guru.com

If something goes wrong with an employer, they blame the provider regardless, and expect them to work for free at times if an employer knows how to get it without paying first. Guru.com is simply a low-rent operation.

I never received the work from the free lancer and I never received the money I put in escrow despite repeated attempts to get my money back. Guru admits that they owe me the money. However, they did not use my full mailing address when sending me the check and I never received my refund. They will not reissue the check unless I sent them $30.00 which is a scam. Typically a check is good for 6 months. I told them I would wait and then they could reissue the check but they refuse. So in effect they are making revenue for themselves by not returning my check. Why is it my fault they didn't use my complete address. I checked with the post office and they said that the check would have been returned to them if my address was not on the envelop correctly but Guru will not acknowledge whether the check has been returned or not. They only want $30.00 to reissue another check. This company is a rip off.

We have been looking for freelancers for our projects in Guru in the last 2 years. Finally, we developed a project using their platform... and never again. Really bad experience with freelancers (from India) who wanted to end the development the sooner the better, and quality was poor. Using Guru arbitration we got 20% money back, but it was not enught since we lost 4 months and had to restart project from scratch...

If your not familiar with freelance job portals like Guru.com and others this a must read. If your interested in hiring a developer on Guru.com take the time to read this. There seems to be the fundamental flaw in portals specifically Guru.com. Quite simply, there are too many “Employers” whom are either vastly misinformed about the industry and what a real budget should be. “Employers” are drawn to sites like Guru.com where there are heaps of freelancers offering low bids. I understand that there are younger bidders out there looking to break into the industry and there are eastern providers who generally charge a lot less than their western counterparts, but let us be honest for a moment, the issue in this case is the ignorance of the “employer.” Many times the uneducated “Employer” doesn’t realize they’re being unrealistic and in the end they usually will lose money and run into trouble with the freelancer. I will admit to being one of these Employers who have had these e... Read more

I've been a member of guru.com for more than 5 years. Initially I had pretty good success getting projects. But I haven't gotten one project from that site since 2008. Competition is fierce. Pricing is so depressed, that you might as well go back into the job market as a regular employee. Why? Because the employers on that site only want to pay half the going rate, if that. You cannot make a living in the US with the wages the employers want to pay. It's not a matter of thinking that your work is worth the higher price and all the employers are cheap. The site has so many registered gurus and many of them are overseas. For them $10 to $15 per hour is a great wage. So the competition is part of the problem. But competition makes a free market. So be it. Now lets talk about the projects. It seems as though 75% of the projects are fake. Just look at them. Missing or mispelled words in the project details. I've see duplicate projects every couple of months. I've seen the same fake project... Read more

Guru.com is HORRIBLE and arbitration is a scam! I had a contractor who was 5 months behind and delivered nearly nothing, well the "Safepay Escrow" is a complete joke. I disputed the case and provide a mountain evidence (including a non-working website) and lost the ruling. NEVER PAY IN ADVANCE, AND NEVER USE SAFEPAY. It's a joke. I had nearly $1,000 stolen from guru.com and have a useless website that doesn't work. Beware!

I have also been totally screwed by a guru provider. My favorite trick is for providers to make it look like they are in the USA, but then you find out they are actually overseas...I don't have expound much on this, but below is just the series of communications I had with Brandon Osborne and Guru the only alteration of the text was the removal of passwords: THIEF - Stole my money. Project was not even started AFTER the promised completion date. NOT IN THE USA - makes it look like he is in the US but he's actually based in Romania, you are NOT GETTING A DEVELOPER IN THE USA. Does not answer the phone. I sent several emails and skype messages (included below) - he only responds to skype when he's trying to steal your money. Here is our skype convo: Brandon Osborne has shared contact details with Nancy R.. [2/9/2011 2:57:31 PM] Brandon Osborne: Hello there, Nancy. How are you doing today? [2/9/2011 2:57:39 PM] Nancy R.: having a rough week so far and you? [2/9/2011 2:58:00 PM] Bra... Read more

Signed up with them, got lucky and found a project I could complete in a couple hours since they wanted a simple modification of some code we had previously written. The software was sent, they paid their invoice. When I went to withdraw the cash, they locked my account and stopped sending email notifications either to me or anything I sent to my client. So anyone who didn't go directly to the website now thinks that I have stopped communicating with them entirely and guru won't answer my emails to even tell me why my account is locked. This is insane.

