[marquis]

Does anyone ever game the system by posting with 2 accounts: one with a really high bid and a lower one, to help the customer 'pick you'? I'm not freelancing nor have ever used these sites, but I'm curious how above-board they are.

[sidmitra]

Don't think that'll help much or is the right kind of strategy. Firstly you have a better chance trying to showcase your portfolio. If you don't have that yet, then it doesn't warrant the higher rate and you might anyways get rejected on the lower end. If you have a large enough folio to split into two, then why not put them into one compelling bid.

IMHO one's better off spending time building a few simple apps and communicating your worth to the client than go blackhat from the start.

[tzaman]

Not really, I usually bid on TYPO3 jobs (I'm a certified integrator), and alongside with me, there's usually 15 ridiculously low bids, most submitted by Indian project managers. And they go as low as 10% of my hourly rate or price.