Jobs get spammed with 50+ applications

[hermanng]

Hi,

it is getting really frustrating. I apply for a job that just came on and within minutes it gets flooded with 50+ applicationes and a majority of those are $6.00 offers from Pakistan or India. From the clients point this must be equally frustrating, being spammed like this.

Hermann

[colettelewis]

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Hermann M wrote:

Hi,

it is getting really frustrating. I apply for a job the just came on and within minutes it get flooded with 50+ applicationes and a majority of those are $6.00 offers from Pakistan or India. From the clients point this must be equally frustrating, being spammed like this.

Hermann

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How do you know how many $6.00 offers there are, or that the majority are from Pakistan? Unless, of course, you are the client. 

[hermanng]

simple, by looking at the bid range and second, I have hired here as well and got all those offers from India, Bangladesh and Pakistan for $4.00 to $6.00/hour 

[petra_r]

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Hermann M wrote:

simple, by looking at the bid range and second, I have hired here as well and got all those offers from xxxxxxxxx  for $4.00 to $6.00/hour 

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Says the guy living in an equally Asian country. 

[colettelewis]

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Hermann M wrote:

simple, by looking at the bid range and second, I have hired here as well and got all those offers from India, Bangladesh and Pakistan for $4.00 to $6.00/hour 

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__________________

Perhaps. But if you were applying for a job, you could not know this. You could only guess at the bid amounts. This sort of ethnic generalization can be quite offensive and also, there is no reason why the majority of bids should not be from these countries. 

[feed_my_eyes]

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Hermann M wrote:

simple, by looking at the bid range and second, I have hired here as well and got all those offers from India, Bangladesh and Pakistan for $4.00 to $6.00/hour 

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Just curious, Hermann... when you - as a client - posted your job and got all these $4-6 offers, were you pleased that you could get the work for so cheap, or not? Be honest now.

[dela_cruz_marco_]

So,clients get a generalized opinion based on the lower bid range for jobs?

[versailles]

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Marco D wrote:
So,clients get a generalized opinion based on the lower bid range for jobs?

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Lower/average/maximum

[lysis10]

By charging for connects, Upwork is trying to starve out those people but I am not sure how well it will work. Probably will work for the very low end. The spamming is probably worse right now because everyone is trying to waste their connects before the switchover. When it starts costing them, it might slow down a bit. It's still too early to tell because they said they are rolling it out throughout May.

[versailles]

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Jennifer M wrote:

By charging for connects, Upwork is trying to starve out those people but I am not sure how well it will work. Probably will work for the very low end. 

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At only 15 cents per connect I'm not sure this will starve out many...

[lysis10]

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Rene K wrote:

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At only 15 cents per connect I'm not sure this will starve out many...

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idk man, reading the connect threads, it sounds like everyone is really just that poor. lol

We always gotta hear about how poor people can charge less and global marketplace and blah blah blah, but that dog and pony show works for both sides. Global marketplace also means the poors can get starved out because the other side is too expensive for them.

But I do think you're right. I suppose we'll see.

[jaycrutcher]

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Rene K wrote:

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Jennifer M wrote:

By charging for connects, Upwork is trying to starve out those people but I am not sure how well it will work. Probably will work for the very low end. 

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At only 15 cents per connect I'm not sure this will starve out many...

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They won't get any free connects anymore though so they either have to pay or charge more. It will make getting in harder for those who can't attract regular work at those prices, and perhaps those who are already in will raise their prices, or even just run out of connects in the first week and then nobody has to deal with those low bids for three weeks a month. Maybe.

[michelle-trevino]

How do you know the client is frustrated with those proposals? There are clients that hire in that price range.

[yitwail]

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Michelle T wrote:
How do you know the client is frustrated with those proposals? There are clients that hire in that price range.

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Upwork knows. That's why free connects will be eliminated later this month, and clients may not receive 50 proposals, even when they want 50 proposals.

