The things people do for $5

29 replies
With the popularity of websites such as fiverr.com, gigbucks.com,
magicpig.com, tenbux,.com gaining speed at an amazing pace I am
interested to learn your opinion of such websites.

I don't know if people on these websites are selling themselves short
but the opportunity to buy or sell what are called "gigs" is on the
increase on these websites.
#people #things
  • Profile picture of the author AnneRose88
    I think on fiverr.com people do things for $4.
    Because $1 goes to the site owner.
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  • Profile picture of the author kswr123
    I'm not sure if they are selling themselves short.

    Remember that a lot of these guys are doing something AUTOMATED for a fiver(r). Like, for example, mass submitting your site etc.

    Very useful if you don't want to buy software.

    On the other hand, a lot of people are making relatively small amounts for things like art, which is understandable, considerign the HUUUGE graphic design market out there.
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  • Profile picture of the author Louise M.
    I use fiverr for backlinks mostly. I think it's important to always contact the merchant first to be sure it'll be worth it.

    The only way people can make money with fiverr is if they sell something they can do quickly and free. If it saves other people time, it can be worth it.
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  • I think fiverr's great for a lot of the 'fun' services which you wouldn't otherwise think of using. I've tried some of the IM services and they're very variable, even when you look at the reviews of different providers. I guess different people have different expectations.

    Of course, when I outsource I do usually favour quality over price, so I guess that means fiverr is very limiting.

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  • Profile picture of the author AnneE
    I used fiverr for 5 different requests. I got what I paid for -- backlinks that you have to be logged in to see, a Squidoo lens with very, very little original content (I mean I wasn't expecting much but a couple sentences would have been good), two testimonials that in my opinion were obvious that the person hadn't used the product -- even though I asked ahead of time if they would actually look at the product before doing the testimonial.

    I'm done with FIVERR. I thought it sounded way cool, but the results will not make me a repeat buyer.
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    • Profile picture of the author Lex87
      Originally Posted by AnneE View Post

      I used fiverr for 5 different requests. I got what I paid for -- backlinks that you have to be logged in to see, a Squidoo lens with very, very little original content (I mean I wasn't expecting much but a couple sentences would have been good), two testimonials that in my opinion were obvious that the person hadn't used the product -- even though I asked ahead of time if they would actually look at the product before doing the testimonial.

      I'm done with FIVERR. I thought it sounded way cool, but the results will not make me a repeat buyer.
      This is pretty much what I found. Too much of a wild west right now to get anything good. Let the dust settle and then see what the rises to the top of the cream?

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      • Profile picture of the author gsuccess
        $5 may not be much, but in developing countries, that is a lot of money for many. Remember that some people earn about $20 per month in some developing counties.
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        • Profile picture of the author Jeff_Gardner
          I hadn't heard of fiverr until a biz partner had an original song (not jingle, a s-o-n-g) written about his company/products... set to music... and sung. Professionally. I'm still blown away whenever I hear it. All for $5. I'm sure not everything on fiverr is of this high of quality, but I imagine this would have been a $500 project on elance.
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          • Profile picture of the author connorbringas
            hey guys, I want to know..is it really worth it to use these sites to get backlinks..Does it work?
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          • Profile picture of the author imon32red
            I have a couple of gigs on fiverr. At first I was just interested in outsourcing work. But then I had a couple of ideas. Each of them take me about 5-10 minutes worth of work. I provide a service that I can do quickly and I provide value. It would take someone else hours to do what I do because I have figured out all of the shortcuts. So I think it is a good value for both of us.
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        • Profile picture of the author greenowl123
          I use Fiverr regularly and have found some really good bargains on wordpress installation (I am not a tech guy), script creation, press release creation, designing an ebook cover, and having 10,000 or more invites sent out to join my facebook pages and have gotten really good results.

          I also have had disappointments there too, but they were the minority.

          There are good deals on Fiverr if you do your research. Look at what feedback the vendor has gotten as a start.
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  • Profile picture of the author entrepreneurjay
    Fiverr is a cool website for outsourcing your marketing for cheap I love it for that!
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  • Profile picture of the author Jeff Hampton
    For some of the more time-intensive gigs, it doesn't make sense for a person in a "developed" country. But there are over 70 countries in the world where the average daily earning is less than $5 per day, including India.

    A person in India could spend 2 hours on each Fiverr project, do 4 per day, and earn about 6 times what the average Indian earns, while producing quality work at an excellent value.

