96 replies
I just noticed that the contractors on oDesk are vastly
cheaper than the contractors on Elance. Why is this?
Is the quality of their work sub-par? What has been
your experience with using oDesk contractors?
#odesk
  • Profile picture of the author marketinguk
    Yeah i've also wondered this to be honest. I think Elance has a reputation for a lot of people at the top of their game and with solid experience and they feel they can charge a lot for their services and people seem prepared to pay it (myself included occasionally)
    I don't know that much about Odesk though so i'll let others chime in with their opinions and experience with Odesk.
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  • I have had good and bad experiences. Mostly good. Only one guy ripped me off for a meager amount. It was so obvious what he was trying to pull. He did a mockup and then kept asking for money. What a loser.

    Read the feedback. If the contractor blocks any feedback (it will show as not showing) then don't use them. Don't rush, and don't take the first or cheapest guy who comes along. Don't give them any money you can't afford to lose until they deliver.
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    • Profile picture of the author Gijsbertus
      I am working with a freelancer on odesk just now.

      Make sure that your jobposting is clear and concise... don't stop asking your contractor if everything is understood. Some contractors seem to have passed all kind of tests, but bottomline is that someone else could have passed these tests for them ! And thus they are not that experienced after all...

      You have to understand that these are people eager to work and ready to do almost anything for little, but sometimes what you might ask from them is way over their head.

      Good luck !
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      • Profile picture of the author marketinguk
        From these early responses it seems that you have to be extremely careful with your due diligence on Odesk whilst on Elance you just have to be careful with due diligence (if you know what i'm driving at). I have never had any problems with elance before, and the level of expertise with many people there is really second to none for the work i wanted and the people i could choose to do the work. I think i always had at least 5 or 6 good alternatives to the one i ended up selecting, which i think tells you all you need to know.

        Joel
        Originally Posted by Resale Rights Ninja View Post

        I have had good and bad experiences. Mostly good. Only one guy ripped me off for a meager amount. It was so obvious what he was trying to pull. He did a mockup and then kept asking for money. What a loser.

        Read the feedback. If the contractor blocks any feedback (it will show as not showing) then don't use them. Don't rush, and don't take the first or cheapest guy who comes along. Don't give them any money you can't afford to lose until they deliver.
        Originally Posted by Gijsbertus View Post

        I am working with a freelancer on odesk just now.

        Make sure that your jobposting is clear and concise... don't stop asking your contractor if everything is understood. Some contractors seem to have passed all kind of tests, but bottomline is that someone else could have passed these tests for them ! And thus they are not that experienced after all...

        You have to understand that these are people eager to work and ready to do almost anything for little, but sometimes what you might ask from them is way over their head.

        Good luck !
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        • You don't have to do any more extra due diligence on Odesk. It is the same everywhere. There are plenty of awesome contractors on ODesk. I wouldn't let one bad experience taint every one there. Keep in mind I always have contractors working for me, so there is bound to be one person in a thousand who is a loser.

          Originally Posted by Joel Ross View Post

          From these early responses it seems that you have to be extremely careful with your due diligence on Odesk whilst on Elance you just have to be careful with due diligence (if you know what i'm driving at). I have never had any problems with elance before, and the level of expertise with many people there is really second to none for the work i wanted and the people i could choose to do the work. I think i always had at least 5 or 6 good alternatives to the one i ended up selecting, which i think tells you all you need to know.

          Joel
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      • Profile picture of the author Barry Huddleston
        Originally Posted by Gijsbertus View Post

        I am working with a freelancer on odesk just now.

        Make sure that your jobposting is clear and concise... don't stop asking your contractor if everything is understood. Some contractors seem to have passed all kind of tests, but bottomline is that someone else could have passed these tests for them ! And thus they are not that experienced after all...

        You have to understand that these are people eager to work and ready to do almost anything for little, but sometimes what you might ask from them is way over their head.

        Good luck !
        This is true indeed. I had to go over my project over and over. It took days because he lived in the Philippians and I live in the US. I finnally got him on skype and got it worked out. The project he did turned out awesome. He is currently updating my plugin to make it better. I will eventually put it out as a WSO on here.
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      • Profile picture of the author wordpressmania
        Originally Posted by Gijsbertus View Post

        I am working with a freelancer on odesk just now.

        Make sure that your jobposting is clear and concise... don't stop asking your contractor if everything is understood. Some contractors seem to have passed all kind of tests, but bottomline is that someone else could have passed these tests for them ! And thus they are not that experienced after all...

        You have to understand that these are people eager to work and ready to do almost anything for little, but sometimes what you might ask from them is way over their head.

        Good luck !
        When you are getting cheap works, that means you are getting service from third world. If your job posting is clear surely you will get good people to complete the task.

        Here is my suggestions...

