🐈
» Forums » Freelancers » Paid Connect System is not fair at all.
Page options
praina
Community Member

Paid Connect System is not fair at all.

Paid Connect System is not fair at all.

I am top rated, extensive no. of hours, and plus membership.
98% we have to pay 6 connects to apply to the 1 job, unfair is that it does not matter if that is of $10 job or $1000 job, 6 connects are fixed, moreover, when we are following this now, reply ratio from clients end is drastically fell down, what is the use of paying to apply jobs and we are not getting replies from the client, even though the no. of candidates are limited, this system is working bad, I don't how others facing.

 

Upwork has to set the system to keep the job fair with it's needed connects, at the moment, it's working fine. Some clients are mentioning, we are looking for the long term and the job is like of couple days and over.
Some clients are mentioning, we need a web developer for our website, it does not matter if that job of 1 day, many such cases I have seen and we have pay 6 connects to apply to most of the jobs.
UPWORK has to re-think on this making connect system fair to get good leads as we used to get before.

I would say, it was better before when we used to have 60 connects, each job costing us 2 connects before and we were getting good no. of back replies from clients.

--
Regards
Pawan Kumar | Certified Marketing Professional
iNFIN Software Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
24 REPLIES 24
hoyle_editing
Community Member

Well in the instance you describe "getting less replys from clients" it IS totally fair - we ALL have to buy connects, so its just as fair for me to bid on a job and get no reply as it is for you to bid on the same job and get a reply!

 

Jobs are not all $6 or 6 connects as i suspect you ment, you will find the lowest value are 2 then 4 then 6 - i admit the pricing structure leaves alot to be desired, but if you are struggling for replys, maybe work on which jobs you apply to, and how you do it ( i have also struggled but have spent time figuring out which jobs to reply to and how to do it effectively)

Is there any way to find out 2 connects, 4 and 6 connect based jobs? 
I am also on upwork more than a decade, I know which job is right and relevant to my skill set and the same I am doing, but no luck in replies. Before, 60 connects we used to have, 30 jobs we could apply, now pay for connects and only 10 jobs we can apply, winning the project ratio is certainly very low, no problem for purchasing more connects but if there are no replies from clients, I am certainly losing my money then!

--
Regards
Pawan Kumar | Certified Marketing Professional
iNFIN Software Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
robin_hyman
Community Member

The current system isn't working for me either, but for different reasons.  Clients are arbitrarily putting in $500, 6+ months and subsequently we, freelancers, are being charged the 6 connects.  However, when (if) a client responds to our proposal, many times I found out it is a one-time deal and they're looking at paying $500 but for many more deliverables than originally outlined.  

 

Other clients are more savvy and putting in $5, $50, $100 for 1-3 months (yielding 2-4 connects) and are willing to pay much more.  Those are the jobs I'm applying to...

I also worked before for big clients who paid me $30000 - $50000, and I am targeting such clients not big as these always like but I  still applying to clients whose budget is $300-500 is least, I was getting fair responses earlier but these days it becomes 0, seems they are not finding my application even from 5-10 applications. 

--
Regards
Pawan Kumar | Certified Marketing Professional
iNFIN Software Technologies Pvt. Ltd.

You said you are a plus member so you get 70 connects a month and can rollover up to 140. Isn't this a sufficient amount to win jobs? You aren't paying extra for these.

tlsanders
Community Member

Upwork didn't design the system to be "fair." They designed the system to increase profitability of the company (which is, after all, their legal mandate now that they are a publicly traded company).

praina
Community Member

Yes, you are right.

--
Regards
Pawan Kumar | Certified Marketing Professional
iNFIN Software Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
f_tiangco
Community Member

Everything you said is absolutely true.

 

I wrote something similar in coffee break (I love upwork 3000) and now its getting suspended and I dont know why?

 

Please help me get this message to upwork

praina
Community Member

If you are genuine and real person, you should email them. Ask them to take your video interview to prove yourself. 

