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Odesk Scam - DON'T USE ODESK.com **Odesk Scam Warning**

Discussion in 'General Business' started by Melvinng, Sep 27, 2009.

  1. carlosx2

    carlosx2 Greenhorn

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    #141
    I also had lots of problem with Odesk they suck big time.
     
    carlosx2, Jul 9, 2013 IP
  2. gkd_uk

    gkd_uk Well-Known Member

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    #142
    I have used their service in the past, no problems at all.
     
    gkd_uk, Jul 9, 2013 IP
  3. Enklave

    Enklave Greenhorn

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    #143
    I am registered as a freelancer and also as employer. I already hired few people and have some jobs done. There weren't any problems and if so, their support helped me.

    So STOP calling odesk scam because of one negative experience. BTW every coin has two sides
     
    Enklave, Jul 11, 2013 IP
  4. brittanycirila

    brittanycirila Greenhorn

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    #144
    Those slamming oDesk are ignorant. That would be like slamming or threatening to sue Craigslist because the car you purchased ended up being a lemon. Or eBay because you didn't research the seller. There are bad people everywhere. There is nothing wrong with freelancers! First off, shame on you for trying to outsource work to India when you are located in the US. Keep the work to where you are located, whether it be the US, UK, Canada, Australia, wherever!

    Secondly, don't get mad because you failed to do the research on who you hired. Follow these steps next time you want to hire someone:

    • Is your prospective contractor an active member of oDesk? You can check this by viewing the number of hours and/or jobs they have completed.
    • Does your prospective contractor have a portfolio? You can check this by viewing their profile; but personally I wouldn't focus TOO much on that as (unless this is just me) I have a hard time getting uploads to the portfolio. But I do link out to my online portfolio elsewhere.
    • Does your prospective contractor have great feedback? You can check this by, you guessed it, viewing their feedback on their profile. Don't hire someone who has a low star rating, and/or negative feedback from their past "employers." Clients love to knit pick everything, so if their was something they were unhappy with they are going to share! Beware of no feedback from jobs. Not always means anything bad, but clients will happily share their experience when they were satisfied with the work.

    Shouting oDesk is a scam hurts legitimate freelancers looking for work! I have almost 2,000 hours logged, and a 5 star perfect feedback with nothing but 100% great comments left by previous clients. Ignorant people saying oDesk is a scam hurts me and others like me. Don't be angry and say that I am a scam because YOU leapt into a hole without knowing what was there first.
     
    brittanycirila, Nov 10, 2013 IP
  5. brujea

    brujea Greenhorn

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    #145
    I have been with oDesk since 07 as both buyer and seller. I agree with most on here that you have to do your research! Yes there are those out there (as well as in the physical work world) that will do as little as they can to get the most that they can! Check the feedback on anyone that you might be interested in. Also remember you get what you pay for in a lot of cases. ODesk is NOT a scam. My problem as a freelancer is that there are so many out there that will do the work for so little that I can't compete with such low pay. ODesk has always helped me with any issues that I have had which are few because I check out everyone that I have hired before hiring. Do the due diligence before jumping in. Good Luck to all
     
    brujea, Nov 10, 2013 IP
  6. brettb

    brettb Peon

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    #146
    I've done 3 jobs on oDesk as a developer.

    First job paid well but they gave me some rock hard stuff that involved CRM systems. Ugh.

    Second job was just keeping spammers off a forum, really hard to do as spammers are smart and the budget was only $20.

    Third job started well, it was mainly just easy stuff like adding products to various sites, and minor fixes. But then the client questioned my billing. Saying things like "that would have taken me 1 minute to do". Lol, as if I'm gonna invoice a client for a minute of work.

    Then things came unstuck on some big projects. One was to scrape an existing site and turn it into a new one. This one went way over budget mostly because the existing site used a horrendous CMS and halfway through the project the scope changed twice. The next project went pretty well, but by that time I'd had enough and terminated the contract. For some reason they've now replaced my nice server side C# viewstate/session stuff with some ugly JavaScript and querystrings.

    I should add at this point that with 15 years full time employment I'm no newbie. But I will add that if you hire a contractor, get one whose experiences match your requirements. I'm a back-end developer and my profile makes that obvious. But I ended up doing a whole lot of CSS (ugh), and barely any C#/SQL.

    My experiences have been that oDesk is pretty much a waste of time if you're a contractor, especially an experienced one.
     
    brettb, Nov 12, 2013 IP
  7. dean1122

    dean1122 Member

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    #147
    such kind of events can happened.
    it is one of the largest freelancing website we have now. unfortunately you got spam contractor .
    i am working with oDesk since 2009 with Excellent output.
     
    dean1122, Nov 13, 2013 IP
  8. expatriate

    expatriate Peon

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    #148
    all freelancer sites are full of shady programmers. You just need to weed them out. Many of them have so many high-ratings, most likely generated from accepting fake job postings created by their buddies. When I posted a job on Odesk.com, within 30 mins I got 15 new applicants (all from India) claiming that they can do the job and kept insisting to add me on Skype. So upon asking them more questions about their relevant experience, they had no freaking clue about the software, but they kept insisting they were "more than qualified" and to please add them on Skype LOL. When I asked for samples of past works, they started naming BIG companies in the U.S that hired them even though their profiles had no such proof.
     
    expatriate, Nov 22, 2013 IP
  9. neil_buzzerchat_staff

    neil_buzzerchat_staff Banned

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    #149
    never hire someone on odesk on hourly basis.

    also odesk is not bad for hiring workers its a good place only if you know how it works.
     
    neil_buzzerchat_staff, Nov 23, 2013 IP
  10. Puneet Trehan

    Puneet Trehan Greenhorn

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    #150
    Wherever money comes we hear something or other like this.
     