        1. Try to describe your requirement in plain English and in details
        2. Hire people those are with competitive rate( ? ). Actually if you want to have a good and experience guy you have to pay him more than average.
        3. Help him when he need you. It is really important due to the difference of time zone and language.
        4. Give him some time before give up
        5. You have to understand when you ask something different than that of your actuall job description it may take much more time in the back-end. So if you are in a tight budget, think one more time before writing a job description.
        6. Programming can not be done for a long time, If a programmer work 5 hours continuously he will be tired and his efficiency will be decreased. So ask your programmer to work 5 or 6 hours a day.
        7. If you need urgent work, award them with some bonus ( you can tell theme at the beginning that if they can finish the job within deadline you will award them 30% bonus or something)
        8. People value the relationship. Treat them as like you. Most of the time it works than being a angry client
        9. As you are getting your work done from a third world that does not mean you will get a professional website for $5( that is why i hate fivver gigs ). If that happens, you may fall into copyright issue at the long run. So, be reasonable with the price.
        10. Do not ask any changes over skype or google talk. Mail them with details about changes. If needed discuss that over mail.

        There are some more factors but I think above are the main factors of getting good work from oDesk or Elance.

        It is obvious oDesk is the giant among others and it is still growing big.

        Hope this helps.
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    • Profile picture of the author ebookzz
      I use odesk... hmmm what can i say?
      I have posted a couple article writing jobs.. The cheapest bids are most of the time no good.. I always ask for a sample of their work... The articles they show make no sense at all...

      As for website work i find odesk great

      Most for the time you will find someone really good for only $1 or $2 a hour..



      But sometimes you can find really cheap workers only $0.5 a hour

      If you get a full time worker for $0.5- $2 a hour take care of them...
      Easter and Christmas give them a bonus $5-$10 They will love you for it
      Even if they do a good job give them a bonus.....

      But i must warn you ... Giving a bonus sometimes is a "Bad thing"


      They actually get offended.. They want you to raise the hourly rate...

      I have had cases where i give a bonus and i never hear back from the person..

      I was actually talking with a worker on odesk..

      I asked In your country what is the normal wage per month??

      They replied I was working full time as a shop assistant I was getting $30 a month !!!

      $1 or $2 is a good wage...........hmmm

      Quick tip
      Explaining tasks to some people could take hours....

      Just create a quick video using a screen capture software explaining the task

      Doing this will save you alot of time explaining what needs to be done..

      Just send them to the video say watch this... Than after they watched it.. Say to them " Please explain to me what you need to do??

      Another tip when posting a job..

      Make sure you say something like "Add 8833 when applying for this job"

      As you will get a few people who just apply for the job without even reading it..
      Or maybe they might use software to auto apply for every job that gets posted with a certain keyword....

      Hmm without doing this you might get some people their profile looks great.... But when you contact them .. Some of the task they can't even do !!

      I have had a couple time people apply for the job.. I contact them.. They say i don't know how to do this.. But Please teach me...

      Odesk is great just takes time finding the right person
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    • Profile picture of the author infinityplr
      Originally Posted by Resale Rights Ninja View Post

      I have had good and bad experiences. Mostly good. Only one guy ripped me off for a meager amount. It was so obvious what he was trying to pull. He did a mockup and then kept asking for money. What a loser.

      Read the feedback. If the contractor blocks any feedback (it will show as not showing) then don't use them. Don't rush, and don't take the first or cheapest guy who comes along. Don't give them any money you can't afford to lose until they deliver.
      Yes! The feedbacks on the contractors will definitely help you to find the right one for your outsourcing needs. They are some crappy contractors but most of the contractors in Odesk can give you quality works. I am a contractor and a client and as far as I am concern, I have good experience with odesk contractors. But I'll give Elance a try too.
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      • Profile picture of the author HostWind
        While I havn't used oDesk before, Ive seen others consistently report the cheaper workers are a bit misleading. For example, they may accept a project at $100, then ask for another 50 half way through.. Seems to be the tactic used.
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  • Profile picture of the author vivi62
    The people that apply for my jobs are mostly from malaysia,india and africa and charge very little for a good job.
    Regards
    vivi62
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  • Profile picture of the author xxxJamesxxx
    Everyone I've hired at Odesk have been brilliant. Did hire someone at Elance though and the guy did a crap job... Basically gave me a incomplete job.

    James Scholes
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    • Profile picture of the author marketinguk
      Fascinating to hear that James, i have had the exact opposite experience with Elance and couldn't recommend them enough to be honest.
      Joel
      Originally Posted by xxxJamesxxx View Post

      Everyone I've hired at Odesk have been brilliant. Did hire someone at Elance though and the guy did a crap job... Basically gave me a incomplete job.

      James Scholes
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  • Profile picture of the author Michelle Stevens
    I have used oDesk before and only had good experiences with them
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  • Profile picture of the author jamesbrands
    Good and bad for me.

    The thing is once you find some good people, you can just on using them again and again.

    As mentioned always read the feedback normally gives a true reflection of what someone is really like.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mudiuy
    I used oDesk to hire a guy not long a ago. This was my first experience ever hiring someone online doing a major programmer job. I must say I'm impressed and was at first scared as I thought they'd rip me off. The job was finished and I received my script and he his money.

    I recommend this site to 100 %! Well, maybe not 100 % as I cannot guarantee all their members are top notch, but the site is very userfriendly and it's easy to communicate with the people you hire.
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  • Profile picture of the author johnes4th
    From a freelancers point of view, I consistently make more money from Odesk than Elance (@$30-$100/hour or $.04 $.08/word).