I am a payment member (not for long). I have been screwed three out of three times this week alone. I'm done. First an Aussie company, then Ecko Publishing and then some kook from Canada. I take responsibility for all of the above but I can tell you it won't happen again. PHUCK Guru. It's a sham.

I would have to say it is a rip when you get these people that want something for nothing and then you have to compete with somebody from India for the job.. You cannot make a living that way..

I've been on Guru.com for a couple weeks now and my first two encounters with employers have been disappointing. First, someone in Las Vegas wanted a guide on how to draw a wolf step-by-step for novices. He (or she...they never say who they are in the private correspondence section) said they liked the art work. I even took an hour to draw a sketch per their request and submit it free of charge. Everything is great. They like what they're seeing. Then, they ask for a color cover (not in the original job description AFTER the $50 bid is made). I spend a good portion of the weekend working on this guide and cover and submit it on time (9 pages total). By the way, I did all of this on faith as they never deposited the money in escrow for me to withdraw. Then, the day after the deadline (they're bad at immediate follow-up) they tell me that they picked me instead of the other freelancers with $25 bids because they thought they would get a higher quality product for $50 bucks! $50 BUCKS!!! ... Read more

Guru gives a smart businessman the tools to buy and sell services. I have used Guru to earn over 100k in the last four years working for a number of companies. I have several ways to seperate the wheat from the shaft. First, look at how many jobs the employer has paid on! If this is their first project, good luck. Second check to see how many invoices are unpaid, and for how long. I don't work for people that don't pay in full and quickly! If you don't care if you get paid, YOU can work for them. Third, I am realistic about my ability to meet their needs. If you can't do the job, no one will be happy. And I must talk to them, to be sure they are realistic about the cost and extent of work needed. If they are dreamers, beware! Guru is like Ebay. You need to take care and there is a lot of $'s to be made. But if you want to charge into the dark and expect Guru or Ebay to bail you out forget about it! There are alot of overpriced things on Ebay, but if some one has more $'s than brains ... Read more

I am an employer on Guru.com. We hired a development firm in India and paid them $2200 to build our website. They did a TERRIBLE job. The website was poorly constructed and had many, many errors or in tech lingo - bugs. They did not return my calls or emails for months during which time I was asking them to fix the bugs. They finally responded to me, because I escalated the matter to their "American" office. Turns out it is a one-man shop and he was sending them business. This American was very nice and followed up with Amal (the owner of Assist UI). Since Amal was now embarrassed, he followed up with me. He fixed some of the bugs, but not all of them. And then once again just stopped responding to my emails and phone calls. No explanation. Just stopped communicating. And we still had a broken website and missed our launch date. So this week I escalated it to dispute resolution with Guru.com. All the comments here are correct, Guru.com totally backs up the freelancer at the expense o... Read more

Really useful site for everyone! There are various faculties,courses and many more things to find! For unemployed youth it is a great boon !

The simple fact is that this site is NOT for "Western" markets. "I need 40 x 500 word articles written, must be excellent grammar and good english" runs the last ad I could be bothered to look at "Overall price $25" - it had over 30 bids 62 cents an article (38 pence) Another wanted websites set up with Wordpress and SEO optimized, search engine submitted with a stack of plugins installed and configured, including a content grabbing plugin which takes a good while to configure (WPR) a 200 word intro article on the landing page etc etc. 100 sites for $250. 2 bids I mean it isn't hard work, but 100 sites for $250 dollars is ridiculous End of the day, you end up competing with people prepared to do a days work for under eight dollars. Really no point even thinking about it. This doesn't make it better or worse than the main competitor (Elance) because that is exactly the same. If a living wage for a seven day working week (between 56 and 74 hours) week is between $40 and $60 (£25 -£40... Read more

Oh boy, do we have a story about Guru. After being with them for 5 years and a top 50 ranked vendor we got booted through no fault of our own. Talking to Guru.com is like talking to a brick wall. It is obvious they are all about their own bottom line these days. So sad to see them go from quality first to cash first. Boo. Read our detailed review on our Cyber Sprocket Labs site. http://www.cybersprocket.com/2010/project-management/whats-wrong-with-guru-com/

I have tried guru.com and elance.com to provide my service. guru.com did not work at all for me, but elance rocked! I have been providing software development service in elance for a while. It actually works pretty well. Initially it is relative harder to get a project, but once you make your name there (after few good deliveries), you will get steady projects. Also, there are good payments as well. Lot of serious buyers out there. If you are interested in more details, feel free to post a message here and I can give you several good tips.

