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Elance Question

by zannix
19 replies
Is it illegal or against their TOS to message the elancers who put up a proposal for your work and ask them whether they are willing to contract you off elance so you avoid paying a ridiculously high fee?
#elance #question
  • Profile picture of the author FrancoArda
    short answer: yes

    how should they stay in business otherwise?
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  • Profile picture of the author bugzy
    I don't know if they have private messaging there or not but considering they have, How would they find out if the two parties are contacting each other privately and creating a deal outside of their company?
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  • Profile picture of the author tmtechno
    It is unethical
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  • Profile picture of the author bugzy
    So much for the word "ethical" in the internet marketing world.

    I aint buying that.
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  • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
    Banned
    Of course it's "illegal" and against Elance TOS to do that. It will get you banned.
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    • Profile picture of the author Cali16
      Yes, this is against Elance's TOS. However, you (as the buyer or client) won't be paying any fees; the fees are deducted from whatever you pay your provider. Granted, many providers add that amount into their bid and might charge you less outside of Elance, but not necessarily. Freelance sites like Elance have fees because that is how they make a profit and cover their operating expenses (nothing unusual or surprising there).

      To adhere to Elance's TOS, you cannot contract with a provider outside of their system until after 24 months from the date of that provider's first project (or first contact - I don't recall which it is) with you. I have two providers I've been using for nearly 3 years now, and a few months ago we mutually agreed to stop going through Elance. It's just a lot easier to pay them through PayPal and not hassle with setting up a formal job listing for each project. But, the required time had passed and they've done a lot of work for me and know they'll always get paid.

      The main downsides for the providers are that they no longer have the protection of Elance's Escrow system (if they go outside of Elance) and they won't receive feedback on the site. And of course, if they violate the TOS, they risk having their account terminated.
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      • Profile picture of the author zannix
        Originally Posted by Cali16 View Post

        Yes, this is against Elance's TOS. However, you (as the buyer or client) won't be paying any fees; the fees are deducted from whatever you pay your provider. Granted, many providers add that amount into their bid and might charge you less outside of Elance, but not necessarily. Freelance sites like Elance have fees because that is how they make a profit and cover their operating expenses (nothing unusual or surprising there).

        To adhere to Elance's TOS, you cannot contract with a provider outside of their system until after 24 months from the date of that provider's first project (or first contact - I don't recall which it is) with you. I have two providers I've been using for nearly 3 years now, and a few months ago we mutually agreed to stop going through Elance. It's just a lot easier to pay them through PayPal and not hassle with setting up a formal job listing for each project. But, the required time had passed and they've done a lot of work for me and know they'll always get paid.

        The main downsides for the providers are that they no longer have the protection of Elance's Escrow system (if they go outside of Elance) and they won't receive feedback on the site. And of course, if they violate the TOS, they risk having their account terminated.
        Thank you very much, I guess this answers my question.
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  • Profile picture of the author WeavingThoughts
    Originally Posted by zannix View Post

    Is it illegal or against their TOS to message the elancers who put up a proposal for your work and ask them whether they are willing to contract you off elance so you avoid paying a ridiculously high fee?
    Yes, if they find out they will ban your account.

    The only way they can find out is if one of the two parties files a complaint or if there is a dispute.

    Other than that they may not be able to find out.

    Sharing contact info via PM is fine though.

    And a 10% fees for the escrow and reputation system isn't bad at all.
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  • Profile picture of the author Bond1806
    I am Elancer for last few years and as a provider I would not agree to make deals outside Elance. I have several contractors that I work with and we have few years of partnership behind us and with them I would work outside Elance cause I trust them.

    But with new contractors I would not.
    I managed to get scamed even on Elance once. Guy wanted me to edit PDF file and he needed it ASAP. I did it before he uploaded funds to Escrow, and I the fool sent him the finished file. He never payed. Amount was small, 50$ and it took me 15 minutes to do it, but principles are principles.

    So if you and your provider have some history together and trust each other, than yes, go ahed and do it, cause Elance has some ridiculous fees.
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  • Profile picture of the author O0o0O
    Yes, it is against Elance's TOS. eBay has a similar rule. If you're caught trying to do a transaction with someone for the product outside eBay, then that's considered fraudulent and you could be banned.
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    • Profile picture of the author Resondetra
      Hi
      I have always used Elance for my major projects.
      After so long ( 2 Years) using Elance and one particular vendor I approached him offline and now he works for me direct.
      We have now been working together for over 8 years.
      Hope this helps.
      Resondetra
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  • Profile picture of the author Audrey Harvey
    One of my Elance clients had a discussion with me about taking our business off Elance, and they found out about it pretty quickly, they must monitor messages for keywords or something. Their guidelines say that if you've been working together for 2 years, you can then buddy up off the site.

    Period of Exclusivity / Disintermediation : Elance Help Center

    They couldn't afford to maintain their services if there were no service fees.
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  • Profile picture of the author lightswitch
    I agree with the answers given so far.
    Elance is looking all what you're doing.
    I had an argument with them once they suspended my account for 1 month.
    They are very strict with their rules. So the best is to respect their rules as much as you can.
    Good luck
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  • Profile picture of the author Merylo
    As a contractor, there are downside of working outside the system, your latest working history won't show up in the profile. So you won't get any feedback.
    While as a client, the downside is ... wait, there is no downside except very little risk of being exposed, but they can make an account, again and again.
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  • Profile picture of the author Dorotea
    The problem with working outside Elance is that you can get a bad client who will refuse to pay after the service, so always work inside Elance for protection and building your profile for more jobs.
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    • Profile picture of the author elkiehound
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