    There are definitely a lot of low quality providers at Odesk, but it is like any freelance marketplace - You are still going to pay higher rates for better quality freelancers.

    PS. The tests at Odesk are a joke - don't use them as a deciding factor when choosing between 2 equally qualified candidates.
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    • Profile picture of the author James Liberty
      Originally Posted by johnes4th View Post

      The tests at Odesk are a joke - don't use them as a deciding factor when choosing between 2 equally qualified candidates.
      Anyone care to elaborate?
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      • Profile picture of the author johnes4th
        Originally Posted by James Liberty View Post

        Anyone care to elaborate?
        Here's my take on some of the flaws in their testing methods.

        1. They are not regularly updated. This is particularly problematic for SEO,tech, and website design related subjects - especially considering how fast they can change. Plus, most of the questions surrounding these topics are either vague or based on some undefined set of "best practices" (whose best practices - your guess is as good as mine) - so it's easy to give the "right" answer, but still be wrong.

        2. The language tests aren't terrible, but when you take them, you can simply open another browser tab to double check any spelling, grammar, punctuation questions the person taking the test may not be sure of.

        3. The test time limit is like 30 minutes for a bunch of multiple choice questions. Again, this makes it easy to double check answers before submitting them.

        4. You have no idea who actually took the test. I have seen a number of people post jobs on Odesk (and elsewhere) similar to "Take Odesk XYZ test under my account - Top 10% score required to consider job complete". Some people simply pay for high test scores.

        In terms of hiring people, the most evident issues are with language tests. I have interviewed a number of people who aced their US English skills test and couldn't write a coherent, properly formatted sentence to save their lives.

        In the end, weeding out potential freelancers because they have a poor test may not be a problem, but choosing someone primarily because of test scores will backfire more often than not.
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      • Profile picture of the author imgeek2727
        Originally Posted by James Liberty View Post

        Anyone care to elaborate?
        Odesk is great if you are looking for really basic work to be done. Also, understand that people "pad" and exaggerate their qualifications all the time. You'd be surprised to know how many "SEO experts" I run across in many outsourcing sites and most of these people don't have a clue when I ask for results.

        The bottomline is that you can't expect people from outsource platforms and services to know exactly what you need from the beginning. You have to train. If you don't want to train and truly want to OUTSOURCE CONTENT and TRAFFIC GENERATION, prepare to pony up some cash.

        Always ask for guarantees and study their custom samples very carefully.

        It's worth the extra cost though since your chances of making money are higher with competent quality outsourced staff rather than untrained people you hired just because they cost pennies on the dollar.
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  • Profile picture of the author TheWrightWords
    I've been happy with web design from ODesk, but wouldn't source other work there. I have hired people on Elance for graphics, research and logo design, and been very happy. I occasionally find writing jobs on Elance, but never bothered to look on ODesk, because the rates would be too low there, I think!
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  • Profile picture of the author Josh Fulfer
    I usually use odesk when I'm looking for cheap programmers or VA type help and scriptlance for projects that require a bit more quality, communication or attention to detail.
    Most of the time it comes down to how much you're willing to spend, how well you write your job posting, how carefully you research people before hiring them and of course a little luck.
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  • Profile picture of the author zspuckl
    I just want to say, I do some of my major work on odesk, I make a decent income as a freelance writer to finance my IM dreams, anyways....there are some good ones on odesk, but I do outsource with elance haha
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  • Profile picture of the author DOMINO214
    I have not used oDesk personally, but I have heard that the quality of their work varies. I have recently come upon another site though that genuinely care for both employers and freelancers. Witmart is a huge crowd sourcing site and you can post contests to try out the freelancers, once you are happy with the work you can award contract work if you wish.

    Their customer service is brilliant and they assign a person to stay with you throughout the duration of the project. It is free to post a contest on the site and you are in complete control of the budget at all times. They do have a minimum fee for a logo design contest of $99 USD but with over 6.8 million registered providers you will find many talented workers . I cannot recommend this site highly enough.
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  • Profile picture of the author tmoby
    Never had a good experience with either. Lots of fake portfolios around there for sure. Thankfully haven't lost any money, though I've given up on those sorts of websites. Just make sure you do your due diligence before you hire, lots of good feedback is a must.
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  • Profile picture of the author alfid
    I'm surprised. I thought ODesk was one of a very high reputation. I know in order to work up to a higher level you need to take certain tests to prove your skills. Inexpensive is not always bad, and some writers charge way less than they should.
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  • Profile picture of the author faisalmaximus
    I am both a contractor & employer of Odesk. The matter is, Odesk is the largest freelancing work place. A lot of people gathers here and the competition is much higher than any other virtual work places. So, the competition decreases the rate in fact. The quality of contractors of Odesk is super, no doubt that the worlds best contractors are available at Odesk.
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  • Profile picture of the author The Copy Warriors
    Personally, I'm a freelancer, and honestly, so far I've found odesk to be better than elance.

    Yes, odesk has more obviously scammy employers and obviously under-qualified contractors than elance.

    BUT, I don't think this really makes a huge difference if you know what you're doing.

    When you post a job on odesk, you will get a lot more spam replies than you would on elance. That's true. But, the legit applications come in too, so you just need to filter for them and you're good.