--
Regards
Pawan Kumar | Certified Marketing Professional
iNFIN Software Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
krnage72
Community Member

Yeah, I'm Top-rated, have a 100% job success score, have earned more than $10K(close to $15k), pretty much have 5-star ratings across the board, and can't get a reply to a single proposal. 

 

Whatever they changed, for whatever reason, it is no longer working for me. I think it's probably time to move on to another platform or two or start to try to market myself through other channels. 

 

It's a shame, really. I liked this platform a lot. In the past, I knew that landing jobs was just a numbers game. I'd put out a bunch of proposals and although I wouldn't get close to all the jobs I bid for, I landed enough to make the time and effort more than worth it. Even when I had very little feedback and almost no portfolio. 

 

Now, I can't get a response on $50 graphic design jobs. And when I do finally land a job, I'm probably only going to clear enough to barely cover the money I've spent on connects. 


Kevin N wrote:

Yeah, I'm Top-rated, have a 100% job success score, have earned more than $10K(close to $15k), pretty much have 5-star ratings across the board, and can't get a reply to a single proposal. 

 

Whatever they changed, for whatever reason, it is no longer working for me. I think it's probably time to move on to another platform or two or start to try to market myself through other channels. 

 

It's a shame, really. I liked this platform a lot. In the past, I knew that landing jobs was just a numbers game. I'd put out a bunch of proposals and although I wouldn't get close to all the jobs I bid for, I landed enough to make the time and effort more than worth it. Even when I had very little feedback and almost no portfolio. 

 

Now, I can't get a response on $50 graphic design jobs. And when I do finally land a job, I'm probably only going to clear enough to barely cover the money I've spent on connects. 


Kevin,

 

Graphic design is one of the most competitive jobs here.  Your profile is private so I cannot provide commentary.  You're competing with freelancers offering $10 to create a logo.  Make your profile stand-out.  Your proposals should be customized and unique.  

 

I agree this should not be the only platform you're on.  Explore additional channels.  

 

Good luck!

Thank you. I definitely don't go for the low-hanging fruit. I choose USA freelancers only and typically only bid for jobs that are at least $150-200+. They have always been competitive. But I have had success in the past by using my knowledge of sales to draft compelling personalized proposals. But recently it has just dried right up. Not long after the time that we went to pay-per-connect. Very frustrating. 

I also feel like the connects system needs to be looked at. You have to buy connects, then Upwork wants 20% of your initial earnings as well? Getting greedy imo. 

 

I like Upwork as I appreciate the protection from bad clients, but it seems a lot harder to make a good living here than it was the last time I was using the platform a lot, a few years ago. 

 

I'm also having similar issues with potential clients not responding to carefully drafted proposals at fair rates. These clients don't seem to be hiring at all as the jobs remain listed. If that's the case, why have I paid to be connected to a client who isn't hiring on the platform? That can't be right.

 

If clients don't hire within a certain amount of time, bidding freelancers should have connects returned.

d_salcido
Community Member

I agree. We should only be required to pay conects if we get the job. I may have to use my money more wisely with another service. Very bad business model.


Dave S wrote:

I agree. We should only be required to pay conects if we get the job. I may have to use my money more wisely with another service. Very bad business model.


Returning connects to people who don't get hired would entirely defeat the purpose of paid connects. Upwork wants freelancers to bid on fewer jobs, not more, and to do so with more discrimination. And, of course, if Upwork wanted to reward any freelancers with extra or refunded connects, it would be the freelancers who DO win jobs, and thus are paying Upwork fees instead of just a few bucks for connects. 

 

It's only a bad business model if you believe that Upwork wants to do business with freelancers who don't land enough jobs to make the investment in connects worthwhile. 

scaulfield
Community Member

The assignment of connects is done electronically, s far as I can see. And yes, it is entirely random. Why would anyone pay 8 or 12 connects for a $10 job? For that matter, my personal opinion is that Upwort should not even be charging anything for that little pay. After Upwork takes their 20% and you deduct for the cost of the connects, why bother to even do this? According to connet information, some jobs are not charged any connects or only 1. Well, I have never seen one of those jobs and honestly, a $5 or $10 job should probably be 0 or 1 connect, but no more than that. I have sent many complaints about this to support, but all they ever say is they will pass the info on to management and then of course, they let me know that they redid the connect to make it a better system and fairer to those that bid.

