Here is a REALLY good thread from the graphic design forum on this topic.
http://www.graphicdesignforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=23924
Here is an excerpt or whatever you want to call it, but it makes so much sense that these kind of freelance design sites are not needed for the graphic design industry! It doesn't harness creativity at all, in fact it probably suppresses it. Well that's my two cents, now read this guys'...
"Graphic artists, illustrators, painters, etc., are skilled tradesmen. As
such, to consider them as, or deal with them as, anything less than
professionals fully deserving of your respect is both insulting and a
bad reflection on you as a sane, reasonable person. In short, it makes
you look like a twit.
A few things you need to know;
1. It is not a “great opportunity” for an artist to have his work seen
on your car/’zine/website/bedroom wall, etc. It IS a “great opportunity”
for YOU to have their work there.
2. It is not clever to seek a “student” or “beginner” in an attempt to
get work for free. It’s ignorant and insulting. They may be “students”,
but that does not mean they don’t deserve to be paid for their hard
work. You were a “student” once, too. Would you have taken that job at
McDonalds with no pay, because you were learning essential job skills
for the real world? Yes, your proposition it JUST as stupid.
3. The chance to have their name on something that is going to be seen
by other people, whether it’s one or one million, is NOT a valid
enticement. Neither is the right to add that work to their “portfolio”.
They get to do those things ANYWAY, after being paid as they should.
It’s not compensation. It’s their right, and it’s a given.
4. Stop thinking that you’re giving them some great chance to work. Once
they skip over your silly ad, as they should, the next ad is usually
for someone who lives in the real world, and as such, will pay them.
There are far more jobs needing these skills than there are people who
possess these skills.
5. Students DO need “experience”. But they do NOT need to get it by
giving their work away. In fact, this does not even offer them the
experience they need. Anyone who will not/can not pay them is obviously
the type of person or business they should be ashamed to have on their
resume anyway. Do you think professional contractors list the
“experience” they got while nailing down a loose step at their
grandmother’s house when they were seventeen?
If you your company or gig was worth listing as desired experience, it
would be able to pay for the services it received. The only experience
they will get doing free work for you is a lesson learned in what kinds
of scrubs they should not lower themselves to deal with.
6. (This one is FOR the artists out there, please pay attention.) Some
will ask you to “submit work for consideration”. They may even be posing
as some sort of “contest”. These are almost always scams. They will
take the work submitted by many artists seeking to win the “contest”, or
be “chosen” for the gig, and find what they like most. They will then
usually have someone who works for them, or someone who works incredibly
cheap because they have no originality or talent of their own,
reproduce that same work, or even just make slight modifications to it,
and claim it as their own. You will NOT be paid, you will NOT win the
contest. The only people who win, here, are the underhanded folks who
run these ads. This is speculative, or “spec”, work. It’s risky at best,
and a complete scam at worst. I urge you to avoid it, completely. For
more information on this subject, please visit
www.no-spec.com.
So to artists/designers/illustrators looking for work, do everyone a
favor, ESPECIALLY yourselves, and avoid people who do not intend to pay
you. Whether they are “spec” gigs, or just some guy who wants a free
mural on his living room walls. They need you. You do NOT need them.
And for those who are looking for someone to do work for free… please
wake up and join the real world. The only thing you’re accomplishing is
to insult those with the skills you need. Get a clue.
" 
