Frequently Asked Questions - Programmers/Sellers

Please also review and agree to our Terms and Conditions before you sign-up.

General Questions

How does this work?
1. Register
2. Bid to answer questions/complete projects
3. You will be notified, if selected
4. Complete the project
5. Get Paid
6. Ask the user to rate you
7. Tell your friends and colleagues (won't you please?)

What is the cost associated?
Please view the «Fee Structure»

How and when do you charge me for your commission?
Once you are selected as the winning bidder, the listing will be closed and the commission you owe us will be deducted from your account, as explained above. The buyer is also required to pay our commission first before the work begins thus making sure that all of us will get paid for our work.

Advantages:
1. It is FREE for you to particpate. You donot pay us anything (not even our commission) if you donot get the work.
2. Complete your work as required, use our system for transactions and you will get paid for your work.

Where are you located?
In Lakewood, a suburb of Denver, Colorado - USA.

Signing-up as a Bidder

Who can register?
Anyone experienced in and capable of answering a question/completing a project is welcome to join.

If you are not serious about your work and delivering what our buyers are looking for based on their specifications and if you do not want to follow our site terms and conditions, then do not register. We want this to be an useful site for all small business owners and this is not our hobby. We are serious about what we do and if you are serious about your work, welcome if you are too.

What kind of topics are available?
Here is a list of currently available categories. The projects can range from a simple logo design to a complex enterprise software development.

What categories can I register - can I select multiple categories as my expertise?
You can check one or more of the currently available broad categories, when you register (click here to view a list of available categories). If you need a new category added, just let us know. However, most people are looking for an expert in a few areas and hence though you can list under multiple categoires, it is not in your best interest to select more than 5 areas of expertise.

How can I unsuscribe and stop getting emails when a new project is posted?
Just login to your account and click on "Edit Profile" button and uncheck the email notification feature. You can do this even if your account is suspended (please do it yourself - don't send us an email and ask us to do it for you).

Projects and Bidding

It is not clear to me what the buyer is looking for - can I contact the person who placed the project to get additional information?
No. You are strictly prohibited from contacting anyone directly and this includes contact via email, chat, AIM, etc., Any bids in violation will removed by the admin without any notice. If you need clarifications or need additional information, you can use the project message board to ask for more information. You can post a public or a private message (visible only to the buyer).

I need to email/chat with the buyer. Why can't I contact the buyer directly?
You cannot contact the buyer directly to keep this system fair to all other bidders. Hence the message board has been provided. If everyone can contact the buyer directly then there is no need for our system and it has been designed to keep it fair and square. Any bids in violation will be removed by the admin without any notice.

I only charge an hourly rate - can I use it or do I have to provide the total cost?
No, you can use your hourly rate to estimate the total amount for the project. Work requested here is based by project and not hourly as this is not a job site but an auction/bid site. As most of our users are small business owners and are budget oriented, they are a looking for a total cost bid.

Can I make an estimate of the cost if I cannot determine the exact cost?
Yes. You can make an estimate but keep in mind that this is what you will get paid. Hence, you should account for not only your fees but also additional costs involved such as transfer fees and minimum fees that you may need to pay us - «See Fee Structure». This is how it is done when contractors and bidders bid on government projects.

How do I change or update a bid that I already placed?
Just submit a new bid and your old bid will be automatically removed.

How do I cancel a bid?
Just log into the account management area, click on the project and click on "retract bid" link.

Why can't I see the "Place Bid" button on some projects?
This does not show up for closed projects and frozen projects (temporarily stopped).

Payments and Fees

Do I have to add money to my account when I sign-up?
Not necessarily. However, anytime you close a listing by selecting a winning bid, you must have enough funds in your account to cover our commission. If you have a zero balance for over a 30 day period, your account will be frozen and you will not be able to create new projects.

How do I add money to my account?
Just login and click on the "deposit" button in the account management area. You can currently pay with visa, mastercard, american express, discover by credit card on our site or use paypal to transfer money.

When will my withdrawal be approved?
Biweekly (twice a month - during middle and end of the month). See more in the above question on how it works.

Do I have to get paid through my account or can I ask the buyer to pay me directly?
Yes, you have to use our system so we can keep track of all payments and pay the programmers. Asking the buyer to pay you directly will be considered as a violation of our policies and when we find out, you will not be allowed to use our services anymore.

What is the minimum amount I can transfer (between accounts)?
Currently the minimum is $2.

Is there a fee to transfer money?
No. Currently, there is no fee besides any charges associated with our credit card provider.

I want to stop getting emails. How can I unsuscribe and stop getting emails when a new project is posted?
Just login to your account and click on "Edit Profile" button and uncheck the email notification feature. You can do this even if your account is suspended (please do it yourself - don't send us an email and ask us to do it for you).

Ratings and violations of site policies

You will be rated by the buyer upon delivery of your project.

You will be rated by us as "poor" if you are the winning bidder but you back-off and do not complete and deliver the project. To avoid this, do not bid if you cannot deliver.

You will also be rated (the lowest possible) by us for violations of our policies such as:
1. Providing/including your contact information in your bids, message boards and by any other means during an open/active project.
2. Negotiating a fee for an open/active project. You cannot negotiate - whatever you bid is the final cost. If/when in doubt, use the project message board to ask questions to the buyer and get all the information to make your bid. You can update your bid accordingly at a later time but that is the final amount for the project. No other fee/bid negotiations are allowed, online or offline.
3. Contacting buyers offline during an open/active project to solicit, negotiate or to settle. You can only contact the buyer if/when you win the bid and we will give you contact information. Otherwise, it will be a violation of our policy.
4. Any other violations of our policies as mentioned in:
a) our site terms and conditions b) the FAQ and c) any other visible areas of our site as noted (usually in red ink).

Violations will result in suspension of your account without any notice. We are also considering posting details of all suspended/banned programmer accounts for our site users/buyers.

I still have some questions before getting started - how I can contact you?
Just email us and enclose the nature of your contact, your name, email and explain the issue/question.