Urbansitter was a complete waste of time for me too. I'm in SF/East Bay where it's booming and parents are only paying $13-$17 per hour. Really? Urbansitter doesn't allow you to negotiate AT ALL. You have to take it or leave it. I did not know this at first and found two great families for my usual rate $25 p/hr cash.
They posted a much less rate but I sent a message, told them of my experience with infants and they accepted. One lady wrote back that I wasn't allowed to negotiate and that my attitude was too forward and that I probably thought too highly of myself because I only had three reviews so I probably wasn't worth as much as I thought I was. What? Wow, people really get into it. I am just a babysitter trying to get by. If your one month old infant isn't worth $25 per hour, I don't know what to say