I guess I' am one of the unlucky employers I was willing to pay for the work needed I was burned by a programer so I went to guru.com because I thought well at least they don't get all the money until they finsh the work so I posted the job and got 10 bids I picked the one I thought fit the best it was the highest bid' a software company and that was 4moths ago they have done nothing . do you programers understand that when your the employer and you put your heart and soul into your website we put our trust in you I will never use anyone over seas ever again do not bid on a job and accept it unless you plan on doing it shut up about how much you got paid your dam problem you placed your bid we come to you because we don't know how to it or we would do it our dam selfs god I would love to be at a board meeting with you programers stop burning your meal tickets. I'm f ing pist off why don't us humans fix things that just plain suck like if you get caught burning some one on the ne... Read more

Okay, since there are a number of freelancers here flaming Guru, let's turn the tables a bit. I'm an employer on Guru, and I've hired freelancers via Guru. In each case, I hired an American, not someone from a foreign country. I got stellar work at very reasonable prices. So from my point-of-view, Guru has done a good job. Why didn't I hire abroad? Simple. I wanted to be able to talk with them by phone before I hired them. Now, here's the part the "puke-and-moan" brand of freelancers aren't telling you. The vast majority of freelancers on Guru are extremely overpriced. I've seen people submit bids that absolutely blew my mind. How about $2,500 for a cover illustration for a novel, with literally hundreds of highly skilled illustrators looking for work? How about $3,500 to do a manuscript edit, again with a similar-sized labor pool? And I'm just referring to the American labor pool! I ended up paying $250 and $350 a piece, and I got very good work from good American people who didn't t... Read more

I ordered a $4.95 exam from guru.com through my account. After I paid for it they showed I took the test when I did not. I complained and they sent me an email saying too bad I have to pay again. I asked them to show the questions I answered, so far with no response. People stay away from guru.com, this is the worst company to deal with right next to Elance. I quit the Freelance business because of these companies. I am a 15 year veteran of software development and I will never use them again. Pick an area of expertise, open your phone book and start calling your local companies, it works, I landed my biggest contract that way, you do not need these rip off companies. And Guru.com here is my complaint number so you know what I am saying here is true Guru.com CaseNo:40206-155624

Guru is awful, and it deserves 0 stars, but I am incapable of giving it that horrible of a rating. I feel like the majority of people lose more money than they make. I thought the site had potential when I saw the free memberships, but none of those allow you to make money. After spending hours creating a resume and posting it, I wasn't allowed to bid for a single job. (Please read from here down) From all of my frustration towards this web site, I'm interested in making an alternative to Guru for beginning free lancers who actually want to break even. To do this, I will need help. If you are interested, contact me at [email protected]

It's legitimate but it's a bunch of crap since all of the postings are for people that have purchased a membership with them for 25.00 a month purchased in minimum of 3 month blocks. Most of the jobs will also go to the people in India because they will charge the minimum amount so if you are in the US and trying to do freelance professional work then this place will just take your money.

One word to describe guru.com: Despicable. Been there as a good-earning, non-paying member for nearly 5 years. One time, I was paid $704 for a business plan project. It later turned out that my employer funneled money to guru.com system using a stolen credit card. I refused to refund the amount when asked. I told the Member Services guys it was not my fault. All I did was deliver what's expected; that all I deserved was getting myself paid for services rendered. Know what guru.com did? It suspended all my profiles and accounts, 10 of them. I was informed by email I will have them back when I am able to settle my accountability. I lost all the earning opportunities. I was making good money from freelancing; in fact, I resigned from my job and began working from home fulltime. My lawyer said I should sue to get those profiles back, saying the suspensions were onerous, unilateral, unfair. The guru.com site presents opportunities. But it's policies are horrible for non-paying members. Take... Read more

I am very interested in how freelancers, independent consultants/contractors would structure a site that would facilitate a fair and accurate selection process while also allowing that company is be fairly compensated? Should the burden be born by the employers? Thanks for your feedback.

