
Ask HN: What contract agreement do websites like TopTal have with contractors? - mrburton
I&#x27;ve been curious what agreements are signed between contractors and sites like TopTal? I&#x27;ve seen a few comments online about some contractors not being happy about it and I&#x27;m curious about it.
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tedmiston
I'm not familiar with the TopTal agreements specifically, but in general with
contracts (master services agreements) provided by marketplaces you see things
that benefit the project owner as opposed to the contractor.

One example, might be if you create a tool that helps generate something for
that client, that the client also owns the tool you created. This kind of
thing can become a big deal if you want to use your generator across multiple
clients.

To anyone who is serious about contracting, I highly recommend (1) avoid the
contracting marketplaces, and (2) work with an attorney to craft an MSA you're
happy with.

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muzani
On the contrary I find contracting marketplaces to be much better
environments. Toptal treats contractors more like staff, in that they provide
training and things like copywriting.

It's really about the pros and cons of the job. I used to say that 90% of the
work in consulting is negotiating features/price and actually getting clients
to pay up. Contracting marketplaces remove a lot of that risk. You might get
paid less or have more limits, but it's up to you how much you want to "pay"
for that kind of security.

