Is outsource.com a good place to find a job, or is it a scam?

Question

I have seen lots of ads for outsource.com on facebook. I signed up, input my skillset (php, wordpress, front end technologies), and now I am getting lots of emails about new job offerings that fit my skillset. Seems fantastic.

Well, every job requires a certain amount of "credits" that you must spend to make a bid, and presumably the lowest bidder gets the job. To get credits, you must purchase them, and then I think you might also earn them from being active on the site.

Has anyone used this site (or a site like it) with any success? I am very new to freelance; I have a 9-5 job but I am looking to pick up side work during my off hours. However, I don't want to end up buying a bunch of credits, and not getting any jobs.

I have Googled the site, and looked it up on Quora, but have not found any information. There is a generic "this site is great" review, and then a very negative review claiming its a scam, however, the long-winded negative review just seems to say "they asked me to buy credits, it must be a scam" so it was not very informative.

I hope this doesn't end up sounding open ended or opinion based, but have you used this site to get a job? Or is this site (and others like it) just a scam to get you to buy credits? All of the offers that show up in my inbox (hundreds since I registered a few months ago) just seem too good to be true.

Answer 1

I've been a freelancer on Outsource.com for a few months and have actually had some success. I've been hired twice so far. It's a different setup from other sites... you pay a subscription fee to get quotes and message clients, but there aren't any service fees so it's up to you to do a good job marketing yourself. Since they are new, there aren't swarms of freelancers to compete with and because of the subscription fee, you don't see people quoting unreasonably low.

Not sure what the site will be like once they get a lot more freelancers on, but right now I'm going to keep at it.

Answer 2

I have not used Outsource.com, either, but I don't care for their blanket statement regarding IP rights assignments. I prefer to negotiate these rights separately myself. For graphic design/illustration/visual design work, standard industry practice is that the freelance artist retains the rights and grants a license of some kind to the client, depending on what the work is. Sometimes it's exclusive, sometimes it's not. And sometimes there is a time limit. (emphasis on the following passage mine)

Proprietary Rights in Work Product shall be owned by Freelancer until payment has been made by Client, at which time Freelancer will be deemed to have assigned all Proprietary Rights in the Work Product to Client. For Hourly-Rate Contracts, Client must pay for all hours. For Fixed-Price Contracts, Client has complete and sole discretion whether and how much to pay; however, if Client does not pay in full, Freelancer may terminate the Service Contract by refunding any partial payment, and Freelancer will retain Proprietary Rights in Work Product. To the extent that under applicable law, Proprietary Rights cannot be assigned, Freelancer hereby irrevocably agrees to grant, and hereby grants, to Client an exclusive (excluding also Freelancer), perpetual, irrevocable, unlimited, worldwide, fully paid, and unconditional license to use and commercialize Work Product in any manner now known or in the future discovered. To the extent such license grant is not fully valid, effective or enforceable under applicable law, Freelancer hereby irrevocably agrees to grant, and hereby grants, to Client, such rights as Client reasonably requests in order to acquire, as close as possible, all rights equivalent to full legal ownership. In order to ensure that Client will be able to acquire, perfect and use such Proprietary Rights, Freelancer will: (i) transfer possession, ownership, and title to media, models, and other tangible objects containing Work Product to Client, including delivery of a complete copy of the source code for any software, documented in sufficient detail to enable a reasonably skilled programmer to correct, integrate and modify it; (ii) sign any documents at Client's request to assist Client in the documentation, perfection and enforcement of its rights; and (iii) provide Client with support and reasonable access to information for recording, perfecting, securing, defending, and enforcing such Proprietary Rights in any and all countries. In the case that under applicable law, Freelancer retains any rights of paternity, integrity, disclosure and withdrawal and any other rights that may be known as or referred to as "moral rights" (collectively "Moral Rights") or other inalienable rights to Work Product or Confidential Information under this Agreement, Freelancer irrevocably agrees to waive, and hereby waives, all such rights, or, to the extent Freelancer cannot waive such rights, Freelancer agrees not to exercise such rights, until Freelancer has provided prior written notice to Client and then only in accordance with any reasonable instructions that Client issues in the interest of protecting its rights. Freelancer's obligations under this Section 6.3 will continue even after Freelancer deregisters from or ceases use of the Outsource.com Platform. Freelancer appoints Client as Freelancer's attorney-in-fact to execute documents on Freelancer's behalf for the purposes set forth in this Section 6.3.

Answer 3

I was bamboozled by Outsource.com — bought credits, bid on jobs and was actually "hired" by a client who still has not paid. She said she loved my design but was expecting me to provide copywriting when I am clearly a graphic designer. Total waste of time and money.

Answer 4

I bought six months credits on Outsource.com but wanted to cancel my subscription after the first month. When I emailed them, they told me that I paid for six months and they would not refund me the rest of the money. Being unemployed, $130 something is a LOT for me right now. They told me if I don't get any jobs in the first 6 months, they will give me another 6 months free. It's a complete waste and I felt totally scammed, because the prices were listed by the month, it seemed that I could pay for just one month at a time. Suddenly after it's purchased, it shows as the cost for 6 months instead of one. I felt cheated. I've tried to make the most of it, but being new to freelance, I don't have a portfolio to show off. So, of course, I haven't gotten any jobs yet.