[mike_herrera]

I'd love to drink their milkshake.

My friend and I are mid-redesign on a new service marketplace called reBaked. Our innovation is collaboration with many freelancers and paying them proportionally to what they actually deliver. There's also a negotiated minimum payment for freelancers so it's not overly risky for them.

...it's not quite ready for a Show HN, but the gist can be seen at (https://rbkd-staging.heroku.com). I'd love to get your first reaction.

[aptwebapps]

It's interesting and I'll have to think about it further but I wouldn't think that a listing fee of 10% of project budget, payable in advance, is going to work.

[mike_herrera]

Thanks for looking! I can't argue that 10% is the correct fee - it's more of a starting point.

For that fee we guarantee users are promptly paid (net 10 or less, no excuses), absorb all of the usual transaction fees, host and archive the project workspace, and generate/distribute all 1099 and W9's.

[aptwebapps]

It's not the rate I'm questioning, it's asking for it up front.

[mike_herrera]

I see. Do you believe a form of a guaranteed-money-back policy, for the fee, would make it more palatable?

[aptwebapps]

Maybe. I'm actually on the other side of this as a freelancer, so might not have the best info. But one thing I've noticed is that one of main the ways I get gigs is by assuring people that the whole thing is going to work. In other words, there's a lot of inherent and perceived risk in outsourcing and if I can start a conversation, I can allay some of their fears. So it seems to me that with an upfront fee, you're tacking on this perceived extra risk or hurdle before they get to talk to anyone. I don't know what the psychology of money-back guarantees is. They don't have much affect on me, for some reason.