Not a fan of bidding and the bidding table

[aarondesign]

Let me first just say that I love Upwork and I owe my freelancing career to this platform. But, after seeing a few bidding tables and how people are bidding upwards of 500 connects to get to the top of the list, I have to say I'm not a fan. I've been on Upwork for over 11 years, I work hard, my clients are very happy, and I bring a lot of money to Upwork - but now I have to compete with people who are spending money to be seen first. Why does my hard work, endless 5-star reviews from happy clients, 100% success rate, and "Top Rated" status not seem to matter anymore now that people can just bid their way to the top? I feel like people who are assets to Upwork, like myself, should get the perks of being placed near the top versus whoever spends the most money on this new bidding system. It looks and feels a little greedy on Upwork's part and I'd say it's not fair to those who work their butts off to make Upwork money with happy clients.

I will not be spending connects to be the first on a potential client's list of proposals. I just hope it doesn't affect my ability to be seen or get hired.

[tlsanders]

So you mean that you're gambling as to whether you make it into the top three slots? 

If you don't, it costs you nothing. What type of gambling gives you 100% of your bet back if you lose? 

[Anonymous-User]

Why have a top-three slot then?

Why show it?

Upwork is creating a system that encourages people to throw money at something that has no discernable outcome.

"If you don't, it costs you nothing. What type of gambling gives you 100% of your bet back if you lose? "

If you lose at gambling you lose 100% if you don't get the contract you lose 100%,, what is it you can't see from that? Gambling by throwing boosts at a proposal when you do not know what is going to come in behind you, someone with 100 connects, 500 connects, where does your proposal sit?

Now you said earlier if im not mistaken that the client gets a mixed bag of proposals previsouly, or at least alluded to, so now the client gets those willing to gamble to appear high enough up the list. to get noticed.

Are those people suitable? Does the client get frustrated? I have seen client posts where that is the case.

[tlsanders]

What I can't see is how you're distinguishing it from using connects at all. 

If you use 6 connects and you don't get the job, you've lost 100% of your investment.

If you use 50 connects and make it into the top three slots and don't get the job, you've lost 100% of your investment--identical in all ways except the size of what you're characterizing as the "bet."

If you use 50 connects on a 6 connect job and don't make it into the top slot, you get 44 of your connects back. If you know of a gambling setting where I get 88% of my bet back when I lose, please tell me where I can take advantage of that system.

[hedy_w]

It isn't just about what you spend on connects.  If everyone is paying the same amount for connects, then it is a more level playing field and you know a client isn't just hiring someone because they spent the most on connects.  They aren't hiring based on who they think is the most qualified for the job.  They hire based on amount of connects.  Part of the point is less people are getting responses to their proposals even though they may be just as qualified or more than someone who is paying for more connects.  And aren't those extra connects you spend temporarily unavailable until they hire someone, so you have less connects to use on other proposals? 

[tlsanders]

Don't you think that in the regular business world, businesses that invest more in marketing themselves have a better chance of drawing customers? Is there ever really a level playing field? For example, if you and I both set up websites offering the same service, and the sites are of relatively the same quality, but I spend $500/month on Google ads to draw customers to my site and you rely on them finding you organically, who do you think will draw more customers? 

[hedy_w]

That's a completely different example you're giving with Google.  You know in advance what you will have to spend.  Upwork keeps changing the rules and they already take 20% off your first $500 or $1000, then 10%.  They are already making money off freelancers and don't they also making money off certain memberships?  They could just give flat rate memberships people could join and be done with it instead of this competition with boosting by connects. 

[dcapdevielle]

Lets not talk about biding 50 connects to a job that never gets awarded.

[tlsanders]

That's silly. 

When you place an advertisement, you don't know whether or not customers will respond. Does that make it not a business expense?

When you take a prospective customer to lunch to talk about what you can do for them, you don't know whether they'll hire you. Does that make it not a business expense? 

[fdynasty]

What is happening now is the agencies who use to pay for google ads which were too expensive, now they are boosting here on upwork to get jobs, so the word freelancer is out of existence as they cannot compete with these agencies.

