Belt Auction

How does bidding on freelance sites work?

I just don't understand how sites like Elance and Guru work. As a freelancer, I have to pay them (bids) to work for them? I thought I was working for them to get paid? I pay them, then do work for them, then they pay me? Why would i pay them anything in the first place? Or have I got these "bids" all wrong? As long as I have ever known, when I place a bid on a site that means I have to pay money. And Elance and Guru don't make it clear how bidding works. They keep saying "place a bid on a project". It just doesn't make sense. Is this true? I have to pay to work? Thanks.

Public Comments

1. Your bid is what you are willing to do the job for.
2. Freelance sites work in a reverse bidding order. Basically, it is like eBay, but instead freelancers are bidding on projects (jobs). The bid itself is the amount you will expect to be paid for the job upon successful completion. You do not pay the bid, the person who posted the project pays you the bid amount if you are selected as the winner. Sometimes the person who posted the project makes their decision to select a bidder based off the lowest bid -- but that does not mean to sell yourself short, it means to stay competitiive. Popular freelance sites that use this reverse style bidding are: GetAFreelancer: http://www.getafreelancer.com Remote Gurus: http://www.remotegurus.com ScriptLance: http://www.scriptlance.com Elance: http://www.elance.com Hope this helps. Best of luck!