Hey everyone, I'm a web developer with about three years of experience doing it as a hobby. I started with backends, mainly using Rust with Axum and Sea-ORM, and I recently got into frontend development with Svelte 5. Although I've completed large projects on my own, I've never been paid for my work until now. I received an offer to build a middleman e-commerce website for $200. The requirements include a dynamic REST API, a responsive UI for various screens, a PWA, a secure backend using PostgreSQL, an admin panel for product management, a coupon system, a VIP user feature, automated buying, and Google account integration. I'm really in need of money, but I'm unsure if I should take this offer given the extensive nature of the project and my lack of commercial experience. Any advice would be appreciated!
5 Answers
I think pointing them to a platform like Shopify could also work. Setting up a secure payment system involves a lot of considerations, and it'd be safer for you to suggest solutions that are industry-standard.
That price seems way too low considering what they're asking for. You might end up putting in weeks of work for not much reward. Think carefully about the investment of your time versus the pay.
Honestly, $200 is pretty low for such a big project. You're setting yourself up for a lot of work that might not be valued appropriately, especially since this is your first paid project. Consider how much time it’ll take you to build everything they've asked for before agreeing to such a low rate. You'll want to be fairly compensated for your skills.
You should definitely weigh your skills against what they're offering. It sounds like you've worked hard to get to this level, so don't undervalue yourself. Think about hosting and other service costs too. It might be worth negotiating or even looking for something that pays better to avoid burnout on this project.
Exactly! Setting clear boundaries is key. If you do take it, make sure to define what’s included in the price upfront to avoid scope creep later.
If you're still looking for experience, it might be worthwhile to take on this project, but just be clear about what you can deliver within that $200. Otherwise, it's easy to end up with more work than you bargained for.
Totally agree. For a project like this, you might want to think about starting at at least $1000. It’s your first paid gig; it’s good to set a precedent for your work value.