I have been buying content in this section for a while and sadly I have recently been sold some rubbish content that is not even worth wasting any money over. I am going to post this thread so that content buyers can benefit from it and avoid some of my mistakes. I will also learn from your experiences. 1. Native English vs non native English I am a foreigner myself and English is not my first language. I am sure there are some excellent non native English writers around but I have yet to meet one. Every single article I purchased from a non native English person has ended up being more hassle than it's worth. Grammatical errors are common but spelling mistakes in this day and age of spell checkers is unforgivable. You can usually spot the non native English writers from the title of their threads "5 articles for sell" or "articles copyscape pass" Read their threads and posts carefuly, they will give you vital clues about their writing style. Don't be fooled by samples, I was recently sent a sample of a small paragraph that looked good enough to purchase an articles pack. I now suspect that the seller had that particular paragraph edited by someone else. Always insist on a sample before parting with your cash. 2. Unique content means original and unique content i.e not re-writes. This is a very important point for you to consider as I once bought a few articles from someone and I suspected that something was wrong so I cheked his itrader and I found a DP member had left him a thank you msg and positive feedback. It was for the re-write of my articles! In this case it was a double whammy as the seller sold me rewrites and he was not even the one who wrote them! 3. Paypal: Once you make payment for articles.through paypal you will have little chance to claim should something go wrong as they are classified as non tangible goods. 4. Do not be fooled by the name: I bought some articles recently from someone with a very American sounding username. I incorrectly assumed that he was native American because even in our pm's he signed his name as a Western name. Yet when it came to the content, it was an absolute nightmare and I had to pay a real native English writer to fix it for me. More money down the drain... 5. Always confirm that the content was written by a human. These days it seems some people utilize some form of software to rewrite articles that can pass copyscape but the content itself is rubbish. 6. Don't be greedy, buy one article, check out the quality and if you like the style and quality buy more. 7. If hiring somoene for ezinearticles content, make sure you ask them to show you their previous work on ezine articles. There are guidelines that he or she should be familiar with and follow very seriously otherwise your articles is doomed to rejections. This is all I can think of, I am sure there will be other constructive and helpful additions. Thank you!
AMEN!!! I have been pondering writing a post just like this with my own thoughts and experience. The "fakers" often mention the articles pass copyscape and are unique. What they don't know about plagiarism is that if you take an article from someone else, change every 4th word. misspell a few words, it will pass copyscape. That in NO way makes it unique and is still plagiarism. Passing copyscape and being unique are not the same. If you write something unique based on your own knowledge and research, you shouldn't have to even worry about checking with copyscape, but these posers seem to be excited and boast about something they have that passes. I have had arguments with content writers (stealers) where the sent me a published article and changed very few keywords and called it unique. I sent them the previously published material and they said "mine is unique, I changed the words around". Hello...Illegal!! But being from foreign countries, they can normally hide from the law. I check all my articles for dupes using other means than copyscape and search high and low and catch quite a few. The hard part is to keep people from re-selling the articles after you buy them. I have had that happen a few times where I bought a pack of content and didn't publish it right away, then saw the same content get published elsewhere a month later. The seller was nowhere to be found. I urge everyone to not post positive itrader the very second you receive your articles. Instead take your time to review them and check their uniqueness. Then when satisfied, post the itrader. I am often guilty of not leaving any itrader on a "iffy" deal instead of leaving a bad comment. I just let it go (unless it is real shady), which in reality we should all do to help prevent the nonsense. That could probably help clean up this section of the forum. I will try to add more later, Greg
Thanks for this post trippyvibes. We are looking for quality writers as well, perhaps you can recommend me some from your own personal experiences here on DP?
As a writer myself I dread seeing posts like this. I work hard to please my customers even if it means researching for hours on a single article. I am still fairly new to offering my services and I have noticed that the rates on this forum are well below other forums that I am on. Guess now I know why.
