nclester

As you can tell, I'm new to these forums. This is my first post, but surely wont be my last. I have intentions of meeting new contacts, and cherish the opportunity to converse with other freelancers. On to the point.

I know, I know. There are probably 100 different posts on this board, each describing how to go about getting paid, however. This isn't my problem. You see, I was recently hired, through an international Craigslist posting, to create web-content for a company called Sports-Wiki. They are based in Berlin, Germany and I'm in Orlando, FL.

Here is my situation. I'm nervous, but extremely excited to have been given this opportunity. I mean, shit. It's a paying job and I'm not even out of college yet. To make things more complicated, the pay is excellent, on par with a four-year degree salary. I'm required to write two articles per day, and publish them on their sports-wiki.

After several e-mails between the editor and myself, we established that I would write for a 10-day probationary period, for which I'll be paid. If they're happy with my work, then, well... you know how it goes.

I wrote up a little agreement, which was e-mailed and agreed upon by the editor. Something just seems too good to be true, 90 euros per/day, the conversion puts me at around $150 USD daily. She also mentioned PayPal is not an option, it's just not how they pay writers, so she says. I've only been paid through PayPal, and enjoy how smooth the process is. She, the editor, told me that I will be paid via bank transfer, but still hasn't given me the name of the financial institution that her company will be using. I asked for it, just to make sure this was real.

Anyway, sorry for writing a lengthy first post. I just need a bit of advice, or some general tips to protect my time and effort. After all, I don't want to waste my time writing for her and not see any income, especially when I'm putting other jobs on hold to complete her work. Am I missing something? Are there any more questions I need to ask?

How can I protect myself? If I submit my work, and she doesn't pay. What do I do? She agreed to my e-mailed contract, well, kind of a contract, so isn't she obligated to pay me for my work? I also ran a WHOIS report, and it comes back legitimate.

Any advice is greatly appreciated, thanks for hosting such an incredible forum. I can't believe I made it this long without being a member.

Tips? Ideas?

Non Serviam

First: This is a common beginning to a scam. Look for a sting--anything you're supposed to buy, or any reason at all you have to hand them over money. Do not do so under any circumstances at all.

Create a new, empty bank account with no overdraft facility. Give them this bank account to pay you into. Use that bank account for all transactions with this company. Don't reveal anything at all about any other bank accounts to them.

Second: If it's legit, you're benefiting from the weakness of the dollar. By German standards 90 euros a day isn't all that much.

Third: I very much doubt if your agreement is worth the paper it's written on. The US courts have no jurisdiction out there so you need an agreement written by a German lawyer, which would likely cost more than the ten days' work is worth.

Fourth: People with no experience don't often get paying jobs as writers. But it DOES happen.

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nclester

Non Serviam, I appreciate your help. I too thought this was a scam, but no one has insisted that I purchase anything, or pay any "required" membership fees as of yet. I will take your advice, and open up a separate bank account. I'll use this bank account specifically to deal with my over-seas clients, including Sports-Wiki.

That's ironic, I was just thinking the reason the pay seemed so high was because of our dwindling dollar. Thanks for the tip!

Isn't it unfortunate; I need to hire a German lawyer in order to protect my craft from theft? Weak-spot.

I wouldn't go as far as saying I have no experience, I mean. I've been writing for money for roughly a year, and this is the first major, or what I consider major, gig I've landed. Thanks for making me feel like a total n00b.

All I can do is to write for 10-days, refuse to give them any money for anything and hope to get paid. Right?

Thanks again, Non Serviam.

nclester

You know what, after doing a bit more research, it looks promising. I have a close friend, who runs a German/English blog, I'm going to have him do any research that he can before I get my hands dirty.


sports-wiki.net | Main Page - check it out, looks authentic.


Any other advice is greatly appreciated.

Mike C

Alarm Bells are ringing, but I only have a vague idea of why.

I've read elsewhere of a writer who was contracted to write sporting articles for 'too good to be true' money, and who had problems with payment. However, that doesn't mean this is the same site.

The rate of pay raises alarm bells also; freelancers are canon-fodder, and there are plenty who will write for pitiful rates - do you have sporting knowledge that makes you worth that kind of money? If a deal looks too good to be true, it probably is.

Are you able to contact any of their other writers?

The wiki site is registered to an individual - Wilhelm Bielert - not a corporation. Again, not an indictment, but an alarm. Googling Bielert doesn't bring much up. My biggest worry, having seen the site, is that I haven't seen an article yet that would have been worth paying for - in fact it seems that, in the wiki spirit, people are encouraged to post articles for free. I could see the sense in 'seeding' the site with pro acticles, but it still smells funny.

Bottom line is it's your choice. You can recover overseas debts, but it's not cheap or easy. It may be on the level. Sorry dude, that's the best we can do.

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nclester

I actually already attempted to contact a few of their writers, with no success at all. When I first visited the wiki, I noticed the "write-for-us-at-no-cost" label across the front of the homepage too. I'm planning for the worst, and hoping for the best. If it turns out to be a joke, then I've learned a valuable lesson. Who knows, maybe they really want to pay 90 Euros a day for wiki-content.

I have to agree though, the work there isn't very impressive. I'm just optimistic, I keep assuming they're German and hardly understand English. My miserable rationale.

Thanks for the responses guys, I'll let you know how it turns out.

Mike C

Good luck with it. Worst case scenario is you lose 10 days work, but if it's at least up there, with your name as a by-line, you get some exposure.

Keep us posted.

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archer88iv

While freelancing, I've had trouble getting paid even by legit employers. Frankly, I'm to the point now where I will not accept that "the check is in the mail." I want it in my hand instead. Been stiffed by Hearst one too many times.

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nclester

Mike C, thanks for the tips. I will definitely keep the board posted. I suppose it's worth the risk of losing 10-days of my life, after all. It's the exposure I need, and the income that I want.

Archer88iv, I agree. I had a bit of trouble getting the first few payments completed and cleared, because some employers simply do not use PayPal. I haven't the slightest clue why, but they don't. Excluding the job that brought up this thread, I usually don't accept anything but PayPal, it's too damn smooth to argue. I also recommend that the employer sets-up a PayPal account, it just makes our relationship so much smoother.

Joe Moore

I agree with you, Mike. To declare that PayPal is not an option is just downright strange considering it's one of the most convenient, secure ways to exchange funds in the world. I would suggest doing one job at a time. Get paid, then do the next one. Good luck.

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nclester

Joe, that's a good idea. I think I could save some potentially wasted time. I'll tell the editor I'd like to be paid per/article instead. Then I can charge by the word, and probably do a better job. Which turns out to be a personal thing, but if I have only one article to write. Then I can focus on that and only that, produces a better final product.

I'm beat, it's like 5 in the morning.

Later on.

nclester

The editor got back to me tonight and let me know that they would be transferring the funds via the Deutsche Bank, which happens to be a viable option in Germany. So I guess it's time to play the waiting game, I'll finish the ten day period out, and produce the best work I can.

Hopefully the deal doesn't fall through.

Swamp Thing

hope it works out for you.

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