The reason your proposal does not get viewed because you are just seeing the 70 or 200 connects, and forgetting the freelancer before them bit below so their proposal will be after the top 3.

It's been 3 months now, only 1 interview and out of the 200 proposals I send, I am a top-rated here on upwork but now being top-rated or top-rated plus is just pointless, go make a new account and start boosting no difference.

[6bfcdaf8]

Stop putting mystery on boosting. These people are just paying to be listed on top, nothing else. Upwork won't do anything else to sell your service over the others. It will just list your proposal at the top and customer will never stop reading especially because its clear that its paid advertisement. They are looking for the best fit.

Yet some people still wont believe it and will keep paying (and not getting jobs). Boosting wont get you to a better position. Its just a feature like any other. 

[dd99cf87]

Please don't make Upwork just like a 2nd freelancer platform with a bidding battle, you charge a high fee on our work and still want to make money from bidding?

[gkgkgk]

Correct. It's a race to the bottom on what you charge for your services, a race to the top in spending connects to boost your bid. One already pays 20% of earnings to Upwork for facilitation and the guarantee of being able to collect one's fees (and that's indeed wonderful, which is what justifies, to my mind, the 20% Upwork charges). But, as you rightly ask, why bring in this connects bidding system. It only makes it worse for freelancers and clients alike. Someone who bids 50 connects, for example, need not be a client's best bet for a job!

[davis-michael]

Sadly this is the last time, I will be buying connects on Upwork, it has become pointless due to this new policy whereby Upwork decided to cash in and ruin their community. If anyone can suggest a better alternative, as I am done with posting without any responses from potential customers.

[debi-f]

I also decided not to buy connects. After 12 years working here, I have a good Profile. If the client is serious and professional, will search for the talented freelancers.

And, if no one buys connects, Upwork will take care about earning money from serious clients, hired freelancers and completed jobs. 

[tlsanders]

Do you believe the "serious and professional" clients are going through all of the thousands or tens of thousands of listings under a particular search term to find the most talented freelancers? Or do you think they maybe look at the first few pages and pick the best they see there?

[debi-f]

If they are "serious and professional", they will find the best for them, and not just look at the first bids. They will recognize and decline people that just add connects to be seen and not because or their talent. 

Other cheap clients will pick the cheap freelancers, even if they are not the most talented. 

The same as we can recognize a good client from a bad / cheap client according to his Profile, previous jobs, feedbacks, etc. 

[Anonymous-User]

It's hard to keep one's motivation for looking for decent jobs, let alone for buying and spending connects in a non working system. I took my time and delivered tangible results for my clients, to establish a steady work flow in a very specific niche. I respected Upwork's rules, tried to better myself by learning new techniques and working on my communicational skills. So what do all these mean in today's Upwork? Zilch! Nada! 

Sadly, I don't think a better alternative exists yet but leaving  a stagnant platform, to start over in a completely new way does not sound bad after a long draught without any clients on the horizon. Not paying for connects and keeping the %20 of one's earnings feels a bit more motivating than getting caught in Upwork's half-cooked gamification tricks.

[77cda6fa]

Yeah as freelancers were getting the shaft! upworks become a safe haven for verified scammers and we gotta pay for it!  So heres my idea if upwork needs money that bad START CHARGING THE JOB POSTERS that will **bleep** 95& of scammers in the bud and do away with this pointless connect bs

[77cda6fa]

I really dislike this new money grab from Upwork.. Why can they not simply charge the job posters per post and go back to the old way connects were used? This would oi This bidding war is really hurting new and old Freelancers alike.

[Anonymous-User]

I agree with availability connects, and I agree with connects to bid for a job, to a point. If the connects are not stupid.

I see Upwork as a business and they need to make money.

But the boosts feature is crazy.

ps, I'm so annoyed with this feature that it is preventing me from bidding on new clients, I don't bid on any client that hasn't got a very high hire rate, I don't bid if it is a stupid amount of connects,

If most freelancers do this, the real new clients will never hire.

