Disappointed with recent changes

[edcreative]

I am very disappointed with Upwork's recent pricing changes. Now that clients have to pay to invite freelancers to bid on jobs, the number of invitations I receive is next to nothing. I used to get around 5 invitations a day, now I am lucky if I get 5 invitations a month. I am a Top Rated freelancer and have given Upwork a lot of money through the projects I've completed. I don't understand what I am getting in return from them taking 20% each project. If you don't send clients my way, then what is the point of staying on the platform? 

[florydev]

In my brief time here on the community it is amazing how different everyone's Upwork experience is.  I have probably only received 4 invites (in just over a year) and only one of those I would consider real.  I can see that it is a definite big deal for people who get them and I am surprised more people have not complained about that specifically.

I have to actively search for clients and the point, for me, is the ability to do that from a sitting position.  Finding clients in the real world is way harder, in my experience, and congrats to you if it isn't.  The only way to get them passively like you are doing is good marketing and advertising which I definitely need to do a better job of. 

[edcreative]

I've been on Upwork since Elance/Odesk merged and things are not what they used to be. 

The reason I chose to use Upwork is because they do the work of pulling in clients so freelancers can spend more time working. That is how I can justify them charging 20% on my projects. If I have to spend the same amount of time finding clients as it is in the real world, then there isn't a benefit in this platform anymore. The quality of Upwork's public job postings has gone downhill. The prices clients are expecting now is half what it used to be, but asking for the same amount of experience. I feel like something has changed with the way Upwork is advertising to prospective clients because expectations are unrealistic. Invitations are where I get the bulk of high-quality well-paying clients and if invitations are cut then I'm having a hard time seeing the positives. They need to cancel charging clients for job invitations.

[giftjohn16]

Ineed upwork will lose many clients and also mant freelancers shall move to other freelancing websites like rev.com or peopleperhour and many more

[rlouw]

Those of us (like myself) who have been on the plaform since Odesk are dissapointed. I'm struggling to make this platform viable and looking at alternatives.  Although, there is a global economic downturn so less jobs are available.

[nidz_illus]

Exactly!! I agree with you 😞

[jackiepeeler]

I've noticed same. Anybody know a good online source for all the freelance sites we could be using, preferrably one that rates them from the provider perspective? That's a real need.

[creativevibs]

Top Rated or not, they are charging you in everyway. But the outcome of genuine projects or hiring process has reduced a lot to what it used to be when it was Elance. Also now credits are more, s you are paying to buy them, fee is high so you dont get much back after all that effort, if you charge high you dont get to hear back..so I dont know who is gaining out of all this other than just Upwork,

sorry to say that but it is now very dissapointing and frustrating.

[sebadraw]

I am in your same situation. My theory is that is more redituable for Upwork to charge thousands of freelancers for connects than to take the %20 commision on small projects. Probably some guy in a suit realized this and now we are all being milked to make them a bit more money. I am already looking for alternatives outide this site. It would be nice to find a way around this but I can´t thing of any.