I haven't looked at the consumer facing side to see what customers are asked. Recently they took away the ability for customers to put their budget into the request, so the number of jobs I'm bidding has crawled to a halt (unless I feel like they have provided enough info that shows the request is serious) ... View more

While I know that - jobs are sitting for days and the clients aren't contacting anyone. You think when pros see 15 or 20 jobs stacked up that are days old without any contact they would begin to doubt these requests are authentic, valid requests? ... View more

Going through all of the requests that are sent in every day and noticing that probably 80% of them are remaining unbid even after a full day or two. How is this new system working out? It seems to me like pros are speaking out with their lack of bidding. We in the photography industry want budgets provided and we want to go back to the old system of paying a much smaller flat fee just to send our bid rather than a much higher magical fee only if someone contacts. ... View more

@JasonB so you'll set it up to refund us when we quote a job and their budget is 1/10th our normal rates? If that's not the case, then you can bet I won't be gambling with TT anymore. This is how I see things working: Client: Needs Wedding Photographer I send over a list of questions to find out what exactly they need (since thumbtack doesn't get enough info from REAL leads) including my base rate of $1,800 Client: *Crickets* I send another message asking about their wedding, what they are looking for, etc. Client: We can only afford paying $300 for 6 hours of coverage plus album, plus second shooter, plus engagements I send a message stating that those services would cost around $2,500 Client: *Crickets* Now I could arguably petition for a refund of my money and fight TT (which I likely wouldn't get). I'd be happier knowing ahead of time they couldn't afford me so I wouldn't waste anyone's time. Here is what I think: We want you to set the job price—not the customer.  I do set the prices. Therefore I only bid on project that have some sort of likelihood that the client is onboard. No one is looking for a photographer that doesn't have some reasonable idea of what they are willing to pay. If someone can ONLY spend $150 for a session or to market a home, there is no amount of reasoning I can do to convince them to pay $400. You could earn more. Bull. If a customer's budget is out of line with what I charge, I DON'T GAMBLE. I don't cheapen my rates just to get a job. I pass. I could earn more if you had authentic, vetted leads that were priced at the ridiculous level you have right now. You’ll evaluate the job more accurately. The details are the key. If someone takes the time to answer many questions regarding their project then they seem much more serious about even responding to a quote vs someone who answers the minimum number of items to submit the request. One of those details should be BUDGET at the bare minimum. For photography (as an example) the minimum details should be of course category, anticipated shoot date(s), BUDGET, number of people/items/homes/products, deliverables needed, etc. ... View more

I couldn't have said it better myself! ... View more

I'm with you on that! If my wedding photography packages start at $1,800 - I avoid wasting my "bid money" by sending info to those whose budget is $250 - $500. This guarantees that I won't be sending any bids unless the client puts the budget amount within their project description. ... View more