The guys that charge a lot aren't the ones being hurt by 99designs. Business is fine for me.
It's the younger designers in school or fresh grads that are building their first portfolio that are being commoditized even more than they already are, which is why I tell them to do pro bono work for non-profits. Designing for non-profits is like programming on open source projects - you can simultaneously gain experience on real work, build your portfolio and give back to a worthy cause.
They'll get more respect and true client interaction than with the minimum wage grunt work on crowdsourced competition sites, even if they pay rent by being a barista until they get their foot in the door somewhere in the industry, like as a low-level production artist at an ad agency.
It's the younger designers in school or fresh grads that are building their first portfolio that are being commoditized even more than they already are, which is why I tell them to do pro bono work for non-profits. Designing for non-profits is like programming on open source projects - you can simultaneously gain experience on real work, build your portfolio and give back to a worthy cause.
They'll get more respect and true client interaction than with the minimum wage grunt work on crowdsourced competition sites, even if they pay rent by being a barista until they get their foot in the door somewhere in the industry, like as a low-level production artist at an ad agency.