    Just my two cents.
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  • Profile picture of the author ALicenseToCode
    The real rule of dealing with contractors is to KNOW who you're hiring. Or KNOW the person you're working for.

    There's always the potential that a person is a bad person, so what you really need to work on no matter what site you're on is to really check out the people you're hiring. That being said I've noticed that the standards on oDesk can be a lot lower than you'd hope for.

    A good contractor is worth 100 mediocre ones though, and if you can strike up a good, mutually beneficial relationship with one you will be good to go on any site!
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  • Profile picture of the author smna1586
    I can see that some of you're not satisfied with the quality of oDesk freelancers, I can understand that. But I can also see that some of you have no or little experience in hiring freelancers. You don't get quality freelancers because you're not careful enough when hiring them in oDesk. As far I know oDesk has some really talented freelancers who can deliver a quality job on the go.

    Please don’t feel offended, I’ve no intention to offend any members here. I know when it comes to IM; I’m not even close to good than any respected member in here. This is a great community and I’ve learned a lot from all of you. I’m saying this only from my experience in freelancing. If you can see that there’s a different point of view from the end of freelancers as well. They’re also mugged a couple of times as well. I’ve seen clients hiring people with an hourly rate of $. 30 per hour. You can’t expect to get a quality job with that rate.

    I’ve been working on oDesk as a freelancer and I found that you can find qualified freelancers if you tend to ask a few questions before hiring them. You don’t judge them from the number of tests they have passed. You need to judge them by their cover letters; if you find the cover letter attractive to you then they could be good. You’ll need to go through all the applicants in order to get the best freelancers.

    I agree with the test quality though, this can be cheated. But you can look into their portfolios for work samples or you can just ask them to submit a custom sample that you’re looking for. Then you can judge them from the samples and get a qualified freelancer to work with.
    Last of all don’t expect that you’ll get a quality job when you’re not ready to pay the standard rate. This standard rate could be different from your standard rate but it can never be close to one tenth of the actual rate. So pay better and get the best. Hiring people is always a time consuming task but if you take your time and find some good people to work with then you’ll never have to worry about outsourcing your tasks.

    Thanks for reading so long post.
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    • Profile picture of the author The Copy Warriors
      Originally Posted by smna1586 View Post

      I can see that some of you're not satisfied with the quality of oDesk freelancers, I can understand that. But I can also see that some of you have no or little experience in hiring freelancers. You don't get quality freelancers because you're not careful enough when hiring them in oDesk. As far I know oDesk has some really talented freelancers who can deliver a quality job on the go.

      Please don't feel offended, I've no intention to offend any members here. I know when it comes to IM; I'm not even close to good than any respected member in here. This is a great community and I've learned a lot from all of you. I'm saying this only from my experience in freelancing. If you can see that there's a different point of view from the end of freelancers as well. They're also mugged a couple of times as well. I've seen clients hiring people with an hourly rate of $. 30 per hour. You can't expect to get a quality job with that rate.

      I've been working on oDesk as a freelancer and I found that you can find qualified freelancers if you tend to ask a few questions before hiring them. You don't judge them from the number of tests they have passed. You need to judge them by their cover letters; if you find the cover letter attractive to you then they could be good. You'll need to go through all the applicants in order to get the best freelancers.

      I agree with the test quality though, this can be cheated. But you can look into their portfolios for work samples or you can just ask them to submit a custom sample that you're looking for. Then you can judge them from the samples and get a qualified freelancer to work with.
      Last of all don't expect that you'll get a quality job when you're not ready to pay the standard rate. This standard rate could be different from your standard rate but it can never be close to one tenth of the actual rate. So pay better and get the best. Hiring people is always a time consuming task but if you take your time and find some good people to work with then you'll never have to worry about outsourcing your tasks.

      Thanks for reading so long post.
      Yeah, I agree with this. A quality cover letter that is clearly written with your specific job posting in mind (i.e. NOT a template) is the best indicator of a contractor who's willing to go the mile and put in the work.
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  • Profile picture of the author mayankgangwal
    It depends on indivual. Yes odesk is less expensive but i love elance. It has a better messaging system. You can also try scriptlance and if you want the cheapest you can go for sites like fiveer and others but about quality i don't know.
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  • Profile picture of the author mogulmap
    I actually really like oDesk, the thing is to really be precise when hiring. Most of the time cheap isn't always good. The main thing is once you find a really good contractor you can hire them over and over. I have a custom wordpress expert on odesk that I rehire on a monthly basis now to do custom wordpress stuff for me. I did have to go through a few before I found him though.
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  • Profile picture of the author repstein
    There are people on oDesk who have worked hundreds of hours and gotten 4-5 star feedback- they probably are good at what they do.
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  • Profile picture of the author Cyberdog1
    Nothing wrong with Odesk. It's great for those jobs that you can't do or don't have the time to learn to do
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  • Profile picture of the author gcbmark20
    I have never really asked for tasks to be done at any of these sites but it looks like ODesk is winning it hands down.

    Since I have joined the Warrior Forum I can see that there are plenty of talented people here to get the jobs done that you need for your business.

    I don't know whether there is any difference with the price either as most things tend to be sold cheaper here than they would openly online.

