3 Expert Tips For Effective Bidding on Studypool


Note from the author:

This article is written with tutors who already know how bidding on Studypool works. If you are unfamiliar with the bidding system or just need a refresher on how it works, a comprehensive guide can be found here.

If you are already comfortable with placing bids, and want to learn how to bid more effectively to increase both your profits and the number of questions you win, by all means keep reading!


Be Aware of Traffic

The number of questions being posted to the platform directly correlates to how many questions you will obtain, and the amount of competing bids.

Studypool as a marketplace is purely based on the concept of supply and demand, in which we (as tutors) are the supply side and the students the demand side. If the supply side exceeds the demand side (ie. if there are a lot of tutors active but few questions being posted) it's unfavorable for tutors since the prices will be driven down, but favorable for students as they will get more and cheaper offers to choose from.

Similarly, when the demand side exceeds the supply side (ie. when many questions are being posted, but few tutors are online) it's favorable to tutors since less competition means increased odds of obtaining questions, and higher budgets from student who wish to attract bids for their questions. In short, knowing which hours and what days there are a lot of questions posted can impact your gains tremendously.

According to site traffic data, most students posting to Studypool is seen between 8-11 AM and 5 - 9 PM (PDT), with the highest numbers of the week on Sundays and Mondays. Adjusting ones work schedule to include these hours can be highly profitable, at least it was for me.



Track Exam Seasons



As finals approaches, more and more students flock to Studypool for homework and preparation help. Being aware of when national tests are coming up is something every tutor should keep track of. As a tutor and outsourcer, I make the majority of my income during final seasons.

Exam dates vary from school to school, but as a rule of thumb: November-December and May-June should be considered the biannual exam seasons in the US.

Ride The Question Surges

Studypool has a system in place to encourage tutors to bid on questions during times with high question traffic called "Question Surge".

Question surges are triggered when the aforementioned balance between supply and demand is skewed, and a lot of questions ends up without enough bids to make good recommendations. When that happens, a message is sent to all registered tutors with the "Question Surge" notification settings active, encouraging them to sign in to bid on questions.

If you are assigned a question through a bid placed during a surge, you will only pay 10% commission on that question. This means you keep 90% of the earnings! You don't need to answer the question while the surge is in effect, bidding on it is enough.

Needless to say, bidding during a surge can be very profitable, and active tutors should definitely make sure they have notifications about surges active in their settings.

I hope this is helpful to someone! Good luck, and happy bidding!



About the author:

Philip R. owns one of one of the highest rated Ivy League accounts on Studypool, and has been an active tutor for over 2 years. Studypool reached out to him to share some of his best tips with fellow tutors.

Written by Studypool November 10th, 2016