I've had another failure on Fiverr, this time with a 1st language English speaker who again failed to understand what are simple instructions which were clearly understood by the 1st 3 vocalists I hired. It's partly my fault for ignoring note #7 above: "If anything feels off from the start of proposing a project, hightail it out of there before an order is placed …" This time the offness was that the vocalist wanted to start recording before an order was placed and as that's not the protocol the only reason for it would be so that once I accepted the final audio file/s I could be charged more than if the order was placed for an agreed amount. Yet, ironically, I should have done it that way as then I'd never have had to pay for files I couldn't use! What went wrong was a repeat of the previous experience in that despite uploading vocal guidance files and a 'baroque' music only track to sing to - it's as simple as karaoke - plus after using the term 'baroque' a few times, which was also in 2 of the 4 links I sent her, she enthusiastically sent me 3 of her own different music versions of my song, one almost a jaunty folk version, the 2nd a jazzy version and the 3rd a pop one! Even worse, she adlibbed extra lyrics which really peeved me. I once again explained the simplicity of the job - she sings over MY music in the same metre as in the 2 completed alternate versions I gave her YouTube links to - plus I asked her to reiterate the instructions so that I could know that she knows what to do. She then articulately paraphrased me, but then she sent me a vocal file that still wasn't in the same metre as the others! Also repeating what happened with the previous vocalist, she put the order through as completed after she sent the 1st 3 files before I'd even had time to review them! I think Fiverr should only allow the buyer to approve and complete the order. Thus here are 2 more warnings for buyers to add to the 9 above

10: Be warned that some vocalists might want to start their recording of the project before an order has been placed. This is not Fiverr protocol and is done so that the freelancer can charge you more than expected at the end.
11: State when making the initial offer, "DO NOT put the order through as complete before I've had chance to review the final file or files and approved them. Doing so will cause me to cancel the order and demand a 100% refund from Fiverr.

Some favourite Waoist Adages:
#1: Play on the Way.
#13: Ask not for whom the flower blooms, it blooms for you.
#58: Bring consciousness to it.
#63: On the road to effortlessness, effort must be made.
#92: Be Love Now, the rest will come on its own.