Don't forget the time delay of finding someone local. You could easily spent weeks rummaging through responses to Craigslist ads, interviewing, verifying compe

Don't forget the time delay of finding someone local. You could easily spent weeks rummaging through responses to Craigslist ads, interviewing, verifying competence, etc. The nice thing about outsourcing services is they tend to give you tools to screen along with a deep bench. If a project is big, sure, look for someone local. But if its medium, I'll add oDesk/RentaCoder to the mix every time.