Menu
Login
My goodness me, what a disappointment editavenue.com is. It looks so easy, you register as an editor, and, as long as you can effectively proofread and edit, in comes the work! However, take a moment to pity who are foolish enough to believe this, its own publicity.
The site promises payment of commissions to editors; their job: to edit projects submitted by persons who are having difficulty with their spelling or grammar. The site, editavenue.com, usually has about nine pages of 'available editors'; the first few editors have thousands of pages against their names thus encouraging would-be editors to sign up in the hope of achieving a second income. Regrettably, I was one of those people who did so. I found a site which is at worst an outright scam and at best the most unjust, dictatorial and dehumanising environment imaginable.
I was very impressed that, within just a few days of posting my credentials and paying its sign-up fees, editavenue.com was receiving many projects for consideration and proofreading directed to me. I spent hours in faithful service correcting these and waiting for my commissions to arrive. And waiting. And waiting. When I finally did enquire, some three months later, and having 'earned' some $100 for my efforts (editavenue.com had taken $150 off as their fees for 'promoting' me) where my $100 was, they informed me it would be sent to me as a monthly check because this was the option I had selected.
Well, no actually. I'm not an American, I don't have an American bank account and a $100 check is therefore useless to me and I would never have selected that option; indeed I would never have signed up with the site if payment was not via Paypal. The 'editors' department yesterday was having none of that. "You selected monthly check". No evidence. No regard paid to my protestations to the contrary. Just a blanket, and quite unjust, statement that they would not pay me by any other method.
Whilst I was musing on this however, I sat down at my computer, logging in, as I always do at 09:00am this morning. Inside my e-mail were three 'Project Warning' e-mails, all sent within two hours of each other and all informing me that 'You have not started your project within a reasonable time.' The first one had arrived at 12:00pm, the second at 14:00pm, the third at 16:00pm. Then, at 18:00pm, an 'Account Deactivated' e-mail had banned me from the editavenue.com site forever.
However, try as I might, I could find no trace of an e-mail ever informing me that the said project ever existed. Being banned also carries with it the immediate eradication of all of one's e-mails, and projects, worked on through editavenue.com. So, by banning me, editavenue.com effectively stopped me from even being able to access my account and prove to them that, well, actually, their technical department was the problem and I had done no wrong.
Why would any site want to treat an editor faithfully logging in each day and correcting everything that came his way with such a summary termination?
Well, we only have to stop for a moment to consider the chain of events to be sure that this is a cleverly orchestrated scam:
1. editavenue.com offers a 24-hour turnaround for some projects - so, even if I am kind to them and imagine that, perhaps, someone contacted me just before 12:00pm with a 24-hour turnaround project, I logged in today at 09:00am, a full three hours before that project would become due. By that time I had already been banned for not completing it!
2. editavenue.com defers responsibility - there can be no questioning of 'the editavenue.com system'. Of course, I was rather mortified to sit down this morning and find it had decided to terminate my services when it had never actually notified me there was a project to complete. If I do not have an e-mail from them, it stands to reason that it wasn't sent. After all, I got all of their ones 'warning' me to finish it! But would they listen to my quite reasonable e-mails saying so? Of course not. Another blanket response: "We are not interested in promoting your services as you refused to provide these on your last project." Um, well no, as I told you in my e-mail, I didn't get a notification, just six hours worth of warnings and a ban! And, so they say, I 'refused'. Refused?! Kind of like shouting through the door of an empty house "Would you like a job this evening?" and then, the next morning, telling the owner, "We understand you REFUSED a job last night!"
3. editavenue.com always seems to have nine pages of editors 'available' for work on its site. Now you have to ask yourself why this number never increases. I was on there just yesterday, at position number 40, having edited just 74 pages. I had the dreams of getting to those at positions 1 and 2, apparently, so editavenue would have you believe, earning thousands of dollars by doing a job you love. The answer however is that editors are dispensed with so that they can be removed from this billboard, to make way for the new recruits.
So there you have it. editavenue.com is the exploitation of those who sign up to it in quite a clever manner. If my experience is anything to go by, it keeps all new editors (after they had paid their sign-up fee of course) for a few months and then dispenses with their services when they ask for their payment. And how it does it is incredibly duplicitous and underhand. Those running it, well they must be making a fortune on the back of this exploitation - they simply wait for their editors to go 'off-line' so they can send them a barrage of e-mails relating to a project that was never actually requested and then summarily terminate their services for not being able to complete it.
