Is Overbidding Worth It?

[mpellet771]

Hi, everyone,

  I'm bidding on jobs but at a higher rate than they state for their budgets. I'm afraid that the budgets are rather insulting for the expertise that a lot of the projects seek. 

  So now I'm on the fence: Lower my bids and be bitter about the pay or drop off of Upwork and continue my consulting work elsewhere.

  Have you ever overbid and gotten the project, anyway?

[kkears · Accepted solution]

"I'm afraid that the budgets are rather insulting for the expertise that a lot of the projects seek."

Hi Marianne ~ This is the exact reason why I don't rely on Upwork to make a living.

I use other methods to find clients, and if we're being realistic, I'd recommend that you do the same. 

With that said, that doesn't mean you should "quit" Upwork altogether right now. If you're newer to the platform, you could lower your rate a bit in order to build up your profile and collect more positive client reviews. It's up to you how much lower you'd be willing to go.

Despite the hourly budget in a job posting, it doesn't mean that the client isn't willing or able to pay more if they find the right person for the job. Personally, I ignore jobs that I consider "uber-insulting." But, if I see a job that really interests me at a more respectable rate, I'll send a proposal. In these cases, I find that it's worth learning more about the client and project before writing them off. And sometimes, they have no problem paying your normal fee.

I've found some good clients here who understand the value of my services. You probably will too.

Just set the expectation that this is a rarity on Upwork.

[tlsanders]

It's not a rarity at all. Many of us have found hundreds of them. 

[kkears]

Personally, I think that's an unrealistic expectation for someone new to Upwork. There's a much higher ratio of low paying jobs to high paying jobs (if we look at it from the perspective of living in the U.S.).

[tlsanders]

There always has been. From the day I started using Upwork, I've seen at best 2-3 out of every 100 jobs that were worth even reading the full posting let alone actually sending a proposal. Maybe it's 1 out of 100 now, or even 1 out of 200. But, so what? It's the raw number of good opportunities that matters, not how many bad (irrelevant) ones are around them.

[kkears]

Yes, I'm aware there always has been. What I'm saying is that new people enter the platform and mistakenly throw all their eggs in one basket (Upwork). I'm referencing this part of Marianne's post: "So now I'm on the fence: Lower my bids and be bitter about the pay or drop off of Upwork and continue my consulting work elsewhere."

[mpellet771]

Thanks for all the responses, Katie, especially. I hear that starting off with a lower bid range allows me to build the business. I do not rely on Upwork for a living, and that's good since so many technical people are being laid off from Silicon Valley right now. I hear the advice to be judicious in choosing what I bid on as well. 

[tlsanders]

I just bid my rate, regardless of what the posting says (of course, I just skip once that are $7/hour or whatever--if the rate seems "insulting" that client is probably not for you). I've often been awarded jobs at 2-3x the posted rate, and know others here who have had siilar experiences.

[6bfcdaf8]

Hi Marianne,

If job is fixed price there's a chance that it is all the customer has. But if its hourly and there is a specific task, they can't know how efficient you'll be or how much value you'll bring to the table. So unless their expectations are super unrealistic like i want the best of best but i can pay 10/h, always apply regardless of the advertised budget.

Think about upwork as a big market, with all kinds of customers with all kinds of budgets and maturity. You on the other hand are a single person and only a handful of right clients can make you a living. So don't give up and soon you'll learn to easily understand which job posts are the ones you need to apply.

Wishing you the best of luck!

[tlsanders]

A lot of times fixed price clients are guessing, too. They're forced to enter a budget and often they really need the freelancer as the expert to tell the what it's going to taketo get the job done.