Hire-a-coder type websites

the oDesk thread below makes it sound less than reputable.. pharmokan mentioned that freelancer isn’t much better.

I don’t have a ton of cash and I’m not 110% sure I’m ready to hire someone yet, but I might in the near future.

Looking for a script/software that will scrape prices from multiple websites and compare them. Kind of like what the priceblink addon for firefox does.. but I want it to be a huge catalog/CSV (excel) of data. Not only when I type in a product name.

Anyone know what a project like that might cost or where I can hire someone competent enough to do it?

Sending Pm.

Put job ads up on rentacoder. They force you to think about your ad. Discuss it with multiple bidders. Ignore the ones who didn’t read your ad or can’t speak or write english. I’ve used rentacoder and odesk numerous times with success. I’d vouch for both but you have to make sure you pick someone you can actually communicate with.

never known a coder in existence that works by the hour that isn’t a complete scam in some form or another.
any decent programmer/coder will offer a flat rate regardless.
same applies for techs.

Thanks guys. I found a friend who might be able to help with this for next-to-nothing . If that doesn’t work out I’ll give the above websites a chance.