I am going start blogging network soon. I want huge freelance writers. I am thinking that getafreelancer.com and other freelancer resources could be useful for me. I hope to get good writer at affordable rate. But sometimes they're asking for payment before contract so what should I do. I want to check content first and later on payment because I want to check article through copyscape and content quality. So what should I do guys? Should trust on them and pay first (before start write my articles)
Hard question to answer.. Generally most outsourcers on places like getafreelancer, odesk, guru and all that are reliable and trust worthy but there are some out there that make business out of getting upfront buyers then not delivering.. It's hard to know if the person you're hiring is going to be a good one or not.. I would suggest hiring with milestone payments.. so they get paid after ever 5 or 10 articles that they submit.. This will make sure that you don't lose money by paying upfront, but also incentivise your workers to work quickly to get the next payment.
As a freelance writer, I usually ask for partial payment up front for large jobs (with the rest paid at milestones, as JosiahHumphrey mentioned), unless the client is someone I've worked with before. I would never ask for all the money up front, though. If you're concerned about people taking your money and running, then only hire people with a good reputation (positive iTrader on here, or the equivalent on the other sites you mentioned). You may have to pay a little more to get someone with a good reputation, but it will be worth it for the peace of mind, and the quality of the work you get.
I think that nothing compares to escrows. Is the best for both buyers and freelancers. Actually, its pretty simple, you write clear terms and requirements and do not release the escrow until you are not 100% happy with the quality. You can also try Elance, depends on your budget.
I am a writer and I have hired writers to help me with overflow. I usually you freelanced a lot of skilled people are up there and they all except the money via pay pal after the job is finished. Unless, it is a larger job then it would be paid in milestones. The only problem is some people will take on a whole large assignment and find out that they are unable to complete it.
Just advertise on here and ask for a short sample upfront. Also only pay on completion. I have hired some good writers this way.
If anyone on sites like GAF ask you to pay upfront they are likely scamming you - there is an escrow option on there so you can fund the project but not release payment until you have received the work. If hiring on here or other forums you may be required to pay 50% upfront or even more in some cases until the Freelancer trusts you. You could either direct them to a Freelance site (where you will both incurr fees) or go with it. If anything does happen and you pay by Paypal you can rest assured that Paypal almost always side with the buyers and you are 99% likely to receive a refund.