Marcus RichardsFiverr has over 3 million active buyers who are working with freelancers regularly. It’s home to almost 100,000 freelancers, many of whom are earning astonishing figures by working there.
However, working on Fiverr is not as easy as it may seem. The platform is very strict when it comes to its users’ interactions on the platform. Even with the right skills, Fiverr can ban you if you fail to meet their standards or stick to their policies.
So, in case you’re thinking of working on Fiverr, here’s a list of a few offenses you should be aware of because they can get you banned.
#1 Unsuccessful ID Verification
To keep the platform secure, Fiverr only allows sellers or freelancers to sign up if they have a valid government-issued ID. These IDs include national ID cards, driving licenses, and passports.
Fiverr uses identity intelligence that’s powered by au10tix.com solutions for fraud detection. AU10TIX helps businesses and organizations like Fiverr keep their platforms secure by providing AI-driven solutions for identity verification. Given how technologically advanced these solutions are, you can’t bypass the verification system by any fraudulent method. Fiverr will instantly know if you try to pull something off like that.
In some cases, Fiverr might let you open an account with ID verification. However, once you’ve completed two or three orders, they will ask for verification. Failing to provide a valid ID at that time will lead to an immediate ban.
#2 Stealing Gig Descriptions
Using someone else’s gig description in your gig is a serious offense. Many don’t know this, but other sellers can report you to Fiverr if you steal their gig descriptions. It’s not easy for them to find out about it. However, they won’t let it pass if they do notice.
Copying gig descriptions is a common thing many new freelancers do. That’s mostly because they don’t know how to write descriptions that will sell.
One thing you can do, if you don’t want to write something entirely by yourself, is take inspiration from multiple gig descriptions. Sit with a few descriptions and see what they’re highlighting. Look what their USPs are, how they sell themselves, and so on.
#3 Using Inappropriate Profile Pictures or Gig Images
For your Fiverr profile picture, use your photo or your brand logo. Using anything else might come off as inappropriate. That will prompt many high-profile buyers to report your account because they’ll see these actions as unprofessional, something no buyer wants to see on Fiverr.
Try to maintain certain standards while setting your profile picture. For instance, your face must be visible if you’re using your mugshot. Don’t wear masks or shades or cover up your face in any other way. Use a professional picture, perhaps one where you’re wearing formal or semiformal attire. Avoid uploading photos you might’ve taken during a vacation.
#4 Copy-Pasting Buyer Requests
Another tendency that many sellers have is that they’ll have a template or boilerplate for the buyer requests they send. It’s the same text, with a few minor tweaks here and there. Little do they know that even this is something that can get sellers banned.
Fiverr treats these as spam. The platform’s algorithm might think that you’re a bot that’s sending the same thing to every buyer request it comes across. It’ll then ban you from sending these requests or can even ban you from the platform.
Fiverr might even shadow-ban you. That’s when you can send buyer requests, but the buyer won’t see them because Fiverr hides them. Shadow bans are even worse because there’s no way of knowing that your requests are not reaching the clients.
#5 Requesting for Payment Outside of Fiverr
Fiverr doesn’t allow sellers and buyers to communicate outside of the platform. It’s a grave offense and can earn you a permanent ban.
Fiverr also expects all financial transactions to take place via their authorized payment gateways. They’ll ban your account if they see that you’re sending or receiving payments outside Fiverr. You’ll notice that when you’re typing words like ‘pay’ or ‘money’ in your messages, Fiverr will display a message warning you not to take payments outside of Fiverr. Thus, stick to their payment policy.
Report to Fiverr if any buyer forces you to take payments outside the platform.
#6 Having Multiple Fiverr Accounts
Fiverr doesn’t allow an individual to have multiple accounts. You can buy and sell using the same account. Thus, it’s also unacceptable that you have two accounts for those two different purposes.
Every time you open an account on Fiverr you’ll have to verify yourself through government-issued IDs. So, you can’t open a second account on Fiverr without raising any alarms. However, you can deactivate your account and open a new one if you want. That’s something the platform will let you do.
So, make sure you avoid committing these offenses if you want to work on Fiverr for a long time. Failing to do so will force you to leave the platform, often without a second chance.
