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[Anna B]

Agree, we should have customized fields to be able to add additional content to the top tiers. For me as a brand designer that would be so much easier to pack logo, branding, marketing collateral and social media and even a landing page in just one package instead of having a few different projects for the same client.

[Tasos F]

@Lena E

Hello, I noticed that for the Logo Animation category .gif previews are not activated, maybe they should be along with video files to showcase animations?

[Aleksandar D]

Hi Tasos,

Thanks for sharing your feedback with us. I shared your suggestion with the rest of the team for consideration.

Thank you.

[Wes C]

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Theresa C wrote:

Hi Wes,

When a client buys your project, the idea is that they are agreeing to what you've pre-defined in your project. So a contract will be created and the milestone will be funded.  You'll be notified whenever a purchase happens and a contract room will automatically be opened, at which point you can start messaging.

This is an absolute dealbreaker for me. And frankly, I'm surprised it isn't for everyone.

There is absolutely no way I would ever allow a contract to be automatically created for me without vetting the client, understanding their needs, and reviewing the material I'd be working on. The only way I'd consider using this is if it worked like the previous iteration where a chat is created with the client to discuss the project or even where an offer is created that can be further refined or declined. 

I understand Upwork is offering 24 hours to back out of a contract created this way. That is not sufficient time to make a decision when clients often don't respond in that period or when a contract comes in late on a Friday night (I don't have much experience with this concept, but I understand some people take the weekends off). But even if it was 48 hours, 72 hours, or a full week: the experience of taking a client's money, then having to refund it because the client isn't a fit, the material isn't something I'd work on, or it doesn't meet the requirements of the predefined project, is not a good customer experience. I also see that this 24-hour back-out period is a limited time deal. 

This is going to be a trainwreck of trashed JSSes and review histories.

I did go through the screens to create a project and found some limitations that would need to be tweaked before this would be useable even if we get past this one point, but I'll post those separately later.

[Remi O]

This is an absolute dealbreaker for me. And frankly, I'm surprised it isn't for everyone.

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Wes C wrote:

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Theresa C wrote:

Hi Wes,

When a client buys your project, the idea is that they are agreeing to what you've pre-defined in your project. So a contract will be created and the milestone will be funded.  You'll be notified whenever a purchase happens and a contract room will automatically be opened, at which point you can start messaging.

This is an absolute dealbreaker for me. And frankly, I'm surprised it isn't for everyone.

There is absolutely no way I would ever allow a contract to be automatically created for me without vetting the client, understanding their needs, and reviewing the material I'd be working on. The only way I'd consider using this is if it worked like the previous iteration where a chat is created with the client to discuss the project or even where an offer is created that can be further refined or declined. 

I understand Upwork is offering 24 hours to back out of a contract created this way. That is not sufficient time to make a decision when clients often don't respond in that period or when a contract comes in late on a Friday night (I don't have much experience with this concept, but I understand some people take the weekends off). But even if it was 48 hours, 72 hours, or a full week: the experience of taking a client's money, then having to refund it because the client isn't a fit, the material isn't something I'd work on, or it doesn't meet the requirements of the predefined project, is not a good customer experience. I also see that this 24-hour back-out period is a limited time deal. 

This is going to be a trainwreck of trashed JSSes and review histories.

I did go through the screens to create a project and found some limitations that would need to be tweaked before this would be useable even if we get past this one point, but I'll post those separately later.

---

100%

I started to create a project too but ...so many things could go wrong here.

So many.

[Robert G]

As someone who does custom technology solutions, I see no value for me. I wonder if there are others who feel the same.

[Mary Ann F]

My concern is if and when a client adds functionality or wants to "goldplate" a project and then refuses to adjust the schedule and budget.  What is Upwork's method of handling this situation?

[Susan S]

That is a concern of mine as well.

[Sein M]

I am in a similar positon.  Each project is different and there are always variables to be considered.  Also the potential for damage and time wasting from so called "clients" seems quiet risky.

[Wes C]

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Wes C wrote:

---

Theresa C wrote:

Hi Wes,

When a client buys your project, the idea is that they are agreeing to what you've pre-defined in your project. So a contract will be created and the milestone will be funded.  You'll be notified whenever a purchase happens and a contract room will automatically be opened, at which point you can start messaging.

This is an absolute dealbreaker for me. And frankly, I'm surprised it isn't for everyone.

---

Yes, I'm responding to myself, sorry. I want to make it clear that I'm not just talking about my field where it's difficult to prepackage projects to start with.

I can't think of any field where this is a good idea. There will always be people who misunderstand the predefined scope, resulting in either a canceled contract, a freelancer locked into an underpriced contract or into work on material they prefer not to touch, or a client getting less than they expected. All bad outcomes that can and should be avoided by a short discussion before the contract is started.

There is no circumstance where a freelancer should accept a contract without discussion ahead of time with the client.