Wednesday, August 14, 2013


Is oDesk a scam?

This is a common question asked by people who are trying to look for online income opportunities. With the type of economy we have now, a lot of people have fallen on hard times. This is the reason why, such people are looking for non-traditional venues on how to earn some extra cash.

How to make money online, How to earn cash from the Internet, Work at home opportunities, How to become a virtual assistant, online coder, or freelancer on the internet, etc These are just some of the questions curious people will search for in Google or any other search engine and as such, they would eventually stumble to oDesk.

First and foremost, oDesk is not a scam and is quite a reliable tool to earn cash online. Unfortunately, there are some people who had some negative experience (not being paid, being scammed, etc) on oDesk which is the reason why there are some internet posts treating oDesk as a scam site.

How to avoid being scammed on oDesk

Before moving on, the information provided on this post is suitable for oDesk contractors people who are looking for an online freelance job on oDesk. People who are looking for or hiring for workers on oDesk are called buyers, providers, or clients.

In a glance, this post aims to discuss the following:

  • How to sign up on oDesk
  • Basic but important information about oDesk
  • Contractor problems, disadvantages, issues, concerns, that may arise while using oDesk

How to sign up / how to make an account on oDesk

Before anything else, lets discuss signing up or how to make an account on oDesk. This will give the reader some ideas or insight on what oDesk is all about.

The first tip on how to earn money on oDesk is to sign up. Signing up to oDesk is actually quite simple. Simply visit their main site and fill up the necessary information. Please be sure to put in the correct (true) information. A simple advice to follow when venturing on making money online legitimately is to provide correct information. Same information will also be used for payment processing, identity verification, etc Sounds simple right? Of course it is. Again, be sure to fill in the information honestly.

FYI please that will not delve into other details like what will happen if I put in a fake experimental account, how can I get a job on oDesk, etc as I have already discussed similar scenarious quite exhaustively on my blogsite TTM: Tips Tweaks and More.

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Basic and important information regarding oDesk

As mentioned, this section will provide some basic but relevant information regarding oDesk. More complete and detailed information is readily available on their main website

  • There are two types of job posting in oDesk. One is with hourly pay (guaranteed payment) while the other is fixed priced (not guaranteed)
  • In guaranteed payment, contractors are required to use the oDesk software which monitors and logs what they do to their PCs (keyboard press, and mouse movement) by sending screenshot of the computer monitor to the oDesk server.
  • In fixed-price payment, payment is submitted once the project is completed though a percentage of the agreed fee can be requested (upfront fee)
  • oDesk offers numerous freelancing jobs like article writing, programming, photo editing, transcribing, encoding, etc
  • An oDesk app is available for iPhones though the sites are also viewable in phone browsers of Android smart phones. Samples of such phones are showcased below and on the right.
  • There are many payment options in oDesk. The popular ones are via paypal and LFT (local fund transfer)

  • Online Revenue Text Link and Affiliates
  • Great Tips and Advice on Making Money Online

Contractor problems and disadvantages that may arise while using oDesk

This section will discuss some problems and concerns new and seasoned contractors may have on oDesk. Fortunately, this section will also discuss corresponding tips and advice for each problem or disadvantage.

The first disadvantage new oDesk contractors usually has is landing a job

Simply put, being hired is the first problem most oDesk contractors has. oDesk already has a huge workforce, many of which have high scores, positive feedback, and an impressive resume. However, dont let this water you down. a good tip to overcome this dilemma is to have an honest resume with excellent samples. For example, if you are a website designer, put in your resume your main selling points as well as links of your works. Another tip is to be honest about your work.

Not getting paid

This item is actually quite popular and interestingly may still happen. If you have this oDesk concern, then simply apply for hourly rate jobs though this move will surely limit your job options.

If you are forced to apply for a fixed rate job then be sure discuss carefully the terms of the project with the employer. You may suggest things like dividing the project in parts and payment be made after successful completion of the particular portion, etc

Low rates / payment

If you are a newbie in oDesk then this is only typical. The best thing to do is build your reputation by accepting relatively small paying jobs. Another oDesk tip is to avoid very low paying jobs that almost border to slave-labor.

There are actually some job postings in oDesk wherein the offer is 5 cents for a 500-word article needless to say, avoid job posting such as this. Remember, the whole point of using oDesk is to earn a decent income and you are not pouring in time, energy, effort, or anything else, for such an unreasonable amount.

Privacy issues with the oDesk software

Think of it this way, for any good thing, there is an opposite bad thing. Since you are guaranteed to be paid, this is the employers tool that they are getting their moneys worth. So be honest when logging time to the oDesk software.

Abusive clients

There are some clients that will request additional items not included on the contract or will request numerous revisions that after all that, it seems like a new output. In case you encounter something like this, dont lash out, remember to be professional. Politely state that it is not within the agreed contract or doing so is like having another project. If the client is still persistent, well, that is what the feedback is for.

Remember contractors, oDesk is a great opportunity to earn money online. It is not a scam and if you are not paid, then majority of it is your fault. Read the job posting, follow the contract, read the clients feedback, and history of job rates.



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