Guru fees and address requested

Hi Bradley,

You object to paying the percentage beyond the first project you do with a given employer, and that's fine if you feel that way. I'm not sure that you see the value of what Guru is offering you. Myself, I would rather work within the Guru system because it offers me a number of things that I wouldn't have on my own - my account is maintained so I have available feedback showing, which works for me in the process of bidding on work. I also have an easy way to locate and print off the data that I need for filing my income tax, and tracking the work I've done. Safepay is available to me, and that provides some protection that I won't complete my work only to be unpaid for my efforts. There is a dispute mechanism available to me if I should need it. In short, I am a freelancer but I have a team of people and services there to help me out. Would I have those same resources if I were to work offsite? Nope. For me, it's worth that percentage payment because the value of those services is greater than the fees I am paying.
I am not sure what you mean by charging for leads. Perhaps you could clarify a bit? As I see it, a fee per bid could result in excess service charges from Paypal, and the need to make sure we have funds in our cash accounts at all times. A fee per bid that results in work is pretty much the same as paying the percentage, isn't it? In some cases it could actually be detrimental. Imagine being paid $25 for a job as a typist and having to pay $5 flat fee for winning your bid. Under the percentage you may only pay $1.86 (as a Guru account holder) or maybe around $3.00 on a basic account. It doesn't make much sense to go a different route, I think. All I can say in closing is that if you feel you need to work off site, then perhaps you should set up a website and advertize your services online. You may find that it works well, and if so good for you. It's tough out there. But doing so and the costs of hosting, advertizing, etc may also prove to you that Guru is offering you an extreme bargain.

Bradley, Guru is a virtural web site that provides a means to connect freelancers with employers. It does not guarantee jobs, Just as If you go to a staffing agency or a recruitment company and they send out your reseme to companies, and arrange interviews with companies, you are required to pay either a fee or a percentage of your salary to that agency. If you are awarded a job here on Guru you pay a percentage for the same privilage. That fee also includes escrow services, dispute resolutions and profile listings. Profile listing are THE way to get awarded more jobs. The more jobs you get through Guru, the better your chances are of being awarded even more jobs. etc. The percentages that Guru takes out of your earning may be higher then other freelancer sites. I do agree with you that they should be a little less (lower) then what they are now, but that's what Guru charges. Those percentages also are lower for paid memberships.

You stated --- My suggestion is for your company to consider changing or adding to your model by simply charging for leads. --- Guru already does that, it's called bids. On a free membership plan you are only allowed a certain number of bids, (10 ) If you are on a paid membership you receive more bids and also have the opportunity of buying even more bids.

Hello, Bradley and thank you for your suggestion. We are aware that some users feel compelled to violate our Terms of Service and work outside of our system. Our fees are reasonable and in line with those charged by our competitors, but we're certainly open criticism and suggestions.

Are you seeing 13% on our site somewhere? If so, please let me know where. That percentage is incorrect. Our fees for the folks that are using our services as free Basic members is 11.95%. The fee for subscribing users (Guru or Guru Vendor) is 7.45%.

You may have missed the announcement, but we recently did add Time Tracker for capturing screen shots. In addition, we recently enhanced our project management tools with the addition of milestones, tasks, and discussions as well as expanded file sharing capacity. These features, combined with our tried and true SafePay and dispute resolution service, provide ample value to the users of our site, Employers and Freelancers alike. And, there's more to come. It’s ok if you choose not to use these services, however they are there for your use at any time at no additional cost.

As indicated by Christine, we use the percentage because the value of each lead is different. Under your model, folks searching for and bidding on lower-value projects would be paying a larger percentage of the project’s value. In addition, our model incentivizes us to work hard for the Freelancers. The harder we work to acquire larger contracts, the greater the benefit to us.

Concerning the transaction fee for the payment that you’ve already received, you can forward it to the address listed below. I appreciate your openness in this particular instance, however if you plan on using our services in the future we must insist that you do so in accordance with our Terms of Service. Like you, we are trying to build a business. I'm sure you would not continue to work with a customer that agrees to your fee structure up-front and then, after the services are rendered, picks and chooses when and how much to pay based on their own preferences. We do hope to revamp the membership and bidding structure, and likely pricing, next year and will certainly take your suggestion into consideration.

Thanks again for your suggestion. Keep 'em coming! Look for additional New Feature updates on the blog.

Our address is,
http://Guru.com
Attn: A/R
5001 Baum Blvd., Suite 760
Pittsburgh, PA 15213

I'm confused why this freelancer sees the need to take the employer away from Guru. I could have sworn that was against Guru's TOS agreement. Quite frankly... I find this absolutely absurd and its simply a person wanting something for free and having the audacity to complain about getting work.

The fees are minimal for the protection you get as a service provide on Guru. I feel I am protected as a freelancer and so is the employer if something does go array. When you're on your own and someone doesn't pay, you need to hire an attorney which costs 10 folds more then the original fees would have. .

Personally I have a loyalty to Guru as I do to other freelance sites I bid through and will not take clients away for them because if it weren't those sites I would have never gotten the client in the first place. If you don't like the fees, I think you need to seek new clients on free sites such as Craigslist and take your chances on whether they actually pay or don't. Let freelancers who appreciate what Guru does for them get the projects employers post and those who feel Guru is unfair should really consider closing their accounts and go elsewhere to find work.

And in closing... oDesk is not worth my time. You gripe about the fees on Guru however no mention of the low-ball cheapskate bids freelancers post on oDesk. You can make more money on Guru by doing one project versus having to do 2-4 projects on oDesk to get the same compensation... at least in my field of expertise.