I have taken a membership for the last two years on GURU.com and have found that it is getting increasingly hard to find decent work. As is stated in some of the other reviews, if you don't get a paid membership there are virtually no jobs that you can apply for. The ones that will pay only want to pay rock bottom prices. I do transcription, and the fees that most employers want to pay only amount to $1 to $2 per hour. No Way! You can't do quality work for that. Also, there are not that many to choose from even if you have a membership. I have had a few that were total scams and did not pay a penny, and when GURU was notified, they basically said they couldn't do anything to help. This is the last time I will pay for my membership.

This site is horrible! They offer a 'free' membership, so I signed up and spent an hour creating my profile, resume, etc. I then did a search for jobs in my category which yielded 153 results. HOWEVER I COULD NOT BID ON ANY OF THEM! Not ONE! The jobs all required you to be a Guru or a Guru Vendor to bid....which means that the ONLY people who can bid are those who pay for a membership! What a rip off and a waste of time. They should just scrap the 'free' signup...or at least be more honest and let you know that the only way you can possibly get jobs is to pay for membership. I may be 'old-school' but I feel that jobs should pay the employee....the employee should not have to fork over money to get a job.

I rated them 1 start, just because there is no a zero or negative numbers as an option. In reality, I'd rate them - infinity. My review is based on a few years of paid membership. Guru.com has turned into a reservoir of cheap labor force for business vultures and parasites. Almost every employer that gets there specifies " Less than $250" as a project budget, then lists the things they want done that are realistically worth $2500, not $250. Not to mention that I had projects unpaid, disputes unresolved, etc, without ever being able to get it sorted out. Their " dispute resolution center" is actually just a fiction, a fairy tale. A cheap ad to get you to buy their membership, offering some fictional security. If you want to become an Internet slave, abused and underpaid by the employers ( yes, they also verbally abuse you), then join Guru.com, and you will have the best Vulture Fest on the Internet. How can the Guru owners be so stupid anyway, it's the employees that keep the sit... Read more

I'd like to hear other people's experience of this. I'm wondering if it's a scam. I'm a writer, copyeditor, proofreader. There was not one job to bid on for a basic member. Does anybody know if there are any good sites for freelance writers, proofreaders, copyeditors, typists? So far I'm not seeing anything. Are there some good sites? Or is this a worthless pursuit? Does anybody know anything about taking surveys for pay? I've been pretty discouraged with what I saw there, too. Anybody have any ideas for online freelancing writing-related work? Is there anything really out there? Any feedback would be very helpful. (Is it possible that good feedback on some of these companies is done by the companies themselves? It's starting to look a little creepy to me.) Sargasso108

To MDGraphics: The reason that over 60% of the projects go "unawarded" is because a lot of employers contact the freelancer directly and they conclude their arrangements offline (outside guru.com) and set up invoicing and payments directly. I know because I just got a $30,000 contact off guru.com in this manner. Screw guru.com! I'm not paying them a percentage of every hour that I work. It's enough that I pay them $100 quarterly to subscribe. To interhope: You think guru.com favors the freelancer? Surely, you're kidding. Let's see... the employer can read my profile, see a picture of me, review my resume and work samples. But, as a freelancer, when I bid on a project, I have to do it blindly, knowing nothing (not even the name) of the perspective employer. If you got a crappy freelancer, then the fault is yours. Did you review their work samples? Did you read their resume? Did you study his background that is posted on his profile? Did you call and talk to him and drill him with ... Read more

SHORT n' SWEET (or SOUR): KNOW THAT THE SUBJECT SITE IS A GAMBLE. It can easily be a money pit. Mob rules prevail. As a freelancer, you never know who you're dealing with; as an employer, you never know who you're dealing with. Both sides are gambling: the freelancer gambles that they will get paid at all, the employer gambles that they will get the quality of work they need/expect/are paying for. (There are a lot of "big heads" in this world who might think they're wonderful at what they do, while others' perceptions may be entirely different. The subject site is one place where those differences in perception intersect). FWIW, I tend to discount advertising of any kind, fully expecting individuals to inflate their own value and accomplishments. Heck, even some job counselors encourage that, so, knowing that, how can anyone expect to be believed when trying to "sell themself"? And selling yourself is exactly what the subject site requires for anything resembling success there. BOTTO... Read more

