Do you ever bid on projects through guru.com?
I have been considering whether to join up and do this but I have heard a lot of negative feelings from people on this and other forums. Can I get some opinions? Is it worth it the time, energy, signup fee, etc?
Good Answers (2)
I have been on guru.com for about 2 years now. I recently upgraded to their paid membership and decided to give myself 3 months of checking the site, sending bids & following up with potential clients on a daily basis to see if perhaps I had not networked appropriately on the site. I do not devalue my fees. I charge what I would to anyone calling me at the office.
During this 3 month period I haven't received ONE JOB. I have had several comments on my portfolio and several who inquired further, but never turned into clients... I'm guessing they went with someone cheaper. I agree with the other professionals here. There are far too many on guru lowballing the bids to make it effective for any serious pro.
~Mary
I have used guru.com. Setting up my profile was fun. However, when it came time to bid, the competition was great... I don't mean that my competitors were better, I just mean that there were so many of them that the prospective client never waded through all the bids. Typically, the clients would choose someone with a high rating. You can't get a high rating until you get several of the bidders to choose you. Vicious circle. I'm sorry that I paid good money to join this site. What a waste.
More Answers (16)
Hi Jen,
There are many freelance sites around now, all claiming different things, however, I have not used guru.com I have used getafreelancer.com and elance.com however, depending on what you are hoping for depends on which angle to go, the freelance sites are not for everyone and in many cases, their are alot of university students and other genre's available who do bid on projects and big low.
If graphic design is where you are planning on bidding, this appears to be one of the low payers on the freelance sites, i am not saying it wouldn't work, however, just sharing with you my experience on these sites.
Thank you
Joel H
3D Animator and Rich Media Developer
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Jen, I haven't used guru.com for years, but it was a horrible experience for me. People posting projects are so cost oriented (read cheap) that they will take the lowest bid even if the solution doesn't solve their problem. Freelancers bidding on projects must be using educational or pirated software to work on these projects, because even factoring out software costs they were taking a bath on the work they quoted!
Everyone I know who is worth their salt avoids these kinds of sites, as finding a "good" client (one who values you and shares in the design process) is like the proverbial needle in a haystack.
I can recommend these kinds of sites only if you have zero work coming in. You can try to get some portfolio and reference pieces out of them, but keep in mind that these projects (being so limited in budget) don't turn out to be your best stuff. I can't stress enough the enabling and invigorating power of having a good client, and good clients get referrals, they don't use guru.com!
Joel
I used to check Guru regularly for possible projects. Ultimately I came to the conclusion that almost all of the projects listed pay way below what they should for professional work from any designer worth their salt. If your looking for some part time freelance for extra cash, or side projects to build your portfolio you might try it... but if youre seeking serious opportunities for professional gigs, I would advise looking elsewhere. Working for fees that low is disrespectful to our profession in my opinion.
Joe Y
Graphic Designer--Making Memories one family at a time. at Yliniemi Custom Creations
Jen
I have tried to bid on Guru but am reluctant to pay the membership. I can not afford the lump sum at this time, and figured if I were able to get a few projects to pay for the membership then I would do that. So far in 3-4 months I have bid on project that are "open" for graphic design work, and have recieved none. Either I am bidding to high or they simply don't want a newbe. I have bid on a few projects on Elance.com. Finding quality work that will last and put money in your pocket is not easy on these sites. It is almost impossible unless you wnat to bid so low that you are working for $1 per hour on some projects. As for me I am trying to find extra income to pay down my student loans and to supplement our income as funds are a little tight. I suggest you look into each area that you want to pursue, if they offer a free method to test it out then go that route first, before spending money up front.
Larry F
Writer, cartoonist and animation director
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If you want to devalue yourself as a professional, guru.com is the ideal choice. Remember, such sites are based on the lowest common denominator: victory to the cheapest. You'll be competing with two types of people: incompetent, unprofessional hacks using bootleg software, and competent professionals who have to work so fast to make the miniscule fees worthwhile that they don't have time to think about quality. Either way, the target market is buyers who either couldn't care less about quality, or who have such a monumental misunderstanding of quality in design that they figure it's all the same and only the price is different.