    Hey here is a case study opportunity for testing which site is best for outsourcing:
    1. W.F.
    2. ODesk
    3. Elance

    What do you think guys?

    All the best!
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  • Profile picture of the author prismkuet
    The finding is right. in oDesk, you will find the rate is really low. One of the main reason is the popularity if this site. Lot of people are regularly joining there. A major portion is coming from underdeveloped and/or developing country where the dollar rate is high. So they can work for less dollar amount that will give them a good conversion rate in their local currency.
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  • Profile picture of the author JohnnyDeez
    Odesk is similar to other freelance sites, in that there are excellent and poor contractors available for hire. It's a popular platform, so doing some quick browsing will show you a lot of contractors, most of which aren't that great and charge very little.

    However, I have hired multiple programmers on this platform, and found them to be excellent. However, I also make a point of interviewing them via Skype, and I tend to hire developers that are on the slightly more expensive side, i.e., $20 - $100 per hour.

    By hiring some of the more high-end contractors on Odesk, you can, in some circumstances, save money. As they will work more efficiently and more quickly. But, that isn't true across the board.

    Either way, Odesk is a great platform. And, if you're willing to do some digging and talk to people before you bring them onto your project, you will be happy with your results. :-)
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  • Profile picture of the author AtomicBudgie
    I've had some great work done on odesk. The only other one I have used apart from fiverr is peopleperhour, All good work from here as well.
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  • Profile picture of the author Aswad
    You're in vast market full with applicant asking for job. Of course they will appeal to you as an expert in some fields... It up to us to choose which one for the job.

    I have good and bad experience using odesk.. not because of the system but because I'm less experienced choosing which one applicable for the job. At first..I thought the contractor had done a good job. Later...I found out he rip me off. The project was finished at the outside but there are lots of error inside, force me to search for other contractors.
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  • Profile picture of the author Steve Peters Benn
    I could tell you some horror stories - my recommendation - always check the diary videos at random points - not just the start and end.
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  • Profile picture of the author Silas Hart
    I enjoy using oDesk more so than other freelance websites. Now I tend to hire people locally for the slightly bigger projects where I expect to pay out more than a couple thousand. This is because I've had a lot of bad experiences with people who promise they have the skills to do this or that within a specific time frame, take on the job, and then outsource it to cheaper less skills freelancers. Now if someone local accepts the job, I can write up a contract that they have to present at least a good percentage of the project based on milestones within a reasonable time frame or else I do not pay them anything.
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  • Profile picture of the author jaiganeshv
    Not used elance so cant comment about it, but odesk is good compared to freelancer.com

    So im sticking with odesk as i have some good experience with odesk

    Thanks
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  • Profile picture of the author BettyM
    I have used both. Elance tends to be more expensive. One elancer said they paid for their listing . . . could be why I have paid more there.

    Have never had a bad experience on either. Have developed a long list of fast, cheap contractors who put my work at priority.

    In several cases contractors have submitted custom graphics before they won the award. This initiative always won them the project.

    I always hire with a fixed fee, 90% of the time contractors already have a high rating. Starting small with a test project is low risk. Sometimes I hire 4 people for variations of work on the same project and I choose the best.

    My exception to my rule of having a great rating is when an oDesk newbie says they will work for free and they only want payment if I am thrilled with their work. Found one my best video guys with that deal.

    Make your jobs a win/win. If someone gives you great work, use your skills to market their services with a stellar review and give them a bonus. They will remember you and put your work at priority the next time you need them.
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  • Profile picture of the author ekfaysal
    it's workign pretty wel for me at the moment.
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    • Profile picture of the author Swetton
      I've been using Odesk for the last 4 years and have good and bad experiences. It really comes down to how well you interview / test your developers / employes before you hire them.

      I find you can also get rid of a lot of spam applications through the simple use of a line like this in your job application:

      "If you have read this application, please use the word Yo-Yo in the first line of your reply"

      That is one little trick that can help you weed through hundreds of applications that you might receive for a job.
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  • Profile picture of the author hustlinsmoke
    You know its sort of like vworker, Have you ever used vworker, I think it is the cheapest out there and I have had the most headaches with it.

    I do not think its the sites though, I think its us operators. When I do my homework I get good results, when I am in a rush, I make mistakes and hire the wrong people.

    But yes each site has strength and weakness's the best site I use is scriptlance but usually always costs me the most too.
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  • Profile picture of the author Weblin
    Odesk is very good and a lot better than freelancer(dot)com

    Do not take hourly jobs they sucks but other jobs rocks as there a lot of professional clients. Freelancer sucks as they will ban you constantly for no reason. My friend account was banned & he lost 9500 $ without any reason. Just you violated our terms. He was one of the top freelancer there. I also got banned there. Odesk support is excellent.
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  • Profile picture of the author GforceSage
    There will be good and bad workers wherever there is a large workforce. Stronger reps drive a higher price. I am more familiar with Odesk and seemed to have quailty people responding to me based on their work. Maybe the Elance jobs you were looking at were hot at the moment, so workers were bumping up their rates. The demand in any market will create the rates.
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    • Profile picture of the author Birdi
      I have had my fair share with both elance and odesk and warrior forum... they all have their good points and bad points.