    I have to add that from what I can tell, this is not actually what's happening on Fiverr at this point. I've had several experiences similar to AnneE's in which the product wasn't worth $5, it was worthless. I've also had some good experiences where people were doing gigs for fun, such as taking pics of a sign with my logo at World Cup matches.

    Fiver has the potential to be a useful site for overseas outsourcing, but they are going to have to do something about quality control very quickly.
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    • Profile picture of the author research
      Originally Posted by austinjeff View Post

      For some of the more time-intensive gigs, it doesn't make sense for a person in a "developed" country. But there are over 70 countries in the world where the average daily earning is less than $5 per day, including India.

      A person in India could spend 2 hours on each Fiverr project, do 4 per day, and earn about 6 times what the average Indian earns, while producing quality work at an excellent value.

      I have to add that from what I can tell, this is not actually what's happening on Fiverr at this point. I've had several experiences similar to AnneE's in which the product wasn't worth $5, it was worthless. I've also had some good experiences where people were doing gigs for fun, such as taking pics of a sign with my logo at World Cup matches.

      Fiver has the potential to be a useful site for overseas outsourcing, but they are going to have to do something about quality control very quickly.

      >>>>>>>>>>>>>>


      Hey austinjeff. Thank for your response.

      Very interesting feedback which perhaps will open a few eyes and
      reveal why these Fiverr type websites are catching on fast presently.

      Its all very curious.

      But then i guess not too long ago people questioned if the likes of
      Twitter world catch on.
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  • Profile picture of the author HibikiTarek
    What I love about those sites is that anything goes, so I can put an ad up for the craziest things, and people will be interested in it
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  • Profile picture of the author Michael Patterson
    Banned
    I do think some people are selling themselves short on these sites as I see some gigs that could take hours to do or cost money and that doesnt make sense and I even think my gigs sell myself short but hey I need money so I will take what little I can get and where I can get it.

    TO answer Austinjeff's qaulity control issue they already have a handle on it because you dont have to pay if you get crappy work done for you...I do like that aspect of the site and it keeps people honest and delivering quality work. and if not then they dont get paid! simple as that.
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    • Profile picture of the author Rikki_Fawkes
      I know there's some who submit sites to owners' 20,000+ Twitter account and they'll post so many tweets with your website in it. It sounds good, but you wonder how many actually read it, if the niche is really geared toward their followers, etc. If I had that many followers, I'd probably try it myself. That's probably one of the most cost and time-effective Fiverr gigs I've seen, personally.
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    • Profile picture of the author Jeff Hampton
      Originally Posted by Michael Patterson View Post

      TO answer Austinjeff's qaulity control issue they already have a handle on it because you dont have to pay if you get crappy work done for you...I do like that aspect of the site and it keeps people honest and delivering quality work. and if not then they dont get paid! simple as that.
      That's true. The vendor is not paid unless/until the customer approves the work. And that does address quality control in terms of monetary cost. But there are other costs, specifically, time.

      As far as I can tell, once a gig is posted, it stays up forever. This is already leading to a lot of clutter. Which wouldn't be such a problem if users could search efficiently.

      But Fiverr's search engine is horrible. There is no way to do a title search, or to sort by relevancy (as far as I can tell.) You get every result that mentions your search word anywhere in the text, sorted by date. As if this weren't bad enough, it sometimes returns gigs that don't contain they keyword at all. I can't figure it out.

      So you spend some time sorting through this mess, and then if you happen to pick a bum seller. Requests for revisions and back and forth emails can be very time consuming. When you finally realize that after all of this, you are not going to get what you paid for, the fact that your $5 will be returned to your account is little consolation.

      I would be very interested to know whether the Fiverr management intends to position this site as a real tool for outsourcing, or whether they're satisfied with the, "I'll write your name on my cleavage for $5" type gigs.
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      • Profile picture of the author JennyBizz
        Originally Posted by austinjeff View Post

        That's true. The vendor is not paid unless/until the customer approves the work. And that does address quality control in terms of monetary cost. But there are other costs, specifically, time.

        As far as I can tell, once a gig is posted, it stays up forever. This is already leading to a lot of clutter. Which wouldn't be such a problem if users could search efficiently.

        But Fiverr's search engine is horrible. There is no way to do a title search, or to sort by relevancy (as far as I can tell.) You get every result that mentions your search word anywhere in the text, sorted by date. As if this weren't bad enough, it sometimes returns gigs that don't contain they keyword at all. I can't figure it out.

