Availability Badge MORE EXPENSIVE ?

[#1]

I turned on my availability badge today, which used to be ON, for a price of 7 connects per week. But apparently the price went up, and it is now 14 connects!

Up to yesterday it was just 7 connects.

Now the price has doubled.

Seriously, Upwork has gotten too expensive. First the connects go up in price, then the amount of connects to submit a proposal has almost doubled, and now the Availability Badge doubles in price.

And if a client decides not to pay us, did you know that you have to pay $337USD to get Upwork to step up? Conciliation is not even free anymore!

[#2]

Don't waste your money on the Availability badge.  Even if it was 1 connect, it would be a waste of money!

[#3]

That's true! And I completely understand, the same thing happened to me with the "availability badge". I checked and its value doubled. They raised the price without any prior notice as well. They charge for everything now!
If they pay you for a completed project, they charge you the commission plus a percentage of the commission. All that's left is for them to start charging you for the time you spend searching for a project...

[#4]

Riddick - the availability badge's value did not double, its price doubled.  The value remains at $0.  

[#5]

//start charging you for the time you spend searching for a project...//

Why giving new ideas? 🙄

[#6]

worthless, imo.

[#7]

Thanks for posting this. I too was surprised by the increase from 7 to 14 connects -- with no explanation or notification.

I'm thinking... Did I miss an update?  Did my connects go up because I booked my first gig?  

I do wish the Upwork  team would better communicate these changes, so we're not left confused & bewildered on a monday morning. 

[#8]

Zero transparency - that's the Upwork way!

[#9]

This is totally UNFAIR! I am so sad. 

[#10]

It's really a non-issue.  The availability badge is a scam - it does not make a difference to your success on the platform.  Be happy that you can now save this money and put it towards other important things in life.  

[#11]

OK, I did the math. 

If I were to opt-in to the badge again, it'd cost 56 conx per month. That's half my monthly allotment!

For people on the Plus subscription, we get 100 conx for $20. 

That means we're paying over $10/month for this one badge. That can't possibly be worth it. 

I'm going to save my connects for applying to more gigs. That seems like a way better value.

[#12]

It's not worth even $1/month.  Definitely wise to save your money for something more likely to bring you ROI, like building your portfolio or networking with people IRL.