Last Updated on January 5, 2021

Fiverr was one of the very first ‘gig economy’ websites. It was built upon the idea of anybody being able to offer any service that they like for just $5.00. While the site has expanded a little bit since then, allowing most sellers to offer any price that they want, it still relies heavily on that initial $5.00 model.

Sellers look at Fiverr and see that it is so easy to sign-up for. They wonder if there are real buyers there and, perhaps more importantly, whether they are going to be getting paid for whatever they sell. They also wonder whether Fiverr will have their back should something go wrong with the transaction.

The same goes for buyers. There are a lot of people that see just how cheap the services are and wonder whether they are going to be scammed or not.
We hope to put the mind of both buyers and sellers alike to rest here. Let us tell you whether Fiverr is a legit platform.

Is Fiverr Legit for Sellers?

Fiverr is perfectly safe for sellers as long as you play by the rules. This means ensuring that you deliver on time, deliver what you claim you will deliver, and stick to a certain rating on your gig. You also need to conduct all Fiverr-related business through Fiverr. If you break any of their rules, then you will be banned. They will also put up to a 6-month hold on any money you have earned through their platform.

When a purchaser on Fiverr buys a gig from you, their money will go into escrow. You will be paid when the job has been marked as completed. The buyer can do this right away, or you can wait three days for the gig to be marked as complete. This means that you never have to worry about being paid.

When the payment has been made, Fiverr will allow you to withdraw the funds from your account in 7-14 days. The speed at which the money becomes available will be dependent on your ranking on the site. The more gigs you deliver with a high rating, the quicker you can get your hands on the money that you have earned. Fiverr will always pay you on time. Don’t worry about that.

The one issue that you may have with Fiverr will be PayPal chargebacks. In most cases, if the buyer instigates a PayPal chargeback against Fiverr, then Fiverr will remove the money from your account. This is incredibly annoying if you have not done anything wrong. While some sellers do claim to have seen limited success in getting Fiverr to give them back their money, this is something that really only happens to the most prolific sellers on the platform. Don’t worry. If you don’t fall into that category, Fiverr will still be working incredibly hard to ensure that you do not lose your money.

Is Fiverr Safe for Buyers?

This is where things start to get a little bit tricky.
Fiverr thrives on offering cheaper services, right? There are a few things that will be priced in excess of $5 but, for the most part, nearly everything is going to be around that $5 mark.You also have the issue where just about anybody can sign up to the site and sell something.

Combine these two, and we have a problem. You have:

  • Cheap products
  • Anybody being able to sell something.

This means that Fiverr is only going to be safe for buyers if you are willing to do your due diligence. Although, to be fair, Fiverr doesn’t take that much in the way of due diligence. If you want it to be a safe place to buy, then make sure that you only purchase from sellers that:

  • Do not make insanely crazy claims about what they bring to the table.
  • Have a ton of positive reviews
  • Have been on the site for a while. The same buyers seem to be buying from them regularly. This indicates that the seller does a good job.

Let’s say, for instance, if somebody is promising you to rank your chosen keyword on Google in the number 1 position within a week for $5, then this is probably too good to be true. You are going to be scammed. If somebody is promising to give you a list of keywords that they feel your site should be ranking for at $5, then this is probably a decent deal. You are going to be getting what you have paid for.

If you do end up getting scammed on Fiverr, then the customer support team is pretty decent. If you show them evidence that you haven’t received what you paid for, then they will probably refund you. They won’t always refund you if you run into an issue. If it seems to be a minor disagreement between you and the seller, then they will just ask you to work it out with the seller. If it is a genuine scam, that money will be working its way back into your Fiverr account pretty sharpish.

It is important to remember that some sellers on Fiverr will offer you a refund if you are not happy with their work. Sometimes this is going to be in the interests of customer service. However, because Fiverr does not allow you to leave negative reviews if you are refunded, then they may simply be trying to avoid a negative review.

If you can’t get a refund and you genuinely feel that you have been ‘wronged’ by the seller, then leave a negative review. While you won’t really be doing anything for yourself when you do that, you can at least sleep easier at night knowing that you have been protecting some of the other buyers!

Conclusion

Fiverr is a safe website for both buyers and sellers. This is assuming that sellers stick to the rules and buyers do their due diligence before parting with their cash.