        So you spend some time sorting through this mess, and then if you happen to pick a bum seller. Requests for revisions and back and forth emails can be very time consuming. When you finally realize that after all of this, you are not going to get what you paid for, the fact that your $5 will be returned to your account is little consolation.

        I would be very interested to know whether the Fiverr management intends to position this site as a real tool for outsourcing, or whether they're satisfied with the, "I'll write your name on my cleavage for $5" type gigs.

        Actually, you can sort though gigs. The way that I do it is to enter my keywords and then sort by ratings. This way I can get the service that I want from a person who has high ratings and feedback. I mainly use fiverr to get UAW runs. I don't do enough of them to pay the $67 a month for the software, so it's a great deal for me.
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  • Profile picture of the author Orator
    I spend a couple hours a day working on fiverr.com. It's been a great way for me to earn solid income on a daily basis, and help finance my other IM projects. There are a couple of rules to live by though.

    1) Automation - All of my gigs I use automated software that can deliver the service fast and quick.

    2) Professionalism- I make sure to always generate a report, and let the customer know what their getting.

    3) Wide Net- I've deleted and created dozens of gigs across an array of subjects. Some of them are successful, and others are not. To make it worth it, it's important to cast a wide net with your gigs.

    I realize their are scammers, but like all outsourcing places it's just a matter of finding someone who is reliable.
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    • Profile picture of the author FriendlyRob
      I love using fiverr for getting graphics for my websites. Paying five bucks for something that would literally take me all day just to get poor results works for me.

      As a vendor I'm not sure how it would make sense, unless, as others have suggested it is something one could do quickly and cheaply.
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  • Profile picture of the author alexbbbh
    Ok, I'm guilty. I'm a big fiver fan as well.

    I still get amazed at the things that I can get for $5. But hey, we will see more of this in the future. It's just a natural result of the web 2.0 process and as people pointed out, it's not always about money. Sometimes it's about having fun and enjoying yourself.

    As a marketer though, I'm interested in the money side of it.Because it's like having access to a whole full fledged staff. You can get a lot of things that with a super tight budget. Which is always a good thing.
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  • Profile picture of the author promodiva
    Perhaps we need to start a 12-step program for all of us Fiverr junkies!

    For what it's worth, here's my take on Fiverr -- yes, you can get some items that are quality for $5. There are some that are not-so-hot as well. Use the feedback ratings as a guide, and you'll be more likely to land with the former, and not the latter.

    You need to look at this as just another venue in which to network and promote. I am willing to use my listings as "loss leaders" for my business. In other words, I liken Fiverr to how the big department stores offer "door buster deals" in the hopes that once you get there, you'll shop for other items as well.

    Thus far, this has been very effective for me, both in gaining clients and also in making some valuable networking contacts. As far as promotional costs go, it's nominal. I'm very pleased with it.
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  • Profile picture of the author jennypitts
    As you probably expected you have received and will continue to get a variety of opinions. I always say "if it sounds to good to be true it probably is" and on that same note "you get what you pay for." This means that if I am looking for someone to do something for me for five bucks, I should not expect incredible quality or service.

    Conclusion? I rather invest a little more and be certain that I am getting quality work or at least have some sort of guarantee that I will have excellent service. Of course I also understand that when it comes to doing business online it is a Russian Roullete, or "like a box of chocolate, you never know what you gonna get" but I rather be safe than sorry.

    The best solution is always read customer reviews and satisfaction surveys, even if it is for a five dollar product, this will save us lots of headaches in the long run!!!
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  • Profile picture of the author Caiden
    I've paid for 4 gigs. All various back-linking jobs. Results were mixed! 1 was excellent, 2 were passable and one was a joke! I doubt I'll use it again.

    I have heard of people having some good results with the Facebook gigs i.e I'll send your group link to 25k friends etc.
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  • Profile picture of the author seobro
    I believe you get what you pay for, so be careful how much you pay. Low cost of entry attracts many to the internet, but they seldom last long because they quickly find that advertising is expensive. I estimate each new customer cost $200 to my company. That is a lot of money.
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  • Profile picture of the author eflo
    (raises hand) - another fiverr junkie here.

    I've been doing video reviews of products and getting paid to get sneak peaks at items. Not bad, and I give an honest review - it takes me 10 minutes so if I did it per hour consistently, I'd be making $30 an hour.

    At least it pays for me to get other fiverr work done. I've gotten a logo done up so far and I'm lovin' it.
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  • Profile picture of the author Toots
    A crazy website!! Good place to find new advertising methods. I love it and it all helps you in your business.
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