've been getting more complex requests lately. They didn't even blink, just said send the contract. Kinda makes me wonder if I've been undervaluing myself this whole time. Has anyone else gotten a raise out of a returning client like that?
I had this regular on Fiverr who always ordered the same cheap logo tweaks every Tuesday at 2 PM sharp. The messages were all super short like "make blue" or "bigger text" with no real feedback. After like 3 months I got curious and asked about their business and the reply was just a link to a generic article. I reverse searched their avatar and it was a stock photo of a generic office worker. Turns out some people use automated scripts to resell Fiverr gigs at a markup and my buyer was probably a bot or some middleman. It made me rethink how many of my orders are actually from real clients versus these automated systems. Has anyone else dealt with a buyer that felt off like this?
I kept hearing people say you gotta bid low to get your first reviews, so I did that for two months straight. Offered $15 logo gigs and $20 social media posts just to build a profile. All I got were people who demanded six revisions over two weeks for a $15 job. I tried raising my prices to $50 flat and suddenly the clients actually respected my time. They sent me clear briefs, paid without begging, and only asked for minor tweaks. The cheap crowd just wastes your energy and leaves bad feedback when you don't bend over backwards. Has anyone else noticed the clients who pay half are twice the headache?
I'd been stuck in that loop of writing custom cover letters that got ignored for months. On a whim last Tuesday, I recorded a 45-second voice note explaining the exact fix for their broken checkout button and attached it to my proposal. Got 3 replies out of 5 pitches, which is insane for me. Has anyone else tried adding a quick audio clip to their gigs or proposals, and did it help or hurt you?
I needed a quick product description rewrite for my Etsy shop last Tuesday. Found a Fiverr seller with 500 reviews and paid $35 for 5 optimized descriptions. They sent me back copy that was clearly auto-generated and had my competitor's name in it twice. After 4 revisions and 14 hours of back and forth, I got something usable. Has anyone else had luck with Fiverr's dispute process for garbage work like this?