I love clever Web services, that is, services that provide a neat and unexpected solution often to a problem or opportunity that you have never considered. Today I have such a service for you: Fiverr.
Fiverr is a marketplace for small jobs by which I mean any kind of task (Fiverr calls them “gigs”) that costs exactly $5.
The idea really is that simple: As a seller you offer a gig such as “I will write your name on a grain of rice and send it to you for $5” or “I will call up anyone and say anything for $5″ or even ” I will boost Your Website’s Impressions, Traffic and Sales up to 40% for 1 Day for $5″ (which seems remarkably good service for just $5).
When a buyer accepts they pay, via Paypal, $5. The seller gets $4 while Fiverr gets $1. All money for sellers is accumulated in their Fiverr account and when it exceeds $40 they can transfer their funds to PayPal.
Buyers can also request gigs. For example, current requests include “illustrate one page for a children’s book”, “Do my voice mail greeting with sexy french voice”, and “Write bio’s for Rap artists and R&B singer.”
When you offer a gig and someone orders it you have 24 hours to commit and then execute within the time period you’ve specified. It is a requirement in the terms of service that all buyers and sellers remain anonymous and conduct all transactions through the Fiverr service. Prompt performance gives you positive feedback that is displayed with each of your offers.
Many of the gigs offered appear to be great value for money (“I will proofread and edit any paper, up to six pages for $5”) while others seem completely tongue-in-cheek (“I will tell it like it is for $5”).
This is an awesome Web application. Not only can you get something done, often for a good price, but it’s a great place to test out ideas. Definitely a service to keep an eye on.