    Puneet Trehan, Nov 24, 2013 IP
  11. NetStar

    NetStar Notable Member

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    #151
    Were you expecting work done with in 1 hour for $17? If it was such a small project you should of proposed a flat fee.
     
    NetStar, Nov 25, 2013 IP
  12. FastCode

    FastCode Peon

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    #152
    When you use services like oDesk or Freelancer, it is most important to carefully choose the right person.

    I done over 100 projects as a buyer on Freelancer and ex. RentACoder site. When you place a project, you will certainly get many cheap offers.
    But, for cheap price you will usually get only headache, lose time and get frustrated. :(

    Most secure way is to select worker who already have excellent rating. If he made several projects before and has highest possible rating, there are good chances that you will get same quality of service.
     
    FastCode, Nov 26, 2013 IP
  13. Amanda103

    Amanda103 Greenhorn

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    #153
    That's right the person who has the highest rating could be the choice. In addition to this there are many good people you will meet on odesk who are hard workers and do their with honesty.
     
    Amanda103, Nov 27, 2013 IP
  14. expatriate

    expatriate Peon

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    #154
    Rating's don't mean much. I think feedback and hours logged are also important. You need to look at WHO is giving the feedback. When I looked at some of the programmers from India, I saw feedback coming from other so-called clients also located in India which looked suspicious already. Then when I ask them for samples of their past work, they start mentioning big companies located in the U.S. which makes it even more unbelievable and unconvincing.
     
    expatriate, Nov 27, 2013 IP
  15. aleau

    aleau Member

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    #155
    Yeah, and I, as a contractor, say the opposite - Never going to work on fixed-price jobs again, unless paid at least 50% in advance.
    So, you see, I have tons of work done, perfect feedback. I am super-responsible and good in my work and provide several times more than expected and still have... well, I can now say thousands of unpaid work. And not even from beginner clients, but those who have on their profiles that they paid thousands and tens of thousands, good feedback, "friends and acquaintances"... When you scratch the surface, it's always the same - contractors are afraid to give negative feedback, because we are those who are screwed the most if get the revenge feedback from one-time oDesk client.
    For example, you have one Indian client who has "big" money paid, but when you read comments (and know it from experience), you see that members are giving positive feedback because of the constant job, but you have to beg for at least six months, if not much more, to get your poor money.

    So, yep, it has two sides. 2/3 both clients and contractors are weed.

    As for the prices and contractors who offer cheap service, but are incompetent and fake, I have no sympathy for employers who lost their time and projects this way. If you show no respect for real professionals and went greedy on cheap service offered, you SHOULD lose the money.
    When you want a writer who you want to pay only 50 cents per article, you deserve it.
    When you want a coder for 10$, you deserve it.
    When you want me to translate you for 0.0000000....0001$ per word, you deserve it.
    When you say I can do it in one minute, you deserve it. So, no respect for my years and years on faculty and tens of thousands paid for my education? I can do it in one minute? Ea, you go to the dentist, get your tooth plucked out in a minute and pay 50$. Should you pay 1 cent because it was fast?
    For all of you clients who have no shame and respect and choose cheap, well beggar services, you deserve it.
     
    aleau, Nov 28, 2013 IP
  16. Owl Writer

    Owl Writer Member

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    #156
    Yes, i think this kind of problem should be settled in court. With those who are experts in their field.
     
    Owl Writer, Nov 29, 2013 IP
  17. Amanda103

    Amanda103 Greenhorn

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    #157
    I agree also if someone wants to hire then he/she should be very careful. Also it's good to hire people from your own region or country.
     
    Amanda103, Dec 2, 2013 IP
  18. FastCode

    FastCode Peon

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    #158
    Hmm, good point.

    If all rating comes from one person, then I suppose it is doubtful but who knows maybe worth to try.

    In the other hand, if worker has a lot of high ratings, which come from many different buyers, in that case I think it's probably OK.
     
    FastCode, Dec 11, 2013 IP
  19. ItsAdam

    ItsAdam Member

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    #159
    Odesk is becoming so lame these days. I used to like Odesk before, but I have found a lot of sh*tty employers and freelancers too. I've registered as employer and freelancer. As a freelancer, I've experienced not getting paid for about 2 months of work. That sucks big time. I hope Odesk gets better. If not, as an employer I would switch to another platfrm like symbiotic.me
     
    ItsAdam, Jan 9, 2014 IP
  20. manhole

    manhole Active Member

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    #160
    I've hired some great talent on Odesk, but I've ran into problems as well. Last time I hired a very good programmer for a long term ongoing project. After the initial project was finished his price went up 2.5 fold. So either I had to pay the much higher rate, or I had to find a new programmer (which wasn't very feasible to take over his existing work). Very frustrating!
     
    manhole, Jan 9, 2014 IP
    SpyShifu likes this.