I just culled out my older saved proposals. As I withdrew them, I notices 2 (diff) that had not even opened any that freelancers had sent.
I would hope that the connects I spent on these unresponsive time wasters would be refunded to me!

you buy connects, apply for jobs, and hope for the best that you land a client.

it's the same concept as a slot machine.

you trade in chips, get onto the machine and hope for the best that you win.

I just realised this just now..... that's why it feels like its addicting to buy connects, check for job ad updates every second, apply, and then wait - until you win.

God...

So yesterday on this thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/Upwork/comments/1h4w715/are_these_hourly_prices_real_and_8_for_tasks/

After the user u/no_u_bogan said:

Freelancers will never be able to just ignore or charge will they? This place just gets flooded with these posts over and over.

The OP asked for an explanation and I replied with a very abstract example to demonstrate the reasoning:

I have a side business where I sell a revolving, cycling, auto-duplexing cylinder machined from titanium used in aircraft and increasingly in high performance boats. It is a machined in place product specific to each model and it's fault tolerance is near zero. If it fails, you die.

Let's imagine for a moment you have a Cessna FX-11 and your cylinder is reporting balance issues and it needs to be replaced (because it cannot be retooled). How much are you willing to pay for my cylinder?

So what is the answer?

I know some of you KNOW the answer so I would ask the usual suspects to refrain.

I'm having an issue with my Upwork account(s) that I can't resolve, and there is seemingly no human there I can speak to.

I have two accounts, let's call them Account A, and Account B. Account A has a full profile, experience and plenty of connects — It's the one I want to use. The only problem is it's linked to my old email address, which no longer receives mail and also has been hacked multiple times. It's not safe for me to use.

I followed instructions to change my email address to my current work email, however was told I couldn't, as this email was already being used on another (closed) account, Account B. The customer support bots told me this was an easy fix and I'd simply need to reactivate Account B, remove/change the email, then deactivate it again. I followed instructions and reactivated Account B — however it wasn't even a fully set up account. It's clear that at some point I tried to make a new account, but I couldn't even complete the profile because my phone number is connected to Account A, so I couldn't verify it. So I never finished setting up the profile and just deleted the account.

Account B will not let me change email until I complete the profile, which I can't do, because my phone number cannot be verified as it is tied to Account A. I therefore cannot remove my email. How do I get past this? The customer support bots are confused about my request, they keep repeating the same advice to me and when I say I need more help they default to the beginning of the chat again.

Please can someone help. I've been putting my other email in cover letters to applications so that I can actually work but a) I think it's been deterring clients and b) I don't want to get banned. I was recently laid off so I really need this.

https://preview.redd.it/moqvgiy1ol4e1.png?width=1389&format=png&auto=webp&s=5c6ff2240b86686947b5277ac550d897f9f93f70

Hi freelancers 👋 I don't know if it's because it's this time of the year.

But I'm a graphic designer who can't find any decent jobs to apply to on Upwork.

This is what I see:

• Poorly rated toxic clients (they earned these ratings)

•Clients who never pay anyone above $20 (cheap clients)

I don't get any decent jobs to apply to now I'm without any jobs

Does anyone have better luck or am I just shown the bad jobs on Upwork?

I am sending proposals on a regular basis, getting viewed, sometimes interview with the client. but mostly they only view, or do not confirm the contract rather vanish in the wind in the middle of the conversation. I have started to assume if they are ai bot and just to bleed our money.

However, I would like to know your opinion:

1. is my stats good?
2. if not upwork, then where would you suggest that I try in the Supplychain niche?
3. Last month I have started my agency with some skilled people (Supplychain management, Tender and Bidding, Graphics Designing). How I should attract more clients and how can I approach them? Any suggestions, link will be highly appreciated.

Looking to hear from you. I will be grateful.
Cheers!

https://preview.redd.it/wdh5twg3xk4e1.png?width=1340&format=png&auto=webp&s=38c29cba3024b7d692033a409e8c6e9eae1d5bca

Hey everyone,

I’ve decided it’s time to move my business off Upwork. While the platform has been helpful in the past, I’ve been finding it less and less freelancer-friendly over time. Plus, as a long-term business strategy, I believe it’s risky to rely on just one platform for freelance work. To give you an idea of what I do, here are my main areas of expertise:

• Digital Project Management
• Full-Stack Development
• HubSpot Development and Management

Looking forward to your recommendation :)

When a client requests a tech pack and asks for a measurement sheet, I understand that the measurements typically come from either the pattern or a prototype. However, sometimes clients don’t have these ready and instead provide a reference measurement sheet, asking you to create the measurements based on what they’ve sent.

