Brett O wrote:
I posted another job using your advice with fixed rate of $99 for a small project. And mentioned this is placeholder and to make an offer. Now I'm getting a lot of interest with higher fixed rates which I have no intention to pay. I guess freelancers take the number I posted as a base. My overall experience so far not that great and I don't see that I'll be having any hires at all. I understand that freelancers have to pay to apply for a job, but how that's really my problem? I'm trying to provide job here on the platform and pay for the service. I don't know how nasty it is, but now there is more chance for me just to give up on freelancers all together and do it myself due to the luck of finding freelancer with reasonable offer. By the way many of them don't even respond to simple question in the posting and their offer is ignored all together. Now why did they pay money to apply for my job, when they can't follow protocol from the beginning.
When you post a job without any number at all, both sides have a lot of leverage to meet at some medium. It is more chances for both sides + the platform to get what they looking for. I've got new signed freelancers with no earning and no any kind of feedback expecting same money as experienced ones. They may have beautiful resume, but how do I know if they going to drop me in mid-project.
You don't. If you employ someone, is there a guarantee that the person will not apply for other jobs and leave 6 months later? If you hire a freelancer outside Upwork, do you have any guarantee they will not drop off the project? Hiring someone always has a risk and you can't control everything.
Eventually you will have to trust someone. You may get bad experiences, but you may also get good ones.
If $99 was your maximum, you can always make it clear in your post. A placeholder is not a maximum, it is not even a value, it is just a recipient for a value. As the name says, it just holds the place for the value to come. It usually means "I have no idea what this may cost" or "I want to see different options and budgets". If you meant to indicate an estimated budget, or a maximum, then don't say it is a placeholder. The field itseld is called "Estimated budget", so just use it as it is meant to be used. Then the freelancer knows they can bid $99, $95 or $105. If you say it is a placeholder people may bid $5 or $5000.
As for paying for the proposals, that is not exactly true. You use connects to send proposals and connects can be bought or earned for free. Some people may have applied without paying any money, some others may have bought them. This, and the 20% fee the freelancer pays to Upwork, are your concern in one way or another.
It is not your fault if the amount you offer does not seem much to freelancers, due to the investment and fees they have to pay. But you will be affected by it, too. If most of the freelancers don't see a good enough return on investment, they will not apply and what you thought it was a fair price for a specific type of freelancer may not be the case and you may get another type of freelancer that is not what you were looking for. Expectations are not met and then one can get frustrated. Knowing the rules that apply both to you and the freelancer will help building more realistic expectations that can be met easier.
Upwork has a cost, obviously, and some benefits. In the end, both freelancers and clients do the same. They evaluate the cost and benefits of a posting on Upwork. If the cost outweights the benefits, the client will not post the job on Upwork or the freelancer will not apply for the job.
