Forum Moderators: not2easy
Years ago, I used one of the big freelance sites to find freelancers. There were frequently those who would submit pretty much dirt-cheap bids on projects. And non-U.S. providers were usually the low-ballers. I went for quality, not the lowest price.
As the U.S. dollar has declined and these freelancing sites have raised their fees to providers, has outsourcing lost its advantages?
I haven't used that site in a long time, but I recently posted a project to see what the waters are like these days. And, I am finding that there is very little difference in bids between U.S. and non-U.S. providers. In some cases, some of the non-U.S. providers are nearly three times as much as some U.S. bidders.
I currently have a quality provider that will do the type of work in the above-mentioned project for about $3x. I expected that some of the providers, especially non-U.S., would be as low as $x. Instead, they are bidding an average of about $3x.
But, very few of them even approach the quality of my current provider. And, of those that do, they commonly exhibit other issues that tend to disqualify them, such as the apparent inability to read the project description before bidding...
For many of them, their quality isn't worth $x, and they're asking $3x!
I am not unhappy with my current provider, not in the least. But, I want to have a backup, you know? Unfortunately, I'm not really finding anyone offering a comparable quality at a comparable price. Heck, there hasn't even yet been a bidder with a comparable quality at a higher price.
Anyone notice a similar circumstance on the freelance sites? Is it just the site I am using, or is this an industry-wide phenomena?
I'm less familiar with web design than I am with programming. My understanding is that in programming, there was much less supply than perhaps had been thought, and the supply has now been exhausted. It's now a much slower process of getting people through strained educational systems.
How are bids on the freelance sites comparing with those from more traditional in-country sources?
In your experience, have the U.S. prices gone up, the outsourced prices gone down, or have they met in the middle?
From the last time I used this freelance site until now, it seems as though U.S. prices have remained about the same while outsourced prices have gone up, bringing them to about equal levels.
I'm less familiar with web design than I am with programming. My understanding is that in programming, there was much less supply than perhaps had been thought, and the supply has now been exhausted. It's now a much slower process of getting people through strained educational systems.
The content I have done is articles and illustrations. I do my own design & coding (as well as articles, photos and illustrations), so I'm not really aware of how the pricing is going on those services.
How are bids on the freelance sites comparing with those from more traditional in-country sources?
I don't know how they would compare nationwide, but they are much less than nearby sources. But, I suppose the nearby providers have to pay for their McMansions somehow.
[edited by: ccDan at 8:24 pm (utc) on June 15, 2007]
Price gives no indication of quallity I paid a guy $6 to edit 500 images, he was from Eastern Europe, work was superb.
Paid an American $35 to rewrite a site in HTML - 70 odd pages.
Paid others way over that and receive poor quality work.
For me the advantage hasnt gone, its just a matter of shopping around and not using the same coder again and again because oddly their prices increase......
[edited by: Essex_boy at 5:34 pm (utc) on June 16, 2007]
Price gives no indication of quallity I paid a guy $6 to edit 500 images, he was from Eastern Europe, work was superb.
I agree with that. Of course, when you're dealing with nationwide or global providers, costs are going to vary based on their local costs of living, taxes, exchange rates, etc. Plus, newer providers typically charge less than established ones, to build a client base.
So, I check their portfolio for samples, and don't base my final decision on price. Well, if two are of comparable quality, then lowest price is going to win. LOL! But, first I weed out by quality (and service, if reviews are available) then finally price.
Sadly, on this particular project, I have a couple providers bidding at $10x, when their quality is far less than what I am currently getting for $3x.