If that’s the case, how should I approach creating the measurement sheet without having the actual pattern or prototype to work from? I want to ensure I do this correctly and meet the client’s expectations.

I have been seeing more and more things that indirectly suggest possibility of foul play on Upwork. If it is ever proven by anyone, there will almost certainly be very large, high dollar amount class action lawsuits, and everyone here will know about it. So, if you see something fishy that might possibly be fishy *and done by Upwork* or very one-sidedly in their interest, take screenshots and just keep them on Google Drive or someplace where it will never get lost. You might get some money for it in a few years.

I don't mean things like your client got work for free from you, I mean things that seem like they might be done by Upwork or on behalf of Upwork, especially about money, payments, payouts, fake job posts, etc.

This post doesn't say Upwork is doing anything wrong. But large companies with problems often attract litigation, and Upwork has a huge and well-defined class - its 18,000,000 or however many freelancers. So just record what you see; it might come in handy. It's not unlikely they will end up with a lawsuit in the coming years.

Sometimes I come across jobs that would be better suited as fixed-price with milestones rather than hourly. I know it's probably clients that are new to Upwork/freelancing in general. Could I suggest this in my cover letter to them? Are they able to change it without deleting and re-posting the listing? Or is this idea just a waste of my time and connects?

A client just asked me to call them using Google Meet. I am not yet hired, they need to discuss finer details of the project. I have not yet responded. Could Upwork crucify me for this?

Can someone please share tips on increasing the profile's organic visibility on Upwork? I have received my Top Rated badge two weeks ago. I thought it would improve some impressions on my profile but they are still zero as per the stats. I have tried my best to optimize profile using keywords. Upwork says the profile is 100% complete, though there are a few sections that do not have any content. Before getting the badge, I experiemented by removing the specialized profiles. That didn't work either.

I have 10 years of professional experience as a Digital Marketer (primarily Technical SEO and PPC) and started my freelancing/Upwork career in April this year as a side hustle. The profile is currently focused on providing Google Ads services only. So far, I have 8 Total Jobs on the profile and got all of these by sending proposals.

Any help or tips to improve organic visibility and get orders from clients directly would be appreciated.

Thanks.

I lost a potential client because of that.

I'm not sociable and I don't like to see my face and I'm not good at speaking EnglishMy heart literally beats when I have to do all of that)so I prefer writing

It's hard. It literally took me a while to get up the courage to put my stupid picture on my profile and I even avoid looking at it as much as I can when chatting and I still haven't gotten a contract. Maybe I should just delete my account.(':

So there is this reddit user u/gajus0 that comes on here and says they are a co-founder and I want to see if they can clear some things up...because frankly it's confusing.

There is this whole comment they did on a deleted post where they said it is NOT a freelancer platform:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Upwork/comments/1g4g08h/comment/ls9yoe1/

It sounds like what instead it is, is this: Contra is professional network first

But then they talk about this: Similarly, unlike the traditional marketplaces, since there are no commission fees, there is virtually no downside to completing projects through the platform and collecting payments through platform. 

Now the common complaint I have seen and have is...well there are no clients on the platform. Now, they have locked it down since I first observed this and maybe I am not seeing the full picture but the only "projects" available is the first is 10 hours ago and then 10 days ago is the next one.

But that comment makes it sound like a feature not a bug.

Maybe I should bite the bullet and pay to see what it gets me but I will wait to see if this guy even replies.

A client recently requested a customized offer for a job they posted. I shared a link to my project catalog so they could select a tier that fits their budget, but they still insisted on a customized offer. How do you typically send quotes or custom offers to clients who request them? Am I missing a feature in the chat room that allows sending offers directly?

How does the IT infrastructure work in this outsourcing business? Do we have to create our own set up here or we get access to the client's system? Please help

Hi All. Been a long time upwork user but have NEVER done an hourly job. Only fixed ones. Got my hourly job just now . Fairly simple we discussed it. 10 hours is the limit. Two things -

1. Since I've never done an hourly job , the client has allowed me to log manual hours later.
2. He has sent his mail to setup a call and mail him. I've tried to stay on upwork but he says just email me please.

It's a verified profile. 7 hires 1 active. Is this Sketchy or am I thinking too much?

Any advice is appreciated! TIA

Hi everyone,

So, I used to share my portfolio link on proposals and invite replies all the time, even though it had a contact form in it.

