Because of your great feedback, we’ve been hard at work making improvements to our platform. The process requires numerous stages of building and testing, but we’re happy to tell you that we’re only about four days away from introducing an improved GigSalad! Here’s what you can expect:
Guaranteed balance payments
With our updated platform, clients will pay deposits and balances in one easy payment at the time of booking. We’ll deliver the deposit to you in advance, and the balance will be sent 1 business day after the event. This simplified booking process creates a better experience for clients (which helps you get more gigs) and ensures all your funds will be delivered to you in your preferred payout method.
Cancellation protection
We’ll help protect you in the event of a cancellation by offering a selection of new cancellation policies. Want to ensure you receive the balance for a last-minute cancellation? Soon, you’ll be able to.
No more minimum fees
Minimum fees (currently $15 for paid members and $20 for free members) create a disproportionate structure for our members and a higher percentage fee for bookings under $300. Our refined platform does away with minimum fees, making it consistent and practical for all of our users.
New booking fee structure
In order to offer you guaranteed balance payments, cancellation protection, and a lower booking fee with no minimums, we’re changing our fee structure to align with standard marketplace practices. Not only does this meet the expectations of online consumers, but it also helps us keep costs down while providing you more benefits.
- Paid members will pay a 2.5% booking fee, which is lower than popular processing solutions.
- Free members will pay a 5% booking fee, which without minimums, will always be 5%.
- Clients will pay a 4%-8% service fee, a sliding scale that offers a lower fee for bigger bookings and guarantees their events and associated payments.
Keep in mind, fees are only applied when you’ve been booked. Responding to gig leads is always free.
New look
Along with these new features and improvements, we’re modernizing our design to focus on clear navigation and superior user experience. And with a new streamlined control panel, getting paid gigs will be easier than ever.
As we get closer to launching these new changes, we’ll continue to work hard and keep our focus on building the best possible platform for the GigSalad community. Stay tuned!
Hello,
I recently received a lead for an event. Your response form, or quote form, forces us to give a price before we have enough information on what to charge. The potential client wanted pricing, but didn’t include the necessary information on what we needed to supply, i.e.. how many performers, sound system, lighting, dance floor, etc…
I submitted a response which was called a “quote” for $20 asking for more information because a) that fee was forced into the equation by Gigsalad and b) I can’t give accurate pricing without knowing what I am to supply nor how many performers this person has a budget to support. I gave her 7 days to respond, but no response has come.
I think you need to fix the way information is supplied by clients if you’re going to force us to do all communication through the website and expect us to provide an accurate quote on first communication. They need to be able to tell us more details so we know what we are to supply and how many performers they want.
Thanks so much for reaching out with your concerns. I’m happy for the opportunity to clarify! You do know that sending a quote and/or a message on GigSalad is free, right? You can send as many quotes and messages as you want at no cost to you. With your free membership, you pay nothing at all until you’ve actually booked that gig and your client has paid the deposit to you. Only then do you pay the booking fee. In this article, you’ll also find that our $20 minimum fee will no longer be applied when these changes take place. Instead, there’s a 5% booking fee, which is more affordable for many performers. For example, if you book a $150 gig, you are currently paying a $20 booking fee. Without the minimum, the fee is reduced to $7.50.
As for the information that’s requested from clients, there are between 8-15 questions included in the form they fill out, depending on which type of entertainment they’re looking for. It’s imperative that we make the process easy for them, so we collect the most important questions in that form. If the process becomes too long or complicated, there’s a higher chance that they won’t complete the request, which means fewer leads for you. If there’s more information that you need, you can simply send them a message. This allows you to get the answers you need quickly and in writing, and provides an opportunity to engage with the client, which helps you secure the gig.
If you have questions about the process or need clarification, we’re happy to help you. Here’s a link to contact us: https://www.gigsalad.com/contact
In your rating for top performer only quotes or declines are considered. Sometimes more information is needed so a message is sent. If the client takes a while to respond it seems to increase our respond time. I always try to respond in less than a few hours even in my busiest time.
Yes! Responding within a few hours helps your Top Performer status, but most importantly, it gives you a better chance of getting booked. You’re engaging with the client and showing your professionalism through prompt responses. Just to clarify, sending a message IS counted in your rating for Top Performer. So if you need more info, feel free to send a message asking for the important details. Keep up the great work!