I wouldn't even recommend such sites to my son, a teenager just getting his feet wet in design and photography. Show some pride in yourself and find better ways to promote your services.
Rastin M
rmd Studio Founder/Web Application Architect - Tazzu™ CoFounder/Director of Technology
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In general we have learnt not to get into any bidding contests PERIOD! On the other hand if you produce many projects ( self inspired or clients ) and constantly keep a network of contacts informed about your activities, you can get clients into a bidding contest over hiring your or your team.
Bidding contests takes the power away from you and puts them in the hands of those who are trying to pay as low as possible for a service. What service provider in the right mind would ever want to be in that position?
Buddy H
Owner at Cellxent Solutions
Best Answers in: Graphic Design (4), Advertising (1), Web Development (1)
Try the free corporate contests at www.worth1000.com.
Registration is free and the corporate contests cost nothing.
Usually a company looking for a logo design. Winners in the contests usually receive $100 - $300 and sometimes more. There's usually a few running at any given time. If nothing else, you'll get some focused portfolio pieces, me a great group of very creative, helpful people and even learn a thing or two. Like I said, it costs nothing, so you have nothing to lose.
Jonathan S
Creative Consultant at "CLEANER" - Innovation & Brainstorming Consulting
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I do have to disagree with Buddy on this one. Contest do cost you something. Usually all submissions become the property of the contest holder, ergo, you have no rights to display the project in your portfolio and worse, the contest holder can use the idea/layout for another project for free because you did not win THAT specific "contest."
Bottom line is, contests are a scam, freelance sites go to the lowest bidder and that's not good for the profession and people who ask you to do free work for their startups will never "remember" you for future, "higher paying" work. This is a lifetime of experience talking.
Ken P
Founder / Creative Director, Nocturnal Graphic Design Studio
Best Answers in: Public Relations (1)
Jen
Larry said it best above. I won't elaborate. Just read his response again.
Hi Jen
I purchased membership at Guru.com and was extremely disappointed with the results... I use the word "results" loosely, because there were none. I didn't get one lead from that site, and I was very active on it. In fact, I didn't even make any good business contacts. Sometimes it isn't about the money, but instead about the quality of the contacts you build. So I was disappointed that at minimum, I didn't even come out meeting any new people.
In retrospect, I regret even considering such a site. It's built around the whole superficial concept that you can pick a a good designer based on a dollar amount. In reality, finding a good designer depends on their experience, professionalism, and most important, how good their chemistry is with the client. As an artist, I'm sure you've run into this problem too. Some clients are a good fit, others aren't, and you can't learn any of that from a bidding system.
But I'm glad you asked. Hopefully the mistakes we've learned from will save you some money and energy :)
Best,
Nathan
Jean L
Graphic Designer at Quantum Signs and Graphics; Graphic Design Professional
I joined several months ago looking to make a little extra money. So far, I have not gotten one project-- even if I bid low.
Veiko H
Independent Internet Professional
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I didnt get any answers even to my project proposals thru guru.com so forgot this site. eLance is much more decent for freelance work.
Links:
No. These sites are about paying the lowest possible fee for a project, and anyone posting a project on these sites clearly doesn't understand the impact of good design.
Designers who use these sites undermine the value of design as a whole and are damaging the credibility of our industry.
Guru.com is a terrible terrible site. As many have said the clientele is less interested in good design and more interested in keeping their budgets low. Its better to get contract work with local companies than to go the guru route. I hate to say this, its even better to onto Craigslist than to go on Guru.
I also disagree about "contests." These may be good practice for students or designers just starting to build a portfolio, but essentially they are spec work: doing the work and then maybe, if you're lucky, getting paid for it ($100-300 for a logo??? That's quite low for a professional logo design. I generally spend 12-24 hours on a logo design, presenting multiple concepts and refinements and preparing final, print and web ready files in multiple formats.)
In what other industry do people say "hey, do this work, and if I like it, I'll pay you?" Can you imagine having 5 accountants spend hours on your taxes, and then giving a hundred bucks to the one who saves you the most money?
I once did, I got a job from a company which was 1 block away from my office. Rare...
They wanted to pay one third of my fee, but ended up using me, because I had direct experience in that field.
It seems to me these site are very competitive, and people cut each others throats, especially people outside the US bidding on jobs.