That certainly is not the case. If they are going to charge that way they should also consider the fixed rate. Their software is not working. Maybe they should have someone overview each job to make sure the connexts are fair. I'm not hopeful about this.

I don't understand. You think that as a for-profit business with an obligation to shareholders, Upwork should NOT charge for the tiniest jobs that they reap no profits on (often lose money on) from fees, but SHOULD charge for the high-dollar jobs that pay them thousands of dollars in fees? 

Upwork now takes only 10% on most jobs on the back end. What sholud happen, but won't, is that Upwork should have a minimum job price for any job. Even $20 or $30 would wipe out the "quick task" jobs where clients are basically buying product reviews for either themselves, or their secondary client.

 

I work in the Writing and Translation categories on the platform, and it is packed with these types of jobs, which are also where a lot of scammers lurk. Technically writing a review is writing, but doesn't serve a specific business need, such as copywrting, or some other creative purpose.

Junk jobs, but they are a source of revenue, both in connects, and in commission revenue.

2da1055b
Community Member

The most terrible thing is that many of the clients don't hire freelancers after posting jobs!
If the clients don't close the jobs(most of the clients don't close their open jobs), these jobs are expired. In this case, connections are not refunded.
Here is an example.
A client posted a job, and more than 50 freelancers applied for the job. And 4 freelancers spent over 200 connections for this job. But the client found a developer on another platform like Freelancer or LinkedIn and didn't hire on Upwork.
In this case, only Upwork earns money. 800 connections is $120. If 1500 connections are used for this fake job by 50 freelancers, only Upwork earns $225. This is the money that stole from freelancers.
I think the solution is that Upwork must refund the connections for the expired jobs, not only for the closed jobs by clients.

2da1055b
Community Member

And there is another problem.
There are lots of fake jobs nowadays on Upwork/LinkedIn. Many of them look like real jobs, but their real purpose is to advertise their company. Do you think it's fair to get money from freelancers by posting fake jobs?

Here are two solutions.
If jobs are expired without hiring, connections must be refunded. 
Clients should pay some money when they post jobs(like Toptal). Then clients will consider it deeply when they post jobs and freelancers can save time that they have been spending to send proposals for junk jobs.

If you honestly believe that Upwork is posting fake jobs to steal your money, you should leave the site immediately and report them to the California Attorney General.

You misunderstood what I meant. I don't think Upwork is posting fake jobs itself. But Upwork doesn't filter fake jobs.

e66065e2
Community Member

I really don't which **Edited for Community Guidelines** executive of Upwork came up with the "Connect" system. This has tremednously reduced the amount of work I apply to. Upwork already gets a commission when I am paid. The recruiters are unnecessarily asking for high connects for a significantly low paid jobs. Why would a freelancer pay 5$ to apply to less 5 jobs when payment is not guaranteed. 

 

I have decreased my activity on upwork and am looking at other freelancer portals. Just wanted to call out the 'Genius" aka **Edited for Community Guidelines**exe who thought of this as a revenue generation strategy. There you go, might have worked in the short-term, but in the long-term you lost the talent pool you had. 

You are correct that it makes no sense to spend $2.40 to bid on a $5 job. Yet, for some reason, many freelancers do. 

 

Upwork is now slightly profitable for the first time in it's history.

 

Losing 70% of freelancers would be a great benefit to Upwork, clients, and other freelancers. The only incentive Upwork has to allow ~20 million freelancers, most of whom never own a dime, to harm the platform and drive clients away is that they pay for connnects. 

 

Latest Articles
Featured Topics
Learning Paths