I already pay a listing fee, my potential clients pay all booking fees. Is this options still going to be available, or will I now pay a listing fee, and no option but to pay again when I am booked?
My available time is seasonal, I can not have a potential client holding a date and time for days thus eliminating my abilities to market that time to someone else. How about shortening the decision time allowed for the client has to book.
Think carefully before you jump to change things that are not broken for those who pay you for a listing. There are alternatives out there for us.
Hi Santa Marty! Thanks for your feedback! To answer your first question, no there will not be an option to choose who pays the fee. Think about it from the client’s perspective. They contact five Santas for quotes. Three of these quotes have an unexplained fee in the total, but two of them do not. This makes the experience confusing and inconsistent for them, and that slows down the booking process.
This brings me to your next concern for a client’s decision time. When you send a quote, you have the ability to set the expiration date of the quote for 48 hours, 72 hours, 7 days, or you can specify the date, which means you can set it to expire on the same day you sent it to the client. If you need help finding that section, feel free to call or email us. We always want to help!
Change can be a difficult thing to accept in any situation, but the changes for our platform are based on careful studies, surveys, focus groups, and direct feedback, and they’re to bring you more work. That’s the purpose of our business. And we’ll continue to work tirelessly to help you make money doing what you love.
Actually, when we chose to pay YOUR EXTRA FEE for the client’s event, client’s saw it as a nice gesture and a benefit we were providing to them. This fee should be shown as GIGSALAD’s FEE and not added into our fee. Telling customers the truth would be far better and the truth is that they are being charged a FEE BY GIGSALAD. Gigsalad is creating the confusion for the clients, not the vendors.
Before we updated our platform, we noticed that event planners using GigSalad were often frustrated by a few key things including inconsistent fees. Our new features and improvements—including the new fee structure—have been implemented to help solve this dilemma.
With our old platform, clients could receive quotes from multiple members who chose to pay the service fee, split the service fee, or transfer the service fee to the client. When the client compared the quotes, they would oftentimes see an inconsistent list of costs. Some quotes applied a minimum $20 fee, some had a split fee of a much smaller percentage, and some included no fee at all. We are open and honest about the service fee applied to bookings both in the current and previous version of our platform. The problem is when each performer handles the fee differently, it makes things inconsistent and difficult to communicate, which complicates the booking process.
So to achieve a healthy balance to our marketplace, we’ve removed minimum fees and applied a smaller and more practical fee percentage to each side of the transaction. Keep in mind, the purpose of our business is to get you paid gigs. The fee we require makes it possible for us to do that. And just like you, we think it’s reasonable to collect a fee when we’ve delivered our services.
What happens when you receive 2 or more ( I received 3) consecutive emails for a quote from the same client? If you only answer ONE request does it count against your ratings for Top Performer?
Can you so something on your end so they can edit their information without having to submit a whole new request? I feel that this is what is happening when they change the location or time.
Hi Christina! It would help us figure out the problem if we could look into your account. If you contact our Customer Happiness team, they’d be happy to answer your questions! Feel free to email us at help@gigsalad.com or give us a call at 417-889-9909.
What is the roll out date for these new changes?
There’s no definitive launch date as of yet, but we’ll make sure to update you with more information as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience!
Hello Tessie Barnett,
I would really love to know when will Gigsalad start applying a lower booking fee?
I first read this when it was posted in early December. I was so relieved when I read this in particular: “Paid members will pay a 2.5% booking fee, which is lower than any marketplace competitor”. It’s been a couple of months and I believe that Gigsalad members should get an update on when these measures will be made and what has been made- especially those who are paying for your services.
I’m a featured member, my services cost $135-220, so on every booking 9-11% is taken out. This would benefit my small business heavily!
Thanks for continually making this site better!
Valerie from Princess Charming Parties
Hi Valerie! We’re thrilled to know you’re excited about the changes! There’s no definitive launch date as of yet. There are many stages of building and testing, and it’s extremely difficult for us to factor in time for possible roadblocks. We understand your situation, and we’re doing everything we can to create the best possible product in a timely manner. We appreciate your patience and will update you with more information once we have it.
