Does upwork monitor employers who are just fishing for ideas?

[be57481a]

Does upwork monitor employers who are just fishing for free ideas from freelancers and have no intention of actually awarding work to anyone? Everything is opaque to the freelancer so it's hard for freelancers to detect this behavior. 

[d8362af4 · Accepted solution]

This has happened to me twice in the past couple months since joining the platform. There's no way to avoid it, I have to lay out my process to win new clients with such underwhelming starting stats, but then they use me as free consulting work and hire someone cheaper or have a friend do it, by one client's direct admission. Curious if there's any way around this. Like if clients put up a certain number of jobs without hiring anyone, can they be flagged and removed from the platform?

[celgins]

Like if clients put up a certain number of jobs without hiring anyone, can they be flagged and removed from the platform?

Upwork will only take action on such jobs if there is a Terms of Service violation. I have never seen Upwork limit a client's capacity to post jobs.

Also, consider the fact that there are Enterprise clients and others here who spend millions hiring freelancers. Many of those clients have three or four dozen jobs posted. There is no way Upwork would limit them, and they choose not to limit other clients who spend less or those who post jobs and never hire.

[celgins]

I far as I know, Upwork has never monitored this. I doubt they ever will.

Some clients do it often, while others post one job, window shop or fish for ideas (which burns up freelancers' time and Connects), and leave.

[be57481a]

I guess they can be called " I. P. scavengers". If upwork doesn't control this the quality of their platform will reduce to a "spam" level where it's no longer worthwhile for serious people to try get work. I have seen this on other platforms that I have posted jobs and also bid for work on, I thought upwork was more professional but the opaquness is discriminatory to the freelancers while other platforms are more open,and it's a bit easier not to bid on work which you can see is going nowhere 

[atlinguist]

I propose banning clients (for a certain period of time) if they fail to hire x times. There is no reason for leaving a job posting floating around for us to think we are in with a chance when these people are not really interested in playing the game.  

[the-right-writer]

Why do you want to drive away clients? Ban them? There are precious few clients here. 

Apply and don't look back. Why would you be concerned?

I understand frustration, but wanting to ban clients because you don't like not receiving an answer is harming you as well. Not every client has evil intentions when they don't hire or don't hire right away

[1cac6772]

They absolutely do not.