r/freelance

I'm a freelance graphic designer, but I'm still really new to working for people professionally. I recently had a gig go really bad, as I had completed my end and got paid, only to have the client call me this morning demanding a refund because the files were not right. She literally had another graphic designer with her claiming I had no idea what I was doing and that I was nowhere close to what they needed. I gave them a full refund, but I feel like crap. I'm worried they'll review me poorly. I've been scammed, ghosted, and now this. I feel like I have one out of every 50 clients actually be good.

RANT: Is freelancing the new slavery? My experience trying to get on Fiverr and Upwork.

I've been thinking about offering my freelance services and naturally looked at Fiverr and Upwork since they're the platforms I already knew. The deeper I looked, the more issues I ran into.

1. Ethical issues. Fiverr is an Israeli company. That's a hard no for me, I'm boycotting on principle (I refuse to pay money to a company established on the same land where my grandfather's family was slaughtered and kicked out and I am not even allowed to visit.).
2. The fees are insane. Fiverr takes 20%, Upwork takes 10%. On top of that, both platforms charge you for basic analytics that should be free. In countries like mine, those fees aren't pocket change. And honestly the profit margins are insane for these companies.
3. The Upwork bidding model feels predatory. You pay to bid on jobs, you don't get that money back if you lose, and freelancers are racing each other to the bottom on price. It's basically a lottery dressed up as a job board. Freelancers who don't have money to bid get pushed out exactly when they need work the most. I can afford to bid, that's not the issue. I just don't want to play this game. It feels like a scam, not a marketplace.
4. The bigger picture is what really gets me. As we move away from traditional corporate jobs into a world of solo operators and AI-powered freelancers, is this the model? You go online to earn money and instead the platform extracts money from you while you fight other desperate people for scraps?

This feels like a new form of slavery, AI-powered freelance slavery, and honestly it might be worse than wage slavery. At least with a job you know what you're getting.

I'm tired, man. Everything keeps devolving into evil, the same pattern: corporations and the top 1% win, and the rest of us are forced to compete for scraps in increasingly inhumane ways.

Anyone else seeing it this way? Are there better platforms out there, or is this just the future?

Currently searching for a full-time job while doing freelance projects in the meantime, and recently I had one of the most stressful client experiences ever.

I do UI/UX freelance work and this client wanted an app designed exactly like the AI-generated screens he made from ai tools. He didn’t want to understand UX at all. I tried explaining basic UX principles, user flow, why certain things work and why copying random AI layouts isn’t always good for real users.

The biggest issue was the pressure. If I worked 20 hours, he was literally sitting on my head for 20 hours. He would stay inside the Figma file continuously watching me work. Even before I completed screens, he would start complaining and ask for changes mid-process.

Then the next day, he completely changed the direction and said he wanted the app to look exactly like a famous e-commerce/grocery app. So again I redesigned everything from scratch.

After that, again new references. Again new changes. Again “copy this app.” And this loop just kept going.

Nothing was ever enough for him.

He kept saying the app was launching in 2 days and constantly rushed me. Even if I took a 30-minute break, I would get messages saying “I need screens today.” It genuinely became mentally stressful for me.

The only good thing is that I asked for payment after showing the first set of screens, so at least I got most of the payment but not full.

What affected me more was his tone. I take freelance projects because I want to learn, improve, and design different kinds of apps. But the way he talked made me lose confidence while working. I honestly gave my full effort because I love design, but it started feeling like he expected me to be available and do work 24/7.

I even told him I had interviews scheduled, but the pressure never stopped.

Finally, I respectfully told him that mentally this was becoming too stressful and I couldn’t continue working. But even after that, he kept calling and asking for “just a few more small changes.”

Now even seeing his messages gives me anxiety.

I wanted to ask other freelancers/designers:

- Is this normal in freelance work?

- How do you deal with clients like this without affecting your mental health?

- And what are the average UI/UX screen rates in India these days?

I think I’m also too emotional sometimes because I expect people to be understanding the same way I try to be with others.

I see independent professionals—I denounce the term "freelancer"—make this grave mistake again and again. They believe they are "not good enough" to work with international clients.