To be honest, I find it hard to sympathize with most buyers on this forum. I can't say I am surprised that this kind of thing occurs. With the constant requests for native English writers that can provide "high quality articles" at a price that any teenager could beat with a minimum wage job at Burger King, it really is a no brainer. If you are consistently receiving poor quality articles from writers here, there is a good chance you are offering a wage that no high quality writer would work for. I personally find it discouraging when buyers try to haggle down prices because they have 'offers' much lower than any reasonable person could work for. Do you want an article that caters to your needs, is written by a native writer and passes copyscape? It's about time that you pay for it. As for recommended writers, I personally provide quality content at what I (as well as my clients) feel is a reasonable rate. Whether you want to use me or not, follow rule #6 and order small orders to start. Many writers here, in an attempt to middle the market, use non-native writers but acquire the jobs through their own references and samples. Begin to realize that in this business, content is king. You shouldn't be penny wise and dollar foolish when it comes to this industry. Start to pay a reasonable rate, and you just might see the return you are looking for.. who knows.
I bought a few time from those writers who offer ready article pack. ie. 5 Blogging articles. So far I'm satisfied with their article packs as many articles are often cheap and informative. I checked the articles. Can't find them published anywhere. They are unique. But one thing I'm worry is that will they sell the same pack to others since they have promised to sell once.
I am sorry but I have to disagree with you. For me personally, it has always been about quality and never the price (as long it is reasonable of course) I am sure this is the case with other serious buyers who are after quality content.
I agree with Jamie. If you need the right content, then you've got to pay more. Most of the buyers want the best of the best articles, but at cheap price. Well, in that case, if you're looking for low-waged writers, one or the other day you'll just experience what the OP has gone through.
Refresher I am sorry but I have to disagree with you. I have never thought of cutting corners and sacrifice the quality of the content I purchased by buying 'cheap' articles. I know very well to steer well clear from those selling cheap content, it's a bit too obvious that quality would be compromised.
Those are some good things you pointed out trippyvibes. I was about to start my own content creation thread, and now i'll make it a point to mention that i'm not a native english speaker, even though i know its gonna make it harder for me to find work here.. Anyways, you gotta do whats ethical... Cheers, ~Wetfire
Dear trippyvibes, I strongly disagree with your points. You can't judge a writer with the above mentioned points and you shouldn't blame every writer. I also write content for my clients and till now, 98% of my clients were happy. So, how can you tell that every writer is a fake person and uses software to write articles?
Did he/she really say that in any post? Have I missed something... If he/she did, that would seriously really be a vague and an invalid point.
I agree with you, Usually I hire a most trusted person to write articles. We must not find a lot of article writers at cheap rate. Find a correct person and deal with him for a long time. Now i don't get BS articles.Anyway this is a good guide for content seekers.
Not to "sell" myself here (because I am currently offering article services) but I really work hard at writing articles and I think that some people don't really care. I mean, I've purchased "native English" articles in the past and have gotten less-than-native English. It's kind of shows me a little bit that people either CAN'T or REFUSE to read an OP! Or is it that these people think they can fool me? I would like to add that when someone replies to a thread asking for article writers, don't judge them by their response there. Seriously, take a look at their samples. I have found great replies to my threads to look at pitiful samples that make no sense. Also, make sure to request that articles be written in the specific "person" you want them written in. I have purchased articles that were to be written in an information tone such as "Upon purchasing new vehicles, many buyers take their car out for a spin. They may also show their friends." Instead I often get, "When I got my last car, I took it for a drive and I showed my friends. Lots of people do that." I want an informational article, not a story!!!!! What heard to do about the PayPal thing is actually interesting. If you can prove that someone "stole" your content, then you can get their host to shut them down or get them in trouble with other Internet police. My friend had a HUGE article order from someone and he didn't quite trust the buyer so he pasted each article in a draft in a blogger blog, but didn't publish them. He did this for the time stamp to prove he had the articles first. Sure enough the guy filed a charge back upon receipt of the articles. Surprise, surprise. Anyway, my friend contacted the guy's host and shut him down for Copyright infringement. He does this all the time now with his articles and after 90 days of the payment being made (when you can no longer file a charge back,) he deletes all the drafts from that order.
I personally think that its really difficult to find legit writers here...I twice bought the content $170 & $40...1st deal was OK...but 2nd time I was literally scammed, I din leave any itrader to the guy...coz I knw he ll repeat it to me Thats gr8, but I think its not easy to do it!