Is Elance a scam?
 

I've been working part-time on Elance for almost 3 years now.
Just yesterday, my account was closed.
I contacted them for the reason, and this is the reply.
My account closed because my job award are under their minimum requirements?
I think this is unreasonable! It is a bidding site. You can't always expect to win.

Besides, I think I'm actually getting a high award rate.

They should close those who give crappy work.

Anyway, it's their lost.

Re: Is Elance a scam?
 

No, you can't always win. But, if you're almost never winning then they may not think there's a point to you having an account there.

Regardless of the situation, there's a place for reviews: Internet Marketing Product Reviews & Ratings

Re: Is Elance a scam?
 

Hi, move to oDesk, I think you are going to like it!

Re: Is Elance a scam?
 

Yes Odesk is the big dog in outsourcing for nonprogramming services. We seem to find more work than we can handle on Odesk... Only problem to many weekend get rich courses are sending folks to all the outsourcing sites with the promise of a native English speaking virtual assistant with a masters in accounting marketing and literature for 1.00 an hour. We wont touch any thing for less than the US minimum wage for voice work. Non voice is a different story.

Re: Is Elance a scam?
 

Odesk is crowded now days and elance is still a cleaner marketplace.

No Elance/Odesk is not a scam.

Re: Is Elance a scam?
 

I personally like Odesk, it's so simple to work with. In my opinion, it's just so much better than Freelancer and Elance.

Re: Is Elance a scam?
 

Actually They have some requirements which all freelance has to comply. though it is not a fact that they are scam. By the way you can move on odesk, they don't bother you any way.

Re: Is Elance a scam?
 

They are not a scam, they in fact want you to meet certain requirements.
Save yourself some time and move on to odesk, it's by far the best freelancing site.

Re: Is Elance a scam?
 

...or, open your own ghostwriting website and work harder promoting that than bidding on projects :) That works too - I know from experience ;)

Re: Is Elance a scam?
 

I wouldn't sweat it.

I've spent over $15,000 on eLance and they randomly banned my account a month ago. I hadn't used the account in 2 months.

I just moved to oDesk. Same different. ;)

Re: Is Elance a scam?
 

First, your anger towards Elance doesn't warrant questioning whether they are a scam or not. THEY ARE NOT A SCAM! Second, they have policies like this one in place for a reason. Finally, it's not their loss. They have plenty of writers and just because you're mad at them doesn't make it their loss.

Benjamin Ehinger

Re: Is Elance a scam?
 

No, they are not a scam. But good news for you is that there are other options. Like others have said, I have had good success with oDesk, and have also had good success with Guru. So, you have options. :)

Re: Is Elance a scam?
 

Elance is not a scam, they don't bear any failure in results. You can move to odesk it is also great to work with.

Re: Is Elance a scam?
 

Many people paint the world with a negative
paint brush. Instead of getting upset about it,
you might want to ask yourself....

What went right, what went wrong and how can you fix it

....before I'd think about moving
to Odesk or any other place.

Re: Is Elance a scam?
 

They randomly banned your account?

Really?

How does that serve their interests?

Re: Is Elance a scam?
 

Sad as it is, they are having tighter rules these days but that does not mean they are a scam. I am sure they do have their reasons. I would suggest you evaluate what really went wrong and move to the other alternatives. Getting worked up is counter productive.

Re: Is Elance a scam?
 

They don't just randomly ban accounts. What did they ban your account for?

Re: Is Elance a scam?
 

Yeah these companies can do anything. When companies become big they stop caring about people who built them but stop getting disappointed move on to something next. Its not a big deal. When you are self employed instead of posting it on forums, move on to next one.

Re: Is Elance a scam?
 

You should take a look at freelanceswitch. Great payouts and converts because its a rather small community.

Re: Is Elance a scam?
 

I have nothing against Elance, they may have the right to change their policy whenever they like. I suggest you go to Odesk, they are one of the strongest recruiter company that I know.

Re: Is Elance a scam?
 

Is Elance a Scam? Obviously, that's why they've been around for so long.

You aren't doing yourself any favours by asking such a daft question. If you'd asked for help in working out why your account was banned, fine. But to blatantly ask if they are a scam when you KNOW they aren't as you have had had WORK via them, tells me a lot about you and your attitude.

If it's the same attitude you use towards potential clients, then that tells me why you were banned.

Instead of screaming scam, why not politely ask them to refer you to the part in their T&Cs that refers to minimum requirements.

Re: Is Elance a scam?
 

Was that a typing mistake ? :eek::p

Re: Is Elance a scam?
 

I don't believe that Elance is a scam. It is a clean place to hire or work projects.

Re: Is Elance a scam?
 

Elance is not a scam.

But that does not mean that you will get your money's worth of work. I never used Elance but I think the platform is quite similar to freelancer.com. Every time you bid on a project and the project closes, even if you are not the winner, Elance takes a fee.

I got a negative balance on freelancer.com and almost immediately got a warning email to deposit funds or I will be banned. I guess, you were banned because you forgot to deposit more cash into your account. Am I right?

Regardless, I think it is best to take matters into your own hands when it comes to finding clients. Don't depend on one website to provide you with all your work.

Good luck!