      In my own experience just have your due diligence when hiring someone, dont pay out straight away get samples of their work, and get them to do your work first before paying out... The main thing is look for feedback on the person your hiring. Dont just look at price the quality is the most important and completing in the time frame that you ask for.

      Above all just have your due diligence when hiring someone, as they say outsourcing is a skill in itself

      Birdi
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  • Profile picture of the author Arjoni
    i have used it and i think its cool
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  • Profile picture of the author maggie2
    I have had mixed results with oDesk. I have a gal in South Africa writing a book for me and she is doing well. I have two gals from the USA and one quit the other day and she hadn't even started yet and the other one has not been contacting me regularly.

    I have come to the conclusion that I may well be better off using someone from somewhere other than North America as they might be more reliable.
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    • Profile picture of the author Rob Howard
      Originally Posted by maggie2 View Post

      I have had mixed results with oDesk. I have a gal in South Africa writing a book for me and she is doing well. I have two gals from the USA and one quit the other day and she hadn't even started yet and the other one has not been contacting me regularly.

      I have come to the conclusion that I may well be better off using someone from somewhere other than North America as they might be more reliable.
      Hm. Somehow I doubt 2 people provide an accurate sample of work ethic/quality of an entire continent.

      Rob
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  • Profile picture of the author underworld90
    As a copywriter who has sought jobs on both I have found it very difficult to find employers willing to pay fair rates for good quality writing. I have also seen many providers offer sub-quality work and they are booked solid for jobs.

    By and large, my experience is that people are looking for the lowest bid. Most employers are uneducated about conversion techniques using copy, so all that matters to them is how little they can pay someone to write what they can't be bothered to spend the time doing themselves.
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  • Profile picture of the author marketwarrior06
    Banned
    the main thing is that if you are know the job you can offer the correct price. but if you don't know the job you will bid at a less amount.
    So platform is not a fact. the main fact is your quality.
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  • You see, this is not always about the quality. Price always varies in place to place. If you buy something from new york, you will be able to buy it in cheaper price from Dhaka. Different freelancing sites are different marketplace. Price varies because of the variation of markets.
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  • Profile picture of the author vCr8
    Odesk in terms of protecting you as a client when it comes to biling is sufficient, for houlry jobs you will be given a grace period to verify your contractor's work... for fixed jobs, you totally have control over it. Just like elance or other outsourcing sites, you baiscally have control over choosing people to hire, you need to take time in finding the right person for the job at the rate you are both comfortable with. If you don't delegate a time to find the appropriate person for the job and then blame the outsourcing site for sub par quality of work... hmmm I guess it simply means the lazy client sucks and not the whole outsourcing site itself.
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  • Profile picture of the author repstein
    Offline or online, you'll meet people who will rip you off. Odesk is a global marketplace that has tons of users. There's got to be a few who are out there to deceive you. The feedbacks section is a powerful tool to read what their past clients think of their work. It also helps to check their work history to verify whatever skill/s they claim to have.

    It is important to set clear instructions about what you expect the employer to do. Repeat instructions if you feel that the person wasn't able to grasp your ideas. For web development projects, set up milestone payments on every completed task instead of paying after the whole development is finished. This way, you can check if the development is on the right track and if all your instructions are carried out.

    I have had positive experiences so far.
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  • Profile picture of the author abbs
    It's hard to judge a freelancing marketplace with such a variety of workers.

    As somebody who has worked on a number of freelancing marketplaces including oDesk, I have found that a lot of people make rash judgements on the quality of these marketplaces based on just one or two experiences.

    The simple fact is: oDesk is only as good as you make it (like any other freelancing marketplace)

    You cannot judge a worker by the price he or she charges. Sometimes bargains are really bargains, but unfortunately, a lot of people miss out on them because they view them as being synonymous with poor quality work.
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  • Profile picture of the author SQUARE NC
    Banned
    You can get alot of work done on the cheap on oDesk. You literally get responses to job postings in seconds. Some say the work is sub-par, but each to their own.

    I also use ELance.. But be prepared to spend more if you decide to take this route.
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  • Profile picture of the author sandy3055
    I have seen people are working on low rates from Bangladesh and Pakistan. they are ruining the competitions. I have appeal to all odesk user that don't compromise your talent by bidding on job in low rates.
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  • Profile picture of the author Kenneth L
    In my opinion, Elance is vastly superior to oDesk in every conceivable way.

    I no longer hire anyone from oDesk and am ready to close my contractor account on oDesk aswell as there is no real way to guarantee getting paid, unless you do hourly.

    Kenneth
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  • Profile picture of the author Jessica Lynn
    I haven't used Elance is years... I regularly use Odesk and don't have a problem. Yes, you'll get a lot of applicants offering their work for cheap and that's sometimes something to look out for. When choosing from among the applicants, I rely heavily on their feedback and also how well they follow my job posting instructions (I always ask them to attach a sample).
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  • Profile picture of the author Jan W
    In my opinion and experience Odesk doesn´t suck. I met good and bad contractors there. But it´s the same with guru.com or elance. You have to check exactly before hiring a contractor. look at his stuff and don´t hesitate to ask for more samples.
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  • Profile picture of the author zigizag
    You can find some great native English writers that do quality work on there.
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  • Profile picture of the author therichb
    With odesk you should go like :

    1) Search with available filters
    2) find people with good rating
    3) negotiate for the pricing if your budget is low
    4) give them small assignment to show their capability...
    5) hire someone best out of it...

