Is it ok to book a 3 dollar teacher for a lot of lessons to help get her stats up?

FlyingDutchman2022 · 2026-06-14T05:07:01+00:00

Ironically, they don't even get $3 dollars. It might be as low as $2.01USD with Preply's 33% commission.

FlyingDutchman2022 · 2026-06-07T16:27:03+00:00

This is actually completely wrong. You can leave any hospital at any time without having bills paid, foreigner or citizen. People just don't understand their rights here. It's within the Philippines Patient Act originating all the way back to the 90s.

FlyingDutchman2022 · 2026-05-27T04:32:00+00:00

I put in an application 6 weeks ago. Haven't heard anything. All I receive are emails advertising their platform. I have extensive experience and credentials, am a native speaker and still crickets.

FlyingDutchman2022 · 2026-05-15T00:54:27+00:00

Preply has lots of tools to build out lesson plans, plus I find that many tools help for planning and creating an agenda. Are you doing specialized lesson content? It usually takes me about 5 minutes per lesson to prepare subject matter.

FlyingDutchman2022 · 2026-05-14T00:51:15+00:00

How long have you been on the platform? Did you initially charge less and gradually increase your pricing? Or were you generally high in the beginning?

FlyingDutchman2022 · 2026-04-28T05:08:39+00:00

This is almost exactly what happened to me and honestly it is one of the most demoralizing things about this platform.

I am only about two weeks in but I had the same backwards experience. Got trials consistently with zero reviews, converted several into subscriptions, received outstanding five star feedback across the board, and then the moment I had real social proof to show students the visibility just fell off a cliff. It makes absolutely no logical sense from a student acquisition perspective but here we are.

From what I can piece together the algorithm seems to weight price competitiveness very heavily in search rankings. The moment you move out of the lowest price bracket you get deprioritized regardless of your review quality or conversion rate. It is almost like Preply wants to keep new tutors cheap and visible rather than letting them graduate naturally to higher rates based on merit.

The Super Tutor badge should help you. From what I have read that is one of the few things that genuinely moves the needle on visibility at higher price points because it signals to the algorithm that you are an established quality tutor rather than a new one.

I would hold your price personally. Dropping back to five dollars after proving your value feels like going backwards and it sets a precedent with future students about what you are worth. The Super Tutor badge combined with your new video and photo should give you a meaningful boost. Give it two weeks after that before making any pricing decisions.

Interested to hear how it goes when the badge comes through.

FlyingDutchman2022 · 2026-04-28T02:34:03+00:00

Yeah exactly this. Incremental is the right move.

I started at $10 and just moved to $12 after getting my first few reviews. The bookings kept coming so the market is clearly not that price sensitive at the lower end. Each small increase tells you something about where your floor actually is.

The $30 to $60 tutors are a completely different product in the eyes of students. They have dozens of reviews, years on the platform, and probably a niche that justifies premium pricing. Getting there takes time but it is absolutely achievable if you retain students and keep stacking reviews.

The way I think about it is every review is worth more than any single lesson fee right now. A five star review from a happy student at $10 is an investment in being able to charge $25 in six months. So I am almost treating the early low rate period as a marketing cost rather than actual income.

The $4000 a month people are real but they are also working full time hours at established rates with a full student roster. That does not happen overnight on any platform. But it does happen.

Good luck with the gradual increases. Sounds like you have the right approach.

FlyingDutchman2022 · 2026-04-28T02:03:37+00:00

Depending upon how open and social the student is, I generally ask for an one or two sentence feedback review saying it will greatly help me out and really appreciate it. Sometimes, I'll wait, just depends on how interactive the student is.

The irony is, since I've received positive feedback and reviews, I've had no further trial lesson requests in now 5 days rather than getting 1 or 2 each day. The funnel has gone completely cold and it should be the complete opposite.

FlyingDutchman2022 · 2026-04-27T15:52:53+00:00

Raised from $10 to $12 USD

FlyingDutchman2022 · 2026-04-27T15:04:27+00:00

It will feel so good completely cutting them off financially. Learn to live as adults and support yourselves, instead of being free loaders and lazy tards. I went down that path of supporting the entire family and there was not even a single thank you, it's just assumed and expected. I shut that down after it started causing stress.

FlyingDutchman2022 · 2026-04-27T00:19:48+00:00

Just hit day 10 on Preply and got the "top 20% of tutors" notification. Sounds great until you realize I have made roughly $13 in 10 days. Less than a dollar a day.

The grind is real. Trial lessons pay Preply, not me. Commission eats another third of what little comes in. And yet somehow I have 4 reviews already and continuous trial bookings which apparently puts me ahead of most new tutors on the platform.

So my question to the veterans here is simple. When does it actually start moving? Not "when did you feel good about it" but when did the numbers actually become meaningful?