I wrote this comment in response to another post and thought I would bring it to the surface. Hopefully, my experience and view will be useful to someone. I'm a copywriter and have had success finding clients on Guru. My main complaint, however, centers on the large number of bottom feeding "employers" as they are called. Most are unwilling to pay appropriate fees for quality writing. They're frustratingly cheap, and I'm sure get substandard work from the "pros" who drop their drawers for these folks. I HAVE found a few gem employers on Guru that I've added to my client list. After completing the initial project, I began working directly with these great folks to avoid Guru's annoying fees. A provider just has to be willing to dig for the good ones (ignore Guru's dumb ranking system and concentrate on writing strong proposals). When you consider the cost of getting clients in the usual ways, adding Guru as another channel is justified for me.

Guru.com was a complete waste of money. This site is of no use to anyone is a first class country as people in 3rd world countries will bid unbelievably low. So unless you're willing to work for about 50 cents an hour or less it is a waste of time.

Look, there are some legitimate jobs on Guru.com and there are even more scams. We are a U.S. firm hiring U.S. citizens exclusively. We aren't cheap, but we are very good and have a very high ranking (until tomorrow) on Guru.com. However, the new ranking will take us from the double-digits (around 15th) down to around 65th. After reviewing the calculations for raking extensively and having multiple conversations with Guru.com customer service, it is very clear the goal is to increase the revenue coming into Guru.com at the expense of vendors providing services. Think about it - you get a better ranking if you low-ball bid as many projects as possible - thereby increasing your ranking with higher fulfillment rates, then come back in later and charge the employer extra money (holding him/her by the balls since you've already been chosen and received some of their budget) - sound geared to questionable practices currently used in countries outside the U.S. and Europe - you betcha. ... Read more

I'm reading a lot of negative reviews here. I'm an employee and have had overall a very positive experience, although I can understand why perhaps 'guru's' have had a bad exp. I have put up 3 projects so far and paid out about $4500 and have achieved all my objectives. I have had good work done, for a pretty low price. Some recommendations: 1. If you are a coder/programmer DO NOT use this site if you live in Europe/America. There will ALWAYS be someone in India or Pakistan who can do the same job for perhaps 1/3th the cost. The people I have hired are usually a well organized team of 15+ developers. I see them as a sort of coding factory, just taking on the ample jobs out there and sucking up all the projects us Westerners cannot 'afford' to take. 2. If you are Western then you probably will get hired if you are looking for say advertizing/Legal/marketing etc. I am reluctant to hire a non US person for marketing or legal advice as I know they probably don't have the correct... Read more

Guru is a slave-labor operation that is very pro-client and downright hostile to their contractors, the people who pay them.  Also, they were one of the first contract work sites to allow competition from overseas, so I guess you can say that started outsourcing American jobs almost 10 years ago.  Avoid.

Mind blowing website with everything which makes it stand different in this domain. Those who say that the bids by others is not visible, I must tell them that when bids by others is visible people make idiotic bids as they do in Rent A Coder. Bid for the amount which you feel is fair enough for that project. Those who say that they did not get a project in 5 years listing on Guru, I must say, they need to do some soul searching. Better yourself and support your bid with work you have already done.

You cannot bid on any projects unless you become a paid member !! Their Basic free membership is a harsh joke on people looking for work.

Putting one star here is being generous - but there are no lower options! Guru.com used to be good. Now it is turning into a complete cash grab. They've started using several new methods; one is how they calculate your ranking. I had a pretty good ranking due to the number of good projects that I was awarded and landed (based on professional rates). In January, they are going to change the ranking method so that providers that get the most jobs (and by extension, charge slave rates) will be ranked FIRST. That is a complete ripoff. Second, they have implemented 'Premium Proposals', which means that you can get your bid seen faster if you - guess what - pay more. And, surprise, surprise - the lower your ranking, the more you pay. They are turning into a money-sucking machine - and ripping off the very people who keep their business going in the first place! They are turning into an Elance-type operation, and I would NEVER work with Elance in a million years. Unl... Read more

The job descriptions are too vague to make an honest price evaluation. Too much time wasted in trying to figure out what to charge. Don't waste your time.

