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vincent228

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Connecticut, USA
Hi all,

I have a basic question.
I know these things take time, but I have run into a few questions about organizations such as Dronebase and Droners.io.

I have been looking to make a little extra money with my Phantom 4 Pros (I have 3), and my DSLR.

Like i said.
I am more than aware these things dont happen overnight.

I have signed up for dronebase, and I have to assume they never have anything in my part of the country because it is still winter in Connecticut.
But, i have bid on about 3 jobs on Droners.IO (one was down the street from me, for crying out loud).
With each Job, I bid below what they said was there budget, because I need those few flights under my belt to build my resume, as well as following the advice from other pilots saying "bid what you think you would pay. not what you think you are worth".

With each of the jobs i bid on, I noticed most were square in a class C airspace that would require a waiver.
As soon as I bid, i also put the stipulation "Flight is based on availability and timing of waiver, due to restricted airspace".

I swear, each time, 5 minutes after (even though the job was open for days), I would get a message that XXXX hired another pilot, and the bid was no longer needed.

My question is, has anyone else run into this sort of activity"??

I get it.
I'm not the most experienced, due to not getting hired.
but i know i am more than qualified to complete a job (having people I know allow me to practice on their own houses).

maybe i am overthinking this, and blaming it on people wanting us to break the law (which i am not willing to do).
Maybe they just find someone that has many more jobs under their belt.
But if that was the case, why would the perspective client wait days to decide, and wait 5-10 minutes after you bid to say its based on not breaking the law?

I guess I am just looking for some advice.
I know i would do great, if given the chance.

Its just getting very disheartening.

Any advice, folks?
 
I don't pretend to have all the answers but I do a lot of work with bidding and contracts. I know within a range of what the job "should" cost based upon the contract requirements. I never go with the low bidder because I KNOW they left something out and screwed up their bid. That will cost me in the long run in change orders. You can spot the people that bid and didn't want the job because they will be well into the high range. The bids in the middle are where you go if you want the work done right.

Know your strengths. Know your limitations. Know your worth. Know your stuff. If you bid it you need to be able to deliver and you need to know what you are worth in order to make a bid. Also, don't rely on an app to find work. Press the flesh and sell your product face to face. Old school. It still works. Its hard to ignore a face in your face. You can't say the same for an app.
 
That is excellent info. Thank you! I wasn’t sure how well cold calling and networking would help in a situation such as this. You would think I (as a corporate sales manager) would be able to figure it out. Thank you very much.
 
The important thing is to know what you are doing. A lot of people hire themselves out to provide 'X' service without a clue what is actually expected. You need to figure out what you are good at and then market that. Be a subject matter expert and you will find the work. Also, don't undersell yourself. Know your value and if it gets the job great; if not, you aren't paying to work. Sort of defeats the purpose....
 
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Any advice, folks?
Droners.io is not unlike slave labor. They cater to desperate 107 pilots who will do their little dance at the drop of the hat. (I won't use the word here, but it rhymes with "doors".) I drew the line a long time ago. I promised myself I wouldn't even click on these anymore. They are a disservice to the Aerial Imaging/Mapping industry. Some Droners.io clients want you to stand on your head for (literally) 40 cents per image. They often use the word "just" 40 images or "No post-processing required" in an attempt to legitimize their lowball trolling. Regrettably, they know there is always an obliging fish to take the bait. One of the most frequent of these trolls (name withheld) lures pilots with the promise of a "long-term relationship" and future business that never materializes. That's the oldest trick in the book.

The moral of the story: Don't give away your product!! Establish relationships with local businesses that appreciate good work and give them white-glove treatment. The drone heard is beginning to thin out and I truly believe the cream is rising to the top. Hang in there.
 
