Let's put an end to this ABSURD bidding war!

[#1]

We used to be charged from 2 to 8 connects to send a proposal. So far so good.

But now, not only Upwork is charging 16 connects to do it, but also we have to bid even more connects to have a chance to be seen by the client! I'm a top-rated-plus Brazilian translator and my fellow freelancers are bidding over 60 connects on some jobs! This is simply absurd!

Oh, and Upwork is now notifying us when a client sees our proposal, just to make it clearer that we won't stand a chance without accepting to be explored by this absurd bidding scheme.

I'm already outraged by this change in the fee system (I worked my a** off to achieve the five-percent fee and now they make me go back to the "standard" ten-percent fee? Oh, come on!) but this bidding thing is really making me mad.

How much more money will you guys take from us???

[#2]

It's sad how so many freelancer assume any freelancer who knows how to use the platform effectively is a secret Upwork employee. I really hate the fact that so many freelancers see success and managing their businesses strategically as such an impossible dream that their first response to seeing success is "must be fake! Upwork is paying them!" 

[#3]

Can you please feedback on my profile?

[#4]

Well, this hurts.

[#5]

I still dont get, this expensive conncets thing!

Freelancers are geting away from the platform since they cant apply to jobs.

Upwork in the new financial results reported loss of $(4.0) million,

Clients are getting mostly freelancers that can pay, not  the best freelancers.

[#6]

It seems that Upwork is doing its business selling connects, that's why there are jobs that require 4 connects and they allow people to boost their bids with 50 connects or more (especially the new freelancers), and they keep the scam jobs until people post their bids…using connects, of course.

Maybe if Upwork will not earn extra-money from us, will decide to control the platform and check the clients before they post jobs.

I suggest even not paying for a membership. Use the 10 free connects and only buy 10 connects more ($1.5) if you find a job that fits your skills without boosting! If Upwork does not get money from the freelancers, maybe they will care to avoid the scammers, or do something about clients that post jobs and never hire anyone. 

[#7]

Ooooohhh! Now it all makes sense! I did the maths and could not for the life of me understand how any freelancer can make any money here lately. Seems we as freelancers need to stop buying connects!
How about "1 connect = 1 bid proposal" (like Freelancer.com)

[#8]

If you'd like the few remaining good clients on the platform to run screaming, that's a great idea. 

[#9]

A loss of $4 million is a massive improvement for Upwork over the past several years. Typically, they're losing tens of millions every quarter.

[#10]

Going from plus +17 to minus -4 is not improvment!

[#11]

Today... 50 connects for a job that asks for 4 connects??!!!  

[#12]

This happens within only 1~2minutes.

[#13]

bet me that those freelancers that applied and bidded have nothing to offer

[#14]

Upwork is likely surviving from connect's bidding. With tech recession in full force, I doubt it has even 20% of the paying clients mass than it had in 2022/21.  Now you see agencies in bidding wars, paying 50 dollars to get a 30 dollar job, averaging on volume, with freelancers in asia making well under 10 dollars an hour. 

[#15]

So you think  these 50 connects bid are done by agencies? What allows you to think so?

[#16]

if you think that the 50 connect bidding is being done by agencies, that's not true. But you are 100 percent right about the Asians. 

[#17]

Paying clients for freelancing gigs have declined dramatically because (by its own statement), Upwork is no longer advertising for them. They have shifted their attention to the long-term market, and a huge focus of their last quarterly report was about their success in shifting to long-term relationships as a source of revenue. They are not interested in drawing in true freelancing gigs anymore. 

[#18]

And still, I see red in the future.

[#19]

We'll see. I think acting more as an employment agency or provider of misclassified employees in freelancer form will be much more lucrative for them--and with a much smaller staff and less infrastructure.

[#20]

Then it is not a freelance platform anymore and yet they still advertise it as such, which in itself is questionable. As many "features" they provide. Frankly, I am not an employee and there is nowhere in ToS said that I am employed by Upwork or the client, therefore it is all a big mess, as I imagine even Upwork is lost in their own "rules". Sends quite clear message to potential clients and freelancers.

I repeat again - Upwork is a middle man, providing a place for clients and freelancers to meet, and for that receiving part of the money from contracts they make possible. If the middle man is not doing the job well, they are fired. Freelancer cannot be fired as they are not employees. I would like people to finally understand that it is us, freelancers and clients, actually hiring Upwork to provide specific services to help us connect.

[#21]

But every long-term relationship starts with a new client. And I see less and less valuable new clients every day, and presumably existing clients fleeing because of hordes of unskilled people.

Plus, having kindly raised from 5% to 10% the fees on long-term contracts, by the end of the year many people will take their contracts outside of Upwork.

Not bad for a company interested in long-term relationships.

[#22]

That's true, but that new client can be advertising for a single blog post or a six-month 30-hour/week commitment or a contract-to-hire gig meant to be permanent. Upwork has said itself that they have shifted their advertising to these longer-term positions. That, I believe, is a big part of the reason we're not seeing good opportunities anymore--Upwork used to spend millions of dollars every month drawing them here and now they don't.  In every category I have checked, 1/3 to 1/2 of all postings are contract-to-hire. 

I also believe this is the reason for the change in fees. When 5% of freelancers are in long-term contracts, it's viable to cut their fees. When it's 80% or 99%, cutting fees in half would gut Upwork's revenues. 

[#23]

I would be curious to see their new advertising strategy, but I do not live in the US and I installed every possible ad blocker on my devices.

Additionally - and probably I am a bit naïve here - the most relevant part of "freelancing" should be the "free" attribute. The contract-to-hire model resembles more to an ordinary 9-to-5 job, and many people know how it is dangerous to call themselves "freelancers" and at the same time put all their eggs in one basket.

 Last but not least, not every kind of job is suitable for a long-term, full-time position. End of my musings.

[#24]

I am sure that there is an affiliate program by which bloggers attract newcomers. I have met many newbies frustrated by the loss of money many times. They complain that they watched a video on YouTube on how to earn millions in a week without the knowledge of relaxing on the couch. They come, wasted money but there are still no millions.

I don't think that bloggers shoot this just for hype and views.

I found one "life hacker" in my region and tried to find out what his interest was. This type of liar works solely for money. Asked why he talks about untold riches and is silent about scammers, prices and hard work. The reaction was predictable: he instantly wiped my comments and banned me from the channel.

This gives me an understanding that not all Upwork advertising is honest. 🙂

[#25]

Funny that you mention the videos on YouTube. Many of them are really misleading. It goes like this, one persons claims to have made a fortune on Upwork. He/she has so much work that he/she shouldn't have the time to make videos on YouTube, and yet that person does. I guess his/her hope is to have get views to make some money on YouTube

[#26]

...not to mention clickbait articles and other resources created with the sole purpose of generating clicks and traffic.

But I was actually wondering about the current, official Upwork ads. I remember the old zombies, a rare example of good taste. Has Upwork continued to delight its target of potential clients with similar masterpieces?