5 ms·

Ask HN: Do you use oDesk/ elance / Fiverr?

• canterburry 12y ago
  I have used Elance extensively over the last 5+ years for everything from Logo design to web programming. 1. Biggest challenge is finding contractors who are actually as good as their portfolios. I am not sure if this is a case of portfolio fraud or simply not a good enough interview process on my part, however, after working with some providers, I just can't believe all those 5 star ratings are real. 2. Too many contracts bid without actually reading or understanding the requirements. The best people I have found actually addressed each requirement point by point. 3. Too many contractors provide too little value. I expect them to manage everything they need to do on their side, and not just be the hands on the keyboard. Too many times have I had to put THEIR test plan together because they had no clue how to actually test their work. My approach has simply been to hire lots over the years and then rehire people proven to be good. It's a crap shoot initially though.
  • hackerboos 12y ago
    Number 2 is easily solved by burying an instruction in the spec. Example - ask them to prepend the subject with a keyword or some other information only calculable by reading the job description.
    • canterburry 12y ago
      That is exactly what I have been doing and it has worked up to a certain point. Contractors have gotten used to this trick and now just look for that one phrase and skip the rest. I just wish it wasn't necessary.
  • thejteam 12y ago
    I do some work on Elance as a writer. The only item in my "portfolio" on Elance is a short 500 word piece on why looking at portfolios is worthless. A few reasons: 1)There is some portfolio fraud. Every once in awhile a job listing pops up from somebody who says they are looking to be a freelance writer and need samples for their portfolio. It probably happens even more often but I usually filter out listings from India, etc. 2)At least on the writing side, most Elance clients forbid you to use the work you do for them in your portfolio. This means the work you see is usually work they polished specifically for the portfolio and is not indicative of their normal work. 5 star ratings are a dime a dozen on Elance. At least on the writing side the convention is that anything less than 5 is a serious knock on them. If a person is merely competent then you usually don't leave feedback at all. And please don't take the advice of the person saying to ask the proposal writer to put a keyword in the proposal. A lot of good people take that as an insult. Do what you do and only look at proposals that address the requirements. That is what my portfolio piece says people should do instead. Look at the strength of the proposal and not the portfolio. By the way, if you are ever looking for a writer for any of your websites feel free to contact me at the email in my profile.
• glimcat 12y ago
  The fundamental error with trying to fix such marketplaces via another marketplace is that contractors are typically far better off relying on repeat business and some elementary lead prospecting, while project owners are better off relying on networking and repeat business. Your target market is thus (more or less) restricted to people who don't yet meet that level of experience and professionalism. You get the contractors that have no existing clients and no clue how to approach companies, and you get the project owners who are out to get bargain-basement labor and firmly believe they'll be the one poster who gets lucky and finds a contractor who works on the internet yet is too inexperienced to realize what that means for their billable rates. This is still a potential market, but you've lost the more desirable end of the pool before you even leave the gate. And even if that is the end of the pool you want to provide value to - you can provide far more value by helping them move upstream, rather than trying to stamp out another marketplace which is a bad solution from its conception.
• palakchokshi 12y ago
  I've used oDesk in the past and they have some really great tools to ensure you can track what the contractors are doing when they bill you for hours. e.g. They will take a screenshot at random times when the contractor says they are working on your project so you can see that they were actually working on your project and not just sitting around doing nothing. The key to finding good contractors is to start out by breaking down your project into smaller pieces and giving the contractor one small independent piece to implement for a fixed price. If they deliver on time and quality work commission them to finish your project on an hourly basis. For javascript and android development I would recommend an excellent developer that I've worked with before. Oscar De Dios Rodriguez
  • deleted 12y ago
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• sixQuarks 12y ago
  I use elance/odesk extensively. My biggest pain point is trying to figure out the real rates charged for work. What would be perfect is to give each freelancer a 1-2 hour test that will be shown on their profile. It will show what they are capable of within 1-2 hours. For example, a logo design. Each applicant does the same test.
• dinae 12y ago
  I'm a Fiverr and Elance veteran. There is a tremendous amount of choice,which is daunting for sure. You can narrow the choices by setting standards. As a newbie, simply filtering for top rated sellers or Level 2 narrows your choices. And should make you feel a bit easier about accountability & quality since these folks have proven themselves by Fiverr standards. You can control when you get your work by looking at delivery or turnaround times. Add an extra day just to be sure. I use multiple sites based on my need on each project. I don't shop the same project to multiple sites that's counterproductive. It's better to decide what you want to use each platform. Have a look at Clarity, Elance and Fiverr; each has a slightly different focus. I wrote a book for Fiverr buyers ( the first). You can get it at http://infoproductdoctor.com/Fiverr-guide http://infoproductdoctor.com/Fiverr-guide. It's free til 9/23
• garysvpa 12y ago
  You just need to check the following... 1.) reviews from previous employer 2.) previous work sample (related to what you need) 3.) completion rate (quality and accuracy) Remember: Freelancer is paid only after you approve the work.