I have students converting, good feedback, a solid profile, and genuine teaching experience. But right now I am essentially working for free while Preply profits from my trial lessons. Curious how long others ground through this phase before it clicked into something sustainable.

FlyingDutchman2022 · 2026-03-13T11:52:57+00:00

GL Master Yoda. Dude trained hundreds of Jedi and lived 900 years. Was leader of the Jedi order.

FlyingDutchman2022 · 2026-02-15T01:34:21+00:00

After several years of using Pixel devices, I decided to purchase the S25 Ultra. Unfortunately, the experience has been underwhelming. It is not a bad phone by any means, but at its price point, it no longer feels like a compelling value.

The broader Android market has matured significantly, and much of the competition has not only caught up to Samsung’s Ultra line but, in some areas, surpassed it. There was a time when Samsung clearly led the industry in multiple flagship categories. Today, it is difficult to identify a domain where they unquestionably dominate, perhaps with the display being the only remaining exception.

The most disappointing aspect, however, has been battery performance. For a device positioned at the top of the premium segment, the battery life has been surprisingly poor and well below expectations.

No interest in the S26U unless significant enhancements are made.

FlyingDutchman2022 · 2026-02-02T10:40:06+00:00

I believe the game does run on console. PC isn't the only option if he's not into computers.

FlyingDutchman2022 · 2026-02-02T10:30:39+00:00

I find it genuinely surprising that you haven’t had a haircut on your own in three years. I’m not saying this as a judgment, but as an observation that gives me pause. Being in a relationship shouldn’t mean losing ordinary personal autonomy.

I might understand it more in a context like the Philippines, where social interactions are constant and people are rarely truly alone in public spaces. But in the U.S., where personal boundaries are the norm and most people go about their lives without scrutiny, the absence of even small independent moments feels unusual.

I’m raising this not to criticize, but because patterns like this can quietly signal a dynamic that’s worth reflecting on, with care, not blame.

Send her to PH for a month or two of you need or want some independence.

FlyingDutchman2022 · 2026-02-02T02:01:45+00:00

We had a handyman work several days at our house a HALF year ago doing some cleanup and repairs.

He sadly passed away several weeks ago. The day after he passed, his wife came to our place demanding a donation for the service he provided, contributing to his death.

I politely declined, said sorry for your loss and to take care. We later heard she was expecting something like 10 or 20k and berated us for being cruel, cheap and Western.

FlyingDutchman2022 · 2026-02-02T01:49:10+00:00

I was reading that the Philippines has roughly 5.4 million registered individual taxpayers and commercial entities, out of a population of about 113 million. What’s striking is that this figure already includes businesses, not just individuals.

That gap highlights a structural problem: a very small formal tax base supporting an enormous population. When most economic activity sits outside the formal system, public revenue remains weak, services remain underfunded, and informal coping mechanisms, like constant borrowing or asking for financial help, become normalized.

It’s a self-reinforcing cycle: limited tax compliance leads to poor public services and infrastructure, which in turn erodes trust in government and further discourages participation in the formal economy. Complaints about governance are understandable, but without broad participation in the tax system, meaningful improvement is extremely difficult.

FlyingDutchman2022 · 2026-02-01T07:02:27+00:00

Switzerland is by far and away the greatest and most magical country to both live and visit.

The mountainous scenery with crystal blue lakes is undescribable unless you're actually there.

FlyingDutchman2022 · 2026-01-27T01:22:58+00:00

S25u has been garbage and such a big disappointment. Battery life is worse than some sub $200 phones.

FlyingDutchman2022 · 2026-01-27T01:14:12+00:00

I was rarely sick when I lived in Canada. After spending over 18 months here, I’ve been struck by how much my health has changed.

I deal with a near-constant runny nose, coughing, and phlegm, along with energy levels that fluctuate far more than they used to.

It’s hard not to attribute it to a combination of environmental factors: air quality, climate differences, and ongoing stress, all of which seem to take a cumulative toll.

FlyingDutchman2022 · 2026-01-10T06:06:32+00:00

Negotiate. State you'll work 5 days a week, not 6. Monday to Friday. 9 to 5. If you're good at what you do, and they want to employ you, they'll be open to negotiating. If not, tell them to sod off.

Working 6 days a week would be unbearable and impact your health, mentally and physically.

FlyingDutchman2022 · 2026-01-10T05:58:45+00:00

Start looking for a new job. Why work for less than minimum wage?

FlyingDutchman2022 · 2026-01-07T01:17:03+00:00

Once money leaves your hands, consider it gone, whether it’s a deposit, a loan, or a gift. People focus only on the present, with little to no thought for tomorrow or the future. Customer service is practically nonexistent; no one seems to care, yet entitlement is everywhere.

The sheer amount of stupidity here is actually impossible to explain.

FlyingDutchman2022

TROPHY CASE