[davis-michael]

All I know is that previously my offers where getting me to interview stage once a week, now no interviews for over two months. I propose a risk free service. My guideline offer is the client does not have to pay if they are not happy with the initial designs. This makes it easy for clients to choose me. It means I risk my time against payment, but it also makes me focus on delivering high quality work. Until the new bidding system, I was getting returns on all proposals and always getting paid based on my service to clients. The fact that I'm not getting returns on proposals means clients are no longer seeing offers. Upwork is destroying the service they used to provide by cashing in early on agencies outbidding freelancers on the platforms. It's simple, upwork sold out to greed over service. 

[f_jahan_eva]

Right. For small-few dollar projects how are people bidding upwards of 90 or 100 connects?! this is unfair competition.

[debi-f]

In this kind of small jobs, Upwork gets more money from the freelancers that buy connects to boost their bids, than from the job itself. So, this is Upwork business. They don't care if the client hires or not. Moreover, if the client doesn't hire and close his job, they have to give back the connects to the freelancers. So, they even don't care to tell the client to close the job if he is not going to hire anyone. 

That's why we don't have to buy connects and boost our bids.

[tlsanders]

I've had many Upwork clients who I connected with on a very small job and then the client ended up paying me tens of thousands of dollars over time. It's pretty easy for me to spot the prospects who have the potential to become that sort of ongoing relationship, so if I saw a really good fit it would be well worth it to me to spend more than the initial job was worth to make the connection. 

[bradley-hodges]

Ditto that. I'm in the exact same situation as you, and last month, I found myself at a record low number of invitations and hires, even after depleting my connects for the first time in more than five years. (Usually I had more than enough.) I would say ignore bidding and let your record and profile speak for themselves, but I've noticed that 9/10 of my hires were due to "boosting." Come on, Upwork, please remove this insane bidding scheme.

[lysis10]

---

Bradley H wrote:

Ditto that. I'm in the exact same situation as you, and last month, I found myself at a record low number of invitations and hires, even after depleting my connects for the first time in more than five years. (Usually I had more than enough.) I would say ignore bidding and let your record and profile speak for themselves, but I've noticed that 9/10 of my hires were due to "boosting." Come on, Upwork, please remove this insane bidding scheme.

---

I blew through mine for the first time last week. lol I haven't done that since the Elance days, but luckily the next day was my subscription renewal so I just waited for my 80 new ones. Last time I ran out of connects was around 2013.

[f076e725]

Sir , I am a new member in upwork  and am trying to get a job. But my actual problem is I don't want to bid. Proposal forms do not accept my proposal without bidding. What should I do to skip biding?

[sullivanliz]

You don't have to bid, but you do have to pay the connects set for the job - two, four or six.

[feed_my_eyes]

You won't be able to get a job here unless you place proposals. But first, you should go through the Academy courses and learn how to create a better profile, or you'll only be wasting your time and money. Your hourly rate is also too high for a beginner. 

Also, if you don't want to spend more money on connects, you should turn off your availability badge - it's not necessary to have it on.

[gkgkgk]

Aaron:

For freelancers, the bidding system is a double whammy. Now, finding work on Upwork is a simultaneous race to the top (in terms of connects used up) AND a race to the bottom (in terms of the rates you charge for your services). 

One freelancer (Alex P, on November 17, 2022) even described it as a "scam" on another post in the Upwork community. Guess what Upwork did about that? A community manager put up an "Accepted Solution" post in response with an anodyne message saying we are studying the metrics etc -- and immediately CLOSED THE THREAD from further responses!

So it's going to be difficult for freelancers to stay on here. I personally think the guaranteed payments Upwork offers is a very good thing -- but they charge a hefty 20% of your earnings for that. Fair enough, because the guarantee means a lot to a freelancer. But then to put in a bidding system!! Don't you think that's bit too much of a squeeze?

Trouble is there aren't any comparable platforms.

Easwaran

[f076e725]

Thank you so much Sir for your suggestions.

[abixbg]

The worst thing is that Clients new to the platform, or even ones that are not aware of this new bidding thing, expect to get the good proposals on top. Now they see the bots on top and think "Well apparently this is the quality here"... and go some place else.