My good friend Jess over at Jess Creatives wrote a great article last week on Why You Should Stop Using Fiverr. And I wholeheartedly agree. In her post, she references this article that talks about Fiverr, the absurdity of a $5 logo and other sketchy things happening in the site- the biggest of which involving copyright fraud. Stealing, copying and reusing other people’s work and selling it as their own…for $5. Take a look at the article for examples, it’s crazy. But what’s crazier is that people are still buying it, if that’s what you can call buying your brand for the same amount of money you’d spend on a Starbucks coffee.
I posted this article in one of the Facebook Groups I’m in where I had seen a few too many people looking for Fiverr recommendations for their branding (among other things, but branding inquiries are the most troubling to me).
While most people agreed with the article, someone commented this my post:
“meh–you can find lousy graphic artists everywhere and at all price points. Not surprised that a graphic design company would get butthurt about someone else undercutting their prices. There’s definitely some garbage service providers on Fiverr but it’s a stretch to implicate the entire freelance ecosystem as the problem.”
I’m not one of those people who’s always trying to (read: I never) start fights online or even join into one. I wasn’t really looking for a debate when I posted, I genuinely wanted to let people know that this could happen on Fiverr. I knew that this warranted a response (because undercutting?? how about grossly undercharging? And the article certainly doesn’t implicate the entire freelance world, just scammy sites like Fiverr that charge less than nothing for something that should be valued) But I didn’t say that, because that’s not my biggest concern.
This is my number 1 concern about Fiverr (and what I said to him):
“I guess my biggest worry is, as a graphic designer myself, I know the time and energy it takes to create original (and creative) work. I also know how easy and how much quicker it is to create work that’s copied or stolen from someone else (sometimes as easy as a click of a few buttons). To me, a few button clicks is worth $5 of my time, but the time it takes to create original, creative work is worth a lot more than $5.
That’s why I think places like Fiverr is a breeding ground for copying and copyright infringement. Lots of people want to make a quick buck, but I’m sure a lot fewer want to do a lot of work for very little money. Maybe that’s a risk people don’t mind for smaller jobs (though I still don’t think so), but I don’t think it’s a risk anyone should take with their business’ brand and logo.”
That’s why I think places like Fiverr is a breeding ground for copying and copyright infringement. Lots of people want to make a quick buck, but I’m sure a lot fewer want to do a lot of work for very little money. Maybe that’s a risk people don’t mind for smaller jobs (though I still don’t think so), but I don’t think it’s a risk anyone should take with their business’ brand and logo.”
He responded back and said he generally agrees and that like anything else “you get what you pay for.” Small victories, I guess.
Here’s the bottom line for me:
If you want to charge clients what you’re worth, you should be okay with paying people you hire what they’re worth. If you want people to value what you do, you need to value other’s time and talents too, not just with your words, but with your money too.
Still not convinced? I wrote an article a few weeks ago about thrift shopping and why you shouldn’t bargain shop for your business (also find out the story behind the $99 Wedding Dress I almost bought!)
“If you want to charge clients what you’re worth, you should be okay with paying people you hire what they’re worth.” BAM. Preach, sister!
100% YES. 200% even. I won’t even consider doing anything on Fiverr because I don’t think that the concept promotes sustainable freelance/entrepreneurial business practices. A lot of people argue that it’s “just” the baseline service that costs $5 and there are lots of possible upcharges, but I don’t think that makes a difference. How much are you going to upcharge a $5 service? I think that is devalues creative services, and as a writer, that’s not a game I want to play.
Yes, yes, yes! One problem is that people truly don’t know the value of professional design, and they don’t even know that hiring a designer on fiverr is not the best decision (and may even cost them a ton in legal fees at the end of the day). Educational articles like this are so important!
I love Fivver, but it’s not somewhere I would sell my own graphic work. I create my own art and have an artist I met there turn it into vectors for me. He does a great job and we’ve worked together a lot and he does top notch work. I always pay him well. I’ve never worked with anyone else there or experienced anything bad.
It can sometimes be hard to convince a client who is starting their new business that there really is a difference between a $5 logo and a $1000 logo. Or a $500 website and a $3500 website.
It’s all the things that you can’t show in a portfolio, like the planning and strategizing, the years of experience that mean you can recommend this course of action rather than that, the focus on their specific and unique needs.
I respect the stand you took Megan and I’m behind you 100%.