how do you find a reliable vb coder?

Ok, I'll put this up for discussion. How do you find a reliable vbulletin coder? Keyword being reliable

I've tried posting at vBulletin.org (paid requests section) and I've got one script that was delivered, paid for, seemed to work, but actually has bugs and now the coder won't get back to me about fixing the bugs. Communication at first was great, after the money was sent...not so great.

Another instance I posted a project and I got a couple of bids. One really low, and one that was decently priced, but a bit on the high side. I went with the higher bid thinking that the programmer would be more reliable, professional, etc.

2 months of back and forth via PM and he still hasn't sent me the contract to be signed for the work to be done. Specs were sent, he said he'd send it twice, gave him my fax number, weeks go by and nothing.

Is rentacoder better? How do you guys find your vbulletin coders for your projects?

small retainer up front rest upon comp also maybe a service like paypal. You could also run a background check on the person and find out some more info on them, if you happen to have a buddy who is a PI or detective. I had an issue with something i did via a board once had a detective buddy of mine track the guy down.

like anything, you get what you pay for.

if you get a cheapo, he's probably over-seas, and doesn't really care about the work, or he's 15 and just trying to make 10 bucks, but isn't a "programmer"

i've been scammed more times than i wish to count, and its why i now do all my own work, even if i don't have time for it. the old saying is true. if you want it done right, you gotta do it yourself.

Been scammed my share of times this year as well. I have gotten to the point that I only seek out commercial products and avoid individuals if at all possible.

Considering most of my sites revolve around vbulletin, which seems to constantly be updated, it is hard for me to trust individuals to be there to upgrade what they coded to keep it compatible.

And with vbulletin 4.0 coming in the near future, I am holding off on basically all modifications as I imagine this will screw up many current mods, as well as create a "learning curve" for current coders.

like anything, you get what you pay for.

As evidenced by the example in my original post, this is not always the case.

The most recent issue was with a coder in the US, more expensive than any other bid by far, proclaimed "professional", and still didn't follow through with the contract required to get started with the work.

But from the posts I've read so far, it sounds like this is not an isolated thing.

It's a wonder though...if you had the programming knowledge and you were professional, it seems like you could make a pretty serious living coding mods for vbulletin if word got around that you were reliable.

Sucks that I can't code my way out of a paper bag

I don't buy the "you get what you pay for" crap. Saying that "over-seas" coders are likely to be scammers is borderline bigotry. It's true that you have less recourse if someone outside of your own country rips you off, but the approach to hiring a remote coder is pretty much the same whether it's in another state/province or on another continent. Check references, monitor work closely, peg release of funds to meeting goals, etc.

My problem with finding coders is that the best ones are always busy, and most of the jobs I want done I can just do it myself in less time than it takes to hire and manage someone else to do it for me.

Saying that "over-seas" coders are likely to be scammers is borderline bigotry.

I agree

Its a shame to hear you've all had such bad experiences. I do mostly custom work for design/skins and so far all my clients have been fine. I make sure they are happy with every aspect of the work I do. (I hope coders do the same, but it seems thats not the case)

I think there are always a few bad apples. As Josh said do your checks before hand and ask alot of questions. If they give bad answers you know they are not reliable. And of course, if in doubt, stay away!

my apologies if it came off bad...

my point was "cheaper" or "3rd world country labor", not "race" or bigotry.

Fact is, no US worker (in their right mind) is going to code for you for USD $6/hr. But, Indian coders do it all the time, due to the rate exchange.

I've used getafreelancer.com and the likes in the past, and this has been my experience. I couldn't land a single job because my bid was over minimum wage, US. Sucks, but that's how it is.

If anyone wants custom vBulletin mods, i'd be happy to build them for you. But, I charge $75-$100/hr. And hardly anyone is willing to pay that when they can get whole scripts done for less than that.

my apologies if it came off bad...

No problem, I understand.

Its funny how everything is US orinatated when dealing with these sort of things. Even though I'm situated in the UK and deal with GBP I find all my contracts are done in USD. It maybe suggests that there is a bigger userbase of vbulletin users who are American.