
[Backed Up] Freelancer.com stole from me and ruined my life - NikxDa
https://web.archive.org/web/20190426163107/https://www.trustpilot.com/reviews/5cc32fe1a8436908c40f60eb
======
mfoy_
That's the problem with a platform-as-a-middleman-service that uses a
commission business model: they have to aggressively, and I mean
_aggressively_ , take measures to ensure neither the providers nor the
recipients of the service cut them out of the loop.

~~~
scardine
I think there is no way around it, good freelancers and good clients will cut
the platform leaving there the naive workers and problematic clients.

They survive by making you work for cheap when you enter the platform (kind of
unwritten rule to earn "reputation") but once you start commanding better fees
they will kick you out under any pretext - they know professionals with good
portfolios are going to leave the platform anyway.

Freelance marketplaces are a race to bottom. They have a deleterious effect on
your career turning you into a low-fee/shitty-client magnet.

------
gortok
Besides Toptal (which focuses on the 'elite programming' aspect to the
detriment of all else), is there a vetted platform for businesses to look for
consulting agencies to do projects for them (anything 10K and up), and for
independent consultants/consulting agencies to look for work? There are state
run vendor boards like [https://eva.virginia.gov;](https://eva.virginia.gov;)
but I haven't seen anything comparable in the private sector.

~~~
mfoy_
I know our consulting firm has a "director of market development" in part
because there is no place we could just hang our sign and get business.

It's mostly networking and word of mouth.

------
Svip
This is the warning I give people: Do not let your livelihood depend on a free
service.

~~~
mfoy_
It's not even free though.

~~~
Svip
Nothing's really free. That's true. By "free service", I mean a service where
you or other part (or both) don't pay some sort of subscription fee and/or
have a contract with the service provider. But I thought I keep it brief for
brevity's sake.

~~~
mfoy_
But they take a percentage of transaction, and the "freelancers" do pay a
monthly fee, I believe... Admittedly I just googled "Freelancers.com business
model" and found a Quora answer, so I don't know how accurate it is. But that
makes it sound _very_ not-free.

