In addition, those persons listing their several requirements and requesting coders to provide a 'snippet' of the overall solution must surely be hoping that the response will cover all their bases without them paying a penny. Ignore them.

Man, that is so nineties.. Try $1900

Part of the issue probably is the world-wide access that any web site gives; it's difficult to compete with someone working out of New Dehli who may be equally qualified. Then again, the programmer trying to pay for his $1100/month one-bedroom apartment in NYC is going to have trouble competing with me - it's a cost of living thing. Especially when many projects can be completed via 'telecommuting' with good broadband service and the occassional telephone call ... I was usually only on-site for initial planning meetings and during portions of implementation of systems developed, everything else was handled via email, FTP file exchange and phone calls.

But the subject of the blog entry was resume's - and providing information regarding qualifications for a particular project. I wholeheartedly agree with that need from the buyer's standpoint. You don't get service from the world's premier .NET or VB coder for a project that you want done in C or Java, not unless they can really pitch success in their area of expertise on project(s) with similar levels of complexity and functionality.

I would also say that a good 'bid' would include exactly that for more complex jobs: it should lay out a schedule and provide some information on how the total bottom-line price was arrived at. If it was 'gut feeling' based on experience, fine - say so. But if more specifics can be provided, I'd say to include those. It tells the buyer that you've actually given the requirements some thought.

To the buyers: I notice sometimes that you try to tell your coder HOW to do the job. That's kind of silly to me - if you know HOW to do it, do it. Requirements should state WHAT is to be accomplished and if platform/language is crucial, then by all means specify that - but leave it up to the hired hand as to HOW to use those tools to accomplish the ends. If you picked the right person (that resume and portfolio again) then they will know best how to get the job done using 'best practices' for things like user interface, data exchange, configuration control and writing efficient, maintainable code.

Bargain Basement Pricing: Here's a helpful, potentially money saving suggestion: if you have an in-house project going on that you get stumped with, DON'T immediately put out a bid for help. You'd be surprised at what is available free online from both professionals and strong, knowledgeable entheusiasts at places like http://www.microsoft.com/office/community/en-us/default.mspx or http://groups.google.com/groups/dir?&sel=0,16823695 if you are stuck on a problem involving a 'standard' application. I've seen employees of some seriously large companies come in to those places looking for assistance with everything from Microsoft Office applications to Quickbooks, etc and getting it at no cost other than the time taken to clearly and concisely describe the problem. Talk about the opportunity to get the advice and assistance from real experts without having to pay real-experts pricing!

JLatham

I think I know why this is....

There appears to be a 'no authorization needed' corporate spending cap set at $500.00

Anything can be bought under that with the *absolute minimum* muss and fuss.

$500.00 and over and there will be delays in acceptance and payment of such a 'large' sum of money for goods and services (about to be) recieved because 'authorization is needed'.

Poking aroud in Google revealed a higher no-authorization spending cap but this was at some college (a nonprofit?).

I speak from personal experience but do not want to go into specifics due to privacy reasons. I can reveal that the client was for-profit hence the $500.00 cap I was told about.

The majority of bidders at sites like Rent-A-Coder and their ilk know about this cap and that is why they bid as they do.

They simply want to get the job, do it, and get paid in full as fast as possible.

Perhaps that's a mistake of job posters on RAC... setting that minimum. If they're open to fair bids, don't set a minimum amount because some people see that $100 and think the project must be bid in the $100 range.

I'll edit the bid and see if that changes things.

The 'Max Bid $100' people are either clueless newbies or (likely) absolute hardcore skinflints 'jonesing' for the lowest possible price to get a programming task done. That can only be done by programmers living in places where the cost of living is (very) low.

Unfortunately I live in the USA where a loaf of good bread costs $2.00 in a supermarket.

Because of this, I gave up on sites like Rent-A-Coder and their ilk.

Thanks for the heads-up on the 'going rate' for freelance programmers
where it is worthwhile to take an assignment.

I am trying to make money with my programming skills as I used to be paid to co-write code that business *depended* on.

I have yet to bid a project. Wouldn't have bid yours - don't have the skillset you want.

But I'll be frank, as a professional developer I'm rather put off by the offers put forward by those wanting work done. I see many things that in my estimation could involve several months of work and they get stuck in the "Max Bid $100" pile. No way is a professional going to bid something like that. Anyone want professional coding - expect to pay professional rates. My rates to organizations are either FREE for small jobs, or $40/hr for a serious commitment. More possibly depending on complexity of the end product. Remember that independent professional programmers must pay all expenses, self-employment taxes, FICA, and odds and ends like insurance and rent out of what they make.

As for bidding a Fixed Firm Price job - for that I would want (and I presume you gave) extremely precise, detailed design and requirements specifications to examine before I even started. If you want me to bid such a thing without those, I won't do it - the risk factor is simply too high. It's unbelievable how many "couldn't we..." and "how about this, too..." things come along that people seem to expect to fall under the original umbrella if you don't have such things in place.

I don't much like RentACoders policies in some areas also - they don't allow potential solution providers to simply GIVE away a free answer to a simple question, instead insisting that someone pay for what many would gladly and happily provide for absolutely no cost at all. I see those requests and wince at the thought that I would be in violation of my agreement with RentACoder if I simply told them I'd do it for nothing - here: the answer is a one-liner How-To that you probably could have gotten on line for nothing with a simple Google search or use of Help in a particular product. But RentACoder insists that I charge for the answer if I give it through them. So I don't.

But you're correct - make sure you get the right person, or at least A right person, for the job. And you won't get that from a generic "we build the world" type of response. On the other side of the coin, and this is meant in a generic way since I have no knowledge at all of the offer you made ... but be prepared to actually make a fair and reasonable offer if you want truly professional assistance, otherwise expect to be inundated with responses from those without a deep experience pool to draw from to fulfill your needs.

You bring up very valid points.

I actually work at Rent a Coder and would like to ask your permission to post this to coders. We actually have articles on site that tell them that doing this is bidding suicide, but having a buyer say it will really re-inforce it and drive it home.

Thanks,

Rod