Videomaker – Learn video production and editing, camera reviews › Forums › General › Deal and Scam Alert › Thumbtack.com – Major SCAM
EddieValiant.EddieValiantI heard about a site designed for professionals called Thumbtack.com that's supposed to help find "qualified" leads. I checked it out, then gave it the Google test. What I found was a tsunami of bad reviews, vicious complaints and what appears to be a well orchestrated scam.
Thumbtack is designed to find leads for the working pro – landscapers, photographers, etc. Create a profile of your business and people can find you by searching Thumbtack – or so they say. The deal is that to respond to leads one must purchase "credits" and once that is done, lo and behold, the leads start rolling in. Of course, good luck getting a response from any of them.
If anyone has seen this website or thought of joining them, don't. I took a look around and the tons of negatives totally turned me off from it.
TerryWallHi, Ed! Like you, I had my concerns about Thumbtack, but decided to wade in anyway. It took a while, but over a couple of months, I finally landed a job…then another…then another. One of them turned into a recurring series of projects in my home town. I have found that you have to be careful with any of these "lead-gen" sites, but if you're discrete, you can find some work. I don't rely totally on Thumbtack, but they've been decent in helping me fill some open spaces. I don't compete with the "bottom feeders" and there are plenty of them. Nothing is more aggravating than competing with a "20-something" whose daddy bought him a Red Scarlet and he'll do a job for $25 an hour. I set my price and prospects either choose me or they don't. And I'm OK with that.
I was really rough on Thumbtack early on, as I was wondering (again, like you, if they weren't just trying to bilk credit dollars out of pros. They are actually fairly decent in crediting back credits if 48 hours pass and a quote you sent wasn't "opened."
Thumbtack is a couple of years old now, and I think they're trying hard to improve. I have established a direct communication with their CEO and he is actually quite responsive. My takeaway regarding Thumbtack is that they're OK. Not great–not that any of them are (including the wedding lead-gen portals), but used wisely, they can fill in a hole or two in your calendar.
My $0.02 for the day
TW
