My thoughts are that I don't feel I should have to pay to bid on jobs. I tried to bid on one job in Elance once in my category knowing I had 3 bids available to me, I was informed it would take 4 bids and was asked if I wanted to buy the options for more bids.

I don't check in with Elance much, but every once in a while. It seems like lately there are no projects at all offered at less than 7 or 8 connections. And of course with the free membership you only get 3 connects. Not sure if they are trying to weed things/peope out.........but does seem like its more so they push people to do the paying membership. My biggest problem with Elance is that I can't afford to work for $2- $4 and hour like many of the people on there do.

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Denise
www.officeassistancepro.com

I've just signed up with GAF.

I have to say it is quite an education! Some of the jobs sound a little dodgy to me! Some are asking for a lot of work for a ridiculously small amount of wage and there are people who are almost literally begging for an opportunity to be picked!

I think it may be something I'll have a look at from time to time but I really don't feel comfortable about bidding for work!

Avocet

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Secretarial Service with a Smile!

Originally Posted by Trish1313

if $2-$4/hr is just as low for you then why not charge a higher rate? My concern isn't competition from other countries or my own country for that matter but to have people think that our type of work is really only worth $2-$4/hr and the rest of us are over charging. This is a new industry to many people and it is difficult for me to answer the question 'why are your rates so much higher than others?'

Trish :
1)Over promise and under deliver - The quality more often than not is below average because If the budgeting is for $4 then the manpower and Infra will be of a lower quality and that is the reason these freelancing boards have lots of replacement VAs postions, we need to remember that not all the people posting project have a grasp of specialized expertise and experience which a pro VA needs, some think that routine VA jobs (mailing, internet searching, phone calls, scheduling,monitoring) could be done by one and all, even though initially they fall for lower rates, more often than not they tend to realise the mistake.


2) Low cost and Quality - As commented in my earlier post, these companies operate out of 2nd tier/grade cities(low overheads) with not adequately trained people who are paid very low compared to their counterparts in big cities.

AptusInc,

Thanks for clearing that up! I guess I just assumed that everyone bidding would offer the same quality of work no matter what the price... Bad assumption on my part! Thanks again, that makes sense.

Hi, I have been with GAF for a while now. One time I secured a client from CA who wanted to pay $3 per 5 articles submitted. He did not want to disclose his identity. He wanted to do everything outside GAF and did not make an escrow payment (deposit). Even after I submitted the first re-write he was not willing to remit the deposit. He kept the project open. I think he was misusing GAF by getting work done for free in the name of sampling bidders work. I mean, anyone who bid had to do the five projects assigned by him. I think some freelance sites might have loopholes that can be exploited by clients out for freebies.

Yeah you really need to watch for things like that! I bid on a job on Elance once, one that involved research and it was researching types of magazines that I used to work for! I saw that the poster had hired someone else, probably for a lot less money. But he had called me too and told me that I was the most qualified person who had bid on the project and he wanted to hire me for it and wanted to know which sources I would use. I told him I would email him the sources, so I emailed him 2 sources that anyone could have found and told him I would send him the rest once he accepted my bid on Elance, never heard from him again! I thought that was really sneaky!

I've so far gotten 2 jobs from Elance.
1 was a total cheapskate.
The other so far so good.
But yes, you are competing with people whose monthly cost of living is 500us$ or less, often live with their parents even at age 45, quite normal in Asia.

Personally I take pride in my quality so the whole thing has been quite disheartening. I have had to lower my price a little bit lower than what I can charge if someone finds me locally, through word of mouth, but I did draw the line as a respectable but slightly modest fee.

By the way Elance charges an 8.75% project fee for completed projects, in addition to the monthly fees, AND they charge this fee 2 way, to the service provider, AND the buyer both! This was a complete hidden fee not advertised anywhere up front.

My advice is you can use it to find some clients but try to make the deal outside of their sites. You can bid, but once communication goes to PM and emails, make it clear you're only interested if the deal is made outside of their site, and mentioning that this fee is charged on both ends, should be a good motivator. 8.75% is just not fair.

From what I've seen and heard, in the long run, word of mouth, and consistency of quality and reliability is what's going to bring you business. Also, it would help if you had a professional looking name card printed and be sure to stick it in the hands of EVERYONE you meet, with a smile of course.

Havent tried the other freelance sites mentioned, but I expct the result to be the same. It's so sickening that people are willing to pretend quality doesnt exist and go for the cheapest bidder. But like someone else mentioned, those are not the kind of clients you want to be building relationships with.

My experience on GAF has not been as rewarding as others have seem to have had. I have bid on many projects without success. Though, I do not bid below my minimum rate. This is probably the problem, but I will not work for $1-$2 per hour.

I signed up for Elance and soon discovered as many of you posted the other countries bidding and their cost of living being nothing. I was not happy. So I gave it a shot for one month some I high balled others I low balled like $7 an hour. I did not win any bid. Even when I signed up for the premier package where I got more connects. It was not worth my time.

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Jessica Nix
www.virtuallylinkedva.com