Non-PayPal Offer and Too High $ Offer?

[AmyT]

Dear Fellow Writers,

I came across this public request and found it interesting for two reasons. First of all, they were offering $250 for a 400 word article. (Although they do want you to sign up for 10 articles) Secondly, they want to send you a check vs. paying through PayPal.

If this offer is valid, I'd love to earn $250 but I have a few hesitations because after googling this guy's name and excerpts from his request, I see that he is only charging $20 on other sites. Do you think it's a typo? Also, is it possible to have a 10-article contract on this website? Would this be done through private requests? Lastly, how "safe" is it to trust someone that they will send you a check? Is that allowed here? And, has anyone had problems with that?

Thanks in advance for your input -- you all are always so helpful!

~Amy

Ps: Request Below:
Hi,
We are looking for writer for our parent Auto Insurance Company. We need people who can do good research and then write technically sound articles.
At times you will have to write Core technical articles; hence technical expertise will be preferred but not essential (as long as you can prove yourself).You must be interested and Knowledgeable about Automobiles and Insurance. Plagiarism will not be tolerated and you will be terminated immediately.
The writers would also be required to write short promotional for our various policies.
Due to payment issues at present we can take writers who are based in US since most of our payment will be by check (We will be soon including paypal for payment).
We want many writers since the load is very high.
We need around 80-100 articles initially.
So, Please quote your best price accordingly and kindly also tell us how long you will take to write 10 Articles of 400 words.
If you are ELIGIBLE than kindly directly apply at

joes....

Please DON’T WASTE our time, Writers from US ONLY APPLY.

Regards

Mike Joes

[Celeste Stewart]

Hi,
I assume this person has created a general ad for writers that he's posting on multiple sites which is why some of it doesn't really relate to the way CC does things. If he is paying by check, he would pay CC by check and CC would in turn pay us via PayPal.

As far as the price, if you read the request, he's asking for a quote for 10 400-word articles. I don't think when the customer entered the price range of $250+ that he was referring to a single article at that rate but rather collections of articles, perhaps that is his budget for the whole assignment. I don't think CC has a higher price range than $250+.

It appears that this customer doesn't quite understand how CC works. Hopefully he'll figure it out. Maybe support can shoot him a note explaining? If the guy were to post a few titles along with his desired price, I bet he'd be pleasantly surprised at the response.

[AmyT]

Dear Celeste,

Thank you so much for writing back! Your expertise is very helpful.

I think that he must be citing a price for the entire assignment... not quite as attractive at a $25 rate.

Thanks again!

~Amy

[Lysis]

Looks like the request was removed. Chances are that he wanted all 100 articles for $250. The insurance industry has a high rate of spam websites lately. On Google support, I'm seeing a lot of insurance sites popping up for US people, and the site is created by someone in some foreign country. The latest was some social security scam website. Be careful where you enter your SS#!

[KinsleyRoyale]

sounded like an Elance type looking for spamming material to me. Especially the overly strong words "Plagiarism will not be tolerated and you will be terminated immediately" and the fact he didn't have the right grammar himself.

If you are interested "than" kindly reply...

[Lysis]

sounded like an Elance type looking for spamming material to me. Especially the overly strong words "Plagiarism will not be tolerated and you will be terminated immediately" and the fact he didn't have the right grammar himself.

If you are interested "than" kindly reply...

LOL I thought the same thing. You also have to stay away from "English is your mother tongue" requests.

[aprilk10]

:-0 I noticed the request when it showed up as well, and immediately a red flag went up. Why would I waste my time writing for a guy who obviously has no respect for writers (or correct grammar for that matter)? His comments are very derogatory and insulting. Definitely looks like a request that would show up on Freelancer or Elance. The request is still up...towards the middle. It looks like he wants 100 articles for about $2.50 each.

[Celeste Stewart]

I don't take it that way. It sounds like this customer has been burned in the past. As far as grammar in a request goes, that's why customers need us.

[aprilk10]

Sorry Celeste...perhaps I am being a bit judgemental! I can certainly relate to being burned. I just feel the client could have worded the last part of the request differently without saying (yelling) "DON"T WASTE OUR TIME!" The first part of the request was actually very nice, I was just turned off by the last part of it! It sounds like this client is probably used to placing orders on bid sites. If that is the case then he probably has been burned.

[Debbi]

That request looked just like dozens I saw on GAF.

[Elizabeth Ann West]

Here is what I get from the whole thread:

* I admit, when I saw the request too, I recognized it as misplaced. Meaning, this buyer wrote a generic request for multiple outlets looking for content (a dead give away for newer authors, if the request doesn't seem like it was written for C-C, chances are they are looking in other places too for content and other sites are likely to undercut our system here).

* There is a need for accurate, affordable content on automobiles and insurance. I did a quick check on C-C and we have a great deal of "how to make your auto insurance cheaper for teens" (I suspect an old public request, LOL) but there are many other holes that can be filled. Alternatives to auto insurance? (Not all states mandate coverage, or coverage levels vary) Localized content by state? (Blog post style, do the major states, and see what happens...) Car type and auto insurance ramifications? (sports car, luxury, SUV, sedan) What if you there is something incorrect on your driving record, such as a ticket you went to court part of the sentence was to remove the ticket upon completion of a safe driver's course... etc. etc.

Always got to look on the bright side