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IMHO, most of the Upwork jobs are upwards of $1000 if it's a serious client. A large number of freelancers & agencies have built a stable clients on Upwork fro

IMHO, most of the Upwork jobs are upwards of $1000 if it's a serious client. A large number of freelancers & agencies have built a stable clients on Upwork from years together. It will be a little revenue shock for them. Or eventually clients will pay more to cover the costs. Let's assume you are a freelancer with a client relationship of 40k * 20% fee for the first $500 earned from a client - $100 * 10% fee between $500 and $10,000 earned - $ 950 * 5% fee after the first $10,000 earned - $ 1500 New model - 40k Am I missing anything here? * 10% fee of any amount - $ 4000

sph 3y ago
True, your figures seem correct. I guess the problem is that I haven't had any luck finding any serious client, due to the competition and race-to-the-bottom. Some clients want quality, of course, but in this economy if it's a lottery to find a job in the real world, it's a lottery for those billing upwards of $100/h on Upwork. So what's left is small contracts where being a seasoned expert to deal with emergencies is more important than being cheap.
- ghaff 3y ago
  In general, you're probably an at least somewhat known quantity for clients that aren't especially price-sensitive (so bill in the $100s/hr range) or you're a name in a hat along with a bunch of people who will just take anything they can get. The middle-ground seems like a difficult place to be.
safety1st 3y ago
Yeah, a lifetime 10% just for making the introduction is pure exploitation. On the buyer side we have been defrauded by Upwork providers and the company did absolutely nothing. Clear cut case of illegal activity and ToS violation, Upwork did nothing other than take our money. The FTC needs to beat this gang of criminals into the ground. They are a racket from top to bottom. Fraud shouldn't pay. Exploitation of workers shouldn't pay. Breaking the law shouldn't pay.
- fatfingerd 3y ago
  I don't know, it seems like an impossible market for an honest middle man to me. 10% of short term contracting being a total bust where a worker should none-the-less be paid seems like a cost companies had that dealt with the lowest of job agencies. If those job agencies could afford to reimburse its because they were taking 50%.
- mulvya 3y ago
  Lifetime, in theory. In practice, you can move the relationship off Upwork after 2 years. See https://support.upwork.com/hc/en-us/articles/360043210654-Move-Outside-of-Upwork https://support.upwork.com/hc/en-us/articles/360043210654-Mo...
  - deleted 3y ago
    [deleted]
  - nidnogg 3y ago
    Has anyone paid this fee? I think when it gets to the point of dropping 12% of a freelancer's annual income to just talk outside of the platform it's simply not worth it.
    - Uvix 3y ago
      If you wait two years per grandparent's post, the fee is only $1, which probably is worth it. If you want to convert sooner, it's a percentage of the income for that specific client/freelancer relationship, and not total work for the freelancer. So it is probably a more palatable amount, assuming the freelancer has multiple clients.
      - joshuamorton 3y ago
        Yeah but the fee is calculated as a percentage of a full time (2080 hour) year. So it's only worthwhile if you're being hired fulltime, near full time, or at a much higher rate than your existing upwork rate.
  - 3y ago

sph 3y ago

True, your figures seem correct. I guess the problem is that I haven't had any luck finding any serious client, due to the competition and race-to-the-bottom. Some clients want quality, of course, but in this economy if it's a lottery to find a job in the real world, it's a lottery for those billing upwards of $100/h on Upwork. So what's left is small contracts where being a seasoned expert to deal with emergencies is more important than being cheap.

ghaff 3y ago
In general, you're probably an at least somewhat known quantity for clients that aren't especially price-sensitive (so bill in the $100s/hr range) or you're a name in a hat along with a bunch of people who will just take anything they can get. The middle-ground seems like a difficult place to be.

safety1st 3y ago

Yeah, a lifetime 10% just for making the introduction is pure exploitation. On the buyer side we have been defrauded by Upwork providers and the company did absolutely nothing. Clear cut case of illegal activity and ToS violation, Upwork did nothing other than take our money. The FTC needs to beat this gang of criminals into the ground. They are a racket from top to bottom. Fraud shouldn't pay. Exploitation of workers shouldn't pay. Breaking the law shouldn't pay.

fatfingerd 3y ago
I don't know, it seems like an impossible market for an honest middle man to me. 10% of short term contracting being a total bust where a worker should none-the-less be paid seems like a cost companies had that dealt with the lowest of job agencies. If those job agencies could afford to reimburse its because they were taking 50%.
mulvya 3y ago
Lifetime, in theory. In practice, you can move the relationship off Upwork after 2 years. See https://support.upwork.com/hc/en-us/articles/360043210654-Move-Outside-of-Upwork https://support.upwork.com/hc/en-us/articles/360043210654-Mo...
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- nidnogg 3y ago
  Has anyone paid this fee? I think when it gets to the point of dropping 12% of a freelancer's annual income to just talk outside of the platform it's simply not worth it.
  - Uvix 3y ago
    If you wait two years per grandparent's post, the fee is only $1, which probably is worth it. If you want to convert sooner, it's a percentage of the income for that specific client/freelancer relationship, and not total work for the freelancer. So it is probably a more palatable amount, assuming the freelancer has multiple clients.
    - joshuamorton 3y ago
      Yeah but the fee is calculated as a percentage of a full time (2080 hour) year. So it's only worthwhile if you're being hired fulltime, near full time, or at a much higher rate than your existing upwork rate.
- 3y ago