I have a bot which will automate a method I know works after doing it on a small scale. I tried posting on Elance and got a person who gave me a good price and told me they fully understood the project, now they are telling me the do not understand at all...

I am nervous about hiring someone from here to do it for me, because I don't want to give away a method in the process.

Is there anyone who doesn't mark up their prices that can do it for me, be discreet, and won't rip off my method? They won't be finding out the method, but they will be getting the gist of it after I tell them what I need done.

Thanks guys!

I'm a bit in the same situation.
For the moment I'm looking for a good place to get an approximate quote, before being more explicit about the nature of my project.

Beny

Originally Posted by kokoloko75

I'm a bit in the same situation.
For the moment I'm looking for a good place to get an approximate quote, before being more explicit about the nature of my project.

Beny

Yeah, it's kind of a tough situation to be in, that's for sure. I was going to post a JV about it here, but then I would have had to giveaway the method pretty much, AND most likely have to give someone a cut of my profits.

I have gotten one PM from someone who is hopefully trustworthy.

Maybe try ThatBotProgrammer here on BHW. I don't know this guy but...

"Majority" of developers use C#/.NET, I hate !
I'm looking for Delphi developers...

Maybe I'll try Freelancer.com to get quotes...

Beny

Funny I am in the same position also. At the moment I am running this method semi automated small scale and with automated large scale it is a great money earner. Problem is like you say explaining what you want from the bot and then them just taking it / selling it. One option is to learn to code it yourself but that will take time and knowledge.

I do not understand the problem. Since you've been doing this manually, you can provide the programmer with detailed step by step instructions what the program should automate. So, I don't see why the programmer needs to have a degree on BH practices to implement it.

Oh, and it's not "your profits" until they are actually in your pocket

Originally Posted by Nookie Monster

Maybe try ThatBotProgrammer here on BHW. I don't know this guy but...

I just PM'd him, I'll see what he says. Thanks!

I've wanted to learn how to code myself for sometime now, but I'm always too busy with other projects. And even though what I need done is an easy job, I still think it'll need a pretty advanced coder to get done.

Originally Posted by jazzc

I do not understand the problem. Since you've been doing this manually, you can provide the programmer with detailed step by step instructions what the program should automate. So, I don't see why the programmer needs to have a degree on BH practices to implement it.

Oh, and it's not "your profits" until they are actually in your pocket

Well, it's not really that simple. I've been doing it on a very small scale. And it's not as simple as "scaling it up" aka doing the same thing multiple times, there are a few different variables that change that the program needs to adjust for which makes it a bit more difficult.

They will be my profits soon enough!

Originally Posted by mistablackhat00

Well, it's not really that simple. I've been doing it on a very small scale. And it's not as simple as "scaling it up" aka doing the same thing multiple times, there are a few different variables that change that the program needs to adjust for which makes it a bit more difficult.

This sounds more like a bit of complexity that a show stopper. Any semi-good+ programmer should be able to tackle it. Maybe you are paying too low and thus not attracting good programmers? If the method is actually a money-maker, it 's a bad business decision not to spend enough money on it, as you are loosing potential income.

They will be my profits soon enough!

Best of luck

It's definitely not a hard task, it's just that I have NO coding knowledge which makes it hard for me to gauge the difficulty of it.

It's not that I am being cheap with how much I pay for it, it's just that I know that if the person knows how to do it, it shouldn't take them long. And I am on a tight budget. Why pay $400 for a program that someone else would have done just as good a job on for only $100.

It involves automatic posting on a site, but the program needs to pull random text and images from a folder to do it. To me, pulling images from a folder at random sounds hard, when in actuality it might take five minutes of code to do.

And thank you!

Originally Posted by mistablackhat00

It involves automatic posting on a site, but the program needs to pull random text and images from a folder to do it. To me, pulling images from a folder at random sounds hard, when in actuality it might take five minutes of code to do.

Random selection is not hard at all. If you don't need a multi-threaded bot, it should not cost you much. But I can't risk an estimate because not all sites are of the same difficulty in automating.

Originally Posted by mistablackhat00

It involves automatic posting on a site, but the program needs to pull random text and images from a folder to do it. To me, pulling images from a folder at random sounds hard, when in actuality it might take five minutes of code to do.

Yes, it takes five minutes to code
The hardest part will be to manage uploads and reading replies (...).

Beny

Originally Posted by mistablackhat00

Why pay $400 for a program that someone else would have done just as good a job on for only $100.

If your looking to pay someone $100, then you have a problem already. Not that you won't find anyone to do it for that price, generally at that pricepoint you will be walking through the entire process with them many times. If you want someone who just "gets it", then you are going to go for alot more than that.

Try oDesk. Pay someone hourly (But get a rough quote first). And enjoy knowing that you are dealing with someone semi-professional.