Fiverr Refunds 2 sales - Why?

by Mar
17 replies
Hi - I ordered two gigs on Fiverr way back in January which were completed to my satisfaction. Imagine my amazement when they were refunded by Fiverr this morning.

Why? and as the products I bought were pdfs, does that mean that I should be wary of using them because there was something wrong with them??

The guy who supplied the information is no longer listed on fiverr so I can't contact him ......

Mar
#fiverr #refunds #sales
  • Profile picture of the author debra
    If I remember correctly, a while back there was a minor upset about ppl selling info in pdf downloads that didn't have the rights to do so. Maybe that is why you got a refund and the person you bought it from is no longer there.
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    • Profile picture of the author Mar
      Thanks for that - I obviously will have to treat the information in the pdfs very carefully - re-writing would seem like an option because that should keep me out of trouble about copyright issues. Hopefully!

      Mar
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      • Profile picture of the author Pipinscott
        Originally Posted by Mar View Post

        Thanks for that - I obviously will have to treat the information in the pdfs very carefully - re-writing would seem like an option because that should keep me out of trouble about copyright issues. Hopefully!

        Mar
        Rewriting does not automatically relieve the copyright issue. I suggest that you take the ideas from the pdf and develop a new product.

        Of course I have been accused of being hyper sensitive to copyright laws
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        • Profile picture of the author LooseChange
          Originally Posted by Pipinscott View Post

          Rewriting does not automatically relieve the copyright issue. I suggest that you take the ideas from the pdf and develop a new product.

          Of course I have been accused of being hyper sensitive to copyright laws
          You're not the only one. I guess everybody who writes their own original content is getting pretty sick and tired of content thieves, article spinners, etc..

          In my opinion, Fiverr is nothing but a warehouse for stolen content, black hat seo and lazy people who think they're going to make a living $5 at a time by cheating others.

          Case in point : I bought a gig from some seller in India claiming he'd build backlinks for $5. So, I used a dummy site to test his services and see if he was legit. Well, I get the report back, he was creating forum profile links as backlinks. 10 of the links were to my own forums !! This guy was selling me spammed profile links on my own forums !!

          After gaining the guy's trust (he was pitching me services off Fiverr) so I could research him a bit more, I found out he was actually scraping content from my forums onto his search engine spam blogs.

          What a complete lack of ethics. Of course, I was not happy so I filed complaints with his hosting company and Godaddy and got 30 of his domains/sites completely shut down.

          Let that be a lesson to all the rewriters, scrapers and spammers out there. Some of us actually will nail you where it hurts when you cross that fine line and begin stealing our content.
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          • Profile picture of the author Mar
            You're not the only one. I guess everybody who writes their own original content is getting pretty sick and tired of content thieves, article spinners, etc..

            In my opinion, Fiverr is nothing but a warehouse for stolen content, black hat seo and lazy people who think they're going to make a living $5 at a time by cheating others.
            There are a whole lot of gigs which raise my hackles because they're obviously out to target the unwary - and now, after this episode, I don't suppose I'll be buying "public domain" content through fiverr ever again. There are gigs which do give exactly what they say on the description, though, and it would be a shame to tar everyone with the same brush.

            Mar
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            • Profile picture of the author LooseChange
              Originally Posted by Mar View Post

              There are a whole lot of gigs which raise my hackles because they're obviously out to target the unwary - and now, after this episode, I don't suppose I'll be buying "public domain" content through fiverr ever again. There are gigs which do give exactly what they say on the description, though, and it would be a shame to tar everyone with the same brush.
              Mar
              I certainly wasn't saying everyone on Fiverr is bad. It's just the rotten apples spoil the bunch and this is especially true of Fiverr.

              Initially, I did get a few decent graphic designs for $5. They weren't great and I didn't use them but I was happy to pay some novice designer in the Phillipines $5 for the effort. I mainly did it as some sort of pseudo-charity thing because $5 to me isn't even enough to pay for my two kids daily school lunch.

              I don't mind spreading some cash around the intenet to those who actually are willing to do show some initiative but those type of sincere people are being crowded out on Fiverr by all the scammers who have flocked to the site because it's easy money with no possible repurcussions. AND it's not like I'm going to file a $5 dispute with Paypal. So the scammers know this and prey on it.