If you ask, "Why do you think that?" they say, "I am an Indian," or, "I am a Pakistani," or "I am..." some other sub-continental flavor. I held this misconception for the longest time, too. I thought the international market would judge me for my skin color. But that's all it was—a misconception.

Over the past five years, I've ghostwritten for clients from the USA, Canada, UK, Romania, Japan, and all over. I've ghostwritten for CEOs, Startup Founders, Life Coaches, Small-Time Business Owners, Podcasters, Oncologists, a PhD Professor, Agency Owners, and Digital Nomads. Their only concern was the value I offered.

I truly believe we are in the Second Age of Exploration. The trade routes are open. No one cares about your skin or the way you speak; they only care about what you bring to the table. So I say pillage, plunder, and loot as you please. The world is your oyster.

TLDR;

I work white label for this company with couple of other freelancers.

After getting ignored by this person for some time, I told his partner that I'd appreciate if the invoices are paid FROM NOVEMBER/DECEMBER LAST year, that are already sent 2 months ago, now he is ranting to me like I did something wrong?

He ended up making another milestone on upwork but I have one more project pending to pay, which we are closing soon, so I just want to hear what is your guys opinion on situations like this.

This is not first time he behaving like this, so I'm thinking I'm done with this company.

Just to be clear, i have no use of lying here to stroke my ego on reddit.

What would you do in this kind of situation?

PS.

His "partner" told me once that they both are partners in this company, but on a meeting alone the other guy told me that he is the boss (person who is ranting), and the other guy is just employee there. Strange, init?

https://preview.redd.it/m75g99xrdszg1.png?width=863&format=png&auto=webp&s=c783fdbca5cbdde8d1624d4b1aab7ff2f339f24b

https://preview.redd.it/610w2bxrdszg1.png?width=838&format=png&auto=webp&s=f43577d4f28b792fe372dba105cfbf58bed61c87

https://preview.redd.it/p28obbxrdszg1.png?width=852&format=png&auto=webp&s=1986b146cf0c555c96c8f091b398b2a33c9682ad

I had a client I did consistent work with for more than a decade. At one point, they were actually my primary source of income. But they dropped me without notification about a year ago. No contact at all and then didn't pay my last invoice for almost four months. They also continued working with another freelancer who had only been working with them a few years.

They reached out this morning and asked me to do some work for the next month or so. I could honestly use the money but the way they dropped me left a very bad taste in my mouth.

Talk me out of turning it down out of spite.

After years of helping businesses close regulatory findings, start up, get certified, etc. today for the first time in 13 years of my career, I said to a client that I couldn’t help them.
Client been non responsive for months, even after multiple email reminders or follow up. They only had 1 visit where I told them what to do, and then of course they didn’t… months went by and now they are in a chess mate situation. I was supposed to draft them a contract but while doing so, realized they are basically fucked, I can’t do my job like this and decided to say then I couldn’t work with them like this.

I’ll be honest, I’m just here for support.. I never had such a situation and I’m quite scared of getting in trouble, although this should actually give me rest I actually feel very uneasy.

Running a business (in consultancy-freelancing) it’s been quite a challenge as someone who is severely traumatized with PTSD, and this feels very much like a walking on eggshells and am avoiding triggers like the plague.

What is a reasonable deadline for contract signing once a client has said they want to move forward, specifically from the time the contract is sent?

Hey, it will be an odd one. I'm not very much into spiritual and Law of attraction stuff, but there is one thing I cannot comprehend. I'm curious if anyone experienced it in professional life.

You know the funny feeling when you think about some distant friend and they call you the next day?

I observed something similar with my past clients. Its a random thought: Hey, Xyz haven't contacted me for a while. I wonder when the next project will come.

And they come. Not instantly, but before I forget I had this thought. Usually within a week or two.

Has anything like that happened to you?

Is it because subconsciously I know how often they reach out, or something else? I rely on this method to a certain degree. It's my mental marketing funnels.

Been working with an agency for months. No contract, revenue-share model, and they act as the wall between me and the actual client. I delivered everything on scope. When I emailed the end client directly, my contact said clients "don't want to work with Bangladeshis." The real issue is clearly that I bypassed them. But they chose to frame it as my identity being the problem probably because it's harder to push back on. Have you dealt with this? How do you formalize the relationship before it gets to this point?