UPDATE Since I wrote this article, Reade has been in touch with me and has answered a number of questions that I raised in this article. This is very much a startup business that is ironing out teething issues and does have genuine intentions. I hope the platform grows in time. Updates are in Blue!
You may have seen the 'creadoor' ads on Instagram. Here we review the platform and give you our verdict.
What is Creadoor? According to Creadoor :
"Creadoor is a one-stop marketplace where individuals and small businesses can find and hire creatives to create high-quality photos and videos.
Simply sign up, post your project and let the creatives come to you. Or search amongst the portfolios of hundreds of creatives to find the perfect match for your project."
What's the platform like? So we managed to set up both a seller/photographer profile and also post a project as a new buyer within about 2 minutes. It has a very clean interface and you can search by location and type of project. We really liked the idea of the site and it aims to compete with other freelance markets such as fiver and peopleperhour.com which is why we signed up to it.
Who runs the site? Cleardoor is owned by Reade Owen and operates under Creadoor ltd, uk company number 11026467 since 2017. The site was originally developed by Clockwise software (they have a case study on their site: https://clockwise.software/creadoor/). Update - Reade has now confirmed the current platform has been developed by a different team not affiliated with clockwise.
Is it a scam? Although their intentions seem to be pure there does seem to be a few issues.....
Fake profiles. Most of the 'requests for photographers/videographers' appear to be fake. Here's why I think they're (mostly if not all) fake:
First of all, non have replied to any request or message and offer suspiciously high rates for the services they are after. Freelance sites normally expect lower rates for their services whereas a lot of these profiles were offering large payouts. If I were a cynic (which I am in this case!) it's to entice photographers onto the site to joinup.
Nearly all of the profile pics used by potential buyers can be found online on stock websites or on websites where the person has a different name (see below for example)!
All of the 'business listings' are for businesses that don't seem to exist anywhere or are for business located outside of the UK that havent posted anything in 6 years (the LFT games listing).
A lot of the business requests were posted within a short window and had the delivery date months in advance. This is a bit odd as if I were a business that needed some photos doing I would want them within a few weeks not in three months time!
Unless Stan is a superhero or doing something odd it's very weird to be posting for a photography request in a different country under a pseudonym!
Update - Creadoor has promised to look into any fake profiles and will seek to remove them.
Non existent support. There is no support option on the site. The only email I found was by replying to the email I received when I signed up to the platform. I've asked them about the fake profiles above but havent received a reply. Update - They are in the process of improving this. If you need to contact them please contact them at : contact@creadoor.co.uk
Impossible to cancel subscriptions. There is no option to cancel the paid subscription options for the site. Update - This is a work in progress but should be resolved shortly.
Giving them the benefit of the doubt. The lack of support and lack of subscription cancellation options are likely just missed buttons that they forgot to develop when they built the site. The fake profiles probably exist as its a new platform with very few providers of services so theyve tried to big it up however it is dishonest and they shouldnt be doing this.
Genuine posts 'could' exist. We've tested both the buyer and seller side of the platform and it is entirely possible genuine profiles can be created and delivered. It's just hard to know at this stage which are real and which aren't.