What's your experience with guru.com, eLance, etc.?

Submitted by Claire Doyle Ragin on Sun, 03/15/2009 - 09:15
The New York Times published this article today: In Hard Times, Freelancers Turn to the Web which specifically mentions eLance, oDesk and Guru, and Crowdspring and Genius Rocket for designers. I'm wondering if members have any experience using these services. There was a discussion a while back on LinkedIn about guru.com...most designers who had used it pretty much dismissed it as a place where the emphasis is on the lowest bidder (I believe one commenter referred to the clients who use it as "bottom feeders".) And throwing myself in the pool with offshore companies charging $15/hour doesn't really fit with my business development plans. I had a listing when I first started out at freelancedesigners.com. I got one call, from someone who wanted me to work on spec...if she liked what I designed, then she'd hire me to design it. I explained to her that I only work with a contract, which she found hard to understand. Which I found surprising, since she was a lawyer. Anyone have experience using any of these services?
‹ SBTDC Marketplace 2009, May 27

freelance websites

Submitted by Tracy Needham on Sun, 03/15/2009 - 13:52.
Once a while back I put up a profile on elance but I only applied for two jobs both of which I was significantly underbid. And honestly, just looking at what people want to pay is depressing. I stay away now. It's turning what we all do into a commodity in a rush to the bottom for prices. Even in general I've noticed that cold leads that come from web searches and things like that tend to be price shoppers. It's so much better when someone has either been referred to you or has found you through your marketing or social networking.
Tracy Needham www.compellingcomm.com www.compellingmarketingblog.com www.twitter.com/TracyNeedham