This is a very sad situation, as there is clearly quite a market for the services it is offering. That is, there are lots of editors happy to proofread for very little payment because they enjoy doing it - and there are lots of students who need to have their work proofread. All the students who use editavenue.com get a very good deal, although I suspect they are blissfully unaware that the person who sat up all night poring over their work received absolutely nothing for doing so.
As for being an editor for editavenue.com, it will take everything you have heard about earning an income from home and bring it hideously to life. It is a thoroughly dehumanising experience. Perhaps if you are an American citizen, you do actually get your money without being accused of not fulfilling your contractual obligations. Alas, to a certain extent editavenue.com only confirmed what I expected. That is, throughout all the time I worked for it, whilst all the projects flooded in - and the commissions started piling up! - I fully expected it to rip me off. In that, naturally enough, I have not been disappointed.
dcost36 has correctly identified me and set out his defence of his treatment of me. editavenue.com has now refunded me my setup fees of $35.
I would advise anyone who doubts the veracity of my complaint to click the image illustrating dcost36's actual e-mails to me. These reveal much better than any protestations on my part the shameful way editavenue.com treats those who sign up with it - and certainly disprove his assertion that it "is always a difficult decision to remove an editor".
The review is written simply to advise potential editors of what they can expect from editavenue.com should they sign up with it - I was not expecting dcost36 to respond in this manner. Indeed, you can see that a full response is the last thing you get if you attempt to speak to him through his company's e-mail system.
Although he does not contradict my review of editavenue.com, nor seek to defend the chronology of events I have set out, I worry that, his comment being the only one, may leave you wondering 'who' to believe. Certainly I cannot be the only person who has experienced editavenue.com's shameful termination procedure.
If you have experience of editavenue.com, please add your comments below and show others that this is endemic and that my experience was not an exception to the rule.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
An enquiry came up today from a fellow member of a professional editors' association about ServiceScape, which is what EditAvenue renamed itself some time ago. As such, I did a search for EA-related content, and came along this thread. I totally identify with the experience described in the Complaint. In the 3 years I worked for EA, although I was one of their highest-ranked and busiest editors, I was treated extremely poorly, included being terminated without notice in violation of my contract. Unless someone other than David Costello (the owner of EA who responded above to the Complaint) is now setting policy and dealing with freelancers, I can't imagine anything would be different at ServiceScape. Fortunately after moving on from EA, I have discovered the joy of dealing with reasonable, appreciative clients, and particularly enjoy being able to concentrate on my work instead of dealing with the stress EA went out of its way to create for its editors.
I have used edit avenue for translations and never ever had any problems with any of the projects.. Fast return and good work done...
I have been editing for Editavenue for over 5 years and I really love my job. I think to be an online editor the most important thing is paying very close attention to deadlines and communications, and most importantly, remembering that the company bases all on USA eastern std time. I have had a few clients who have tried to get me to work for free, but again, as a worker for Editavenue you have to uphold Their rules which is you do Not work for free so do not agree to do so--you aren't being nice if you are working for free, you are violating your job. I have always made sure clients pay for what they submit in a very polite but firm way, and I have been still able to keep my positive ratings. It is not a job for everyone but I love this job because I have met intelligent people from all around the world, and I have been able to help them get their writing in proper English, and present their best selves. This is an unexpected bonus that makes my job more than an income.
My first check from Editavenue was less than $5 since I had started towards the end of the month, and I cried with disappoinment. But within 3 months I was making over $200 as more people began to pick me, and thereafter have been able to make it work. It is a great job, to be able to work from home, but timing is Everything. One of the terms and conditions is that once a client submits a job you Can't say no, you must complete it, so my advice to future editors, or if you get your job back is to make sure you fully understand terms and conditions and you check email and Editavenue website Often.
I think ti would be great if we could go over to direct deposit however, due to cuts in postal services worldwide as I have had checks go astray, and this is scary.
Otherwise, I have to honestly say my dealing with Editavenue over 5 years have been positive and a worthwhile employment--good for customers, good for editors.
I can identify with these complaints. As a new editor working for EditAvenue, I made the "mistake" of firmly but politely refusing to edit further work for a client - a seemingly high-powered professional - who was taking unfair advantage of me.
The client initially asked for a free sample edit, saying that his regular editor was no longer with EditAvenue. This was a letter of interest - 700 words in length. Although I was only expected to do a 300 word sample, I did the entire document. He then attempted to short-circuit the system by directly asking me to edit his CV. I replied, explaining that he would have to register the job as a new task as I did not have the mechanism to charge him on behalf of EditAvenue.
