Is it worth trusting (or how to check)?

Question

Programming

Please advise how you would act in this situation, which develops with the customer and the contractor.

Preamble:

In the vastness of the vast network there was a certain project that had been closed for several months. We were interested in the opportunity to do something similar for another country. On a closed project, there was an e-mail for communication, by which we contacted, regarding the purchase of a ready-made platform for an identical project. At first there was correspondence for a couple of days. Then we offered to contact by phone, asking for contacts and at the same time providing our own. This was followed by an offer from them to contact via Skype, which was done. Have spoken 3 times already.

Actually, what's embarrassing.

1. In no case did the interlocutors turn on the camera on their side, that is, we did not even have the opportunity to see their faces.
2. profiles of interlocutors in Skype do not carry any information, only a minimum.
3. in correspondence about equipment for the project itself (resource-intensive), configs for i5 and i7 were given, although I can’t even remember when we used something other than Xeon and servers from brands.
4. Phones were never provided.
5. On our offer to come to one of them to us, they shy away from the trip.

Well, the issue price is 15k, and possible performers are from Ukraine (not a very big town).

What would you do? Is it worth it to continue negotiations or immediately abandon such performers?

U.P.: Issue resolved. After today's negotiations, we managed to agree on the arrival of one of the performers to us.

Answer 1

1. What will their faces give you? I wouldn't include either.
2. Do many people have information in their Skype profile?
3. Again, does not say anything. Either the project is well written (optimized code, etc.), or they had a small load.
4. This point may alert.
5. I wouldn't go anywhere either.
It's about 15k dollars, isn't it? I made transactions for the amount and 2 times more without a personal meeting, without a video conference. There was only a phone number and a personal WebMoney certificate.

Answer 2

I would not. For me, the most acceptable option is contact with a person who publicly maintains a website, blog, resource and is already known simply for being stably and consistently online without changing his appearance, platform and contacts. And all kinds of closed spotlights, one-day, etc., may well have as their goal just cheating people.

Answer 3

Sign an agreement for post factum payment and thereby reduce your financial risks. That's all.
For projects that have little money, i7 infrastructure will cost several times cheaper, and investments in hardware usually require several million rubles for a resource-intensive project.
The main question why they closed the project is not disclosed.

Answer 4

If they want to cooperate, then why encrypt (the 3rd and 4th points are really alarming)? It's not a fact that you are communicating with the owner of the project, perhaps just one of the admins, as an option . At the next connection, send them a link to this topic / message, let them clarify and provide contacts or refuse to negotiate)

Answer 5

Some kind of muddy situation, I would have implemented the project myself. Usually, if everything starts like this unpleasantly, then nothing good ends.

Answer 6

>until legal issues are resolved.
For this reason alone, it is impossible to have points of business with them until the settlement of these issues. Simply because it is not clear to whom to pay money and what property rights it gives. Therefore, you have every chance to blow $15k. By the way, this does not mean that you will not have the software, it just means that the existing copy will be pirated and it will not be possible to officially sell it to a third party.
PS If I'm not mistaken, there was a funny story with skype when the office was sold (sort of like eBay) for a huge amount. And the rights to the protocol (skype itself used it under a temporary license) remained with the old owners, but the buyer did not think about it. And the license there ended pretty soon. As a result, it turned out that it is impossible to use the program, because. the old owners did not renew the license, although they expressed their readiness to buy the company back (for ridiculous money). As a result, it seems like they agreed, but one must think that it also cost a pretty penny. But you need to think that lawyers and techies before buying very carefully studied where what belongs to whom. They studied, but still missed.