More from link. read the comments at bottom of link for more comedy.
http://graphicpush.com/99designs-********-20
99designs works by essentially soliciting spec work from its registered designers. You can’t just bid on a project. You have to actually do the project, submit it, and then pray. If you don’t “win,” well, you lose. The time and effort taking a shot into the dark is completely lost. Those “savvy clients” just got a ****ty design, the winner got some ****ty pittance for their effort, and all of the other ****ty designers got jack **** for their ****ty work.
Let’s look at some numbers. 99designs actually sucks more than Elance because it encourages shockingly low prices — “$50 to $500” according to their how it works page. At least Elance doesn’t presume any price point and just lets the market play itself out. Here, design being treated as a cheap commodity is mandatory.
At the time of this writing, $1,226,703 has been awarded across 346,171 entries. Second-grade math teaches us this averages out to $3.54 per entry. So playing the odds, over a long period of time, every logo (or website, or business card, or whatever) you submit cannot even buy you a Venti White Chocolate Mocha at Starbucks. By comparison, 99designs pulls in $39 for every posted “contest”. That’s more than a 10:1 differential in averaged earnings. Not only that, you have to transfer the copyright whether you want to or not, so you’re essentially engaging in a work for hire agreement.
To summarize: you’re doing spec work for third-world prices with no option for copyright retention. Everyone wins! Oh wait, except you. At the core, 99design’s business model is as evil as any oil company’s — it relies totally on the ignorance and desperation of its constituents.
And finally, perhaps most insulting is this little ditty on their about page:
99designs was started by designers for designers.
I am struggling to form the intensely negative, logic-dismantling superlatives I need to accurately convey the sheer depth of absolute ******** this clump of words was pulled from. This is one of the most hollow and forced statement I have ever seen. It insults everything about the real-world graphic design industry and the hard-working professionals that make a living building long-term client relationships, crafting deep and varied portfolios, and routinely putting their blood, sweat and tears into their work.
