re: "That's bad because I see lots of people post jobs just to get ideas etc and don't hire anyone."
As I'm sure you will agree:
The purpose of posting a job is not to "get ideas."
The purpose is to hire people to work on your behalf.
I believe the overwhelming majority of Upwork clients are honest, ethical, professional people who benefit the platform.
But I don't doubt that there are some who post jobs without genuine intent.
You may not be able to prevent that completely, but you can control how you behave as a freelancer.
My advice is for freelancers to always treat clients and potential clients with respect and professionalism. Assume good intent on their part. It is fine to have some communication before a job begins. But the main point of that should be to confirm that the freelancer is a good candidate to work on the job. Not to DO the job.
And NOT to provide free consultation.
Freelancers need to put some thought and practice into how to handle situations when interviews turn into consultations. If communications with a freelancer go beyond ten or fifteen minutes, then that line has been crossed.
Be friendly and professional, but firm, in telling the client that, yes, you are willing to work on this, and they can go ahead and click the "Hire" button so that you can discuss the project in more detail.