              It's really a shame because there are a lot of honest people out there and everytime a venue opens that they can make an extra buck, the scammers hit it with no mercy until it's no longer valid.
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  • Profile picture of the author wrongnumber
    Originally Posted by Mar View Post

    Hi - I ordered two gigs on Fiverr way back in January which were completed to my satisfaction. Imagine my amazement when they were refunded by Fiverr this morning.

    Why? and as the products I bought were pdfs, does that mean that I should be wary of using them because there was something wrong with them??

    The guy who supplied the information is no longer listed on fiverr so I can't contact him ......

    Mar
    the seller's account must have been closed, nothing else, his pays frozen, and your money sent back!..
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  • Profile picture of the author Mar
    Thanks for your replies -

    The email I got was from the Fiverr customer service team -

    Your order #7xxxxxx was cancelled by Fiverr's customer service team.

    Your funds have been returned to your Fiverr Balance and will be used automatically for your next purchase.
    It's disconcerting to find I have bought two products which I now consider suspect, especially as I used content from at least one of them in email newsletters. I will have to be much more careful and use them for ideas and not content directly from the pdfs.

    Mar
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  • Profile picture of the author MatthewNeer
    Hmm, that is weird...

    Probably because the seller either cancelled or something with those PDFs being sold without the rights occurred as mentioned earlier.
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    • Profile picture of the author celente
      Originally Posted by MatthewNeer View Post

      Hmm, that is weird...

      Probably because the seller either cancelled or something with those PDFs being sold without the rights occurred as mentioned earlier.
      happens alot, alot of ebooks out there saying sell ebooks on fiverr.

      Teh thing is most people do not check the reprint and distribution rights of the ebook they have, too busy dreaming of how much money they will make on fiverr.
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  • Profile picture of the author VegasGreg
    I got a canceled/refunded order last night too. It was from an order I bought in August of last year. Strange indeed.

    The seller is well know and trusted here on the forum and there was no shadiness in the deal at all, so I wonder what happened. I guess I can email him and ask.
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    • Profile picture of the author Jeff Hampton
      Originally Posted by VegasGreg View Post

      The seller is well know and trusted here on the forum and there was no shadiness in the deal at all, so I wonder what happened. I guess I can email him and ask.
      I had the exact same thing happen. Also a prominent Warrior, probably the same person.

      I was VERY satisfied with the product. And in my case, the product was recipes (1,000 bacon recipes!), which are not subject to copyright, so I don't think it's a rights issue.

      I've contacted Fiverr support but haven't heard back yet.

      Jeff
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      • Profile picture of the author Mar
        Originally Posted by Jeff Hampton View Post

        I had the exact same thing happen. Also a prominent Warrior, probably the same person.
        Hi, Jeff - your experience mirrors mine - I had also bought recipes .... curiouser and curiouser ...

        I'd certainly be interested to hear if you get a reply from fiverr support.

        Mar
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  • Profile picture of the author travlinguy
    Pressure is starting to come to fiverr and other sites like them because they're loaded with pirated stuff. People get angry with having their products jacked and complain with threats of lawsuits.

    If such a suit flies the site is certain to get named for abetting intellectual property theft. Obviously they don't want to go down that road so it looks like they're beginning to crack down. I say, good.
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  • Profile picture of the author williamrs
    Chances are that the seller violated a rule and got his account deleted... but I don't think it affects you (I think you can still use the product), unless he sold you a product that he had no rights to do so.


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  • Profile picture of the author Sleaklight
    I got the notice too, it was from a well known warrior. The pdf's created used scraped info so it was blatant copyright violation. They ultimately got him for that I guess.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mar
    OK, the other side of the coin - I've got a couple of gigs running just now - not that busy but hey, I don't have a lot of time at present.

    Suppose I violate a fiverr rule and they suspend me or terminate my account - are they going to nuke all my existing (satisfactory) orders and will they take money from my paypal account to refund those already completed and satisfactory sales?? That's a scary thought :O)

    Mar
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