    This strategy works best
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  • Profile picture of the author lucky31
    I think Odesk is a popular outsourcing website. There is too much work available on odesk and there are too many people searching for work in odesk. So I think quality work is hard to find but not impossible on odesk.
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  • Profile picture of the author UltimateFaqih
    and How About Freelancer.com ? anyone ?
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  • Profile picture of the author thetomjones
    I think oDesk is cheaper because of a lot of contractors from India, Asia in general, and they offer their services cheap.
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  • Profile picture of the author Matt Carlson
    In my opinion,Odesk is the most cost effective and best outsourcing site.I have got a lot of software and web design related work done via this site and never had any problem with them.

    As long as you carefully check the feedback of freelancers,properly explain the finer points of your project and don't always go for the cheapest ones,you should be safe.
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  • Profile picture of the author tour
    Support Sucks Big Time!

    I fired a Bengladish guy, he turns around and starts spamming me.

    I advise support.

    So their Ukrainian tech support adds captcha and sets limits.

    Guy finds more holes to spam.


    Figured I would be a responsible netcitizen what a waste of time.


    Today he was able to find another oDesk.com forgotten user ID request hole.

    Got 138 spam messages.

    With Elance you can pick up the phone and talk to somebody who can make things happen.

    Freelancer only offers message support but I have found a couple of good workers.

    Odesk sucks I gave them 6 months to improve.

    They didn't and have now been thrown under the bus!
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  • Profile picture of the author Robert Montgomery
    I used it once before and had bad experience with it although I wont say oDesk sucks after only one try it seems to have a lot a crap on there too.
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  • Profile picture of the author dadamson
    oDesk is great but you really need to filter out the crap when posting an ad.

    My best results have come from including a sentence such as "please put the answer to 3+3 as the first character of your reply", this filters out all the automatic responses from people who haven't read the ad.

    I also hire 4 people for a 'test' and pick the person with the best work ethic, fastest turn-around time, cheapest price, and best quality work.

    Hiring just based on the application will more often than not land you with a dud
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  • Profile picture of the author JohnTimmins
    I think oDesk still holds some quality freelancers. It doesn't mean that if they offer cheaper price, their services is in low quality.
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  • Profile picture of the author Davidconstable
    I do not think the Freelancer of Odesk is more cheaper than the Elance. Actually Rate depends freelancer to freelancer. it does not depend on any site.
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  • Profile picture of the author faisalmaximus
    I have experience of working in both Odesk & Elance. From my own experience, Odesk has a lot of freelancers, but most are unprofessional and their quality is too low. But on the other hand Elance has a good quality contractors comparing to those of Odesk.
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  • Profile picture of the author Vid Yo
    I have found some success on Odesk. About as much as I believe I would find anywhere outsourcing. For me, the key has been:

    1. To ask many questions before hiring. Some will tire before being offered the job.

    2. To only focus on the Philipeans. Not saying I couldn't find good workers elsewhere, but I figure that's the best use of my time. Kind of like focusing on only the ones with many logged hours.

    3. I usually start with a lower pay than they desire. We, then, agree on a raise based on performance. The raise will usually make up for the lower pay before. This works well.

    Hope that helps!
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    • Profile picture of the author faisalmaximus
      Originally Posted by Vid Yo View Post

      2. To only focus on the Philipeans. Not saying I couldn't find good workers elsewhere, but I figure that's the best use of my time. Kind of like focusing on only the ones with many logged hours.
      I can't agree with you, there are a lot of good contractors who are not from Philippines. I found good quality contractors from Bangladesh & India, also from other parts of the world. So, should not target only one country, rather should focus on rating and total hours completed, what other employers are telling about the contractor for the same type of jobs etc, country should not be a major issue but quality.
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  • Profile picture of the author garmahis
    Odesk support and especially development suck big way. It takes them a month and counting to fix a critical issue - I'm not receiving messages sent by freelancers to my email.

    Then they remove the convenient calculator from the project page so I can't see odesk commission anymore - telling me go and vote on some forum to get this feature back. Really?

    I have many more of these examples when odesk is not adequate in their support and development.
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  • Profile picture of the author NK
    I've used Odesk quite a number of times and it's really a mixed bag, although I have similar experiences on other sites. There will always be good and bad freelancers but if you find a good one, keep them around.

    What I generally do is give a small order to start off with and if they do a good enough job, re-hire them a second time. If they continue to deliver after a few more jobs I would consider them for bigger projects. I still keep in contact with a couple of programmers whom I've not hired for over a year, simply because when I do have a project to go, I'll have people I can count on to get it done.
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  • Profile picture of the author Assignmentwriter
    Odesk is still great for work and hire some one, my best friend making good money on odesk
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  • Profile picture of the author Lukas
    I had a dispute with a writer about the quality of the work and got this reply from them.
    So far, no specific names come up however research I make about them. Anyways 6 contents are submitted and rest 4 are ready. But I think now I'm confused about your behavior. So I can't submit the rest 4 articles until I get paid. You are talking about refund?!!! All the works are proofreaded and as per the guideline you've sent me. Anyways I've checked them again and all are perfect to publish.I'm not new in content writing and you are not the only buyer of mine. My expertise is not valueless!!!
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  • Profile picture of the author NShankar
    Outsourcing itself is a skill. Before awarding a job to someone, you must check their previous feedback, check their proposal with your requirements. Discuss with them first if you have any specific task which is utmost important for you.

