- Impact
- 20
There have been complaints recently about developers taking money and vanishing for weeks on end.
People have paid them for stuff they haven't received (or even hope to receive).
In light of this, I can suggest following a few steps (though they may seem a little tiresome), but most likely, they'll keep you safe.
1) Check the iTrader on the person.
If you're comfortable with the number of iTraders on a user's profile (10,15,20 iTraders...however many makes you feel comfy), then you're through with step one.
2) Briefly check the last 5-6 iTraders.
Here's the thing, a good - trustworthy account may have been hacked.
If you check the latest iTraders, and you don't see the same consistency as shown before in the previous iTraders, you'll know something's afoot.
3) Get the deal straight.
Get a price out of them, save that PM - and make sure that the developer sticks to the fees he asked for. Manyatimes, people will offer you cheapo deals with a lot of hidden costs thrown in (example, coding fees in WebTemplates, etc).
Ensure that you both have a clear understanding of what products are to be delivered, and for how much.
4) Never pay the full amount upfront.
I personally stick to this strategy, and whenever I take on a job, I take 30% money upfront.
The remainder - I expect upon delivery.
This figure of 30% could depend on the volume of work you're looking for or what you're comfortable with. 30% is my personal choice. There have been instances when I've taken 40% - 50% - but again, thats been for bigger projects (with bigger risks involved).
But the bottom line is, NEVER PAY ALL OF THE MONEY AS ADVANCE.
5) When you send money - make sure to mention the exact purpose of sending the money.
If you don't want to get caught up in an unnecessary PayPal enquiry, mention "Sending 30% of $100 as advance for development fee of my domain XYZ.com" in your PayPal message.
This way, if you're sending money to a hacked account or anything, PayPal knows why you're sending money, and they won't waste your time.
It may also be a good habit to check out the Warnings and Alerts forums if you find anything out of place.
If you do see something fishy/odd with an account, make sure to report the post to any of the moderators/staff and we'll get to it.
The rest boils down to how alert you are and how well your power of discretion is.
After all, its you who can turn down work to a developer if you don't feel good about it.
Hope this post helped (and hope you actually read it till the end) :p
Best,
Arjun.
People have paid them for stuff they haven't received (or even hope to receive).
In light of this, I can suggest following a few steps (though they may seem a little tiresome), but most likely, they'll keep you safe.
1) Check the iTrader on the person.
If you're comfortable with the number of iTraders on a user's profile (10,15,20 iTraders...however many makes you feel comfy), then you're through with step one.
2) Briefly check the last 5-6 iTraders.
Here's the thing, a good - trustworthy account may have been hacked.
If you check the latest iTraders, and you don't see the same consistency as shown before in the previous iTraders, you'll know something's afoot.
3) Get the deal straight.
Get a price out of them, save that PM - and make sure that the developer sticks to the fees he asked for. Manyatimes, people will offer you cheapo deals with a lot of hidden costs thrown in (example, coding fees in WebTemplates, etc).
Ensure that you both have a clear understanding of what products are to be delivered, and for how much.
4) Never pay the full amount upfront.
I personally stick to this strategy, and whenever I take on a job, I take 30% money upfront.
The remainder - I expect upon delivery.
This figure of 30% could depend on the volume of work you're looking for or what you're comfortable with. 30% is my personal choice. There have been instances when I've taken 40% - 50% - but again, thats been for bigger projects (with bigger risks involved).
But the bottom line is, NEVER PAY ALL OF THE MONEY AS ADVANCE.
5) When you send money - make sure to mention the exact purpose of sending the money.
If you don't want to get caught up in an unnecessary PayPal enquiry, mention "Sending 30% of $100 as advance for development fee of my domain XYZ.com" in your PayPal message.
This way, if you're sending money to a hacked account or anything, PayPal knows why you're sending money, and they won't waste your time.
It may also be a good habit to check out the Warnings and Alerts forums if you find anything out of place.
If you do see something fishy/odd with an account, make sure to report the post to any of the moderators/staff and we'll get to it.
The rest boils down to how alert you are and how well your power of discretion is.
After all, its you who can turn down work to a developer if you don't feel good about it.
Hope this post helped (and hope you actually read it till the end) :p
Best,
Arjun.