Do I have to give them one star? I have been a registered member on Guru for several years now, first as a basic, free, member and then under a paid subscription. I am now approaching the end of my first full-year subscription and I can tell you that there will be no way that I will renew. I have been awarded only two small projects in that whole time. I used to submit proposals on just about everything that I was qualified to do and I kept track of all my bids, periodically checking on how many were awarded, etc. For quite awhile, the percentage of projects that went unawarded was well over 60%, and many of those that were awarded seemed to be for ridiculously low rates. For the past 6 months or so, I have been much more discerning in what I chose to bid on and guess, what? The results are still basically the same. Of the nearly 200 closed projects still listed in my project tracker, some 50+% of them have never been awarded. However, you really start to get a feel for Guru, though, w... Read more

Stay away from Guru-Period. My small non-profit was doing a simple website...the first guy took 8 months to do a website and guru released escrowed funds to him without our permission! We never did get a website, nor the money back. Instead we contracted again (boy were we stupid to listen to guru that they would make it right) and the second guy has yet to produce anything. All the elemnets have been done by outside people and a simple site navagation is all we need. It has been 2 months and the "web guy" is now telling us it is going to cost us more money! If we don't pay, we don't get our web site. Guru is saying that as long as he shows them the site, they will release the escrow funds to contractor. Guru even indicated that they would be no arbitration in our case because the contractor has shown good faith. I can't even get him to respond to any of my phone calls or e-mails. Again, I am out of money and patience with no results.

The site is expensive and yes...few gigs for a few people out of the masses. I speak as a freelancer who got burned buy a project buyer... Consumer fraud that goes on at guru and other sites needs to be stopped. Please sign my petition and pass it on to your contacts. The time for reform is now! http://www.gopetition.com/online/21088.html

I don't want to step on anyone's toes but I do have one question, for all the people saying "I have been bidding for three years and didn't get one project" ....are you any good? I have been on the site for four days and got two well paying projects (completion this afternoon) and one that I am still in negotiations with. These three projects total $2350. Not bad for a weeks worth of work and only eight bids. Both projects that have been awarded to me were paid up (in the escrow) and I've had no worries.

Steer clear of Guru.com!!! I hired NGBM Solutions through them and got royally ripped off. I paid ngbm.net through Guru.com after they showed me great work on their test server. However, when it came time to deliver the project the developer, whose name is Rajan Kumar Upadhyay, became suspiciously hard to get in touch with. To make a long story short the developer used his superior knowledge of the Guru.com system to not only steal my money but also to steal my concept. That's right, I caught the bastard trying to launch his own site with my concept!!! In the end Mr. Rajan gets away with it because he is in India and all Guru.com can do is say "too bad, so sad." A bunch of thieves if you ask me!

Save your money. You have a better chance trying to get web jobs asking 50 welfare bums on payday for a web job. What annoys me the most that nobody else posts are the fact that so many jobs are repeats. That gets me to wonder why the same jobs with same names get posted every so often. I am wondering who is doing that and that was my biggest fear when I got a paid membership, wondering how valid a free job posting could be on a paid service. The numbers fooled me, don't let them fool you. Not only that, there are also so many postings from webmasters posting jobs at insane amounts. No offence, but unless you work in the India (where the founder has roots) and can do devepment work for below minimal wage, stay way from these clowns. When I finally got a couple of people interested in my bid, I saw trouble because he presented me a contract and had no soul to be able to do the project like reasonable human beings. I felt a webmaster trying to get as much built before taking a half-m... Read more

Recently forked over the bucks for a membership to try to upgrade the quality of the projects I could bid on. Hasn't happened. There are just so many hilarious project proposals, it's hard to choose the best, but one of my favorite kinds is when the employer claims to have a complete spec in hand and will release it to the winning bidder. How does one bid without a spec, unless you want to work for free? Catch-22! You have to be broke and desperate to bid on guru.com and if you aren't already you soon will be.