The worse crowd source gig drone jobs are Drone.io. They are the Craigs List of Drones. The Company is owned by Precision Hawk a propped up VC Funded Drone Company. I personally know the CEO and have asked him several times why not limit the low bid, so that people that are hiring drone pilots the biding does not already start at $100. As for Drone Base, the jobs start at $50 and go up, but they pay the same day, and a $50 gig to any experienced Drone Pilot should only take 15 minutes. Book as many of those $50 dollar gigs together in one day and you could have a $300 dollar day in just a few hours. Also Spread out your range 60 miles is good.
 
The worse crowd source gig drone jobs are Drone.io. They are the Craigs List of Drones. The Company is owned by Precision Hawk a propped up VC Funded Drone Company. I personally know the CEO and have asked him several times why not limit the low bid....
I don't know him but emailed him asking the same after a client wanted 40 pics and a 2-minute edited video for $40 (forty dollars). Nothing short of insulting. Droners.io is like the shameless barkers at a strip club.
 
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Everything I read here is all excellent information. I was hoping to get a few drones.io or DroneBase jobs under my belt to get a little background in a resume. But thanks to everyone here, it has become apparent that is not a good idea. Thank you everyone, for the sharing of your experience and opinions.
 
I have some success with Dronebase. Well enough to buy my Mini anyway. I am very picky with my jobs though.There have been a couple of occasions where they want you to fly and don't take major roadways into account. I usually decline those. Make sure if you do Dronebase you complete the "training" missions to give you more chances to fly. The pay is little but to be fair most jobs take less then 30 minutes. Use that to gain experience(which I did) and then reach out to local companies. I am in the process of that now, it is long and tedious but eventually will pay off. I am on Droners.io and have NEVER successfully bid for a job. Good luck. Right now I am trying to partner up with a fellow local droner to double our efforts. Maybe network that way up where you are!
 
Droners.io is pretty much the bottom rung.. It's a job broker, and they don't control what the client charges. Of course they take a cut. They used to only let you filter jobs by state. Recently they updated their platform to allow you to specify a range in miles from your base to be notified of jobs, which helps a lot in filtering out the stuff that's too far away. I found out the client gets a web page with a summary view of each pilot bidding on a job. It only displays about three lines for each bid. A website is crucial for building and maintaining a drone business, and if you don't have one, other pilots with websites will get jobs before you. With droners.io you need to get your website URL in the first couple of sentences so it shows up in the client's webpage summary. Then they can click on your website, and if it blows their socks off (YMMV) they might look at the rest of your bid. I get a couple of jobs a month, sometimes more, but I'm not going to do a real estate job for less than $100, it's too much time and effort and I'm taking all the risk. If the job is further away, I'll bid more to cover mileage. I found out quite a few of the regular clients use a pseudonom, like "S. Rose". Then when you are hired, they message you "Can I have my associate Max Clueless call you?" A real eye roller. I have a regular client that hires me directly now, because he liked my work. So it can be a stepping stone to get your drone business going, but you still have to market, get a website, pound the streets, network, etc. Another more useless job site is "Job For Drones" which I signed up for, but I've never seen any jobs listed. Dronebase is more professional, I get a job from them here and there. You have to earn "pilot badges" for various functions like real eastate, construction, agricultural, etc.They work with a client, plan a mission through a service company like Hangar/Autpilot or Loveland, then they advertise it to their network of pilots. They set the price, take it or leave it, but a simple 1 hour job is about $110, and you don't have to deal with the client, or edit pictures. Show up at the worksite, connect your iPad to the internet (Sim or phone hotspot) download the mission, fire up your drone, press "go", watch the drone fly the mission. Fun even. Of course you have to check airspace, obstructions, the mission could fly your drone into a tree, be ready with the abort button. More of an issue doing roof inspections.
 
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I think this is my first post here, after lurking for a while. Droners.io and DroneBase have their place for beginning pilots, but, as noted above, the shortcomings are many and obvious after you bid a few jobs.

DroneBase always showed up for me right when I needed a few bucks, and, as mentioned, the jobs are fairly simple and fun. For the most part, I've really enjoyed working for them. Although, I haven't worked for them since February 2019.

With droners.io it's fairly easy to get screwed on a job.

