Bid on jobs with set prices?
Thread poster: MacLeod Cushing
MacLeod Cushing
MacLeod Cushing
Canada
Local time: 07:36
Member (2008)
Spanish to English
+ ...
Apr 25, 2008

This may seem like a dumb question, but are we supposed to offer a competitive bid on jobs where the client/poster has already specified a price? Or are we expected to bid on doing the job for the specified price and compete vis a vis our qualifications?

 
patyjs
patyjs  Identity Verified
Mexico
Local time: 08:36
Spanish to English
+ ...
Not a dumb question.... Apr 25, 2008

I've wondered this myself. I usually use the price they offer if it's acceptable to me. Sometimes, if I'm not that desperate for the job, I'll quote higher, and I actually got it once, too. But, yes, I'd like to know what's expected.



 
Ralf Lemster
Ralf Lemster  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 15:36
English to German
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*Quote* whatever price you see fit Apr 25, 2008

Hi,
Any price indication in a job posting is just that: an indication. Your quote needs to reflect the price you consider to be adequate.

Best regards,
Ralf


 
Elisabete Cunha
Elisabete Cunha  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 14:36
Member (2006)
English to Portuguese
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It has also ocurred to me Apr 25, 2008

Like patyjs, I also normally use the price stated, provided it is a fair price. If the price stated is way too low, I don't quote higher, because if the client stated that price it means he/she is not willing to pay more. In addition, there are always people willing to work for extremely low prices...
So, basically, biding would be a waste of time, so in that case I simply ignore it and wait for a better opportunity.


 
Ivana Friis Søndergaard
Ivana Friis Søndergaard
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:36
Member (2008)
English to Danish
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Most offered rates seem low Apr 25, 2008

Maybe a bit off topic, but it seems to me that whenever an agency has a low budget for a given job, they post it on proz and wait for the lowest bid.

Recently I made a typo in a bid and it looked like my bid was half my intended rate! The client was all over me like a rash, and it wasn't untill quite late in the process I realised why...


 
gianfranco
gianfranco  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 11:36
Member (2001)
English to Italian
+ ...
The price offered should be called "indicative budget" Apr 25, 2008

If an interesting project is offered, I post my quotation, regardless of the price offered.
Just yesterday, I quoted exactly 20 times more than what was offered.
This is not because I have unrealistic expectations, but only because the offer was utterly ridicolous.

By the way, the jobs area should really adopt a better terminology for the rate/price offered by the outsourcer (as an indication) and the "real" rate/price, which is what we ask for our services. ... See more
If an interesting project is offered, I post my quotation, regardless of the price offered.
Just yesterday, I quoted exactly 20 times more than what was offered.
This is not because I have unrealistic expectations, but only because the offer was utterly ridicolous.

By the way, the jobs area should really adopt a better terminology for the rate/price offered by the outsourcer (as an indication) and the "real" rate/price, which is what we ask for our services.
It is the seller that sets the price, and the customer is free to accept it or go elsewhere.

It may only be a matter of terminology, but it is a distinction rather important, in my opinion.


bye
Gianfranco
Collapse


 
Samuel Murray
Samuel Murray  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 15:36
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
Various answers, I guess Apr 26, 2008

MacLeod Cushing wrote:
Are we supposed to offer a competitive bid on jobs where the client/poster has already specified a price?


Perhaps the job is "first come, first served".

Perhaps the client has certain minimum requirements but would like to get more than that, and it is up to you what you can offer the client above what others can (as you mentioned, compete with your qualifications).

I recently posted a job with a certain maximum rate, and I still got quotes from translators offering to do the job for amounts in excess of that stated rate. If they feel confident that they are so good that price will be of no consequence to the client, then they are welcome to quote higher. But I didn't accept any of their quotes because I had a certain budget and could not go any higher myself.


 
Samuel Murray
Samuel Murray  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 15:36
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
Not quite, GF Apr 26, 2008

gianfranco wrote:
It is the seller that sets the price, and the customer is free to accept it or go elsewhere.


Not really, GF.

The seller doesn't make an offer, and the buyer doesn't accept an offer. It is the other way round -- the buyer makes an offer and the seller accepts the offer.

True, the seller may name a price he is likely to accept, but even if the buyer quotes that price, the seller is under no obligation to accept it. However, if a buyer makes an offer, and the seller accepts, then there is a binding agreement.

I agree that the terminology needs changing, though. The so-called quotes are not quotes in the strict, legally binding sense of the word. All a translator really does it in the ProZ.com 'quote' system is to indicate his most likely rate for that job. A real quote would contain other information also, like, most importantly, for how long the quote is valid and how soon a response should be given to ensure that the quote remains valid.


 


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Bid on jobs with set prices?






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