Freelancing

A Simple Tally Counter For Keeping Tracks of Bids

As mentioned in my previous post I need to put atleast 100 bids per day across the freelancing sites to increase the number of projects we are doing. It is just an arbitrary number and since we are only doing around 10-20 bids in a day, I thought putting it high enough will be a good thing to do. Since the freelancing sites doesn’t display the number of bids made on the day, I needed a way to track the bids so that I can push myself until the minimum count is reached. I tried finding a tally counter software but didn’t find any so I thought of building one myself. As I have been looking to get into programming after a long time, it should be a good way to start again from basics. As such here is the screenshot of first version of a simple tally counter for bids. I will be improving this software and will include more features including making it useful for any kind of counting work.

Bid-Counter

Freelancer.com is the biggest fucked up freelancing company

Notification
March 28, 2013
Hi harmonyinfotech,
Congratulations! andrew2305 is impressed by your profile and wants to hire you directly for their project on Freelancer.com. You don’t even have to bid!Project: Custom Project Mar 26 2013 00:04:34
Bid Amount: $50.00 USD
Days to Complete: 5 days

You must decide whether or not to accept this offer. Don’t wait too long! Respond now beforeandrew2305 closes the project or offers it to someone else!

Accept or decline andrew2305’s offer

Notification
March 28, 2013
Hi harmonyinfotech,
andrew2305 has sent you a message about “Custom Project Mar 26 2013 00:04:34”:
Andrew Smith

if you are interested please give me your skp so we can discuss further
Mar 28, 2013 at 7:01 IST

 

Notification
March 28, 2013
Hi harmonyinfotech,
Congratulations, andrew2305 is excited about hiring you for their project:Project: Custom Project Mar 26 2013 00:04:34
Bid Amount: $50.00 USD
Days to Complete: 5 days

We’ve asked andrew2305 to create an instalment payment for you, which you’ll get after commencing work. This is called a Milestone Payment and the remainder will be paid, either as a lump sum or further milestones, as you complete the project.

We recommend milestone payments because they help you and andrew2305 track the project’s progress by organising the work into small tasks (milestones). You get paid by completing each milestone until the project is finished.

Another major advantage of Milestone Payments is that it enables you to build your reputation and attract more work as a Freelancer by increasing your feedback. Plus, we also have a dedicated Dispute Resolution System in place to protect you in the unlikely event an issue occurs involving the project.

To get started, contact andrew2305 now and stay in touch to complete work quickly and efficiently.

View Project

Good luck!

 

Freelancer.com cuts $4 as project fees. They cut it before the client has made any milestone payments. And now the client has cancelled the project without even informing us the reason. The freelancer.com is too happy to oblige the cancellation request but don’t want to make sure that the client escrows the money before cutting the fees. Lately I am getting the feeling what people says about freelancer.com maybe really truth for their inaction to do anything about such issues. 

 

Notification
March 31, 2013
Hi harmonyinfotech,
andrew2305 has cancelled their project:

Project: Custom Project Mar 26 2013 00:04:34
Bid Amount: 50
Days to Complete: 5

This project will be moved to your Past Work tab. Freelancer.com is the world’s largest online marketplace, so browse projects and keep bidding to win more work.

Browse projects now

Regards,
Freelancer.com

 

 

 

 

I sent a mail to support@freelancer.com

Sub – Please refund the fees for a project awarded and cancelled by client

Message –

Hi,

 The project https://www.freelancer.com/projects/4375496.html  was awarded to us by the client by directly inviting us for the project and then it was cancelled without even informing us about the reason. As such the fees cut by freelancer($4) is not appropriate and should be refunded back.
Regards,
Alok

 

The response from the freelancer.com team

 

Hi Alok,

Thank you for contacting Freelancer.com Support.

Even if projects are cancelled, project fees are non-refundable. Our site merely provides the online venue for users to offer, sell, and buy professional services.

To avoid this kind of issue from happening again, here are some recommendations that you may take into consideration:

1.) Always check an employer’s rating and feedback after bidding. This would show how well they have worked with and paid their previous freelancers.
2.) Use the Project Clarification Board and Private Message Board in discussing the details of the project and mode of payment.
3.) Have your employer create a Milestone Payment before before accepting the project, or before starting or submitting your work.
4.) Remember that you have 36 hours to accept a project since it was awarded. You have plenty of time to ask for more information about the project, the payment, and the employer’s background before you decide to accept or reject the project.

Should you have further inquiries or concerns, feel free to contact us again.

—————
Sincerely,
Nathan
Freelancer.com Support

 

—————————————————————

My response –

 

So freelancer.com just wants to enjoy free money without doing anything. Is it our fault that the buyer created a project for us and we accepted their bid. Is it our fault that freelancer.comdoesn’t insist on escrowing the whole amount or part thereof instead of milestone payments. If we have to do all the work and make sure the client is really serious about getting the project done then what you guys are supposed to do?  By your reasoning  we should never accept project from new clients because they won’t have any feedback to speak off.

Anyway now I know it is fairly futile to talk with you guys regarding this. You guys are enjoying this free money and I hope this attitude of yours be the sole reason for your downfall.  Never in my life I wished bad for anyone but you guys really take the cake for being so arrogant and don’t even bother to understand that this is plain cheating.
My next response –
Btw when we received the project details the only option available was to either accept the project or decline it. Nowhere it was mentioned how to ask for milestone payment before the project is accepted. The mails sent by freelancer.com itself mentioned that you have asked

for “We’ve asked andrew2305 to create an instalment payment for you, which you’ll get after commencing work. This is called a Milestone Payment and the remainder will be paid, either as a lump sum or further milestones, as you complete the project.”.
So when and how we are supposed to make sure the milestone payment is done ?