Rate Statistics

I've read through most of the comments and am leaving my own thoughts, though not a direct response to anyone. When I first signed up with Odesk, I thought I could find some good data entry-type jobs, making minimum wage-ish. I quickly found that I had no chance though with all of the cheap foreign developers competing with me. But then I got into web design and coding, and as my work is high quality, that competition isn't much of a problem now, as many buyers prefer to pay more for someone they can understand better and rely on more. This is not to offend or attack developers in certain countries, but just what I have been told in my Odesk experience. So, it would be nice if there was a better way for American or other developers needing higher rates to compete with really cheap labor, but that isn't my biggest concern right now, and I also know that that is a complicated problem.

 My main problem is the 10% fee. With how huge Odesk is, I just can't imagine that taking 10% of my income is really necessary. Taking 10% of what, hundreds of thousands of jobs?, is just so much money, it must be extreeemely profitable. If Odesk needs the money, I understand. But to take advantage of the fact that so many people rely on Odesk for some work and therefore charge more than you need to is unfair. And I think the same about almost all big online businesses today--Ebay Amazon etc. They are making huge $ while us little people who really need a few extra bucks can't get it because of the large fees we have to pay.

 Many people have been saying that 10% is the buyer's problem, not the providers. My experience has been the opposite. When discussing how much I'm being paid, Buyers always treat that 10% as part of my income, not as a buyer's expense. So I feel like it's just another tax on my income, and I really can't afford it. And its especially frustrating when I've been working with a buyer for awhile. If I've been working for months without any problems, and Odesk hasn't lost any money through guaranteed payments as the buyer always pays me, then the risk goes way down. And buyers who trust their providers don't need to use all the Odesk tools so much. So neither buyer nor provider should be paying this high fee for Odesk services which really aren't all that helpful anymore.

 Yes, I am finding work through Odesk, and I appreciate that. But if Odesk is making far more money it needs by taxing my income which I really need, then I would appreciate some more fairness and balance. Maybe start with a 10% fee, but after x number of hours, knock it down, or gradually decrease it over time.

 Also, if Odesk insists that 10% is really fair and necessary, I'd like to hear why. Then I would stop complaining