Upwork should decrease their Charges and commissions

[Mohammed Shakil M]

money's

shouldn't

Hi Everyone,

I am Shakil Mahmud from Bangladesh.

Upwork should bring some rules or policies from Elance since Elance is now Upwork. I started my freelancing career from oDesk and i only did three works in oDesk before starting in Elance. After completing three successful works in oDesk i found my biggest and long term client in Elance. I feel really great when i got this job. Elance was just a lucky charm for me. Then Elance became a part of Upwork.

First time i thought that it would be good but later i found that there is some disadvantage of Upwork which made me SAD.

In Elance my client started me at $200 per month and i was getting $182.5 per month. Suddenly my Elance account got expired and i had no choice but to move in Upwork in order to getting paid.

Now from Upwork My boss is paying me $200 and i am actually getting $180-$4.99= $175.01

So the difference is $182.5-$175.01= $7.49

So that means moving from Elance to Upwork is not getting profitable.

But it shouldn't be like this It should be profitable. We spent days after days nights after nights in order to earn money and when you guys charge those fees from our earnings it really hurts.

If only $200 is making difference $7.49 then if my boss give me $500 or $1000 what will be the difference then? The difference will become far larger than this. This is really upsetting.

If you guys are making one site by merging two sites then you should follow both of their rules. I am only seeing Upwork rules here but i don't see any Elance rules here. It shouldn't be like this.

My Suggestions:

• Please decrease your charges if possible.

• Give us at least one local currency wire transfer free par month (No processing fee should be applied)

• Give us a chance to add milestones in any project like clients so that clients can approve those pay us very fast

I don't know but i believe that someday Upwork will rectify these things and will make this place far better then Elance

[Tony H]

They have been talking about increasing the prices by a LOT, so that isn't going to happen.

What is the $4.99 charge for?

[Tony H]

Also... for that amount, I'm sure your client would be willing to give you $205/month. If not... start looking for another client. No one wants to work for a cheap charlie. How many hours do you work for that $200?

[Preston H]

re: "What is the $4.99 charge for?"

Tony, I am assuming that is his withdrawal fee.

I don't pay a withdrawal fee, because I withdraw money directly to a U.S. bank account, which is free to do.

But the original poster lives in Bangladesh and maybe he hasn't set up a U.S. bank account, so he is paying a fee to withdraw money to PayPal or Skrill or whatever his chosen payment method is.

[Tony H]

That's what i was thinking too. Paypal charges me $1 to withdraw from Upwork... or the other way around. Either way it's $1. If he's paying $5, I'd like to know more info cause that is a lot of money for some people who are earning $3/hr or less

[Preston H]

Tony,

He is using "Local Funds Transfer," which costs $4.99 in Bangladesh.

Comprehensive info about withdrawal fees can be found here.

There are actually quite a few options. You've got ACH (free withdrawal to a U.S. bank account... which does NOT require that the contractor be a U.S. resident or citizen, by the way), LFT (Local Funds Transfer), U.S. Dollar Wire Transfer, PayPal, Payoneer, Skrill.

Fees include the free ACH and various fees, many $1.00 or $2.00, and most of them under $5.00. The most expensive withdrawal fee is $30 for a US Dollar Wire Transfer.

[Mohammed Shakil M]

$4.99 is for Local Currency wire transfer charge

[tanya s]

 "I'm sure your client would be willing to give you $205/month. If not... start looking for another client. No one wants to work for a cheap charlie. "

Tony,

Your idea is to pass fees to a client! Clients actually give jobs. Upwork will not survive without clients. If clients find that fees at Upwork are too high compare to other sites, they will move to other sites or find other options.

Yes, fees at Upwork are too high and watch it- many will be looking for alternatives!

So, my advice- be nice to clients!

It works the same with taxes. Raise taxes too high and companies will move where taxes are lower. Do I really need to explain that?