I just don't understand people who think that they can outsource at 5%~10% of price e.g.: need something 80hours (2 week project) in US it is about 80h*$50~~$4k right? They think that it is possible to find/outsorce someone to do at less than $400 and complain when the coder askes more $$$ for more features/work. Or complaining when a nubi/child/etc leave them with a piece of crappy code and a couple of images. so -increase your min bid (should be not less than 40% of mid US rate) -make clear project descriptions -split it in parts so a designer will design, developer will code and marketer will promote not vice versa! -hire a tester/reviewer/manager if you don't have enougth time to manage. At least you will know how much $$$ you pay him. NO BOSSES who take 50~90% and outsource the rest!!!!
I just had my project completed from get a freelancer. I am no programmer or anything, but i can say experience was really good $300 i was able to get a nice looking site. Even though communication was a problem. But the people i was dealing with not once objected of doing extra work. All i heard was yes far better then couple of people i tried hiring. Few tips after this experience. 1. When posting go with big company. the one i hired was ISO 90001 certified. 2. See how well they communicate, ask them small question and see how quickly you are getting response. Before choosing winnig bidder. 3. My project was website design, it is tough to communicate your idea. Make sure you talk over the phone not via email to communicate what you want. And agree ahead of time. 4. Be sure to know what you want and don't deviate from it. If you want to know the company i was dealing with i can get you in touch with them. My site is not w3c compliant but i wasn't aware of w3c till today . But i do like the way these guys communicate and there willingness. And for $300 wasn't a bad deal Good luck
By the way i am not affiliated or any way related to that company. They do provide 30 day support. Right now i have that support. Lets see how well they do it, but i am pretty sure i am no longer priority, still neat for what i paid. i will let you know if anyone interested.
u r a buyer at GAF right? then there is no way that u should not like GAF. Buyers have all the power at GAF, y u have bad experience? I dont understand. service providers r the one who complain all the time including myself. y r u paying in advance, never pay a single cent before work is completed. yeah, put money in escrow, but remember, even if a service provider do 100% work for u, u can still cancel escrow, that is, if u want to, u can get ur money back. now thats what buyers can do at GAF, there is NO ARBITRATION at GAF. if u want to cancel a project, GAF will do it, without asking anything. what project do u want to open at GAF? tell me, and I will show u show work is done at GAF
also u wrote this "A cheeky devil who won a bid from me, at completion has now asked me for twice the origional amount!" if u want to, u can pay him no money and he cant do anything about it y r u worrying about him asking for double the amount?
Not sure about designers but coders can hide deep in code something like: if(DateTime.Now()>demoEndPeriodDate) {throw new Exception("You see this error because you should pay me as we agreed");} so the code will work until a specific date only. If the buyer was honest and paid you full $$$ then send him an updated code without any restrictions. so: is not 100% true!
Hehe, mind you, I just have a buyer with whom we dealed about $1500 project budget, and he saying now about $700. LMAO, just realised guys I am reading your thread and it would be good opposite example. In overall, you should take few long-term clients from that freelance sites and forget about others. That's what really worked for me. There are MANY dishonest buyers as well. Moreover they know that sites favor them and they'll continue playing their dirty games. Preferable to have your own website and charge more from it, and commision that sites takes (5-15% which is hell a lot in many times) from you use as advertising budget. It will work even more productive, cause you will use it only for yourself and your services, not just as a part of overall for whole site BS projects (for 90% of projects = true). Freelance sites are good just like begining. You need to expand, don't limit yourself or you'll be there forever. Their owners cares only about revenue done with the volume of projects. And that's it. Good for them, not so good for you.
