Outsource arbitrage

No one do this?

In many ways, being an offline consultant, if you outsource
the work, is doing just that, although my friend Maria Gudelis
calls it "talent arbitrage."


Willie

I've seen it done on Elance and other freelance boards where a "company" will pass itself off as a design firm, bid on projects at high prices and outsource it when they win at low prices. Didn't work out real well for one company ... lots of complaints about the quality of the work in comparison to the very high prices they were charging and the facade of a "premium" service to justify those prices.

I'm sure there are other examples where it does work out well. That's just one that I've seen.

I tried it.

On here actually - I posted a thread advertising Wordpress installations
for $27 (I think). I found a talented outsourcer (via oDesk), sent him a
Camtasia video of myself installing Wordpress (very slowly, along with
detailed instructions.

Any orders I received I just forwarded the details to him then I double
checked everything was all good afterwards.

I processed a few orders successfully, orders dried up and I stopped!

That's an example of 'outsource arbitrage' right?

One more question.

Do you think will I have problem doing that kind of business with Moneybookers?

Is Moneybookers widely used by people and will fact that i cant use PayPal, because is it not possible use it in my country, influence bad on my business?

Tnx

There are thousands of people that outsource all of their client work. They are merely the middle man. SEO services, web design, etc.

If you do your research and preparation, this can be pretty profitable. A fair few people online have built successful companies based on outsource models. It all becomes about project management, because that's what your day to day tasks will equate to. You'll indeed be the bridge between the customer and the writer(s). With this becomes big responsibility, and effective organisation is needed in order to succeed.

Compile a list of writers and writing businesses that will write quality articles for you with proper English spelling and grammar, and for a good price. Then you can aim for the customers out there that are willing to pay a little bit more than average for quality articles. If your customers are happy with what they get from you, then you'll already have overcome the biggest challenge.

It's not far fetched to say you can make an average of $2 profit per 500 word article. Possibly more. Just focus on preparing your outsources in advance, and advertise your business like crazy as well as putting a huge emphasis on customer service, alongside the fact that you're going to deliver high quality work.

Serious customers that realise how important quality is, are going to be willing to pay your prices. Scoring big, recurring sales is a great aim. And by making use of multiple sites to advertise on (Warrior Forum is just one piece of the pie), you can in theory build a strong 5-figure profit (or even more) in a fairly short amount of time. I did read an eBook about how to earn $800-1000 per day doing all of this - if I can find it, I'll link you to it.

The people who do this don't want to say it out loud, or the people who hire them will know the services are available cheaper elsewhere.

Yes, some of our clients are middlemen.

We are communicating with them and provide the output that their clients are needed. I think we can help you out. If you have some questions, feel free to check us out.

This is actually a possiblity but risky. When you get a job and have someone else to do it, you better make sure that you're endorsing the job properly and hired someone to do the job well - make sure you won't be ripped off.

I guess there are people who make money by finding the right outsourcing guys for their clients. However, it doesn't seem to be too big yet. Else you would have found a lot of people discussing this method.

Do you think will I have problem doing that kind of business with Moneybookers?

Is Moneybookers widely used by people and will fact that i cant use PayPal, because is it not possible use it in my country, influence bad on my business?

Tnx

Well, I have been making $50-$100 per day on Fiverr using a similar method, yea, something close to Outsource Arbitrage.

this is potentially a good business model, but the tough part is in making the sales and ensuring the work gets done properly.

Outsource arbitraging is very much alive and well. In fact, it's one of the oldest, and strongest business models, online OR offline. However, it does sound a lot simpler than it actually is.

As a middleman, you do not get to make that profit for free. You do have a very important part to play, multiple parts actually. You are the project manager, the sales and marketing department, the customer relationship manager, the hiring manager and most importantly you are the quality control agent of whatever services you are offering...

For example, you've got a great talent for design, and you've set up a very prestigious looking design firm and charge premium prices for your services... then you geo-outsource the work on the cheap. You have to make sure that the end result justifies the prices that you're charging your clients. If it doesn't, do everything in your power to fix it, even if it means making a loss on that project to make sure the client is happy. Don't forget that as with all service business models, it's the customer satisfaction that's most important.


It's the same for arbitraging SEO work, if you charge your clients for manual link building and outsource it to someone who delivers scrapebox blasts instead, you can be sure that your clients won't be too happy about that. If you can deliver what you promise and find a way to get it done cheaper for less than half the price while being able to deliver this in a consistent fashion, you've got yourself a successful business!

I often pay "outsource arbitragers" a higher price even though I know where they find their workers for less than half the price. I'd rather deal with one person that I know will go to to great lengths to make sure that I get exactly what I paid for. They in turn, have become the hiring managers and quality control agents in my organization.

These people are usually perfectionists and have very high standards of excellence... You'll find many of these Warriors here on the Warrior Forum, and I've personally seen their business grow by leaps and bounds, while others who set up shop to make a quick buck fold their businesses within weeks, sometimes even days...

I know a lot of people find good jobs on Fiverr. Post them on forums for a higher price and make money of it ..Never tried it ..

Let me make this clear. If you have not PERSONALLY dealt with working on a medium/large scale contract doing the job, or something better, DON'T TRY!

Since you STUMBLED on it, I'm guessing you AREN'T qualified!

And you say "act as the communication bridge". In the case of computers, that means you have done the work, or something VERY similar before, can ask the right questions, and lay out a plan. It is kind of like the general contractor in building a home. A GOOD general contractor will understand a little about EVERY job, know the codes, and know about architecture. Let's say he doesn't know a wall is a load bearing wall. Well, one wrong move, and the HOME could collapse! Maybe he didn't figure support and all into the contract and will lose money. If he is expanding a home, a window may get too close to a vent. HE must know this! He has to know the timing and general layout! The FRAMERS put in the support and infrastructure for plumbing and electric. Ever watch "holmes on homes"? You want to be like HOLMES, and not the idiots that came before him. HE uses his knowledge to assess what must be done, and quote. He then gets the guys to come out at the right time and do the right thing. THEY do most of the work, and he pockets the difference.

BTW LEGALLY, the SELLER is responsible! That is YOU!!!!!

Am I doing this? In a way, in computers, I have been working just short of the owner at every level. I THOUGHT about doing it, but finding good workers is hard. HEY, I often have to fill in or help out.

My next gig is working for a company to provide support to another company. That last company actually created a proprietary kit of deliverables and methodologies they expect everyone to follow JUST to make the stuff I just mentioned more consistent and simpler for them.

Steve

The weakness here is finding people that are dependable, honest and long term. It's your reputation at stake.

It's probably best that you have the ability to do the work yourself in order to save your reputation and clients, just in case.

Yes. In fact, a lot of people are doing this. Either with sites like Fiverr or Odesk

If you can find offers for $5 and sell them for $20 or more elsewhere, it could be really profitable!

Is this thread still alive?

I do this in multiple ways. If you think out of the box, there are many simple ways to set up semi-passive streams with it.