This was allowed, until six months ago or so, and no one ever tried to contact me through it, anyway.

Then, Upwork changed its understanding of the topic and stopped allowing people to share any external link that may lead to contact outside the platform, and I stopped sharing it.

Now, I've removed all links and possible contact info that may allow people to contact me, including the contact form. The only link left is to my Upwork profile.

However, my portfolio URL is my full name, so in theory, someone could use it to look me up online. I asked Upwork's support bot and it said it was ok, but who knows...

After they implemented this AI TOS violation detection, I'm scared to share it, even without any contact info, and get my profile auto-banned by a bot.

Is my fear justified, or is it just paranoia?

I mean, just the other day I got that dreaded red warning banner for typing numbers on a reply. I guess the bot thought it was a phone number or something.

For more experienced Upworkers: Are you still sharing your portfolio link?

Anyway, I'm a designer, so I can create a portfolio without any links or contact info, but I wonder how programmers are doing with this relatively new rule...I mean, most of the time a GitHub profile is their "portfolio", and sharing it invariably allows contact outside the platform.

In many fields, you inevitably end up sharing possible external contact routes when sharing samples of your work. If your name is on it, someone can use it to contact you.

This whole thing is so ambiguous...It's full of conflicting info out there. As far as I know, there isn't a clear statement defining what is considered a TOS violation or not, in this regard.

https://preview.redd.it/7q3lbxlfxg4e1.png?width=1090&format=png&auto=webp&s=bf30566c4fc94779f8b503c8f7f14661764ce2c1

I don't apply to their jobs because they have such a low budget ($250) but just noticed they literally have 10M+ spent which is crazy they must be some value for me? Maybe the low budget jobs are just tests for a much more lucrative project or something?

Hey Reddit

Been a member here for a while and always take a look at posts that are going out regarding upwork.

I made over $120k USD in 9 months on upwork and can’t see most of complaints.

Yes there is certainly an increase in scam/spam posts but it’s the easiest platform to scale any service

AMA

I’m reaching out to get some insights on something I’ve been wondering about:

When applying for jobs, have you found success with:

1. A short and focused cover letter that highlights the solution you bring to the role in a concise way?
2. A longer, more detailed cover letter that dives deeper into your skills, experience, and how they align with the company's needs?

I’d really appreciate hearing your experiences, especially if you’ve experimented with both styles. Which approach resonated more with hiring managers and helped you land interviews or offers?

Every year I tend to buy something for my business almost as a kind of little reward and I was wondering who else does that and what they are getting.

I’m trying to get started on Upwork and can’t believe my eyes at some the hourly pay they are offering and payments for tasks. $6 an hour? $8 for a single task that can take up to 2 hours? Seriously??

Is there something I’m not understanding or is this real. Am I supposed to be offering an hourly rate when I submit a proposal? Cuz what the fuck

Hi everyone,

I’m having trouble buying Connects on Upwork. Despite enabling international transactions on my cards, I consistently receive the "There was a problem charging your billing method. Please enter a new billing method and try again" error during payment. I’ve tried multiple cards and even contacted my bank, but the issue persists.

Could anyone share which specific Indian cards have successfully worked for you?

I have tried credit and debit cards from local banks which are VISA/MasterCard. And even the international payments option is enabled.

I’d greatly appreciate any insights or solutions from freelancers in India who’ve managed to resolve this.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Hey everyone,

A few friends and I work together on Upwork, and recently, we found ourselves in a tricky situation. About two months ago, we completed a project for a client, delivered all the work, and received their approval at the time. Now, out of nowhere, the client has opened a dispute and is demanding a full refund.

The issue is that since we’re a small team and multiple people contributed to the project, we couldn’t use Upwork’s time tracker. I recently learned that without the tracker, Upwork’s payment protection might not apply, which has me quite worried.

We do have all the proof of work:

• Source code. (Till Submission)
• We have the screen recording of the working project

Additionally, I’ve shared my PAN card with Upwork for verification (I’m based in India), and I’m concerned that refusing the refund might somehow affect my PAN card or credit score.

Has anyone else been through a similar situation? What would you suggest I do? Should I offer a partial refund, fight the dispute, or escalate it with Upwork?

Any advice on handling such disputes or preventing them in the future would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you in advance!

i signed up on upwork for a week now, completed my profile, uploaded portfolio etc. and still didn't get any emails to start the id verification thing, does it usually take this long?