first of all, there are not only coding projects. there are projects like, SEO, data entry, copywriting etc etc secondly, the reason y I said it is bz, if any coder not give u correct work, or ask for more money, than u can simply cancel the project and hire someone else. also, removing few lines of code is not a problem at all. I have seen few bad buyers, who first hire someone to do work, then in the end dont pay, and if they see any problem in the code, then they just hire somebody else to clean the code for them
"I have seen few bad buyers, who first hire someone to do work, then in the end dont pay, and if they see any problem in the code, then they just hire somebody else to clean the code for them" Such situation MUST be handled by freelance site. If not it sucks
"When posting go with big company. the one i hired was ISO 90001 certified. " 1. How do you know they are a big company not a person pretending to be and hiding above their website (usual trick) 2. Is there any way to check that certification and what it means ? 3. What the purpose of ISO 90001 certified company to be on freelance sites ? (I assume that says they are big, quality and very serious, correct me if not true)
The scope of freelancing is to hire persons not companys and that ISO ... is Bullshit i prefer people over companys anytime anywhere.....
I doubt that they can complete the project this way. agreed 100% If you are looking for a company better to search it via search engine not via lance site.
I am working at GAF for more than 2 years, so I know much about this site. first, I worked as a service provider , and now I work as a buyer. when I used to work for buyers, there were many who did not paid me a single cent, where I completed work 100%. the problem is that, there is no ARBITRATION system at GAF, meaning that GAF will not resolve any issue between buyer and service provider. so now u believe or not?
You have rather strange attitude to work. I have noticed in quite a few posts. A sort of bitterness. I pay well and on time. The thread I posted was about the seller doubling the price, not me halfing the amount I was paying him. Really hope that I am not unfortunate enough to ever hire you, inadvertantly.
I treat people fairly, with honour and respect. I am not sure if it is a cultural thing but some nations seem to excell at altering prices, as if it is a way of life. "final price" "first price" etc Freelancers should bid a realistic figure, and gain work on merits rather trying to be too clever. Most people hiring want to pay well for a good job.
I notice as well on freelancer that a lot of the providers actually submit the work to other freelancers! IS that perphaps part of the problem?
we never heard the seller nor project details you provided to him. all we know is your complains that the coder asked more $$$ may be your project specification was not clear enougth and as soon as coder realized that you need more he asked for more $$$. I'll give you an example of how it happens: Please read and tell me who is right in this situation? buyer: I want something I even don't know what a site or a script. it should be cool, bugless ... etc. interested coders plz contact me coder: I have enougth experience to provide you a working prototype of what you are requesting. 3days of work. buyer: great a deal! ---3 days leter--- coder: here is the prototope . Please check it. buyer: cool I like it but I need more features/fixes/etc... I realized that it need [list of more requirements] coder: sure will do! but note that it is over the scope of the initial project buyer: ok coder: ok bugs fixed. As I think the project is ready according initial deal. buyer: NO it is not finished I want more features, I want more changes etc etc coder: sure but I need more $$$ to continue work buyer: you are scammer you ask for more $$$ and never provide finished app. ===== who is scammer?
There comes that "chip on the shoulder again" "all buyers are bad" "all coders are good and flawless" You could use that analagy in any type of business and come away crying.
"I notice as well on freelancer that a lot of the providers actually submit the work to other freelancers! IS that perphaps part of the problem?" "Freelancers should bid a realistic figure, and gain work on merits rather trying to be too clever. " u r so right. but there are few people who successfully do the business of taking projects from buyers and then giving them to others. I am one of them ........ I did this for few weeks, but then I started my own site, and now I do not work as a service provider at GAF, but I still give work at GAF as a buyer. when I used to take work from buyers and outsource to others, I had no less than 5 writers online all the time. In total there were more than 15 writers, who worked for me, so when ever I got work I gave to any available writer, and gave the 1/3 of the total deadline. I was never late on delivering work, and I never provided any low quality work. u can see my profile here getafreelancer.com/users/307137.html actually, I think, it all depends on, to whom u r giving work. There are many immature people in this field and they just some how want to get the money always look for professional and mature people. u can use PM to talk with service providers, try to find the right person. I think service providers shall always try to do their best to 100% satisfy their clients.