I took one job with a realtor shooting a large shopping area for $200 because I wanted the shoot in my portfolio. His instructions were very involved and, after I flew the job and uploaded the photos and videos, he rejected the work because it wasn't up to his standards. From my other experience, it was at least a $1000 job had anyone asked me to quote it. My quote to him on droners.io was based on his initial description, which was lacking and came no where near describing the actual job, which I found out after he accepted my bid. Bad experience and I'll never look at another job from him again.

With the client whose name rhymes with "Hose", I've done a fair amount of work for him, and passed on others. I always bid well over what he's budgeted, and, if he can't find anyone to take his job for his lowball price, he's hired me for what I've asked. If you bid what you're worth, you may not get hired, but if you never bid, you'll never get hired.

I've had some great experiences with other clients on droners.io, including doing some agricultural mapping for a good price, flying roof inspections for a client who, after, a couple of jobs, decided it was better to hire me direct than play roulette with the bidding process, and my current job came from doing construction mapping for another client. The construction job turned into a full-time gig, seven days a week, that pays very well.

I'm looking forward to summer, so I can take a few days off every few weeks and fly the agriculture job again, but otherwise, I have my hands full, thanks to a contact I made through droners.io. Most of the realtors there are cheapskates (as are most realtors), but, as others have said, use those job sites to get experience, get your work out there, and, who knows? Occasionally, you'll come across a client who recognizes your worth, and who will be willing to pay you what you're worth in exchange for guaranteed results, without having to go through the bidding process.
 
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Thanks for sharing your positive experiences. I obtained my Part 107 to fly for a company I work for. They have modified their business plan and a drone is no longer part of it so I may be starting to find work for myself.
 
Good Photographers aren't cheap and cheap Photographers aren't good.

Gee Fred, I must be doing something right, I'm not a professional photographer but I am getting paid very well for what I do. Again, thanks for your past advice and book recommendations, now if I can just remember all that stuff.
 
I think this is my first post here, after lurking for a while. Droners.io and DroneBase have their place for beginning pilots, but, as noted above, the shortcomings are many and obvious after you bid a few jobs.

DroneBase always showed up for me right when I needed a few bucks, and, as mentioned, the jobs are fairly simple and fun. For the most part, I've really enjoyed working for them. Although, I haven't worked for them since February 2019.

With droners.io it's fairly easy to get screwed on a job.

I took one job with a realtor shooting a large shopping area for $200 because I wanted the shoot in my portfolio. His instructions were very involved and, after I flew the job and uploaded the photos and videos, he rejected the work because it wasn't up to his standards. From my other experience, it was at least a $1000 job had anyone asked me to quote it. My quote to him on droners.io was based on his initial description, which was lacking and came no where near describing the actual job, which I found out after he accepted my bid. Bad experience and I'll never look at another job from him again.

With the client whose name rhymes with "Hose", I've done a fair amount of work for him, and passed on others. I always bid well over what he's budgeted, and, if he can't find anyone to take his job for his lowball price, he's hired me for what I've asked. If you bid what you're worth, you may not get hired, but if you never bid, you'll never get hired.

I've had some great experiences with other clients on droners.io, including doing some agricultural mapping for a good price, flying roof inspections for a client who, after, a couple of jobs, decided it was better to hire me direct than play roulette with the bidding process, and my current job came from doing construction mapping for another client. The construction job turned into a full-time gig, seven days a week, that pays very well.

I'm looking forward to summer, so I can take a few days off every few weeks and fly the agriculture job again, but otherwise, I have my hands full, thanks to a contact I made through droners.io. Most of the realtors there are cheapskates (as are most realtors), but, as others have said, use those job sites to get experience, get your work out there, and, who knows? Occasionally, you'll come across a client who recognizes your worth, and who will be willing to pay you what you're worth in exchange for guaranteed results, without having to go through the bidding process.


What's the best way to get Droners.io jobs. I keep biding but nothing is happening. please help
 
What's the best way to get Droners.io jobs. I keep biding but nothing is happening. please help
 

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