    You need to escrow the funds and release the funds once you are satisfied with the delivered work. In Odesk or elance or freelancers if you have awarded an hourly job, then there is no way to claim refund mentioning about the quality of the work. They measure only the time spent on the project. However on escrow funded project you have a fair chance, even then you must provide a chance for the freelancer to revise the work to your satisfaction.

    If you are awarding the job to some one just because their rate is low, you must be ready accept the low quality work too.
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    • Profile picture of the author Lukas
      Mine was a fixed-price and I released 50% upfront (bad mistake). I saw their work sample and now in hindsight , I know it was copied/pasted. I think a live chat with a writer is best solution to prove they can type a coherent sentence.
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    • Profile picture of the author Lukas
      They joined elance so avoid them both. Sure you can check samples and have test questions answered but that is no guarantee. I looked at the history of workers I hired and none were stellar. Get a Freelancer works better.
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  • Profile picture of the author anpharmd09
    I pretty much exclusively use Odesk for my outsourcing needs, and have had all good experiences so far. Granted, most of my outsourcing tasks are lead generation/collection etc. so it's pretty straightforward and inexpensive work.

    Prior experience and great feedback with the area of work that you are hiring for is important.

    Also, provide as much detail in your instructions as possible. I always create screen capture videos for my outsourcers and try to anticipate questions they might have to answer.

    The clearer and more detailed your instructions upfront, the less of a chance you have at their being a major miscommunication resulting in subpar work.
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  • Profile picture of the author creaturelocaljohn
    I started as a freelancer in oDesk, I think there are lots of great freelancers in oDesk you just need to check every detail of the contractor before you hire them. I think oDesk have some features like asking additional questions on the application process. You can also put some hidden instructions on your project description so that you can filter whose completely read your instruction and those who only use template cover letter. You can also check if the contractor passed a relevant odesk test to your project. Check his or her feedback. And lastly conduct an interview via skype or any IM app.
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  • Profile picture of the author kpmedia
    Q: Does oDesk Suck?
    A: Yes!
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  • Profile picture of the author craighakwins
    Well, I just think Odesk have more competition within the network. That's why people are willing to go lower in terms of prices.

    But I do agree though that Elance have better quality workers over there.
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  • Profile picture of the author dusaki3
    There are too much contractor on oDesk, and any contractor can apply any category of the job. That's why competitions is high on oDesk. On the other hand Elance contractor can only apply only one category job, and competition is not so high. You know price of the contractor depends on competitions too
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  • Profile picture of the author aja akira
    It does not depend on Odesk or Elance. It depends on the freelancer. If the freelancer is new his rate will be cheap on the other hand if he old/ expert his rate will be high. It also depends on cost. such as Elance take money to give exam of Elance on the other hand Odesk has no cost to give exam. it also depends of work quality.
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  • Profile picture of the author SEOArbiterJoanne
    oDesk is great, in my opinion.

    You need to actually pay attention when hiring, though, and read the profiles of people applying.

    Not everyone is going to be perfect, obviously, and some will be bad, but there are heaps of really talented people working for small amounts of money on oDesk.
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  • Profile picture of the author mattbarrie
    Hi everyone

    Matt here. If any of you Warriors want to give Freelancer.com a go I will hook you up with some free premium membership - you'll pay no project commissions at all. Just send me a note here on Warrior with your username (signup for free and send it to me) - it'd be great to get your feedback, especially those of you that have experience using other sites.

    Regards
    Matt
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    • Profile picture of the author abbs
      Originally Posted by mattbarrie View Post

      Hi everyone

      Matt here. If any of you Warriors want to give Freelancer.com a go I will hook you up with some free premium membership - you'll pay no project commissions at all. Just send me a note here on Warrior with your username (signup for free and send it to me) - it'd be great to get your feedback, especially those of you that have experience using other sites.

      Regards
      Matt
      Extend the same offer to Warrior freelancers please! Or is this just going to become another blatant example of Freelancer.com favoring employers over workers?
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  • Profile picture of the author David Hooper
    I love oDesk. I use it for graphics and data entry work all the time. If you're looking for writers or something you need a native English speaker for, Elance is better, in my opinion, but oDesk is a solid site with some great people.
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  • Profile picture of the author Highway55
    No matter where you go: odesk, Elance, or freelancer ... you're protected for your work (but not your time, if a freelancer wastes it). Too avoid any issues I will always detail everything I can for the person doing the job. Clarity is key to avoid any issues - Your Clarity, that is.

    If you are detailed enough, and you hire somebody with good reviews - you will usually get good results. Of course there are bad apples everywhere.. which is why your vision must be clear to begin with.

    Hope that helps.
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