Re: Is Elance a scam?
 

I'm sure Elance isn't a scam. However, I also prefer oDesk for my outsourcing.

Re: Is Elance a scam?
 

Is Elance a scam?

No! Not At All.

Re: Is Elance a scam?
 

No scam at Elance, just rules we may not be aware of. This ban may turn into a blessing for your business. There are many great ideas to propel your business forward suggested here. ;>)

Re: Is Elance a scam?
 

That sounds very odd but it's not a scam.

I think that it is a great opportunity to change tactics. It is all too easy get stuck at those sites.

What I don't like is that they didn't appear to give you warning - they didn't give you a chance to improve!

Re: Is Elance a scam?
 

Lol - it was meant to be ironic :D

Re: Is Elance a scam?
 

You should read their TOS and if you find they are going against that, then its good time to sue them. Otherwise, better go on finding for some other site and register there.

Re: Is Elance a scam?
 

lol. For one second I thought you agreed with the OP. But then looking at your post count and blog posts made me think otherwise

Re: Is Elance a scam?
 

After reading the response from Elance in the OP it looked to me that you may have sent out numerous proposals for jobs you weren't qualified to do. I see that happen alot in Elance. Some people or companies send out a response/proposal to every job they see posted in hopes that someone will hire them. This knocks down your award rate and Elance objected to that.

Bonnie

Re: Is Elance a scam?
 

I use odesk to hire part time freelance programming help more than elance. I have never been a contractor for either, I just hire from them, but I can say I have had much better luck with the people I have found via odesk vs. elance.

Re: Is Elance a scam?
 

I do not know about elance but freelancer is not my favorite cup of tea. I have had an unfortunate experience with them and I abandoned everything. However, I believe this might be an isolated case, since they are know world wide and have a great rate of success. So, basically, it depends on users and their approach on the projects!

Re: Is Elance a scam?
 

Move on to oDesk,they are a bit flexible as compared to Elance.

Re: Is Elance a scam?
 

Elance is the best and cleanest freelance site. One must follow the rules and requirements in order to stay. This is actually a good move by elance. You post an open job at freelancer.com then an army of unqualified bidders start to pour their non-sense offers. Elance don't like this kind of thing that's why it stays clean.

Re: Is Elance a scam?
 

Start your own site dude. All of the clients that you've worked with already, offer them something valuable (yet free) for a case study or lengthy testimonial. Plus you won't have to play the price game with other people on the freelance sites.

Re: Is Elance a scam?
 

I second this :)

While some freelance sites can be worth the effort for supplementary income (during any slow months), finding your own clients is by far the best approach. Much more opportunity to build long-term relationships. Besides that, you're build a real business, rather than relying on others to bring the work to you.

Re: Is Elance a scam?
 

I never cared for Elance, I did not like the way they did business, as a buyer, never even bothered with the seller side of things, they just do not seem like they have it together.

Odesk, now that is something I can recommend.

Re: Is Elance a scam?
 

I don't think so but my question is this. Is Burger king a scam? I ordered a Big mac yesterday and the lettuce was wilted.

Re: Is Elance a scam?
 

As with all things internet and business in todays
climate, you must diversify you operational capabilities friend.

Re: Is Elance a scam?
 

Look i've never had any trouble with Elance or Odesk for that matter and it sucks what happened but you can understand their reasoning. You've seen all the spammer bids people put up, it gets annoying. But whatever you do, never use freelancer.com .... EVER

Re: Is Elance a scam?
 

Elance is not a scam, they are simple following their guidelines... They did give you the opportunity to complete any unfinished work and access to withdraw your money

Re: Is Elance a scam?
 

Nope, they're still evil

Re: Is Elance a scam?
 

After reading all the responses on this thread, it seems like the OP has just been hit by one of Elance's rules. That doesn't necessarily rule them out as a spam site.

In fact, along with oDesk, Freelancer and 99Designs, these are the sites I would recommend for contract work.

You can check out this infographic that compares these 4 big sites:
http://biz30.timedoctor.com/odesk-vs...s-infographic/

http://i.imgur.com/cumfBjj.jpg?1

It compares their funding, number of freelancers, charge rate, etc.

Re: Is Elance a scam?
 

I doubt that there are scam as they have been around for some time. But as the other Warriors have mention, I will compile of list of the customers that are happy with my services and follow up with them so that there is a relationship.

If they ever needed the same work being done again, they will think of you. You can also consider being more active in offline networking event where you can let more people know what you are offering. There is a website call Meetup which will enable you to attend many of these networking event.

Re: Is Elance a scam?
 

I knew that because they have cheated with me too. I prefer oDesk, they have really good customers.

Re: Is Elance a scam?
 

I just can't get the connection between the OP being banned and Elance being a scam.

Why does that make them a scam?

It's nothing to do with a scam.

(EDIT. I'm talking to the OP, not you Dennis, I was agreeing with what you said)

Now that is a scam, you buy Big Macs in MacDonalds, not Burger King. :p

Re: Is Elance a scam?
 

Of course that's a scam. Since when did "Burger King" sell "Big Macs". You've been had man. Probably a horse burger. (UK joke)

Re: Is Elance a scam?
 

You're a scammer too, for copying me.

See last post :p