As a developer I have used 99designs and was able to find something acceptable. I have however worked with designers of real and rare skill, and they do work that inspires and changes the direction of my development. That's stuff if I could do I would not do for 200 bucks.

That's kind of the issue - before 99 designs I had to have no design or use my own abilities to get there. It was awful. Now 99designs has raised the awful to acceptable for merely 200 bucks. From my point of view that's great - but it seems there were a lot of people paying designers when they just wanted a logo and a theme

I should say that bootstrap and wordpress has done as much to take this source of incone away as 99deigns. There is now an automated bottom to the market. So it's harder now to find clients. Good designers need to show value add, like the rest of us. I would suggest they a lid the idea of a single site rewrite and join up with AB testers and offer site improvement services in a monthly payment cycle.

The top of the market through is still game change time