What is the difference between Featured Member (or Featured artist, I can’t remember) and Top Featured Member? Aside from paying yearly, I’m also paying for Featured member, which is costly. Now, you have a Top Featured Member rules. Your changes are becoming tough for artists and clients. Now, Gigsalad is requiring clients to pay fees as well. I’m sad about these 2017 changes.
Hi Kitty,
Thanks for reaching out! I’m happy to clarify for you. I believe you’re asking what the difference is between the Featured Membership and the Top Performer badge. The Featured membership IS what you pay annually. The Top Performer badge is a status or “award” given to the most active and responsive members on GigSalad, and this status cannot be purchased. Here’s a link to show you how to achieve Top Performer status (always at no cost to you): http://help.gigsalad.com/article/114-top-performer-status
I would book through you if I didn’t have to pay 5% to 15% on top of my membership to do so. Most of my business is small stuff around $100 for private birthday parties and don’t tell me the market will support more. It just won’t. I’ve tried for months to get gigs in Omaha and charge more due to travel but it doesn’t happen. It is rarely that I even get a $300 gig lead off of Gig Salad. You are saying that you cannot buy Top Performer status but yes in essence we are paying for it by having to book at least one event through you to get that status.
Hi Sara,
If you read this article carefully, you’ll see that with the new changes, the booking fee for paid members will be 2.5%. Performers like you who charge $300 or less will no longer pay a minimum fee, which means you’ll never pay a higher percentage simply because your rates are lower. You’ll benefit the most from these changes!
The Top Performer badge is a status or “award” given to the most active and responsive members on GigSalad. To achieve this, the bookings we can verify on our platform are included in the assessment as well as your response time and average review rating. Because all three of these factors are assessed, even in essence, you’re not paying to be Top Performer. You’re being recognized for your great work!
If you have any more questions, feel free to reach out to our Customer Happiness team. We’re always happy to help!
Nice! Excited for the growth and movement of this company!
Thanks so much for the feedback! We’re excited too and looking forward to reaching more people to highlight our talented members.
Free members will pay a 5% booking fee, which without minimums, will always be 5%.
Clients will pay a 4%-8% service fee, a sliding scale that offers a lower fee for bigger bookings and guarantees their events and associated payments.
Does this mean that now the member AND the clients will now pay booking Fees? Is so, does that mean that there will no longer be the options of: Member pays booking fee; Client pays booking fee; Member and Client will split the booking fee?
Yes, that’s correct. Members and clients will each pay a small service fee, which means members will no longer have the option of splitting the fee or paying the fee on behalf of the client. However, there is no longer a minimum fee and the rates have been lowered (5% for free members & 2.5% for paid members).
Before we updated our platform, we often heard from frustrated event planners who were confused when they received multiple quotes with different fee percentages. So to make our platform more consistent and balanced, we’ve removed minimum fees and applied a smaller and more practical fee percentage to each side of the transaction.
With our new fee structure, clients will receive quotes containing a similar list of costs, making it transparent and comparable to other quotes. It also helps us keep costs down while providing both you and your clients more features, benefits, and protection. Keep in mind, a service fee is only applied when you’ve been booked. You’ll never be charged for receiving leads or sending quotes and messages.
Thank you for the reply. My next question has to do with booking fees IF THERE IS A CANCELATION.
IF THERE IS A CANCELATION, will the booking fees be returned to the clients and the performers?
As a general policy, whoever cancels the booking agreement forfeits the booking fee. But we understand that special circumstances arise, so we typically determine refunds on a case-by-case basis. If you ever need to cancel a gig, reach out to us to let us know the situation!
I like the website but I’m not sure about the new changes.
Whichever way the fee payments are to be split, we will have to get used to it. However, I’m afraid I don’t like the idea of not having to option to collect cash on the night, if preferred. I would be surprised if forcing the clients to pay the whole amount up front didn’t put some of them off. Especially private events where the person booking can’t or doesn’t want to pay the full amount because the final payment amount is to be collected from various people before the actual event.
Hi Frankie,
Thanks so much for your feedback! Every event and party planner who uses our platform is asked to review their booking experience on GigSalad, and that’s why we added the ability to accept balance payments. However, we’ll continue to test the new changes and review feedback to make sure we’re on the right track. As a Featured member, you still have the option of booking outside of our platform, so you can collect payments how you’d like. We just won’t be able to provide the same security and payment protection for you and your clients. If you have any other questions or suggestions, we’d love to hear it!