The client then submitted a 900 word CV as a two-page document when, in fact, it constituted three pages. I did the edit anyway. He replied that he had made a mistake and had submitted the wrong CV. He included, as an attachment, a different version of the document. I again had to explain that he would have to submit the document through the proper channels. He did so, but this time it was a 1800 word document submitted as two pages. I e-mailed EditAvenue asking for advice. They replied that I was within my rights to edit 600 words of the document, submit it to the client, and ask for the resubmission of the remainder with the correct payment. Following the advice that I had received, I edited the 700 words and sent the document back to the client with an explanation. ( If one counts the free edit, the client had so far received the benefit of seven pages of comprehensive editing whilst I had earned the princely sum of $14.22. (EditAvenue takes 50% of earnings and the 15% discount that I offer comes off my half.)
The client refused to comply and there ensued an exchange of messages between us, the tone of which, from his side, was to my mind quite bizarre and did not line up with his alleged professional status. As part of this exchange, he claimed, untruthfully, that the document that he had submitted was only one page in length and that I had not complied with instructions to combine the two CVs into one. This was the proverbial last straw and I politely but firmly advised him that I would no longer do editing tasks for him. He asked what he should do about his CV. I let him know that, for the sake of continuity, I would complete the editing if he sent it to me as a new task - as, in fact, I had previously asked him to do. He then replied that the 700 words that I had sent him did not show any editor mark-up. I could not tell whether this was my fault or not but I resent the document immediately with an apology.
A few hours later I received the following e-mail from EditAvenue:
---- Account Deactivation ----
We have deactivated your account because you did not start your project within a reasonable time period, because the project is late, or because you violated your contractual obligations. All current projects have been transferred to other service providers. All non-delivered commission payments will be sent to you this or next month.
This is a pro-forma communication. No greeting. No salutation. No specifics. No recourse to redress. With regards to the the level of professionalism of this company, their communication to me speaks for itself.
I am not an American citizen. Perhaps this is why they are able to act in this fashion. I wonder how many other editors have received this dehumanising treatment but have not expressed their feelings online?
I had a similar experience as an editor working for Editavenue. Emails notifying me of assignments sometimes arrived late. This happens with email--everyone knows that.
Editavenue terminated me.
I had excellent ratings. I loved the work. I hoped to continue indefinitely.
Editavenue provides no process for negotiation or redress. Time invested in this company does not seem to generate respect or regard.
Payment delivery was delayed for this editor because he submitted his tax information, which is a prerequisite for payment, quite late. This editor registered on 7/14/2010 and his W-8BEN form was received on 9/3/2010. After the form was received, a check payment was sent to his mailing address on 9/16/2010. A check payment was sent because the editor requested check payments during the editor registration process. His $35 registration fee was refunded when we decided to deactivate his account.
It is always a difficult decision to remove an editor from the directory. However, without quality control, there would be an increased possibility of unprofessional behavior, which would irreparably harm our marketplace system.
I am the owner of EditAvenue.com and I would like to ensure that people understand how EditAvenue.com works.
For every editing transaction, an EditAvenue.com editor has two clients: the individual who submits the transaction and the company that hosts the transaction. If an editor provides satisfactory services to both sets of clients, the commerce relationship flourishes. Over my 10 years of promoting editors, I have seen many professionals who strive to provide excellent services for both sets of clients and, thus, have been able to build vast repeat client bases though our marketplace system.
If, however, an editor provides unsatisfactory services to one or both sets of clients, commerce becomes unachievable. An untalented editor who corrects documents poorly will eventually become unpopular due to negative reviews posted by individuals who submit transactions. Similarly, if an editor does not adhere to the minimum requirements established by the company and attempts to renegotiate due dates, renegotiate payment terms, or ignore submitted projects, the company is left with no choice but to deactivate the editor's account. Not doing so would damage the marketplace system and would jeopardize future commerce.
The editor who posted this complaint was deactivated because he neglected to provide services in a timely manner per his agreement with the company. Repeated attempts by EditAvenue.com to notify the editor about the transaction were ignored. Eventually, we were forced to transfer the project to a different editor because this editor did not act responsibly.
Payment delivery was delayed for this editor because he submitted his tax information, which is a prerequisite for payment, quite late. This editor registered on 7/14/2010 and his W-8BEN form was received on 9/3/2010. After the form was received, a check payment was sent to his mailing address on 9/16/2010. A check payment was sent because the editor requested check payments during the editor registration process. His $35 registration fee was refunded when we decided to deactivate his account.
It is always a difficult decision to remove an editor from the directory. However, without quality control, there would be an increased possibility of unprofessional behavior, which would irreparably harm our marketplace system.