[GVIrish]

I think what Microberto is suggesting is to post a smaller unit of work and evaluate the results before committing to a freelancer for the long term. So maybe you put out a 15-30 hour job for $500-1000 to see if that person will work out. If it works out well, move on to the longer engagement. If it goes poorly then you're only out of $1000 and a week of time.

[sergiotapia]

I know that's what he's saying - that's what I find kind of off putting.

[MicroBerto]

FALSE.

Besides, ODesk uses a BIDDING system. They tell you the average bid price. Bid whatever rate you want.

If you are above the average bid rate (which sounds likely) and can sell the client on why they should pay you more, then put it in your cover letter. It's the exact thing that happened with my last devs.

You've seen the bad code out there. We have to be defensive if we want to keep our money around long enough to see the project to fruition. But I never said to underpay. I said to not commit to bigger things until you know what you're getting.