Reporting Projects

Projects Guru.com will not post

Guru.com will not post projects or Package Deal orders of the following nature:

  1. Projects posted by Employers with invalid email addresses
    If the Employer’s email address is invalid, we cannot send your quotes and, therefore, will not post their projects.
  2. 100% commission-based projects
    With the exception of a few categories, Guru.com will not post 100% commission-based projects. Employers must offer a reasonable project rate, hourly rate, or an hourly rate plus commission.
  3. Projects requesting free mock-ups from Freelancers
    Employers may not request free mock-ups from Freelancers. Employers must use Freelancers’ Work Samples to determine their style and level of expertise.
  4. Contests
    Employers may not request a free contest entry from Freelancers. Employers must use Freelancers’ Work Samples to determine their style and level of expertise.
  5. Full-time/Part-time employment
    Employers may not seek full-time or part-time employees. Guru.com only offers its free project posting service for freelance and contract positions.
  6. Joint ventures or partnerships where profits are shared contingent upon success
    Employers must offer an hourly rate or a total estimated payment (or an hourly rate/estimated payment plus partnership opportunity) to a Freelancer once work is completed.
  7. Projects that include bartering or trading
    Employers must offer an hourly rate or total estimated payment (or an hourly rate/estimated payment plus bartering opportunity) to a Freelancer once work is completed.
  8. Royalty-based or contingency-based projects
    Employers must offer an hourly rate or a total estimated payment for services performed. Employers may offer an hourly base rate plus royalty or bonus opportunities, but payment to Freelancers cannot be dependent upon the success (or failure) of a business transaction.
  9. School projects or homework assignments
    School-related work is intended to be completed by the student, not a Guru.com Freelancer.
  10. Projects that require Freelancers to supply an up-front investment
    Employers may not require Freelancers to pay money prior to receiving work.
  11. Sales pitches or event announcements
    Employers may not post projects to make sales pitches or announcements. Guru.com will only post requests from Employers who are seeking Freelancers to work on their projects.
  12. Job fair listings
    Employers may not post job fair listings. Guru.com will only post requests from Employers who are seeking Freelancers to work on their projects.
  13. Pro-bono or volunteer work
    All Freelancers on Guru.com are seeking work for pay. Employers must offer a rate per hour or total estimated payment to a Freelancer once work is completed.
  14. Projects that are illegal or questionable
    Employers may not post project content or request work that is illegal or questionable. This includes projects that may be a violation of another sites terms of services. I.e., “I want a clone of eBay.”
  15. Payment outside of the mandatory payment system
    Per the Terms of Service, all payments related to a project or Freelancer on Guru.com must be sent and paid through either SafePay or Guru Invoicing.
  16. Projects with unreasonable expectations or a poor chance of success
    Guru.com reserves the right to reject projects that have little chance for success in our marketplace or projects that contain unreasonable expectations from our Freelancers. This includes projects with budgets less than $25.

What if my reason for reporting the project isn’t in the list of reasons?

Please feel free to contact us to report the project for a reason not listed on the Report Project page. Please keep in mind that projects with budgets below standard American wages or projects that request samples of previously completed work are not in violation of Guru.com policy nor will we add them to the reason list. Such projects should not be reported.

What is considered abuse of the Report Project tool?

Continuously reporting projects that you personally disagree with but that are not a violation of our quality assurance standards is considered abuse of the Report Project tool. The tool is intended to give you the opportunity to let us know if a project has gotten past our filters or if an Employer has changed the requirements after the project has been approved.

Examples of projects that you may want to report but are not a violation of our quality assurance standards include projects with budgets lower than standard American wages or projects that request samples of previously completed work. (Samples of previously completed work are not the same as mock-ups. Mock-ups are samples created specific to the Employers request with no guarantee of payment.)

What are the penalties for abusing the Report Projects tool?

In an effort to promote the usefulness and accuracy of the Report Projects tool, Guru.com will take the following action against posts considered to be in violation of these guidelines, Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, and IP Policy.

  • The first offense will result in an email sent to the user to remind him or her of the terms and policies and to warn against future violations.
  • The second offense will result in the suspension of the user’s Guru.com account for one full business day.
  • The third offense will result in the suspension of the user’s Guru.com account for one full week (seven days).
  • The fourth offense will result in the permanent deletion of the user’s Guru.com account. If account deletion is required and there are funds in SafePay, Guru.com’s Support staff will work with the user to facilitate the completion of the project and approval of payment or refund to the Employer.