Number of Invites Allowed in Free Buyer RFP Postings

[wendy_writes]

Moderators:  I have read that Upwork wisely increased the Number of Invites Allowed in Free Buyer RFP Postings from 3 to ? (unknown number).

1. Is this true?

2. If so, what is the new number of invites a buyer can issue?

3. When did/will this change go into effect?

Thanks in advance.

[kochubei_valeria]

Hi Wendy,

That's correct. Client invitation limits are dynamic, taking into account job and client details. We’ve heard your concerns about the three-invite limit, and we already allow all clients who post high-value jobs (based on budget and length of project) to invite six freelancers to submit a proposal. This change occurred before the move to paid Connects took place.

[wendy_writes]

Thanks so much, Valeria.  One last PITA question, please.  What parameters does U apply for a job to be considered "high-value jobs (based on budget and length of project)"?

As was discussed earlier - and pls note this is from my perspective as a writer with a relatively high per hour rate that I apply to fixed job quotes as well - many jobs that that are worth 350-400 turn into thousands when the buyer finds the right FLer.

[tlsanders]

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Wendy C wrote:

As was discussed earlier - and pls note this is from my perspective as a writer with a relatively high per hour rate that I apply to fixed job quotes as well - many jobs that that are worth 350-400 turn into thousands when the buyer finds the right FLer.

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Agree--I've had multi-thousand dollar jobs that spanned months to years grow out of $50-100 one-offs.

Of course, that's much less likely to happen when the client is so limited in his/her initial search that the likelihood of finding the right freelancer is slim to none.

Valeria, are you able to explain what the downside is to allowing all clients a number of invitations that is limited, but still adequate to allow some possibility of finding and hiring a great freelancer?

[researchediting]

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Tiffany S wrote:

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....Valeria, are you able to explain what the downside is to allowing all clients a number of invitations that is limited, but still adequate to allow some possibility of finding and hiring a great freelancer?

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My reading is that Upwork is now stratifying clients by their behavior. And they looked at their stats and picked a Really Bad Threshold that they thought demarked spammers, scammers, and/or tire-kickers. And because they don't know how to tease out causation from correlation, and because they don't seem to understand how professional freelancing works, they imposed the three-invitation limit, and linked it to the Really Bad Deal of the Client Plus membership. They are now backing off, relatively quickly, from the blanket three-invitation limit, which is something they never do. I read that as an indication of how Really Bad their extrapolation from the data was, as measured by the Really Bad Consequences it presumably engendered.

[jessicasimko]

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Valeria K wrote:

Hi Wendy,

That's correct. Client invitation limits are dynamic, taking into account job and client details. We’ve heard your concerns about the three-invite limit, and we already allow all clients who post high-value jobs (based on budget and length of project) to invite six freelancers to submit a proposal. This change occurred before the move to paid Connects took place.

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Valeria,

yes, can you please define a high value client in terms of dollar amounts?