[michelle-trevino]

Well, there's a difference between not wanting 50 proposals and not wanting proposals of a certain price range. I had a client invite me to bid and then decline my proposal due to my rate even though it's clearly stated in my profile. 

I'm not saying it's bad to limit proposals, but it doesn't mean the client will want to receive proposals in a higher price range like OP was insinuating. Some clients will never want to pay more than $4-10/hr.

[feed_my_eyes]

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Michelle T wrote:

Some clients will never want to pay more than $4-10/hr.

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Yes, undoubtedly - the problem is that Upwork doesn't want this. They make a percentage of each project, so would benefit them enormously if the cheaper freelancers are encouraged to raise their prices because of the new 15 cents/connect policy (or stop bidding altogether).

[mtngigi]

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Christine A wrote:

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Michelle T wrote:

Some clients will never want to pay more than $4-10/hr.

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Yes, undoubtedly - the problem is that Upwork doesn't want this. They make a percentage of each project, so would benefit them enormously if the cheaper freelancers are encouraged to raise their prices because of the new 15 cents/connect policy (or stop bidding altogether).

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You'd think Upwork doesn't want this, but it makes one (me) wonder why Upwork doesn't simply change the minimum fixed rate to something more than the pathetic $5 they allow, and to raise the hourly rate minimum as well. Seems like that would be a relatively easy fix to increase their revenue - that would also go a long way to helping many freelancers across the board, as well as eliminate the kinds of clients who post those cheap jobs and then try to get a refund for their measly $5 or $10.

[feed_my_eyes]

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Michelle T wrote:
How do you know the client is frustrated with those proposals? There are clients that hire in that price range.

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They're probably not frustrated with the prices, they're frustrated with having to wade through 50+ proposals, many of which will be from freelancers without the necessary experience but who are thinking, "Hey, why not take my chances, since it doesn't cost me anything to place a bid."

[michelle-trevino]

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Christine A wrote:

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Michelle T wrote:
How do you know the client is frustrated with those proposals? There are clients that hire in that price range.

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They're probably not frustrated with the prices, they're frustrated with having to wade through 50+ proposals, many of which will be from freelancers without the necessary experience but who are thinking, "Hey, why not take my chances, since it doesn't cost me anything to place a bid."

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Exactly. OP was suggesting that it was the number of proposals AND the low prices that were frustrating. I can see why it could the number of proposals, but we don't know the client's budget on the project. They might prefer proposals in the lower price range.

[yitwail]

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Michelle T wrote:

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Christine A wrote:

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Michelle T wrote:
How do you know the client is frustrated with those proposals? There are clients that hire in that price range.

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They're probably not frustrated with the prices, they're frustrated with having to wade through 50+ proposals, many of which will be from freelancers without the necessary experience but who are thinking, "Hey, why not take my chances, since it doesn't cost me anything to place a bid."

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Exactly. OP was suggesting that it was the number of proposals AND the low prices that were frustrating. I can see why it could the number of proposals, but we don't know the client's budget on the project. They might prefer proposals in the lower price range.

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The client has some control over that, by indicating whether they're looking for Beginner($), Intermediate($$), or Expert($$$). I have no idea what jobs the OP applies to, but I never bid on Beginner($) jobs, and infrequently on Intermediate($$) jobs.

[feed_my_eyes]

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Michelle T wrote:

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Exactly. OP was suggesting that it was the number of proposals AND the low prices that were frustrating. I can see why it could the number of proposals, but we don't know the client's budget on the project. They might prefer proposals in the lower price range.

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Oh, I think that the OP made it pretty clear that HE is the one who is frustrated. He also drew the false connection that country of origin = low prices = inferior work, which is simply not the case. There are plenty of freelancers who offer pretty good - sometimes great - services for really low prices, and many of them are right in the good old U.S. of A. It's pretty tough to compete against them, but that's the way the cookie crumbles.