Do you have to pay to earn?

animeshe14

Member
I have been freelancing for a couple of months now and I have notice that some of the clients that are contacting me are asking for money before I can start with work.
They would often say in their messages that the money that I (freelancer) would pay would be use for admin. fee, training fee, software fee etc. and that I should not worry because I would earn more than what I paid.

Anyways, are these type of jobs legit or are this scams that all freelancers should stay away from?
 
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animeshe14

Member
I am hearing this thing for the first time in my freelancing carrier .

Never pay them . What freelancing site you are talking about.

I am seeing them all around various freelancing sites like Upwork.com, Freelancers.com etc.
Their job posting would usually be under the title Data Entry, Form filling, PDF to text, or even I need a Virtual Assistant. It is not directly stated in the job description but they mention it when it is time to discuss the job details.

I know these sites are a good place to get freelance jobs but I am getting the occasional PM's asking me to pay them first before I start I job.
 

Hostlumina

Active Member
They do sound like a scam. I would personally avoid those individuals contacting you for a job and asking money upfront as it should be the other way around.

If they are contacting you they should be giving you a % (depending on how you operate and type of work of course) and then the rest once the job is completed. Technically that's how it works.

If anything maybe they should be the ones giving you extra $ for the software, fees, work space, internet connection, computer, etc...

I would personally reply to this scammers them with a list of fees they should cover for your work as mentioned on the paragraph above. :)
 

RDO Servers

Active Member
That is a scam for sure! You should never have to pay to be hired as a freelancer!
 

sam.hunt0710

Moderator
Try to work on elance , before placing your proposal always see your client info that will tell you about his history .

Like @Hostlumina explained if they are hiring you why they will ask you to submit money . You are being paid for your efforts and work you will do for that agency.

You can try fiverr , seoclerk also create your gig over there ... mention what you will do in 5$ ( fiverr) or set your own price in seoclerk .

You can also try peopleperhour .

Freelancer-com is not a good site for getting project , I myself quit working over that site .
 

animeshe14

Member
They do sound like a scam. I would personally avoid those individuals contacting you for a job and asking money upfront as it should be the other way around.

If they are contacting you they should be giving you a % (depending on how you operate and type of work of course) and then the rest once the job is completed. Technically that's how it works.

If anything maybe they should be the ones giving you extra $ for the software, fees, work space, internet connection, computer, etc...

I would personally reply to this scammers them with a list of fees they should cover for your work as mentioned on the paragraph above. :)


Thanks for the advice Hostlumina. Yeah, it was a big shocker for to me the first time it happened. My idea for freelancing back then
Work = Payments and not Fee's + work = Payments

Well now, because I am getting this type of replies from clients frequently I started to doubt my intuition but thank goodness I didn't.
 

animeshe14

Member
Try to work on elance , before placing your proposal always see your client info that will tell you about his history .

Like @Hostlumina explained if they are hiring you why they will ask you to submit money . You are being paid for your efforts and work you will do for that agency.

You can try fiverr , seoclerk also create your gig over there ... mention what you will do in 5$ ( fiverr) or set your own price in seoclerk .

You can also try peopleperhour .

Freelancer-com is not a good site for getting project , I myself quit working over that site .


Thanks for the advice @sam.hunt0710 I'll try the sites you mentioned and use the tips I have acquired from all the wonderful post to increase my sales in freelancing.
 

MidnightAngel

Active Member
I haven't had the trouble at freelancer yet, but I will keep my eyes peeled. I know freelancer charges a fee sometimes though, when you get rewarded, but I've not been asked for any money up front. I would definitely not pay someone to work for them, that's not right at all.
 

david smith

Member
Some the client may ask for some money upfront to get things rolling. Now it depends on the type of task that needs to be done. If both you and the client have come to an agreement and are comfortable working together, then payment can be made in advance. One needs to check the details of the customer get it verified, ask the client to show previously completed project, do some research on the client and check for the track record. Still, it may happen that one can come across scam the only way to be safe from it to know more about the client and be proactive.
 

Domingotarlejr

New Member
For me it depends on the situation, If it's legit and not a scam and if you will earn more than you pay why not I will look it as an investment. But still if you can earn for free then its much better.
 

sam.hunt0710

Moderator
For me it depends on the situation, If it's legit and not a scam and if you will earn more than you pay why not I will look it as an investment. But still if you can earn for free then its much better.

If you want to pay and earn then only invest in Advertising Platforms.
I have seen N number of platforms where you need to pay and you can earn , but all those sites at the end turns to be scam sites.
 

joegirl

New Member
This is without doubt a scam and you need to report this immediately. You are the one who needs to get paid for providing a service, not the other way around. Never pay to earn. It is a scam. I would never pay such. If the client has doubt or trust issues, then he must speak to the site. This is why we have Escrow in place.
 

Tania997

New Member
I've visited many freelancing sites to offer my translation service, and that is most certainly a scam. If you think about it, you are there to make money, it wouldn't make sense to lose money to start getting them.
 

goldlady

New Member
Hello, Animeshe! I am going to talk to you about my experience. I have been working as a freelancer for over three years know and I have tried several different platforms. I never had to pay to earn, like you said. It doesn't make any sense to me, to be honest. You should get more information about the people that is trying to make you pay for it. Try with other platforms, options are almost unlimited!
 

fishmonk

New Member
Generally, I have not heard of the need to pay to earn. Perhaps, you might want to consider alternative websites or online marketplace.
 
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