| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3] > | IS 0.02 for translating acceptable? Thread poster: Dirk Wouters
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PRen (X) 
Local time: 01:38
French to English
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| Another consideration or two | Nov 30, 2004 |
Dirk, you should also consider the fact that you will be translating into Engish and, as you said, Dutch is your native language. This means that in all likelihood, the translation will take you longer than if you were tranlating into Dutch. Furthermore, because the other person is proof-reading, don't be surprised if she finds a bunch of mistakes and starts muttering about non-payment. Youa also mentioned that 2 eurocents was the pay for non-matches. What do you get paid for matches - nothin... See more Dirk, you should also consider the fact that you will be translating into Engish and, as you said, Dutch is your native language. This means that in all likelihood, the translation will take you longer than if you were tranlating into Dutch. Furthermore, because the other person is proof-reading, don't be surprised if she finds a bunch of mistakes and starts muttering about non-payment. Youa also mentioned that 2 eurocents was the pay for non-matches. What do you get paid for matches - nothing?
Paula ▲ Collapse
| | | | Parrot
Spain
Local time: 07:38
Spanish to English
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Paula Rennie wrote:
Dirk, you should also consider the fact that you will be translating into Engish and, as you said, Dutch is your native language. This means that in all likelihood, the translation will take you longer than if you were tranlating into Dutch. Furthermore, because the other person is proof-reading, don't be surprised if she finds a bunch of mistakes and starts muttering about non-payment. Youa also mentioned that 2 eurocents was the pay for non-matches. What do you get paid for matches - nothing?
Paula
That's not quite the way it works. From the Dutch I'm willing to concede true bilingualism in English, as per stats, but what happens when Spanish gets in and you live in Spain? This is not the case right now, but your profile invites the situation: when your fluency in a third language reaches close to the level of the second, it will be difficult to maintain a notion of correctness even at the gut level. Expect interference. And in our line of work, it can get nasty. (Not us, but you against you. I've gone through this, so believe me).
This may be time for a little soul-searching. The mother language should always get the priority. Then consider how deeply ingrained the second language is, because it is the "threatened species". As for working into the third language, only two persons will ultimately judge that: you or the client. (And as I've pointed out to someone doing inverse and threatening to bring the client to court for non-payment, the court here speaks native Spanish...)
| | | | 00000000 (X)
English to French
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| Another view | Nov 30, 2004 |
Hi Dick --
I think if you can afford to work for 0.02 per non-match word, you can afford not to work at all. Unless you're exceptionally fast, you'll be working far below minimum wage -- even at 0.03 per word.
Why don't you just enjoy your stay in Spain instead?
Best,
Esther
| | | | Jeff Whittaker
United States
Local time: 01:38
Member (2002)
Spanish to English
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| Is 0.02 for translating acceptable? | Nov 30, 2004 |
No.
Why would anyone ever accept $1600 to do a job when they should be receiving $9600? By accepting this job in lieu of others, you are losing $8000 and giving this woman $2400 for doing nothing!
Dirk Wouters wrote:
I have a client that is also a freelance translator, she came to me with a project of around 80,000 words from dutch into english (I am native Dutch) at a rate of 0,02. Who of you would take this job? She said she will do the proofreading and gets a total of 0,05. Is this 40% translator, 60%outsourcer a fair deal yes or no?
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| Agree with Paula and Parrot | Nov 30, 2004 |
Paula: translating into a language that is not your native language is (usually) asking for trouble unless it is in a technical topic that you are higly specialised in.
Parrot: has a very valid point - the third language (Spanish), the one that you are currently immersed in may, I would say will definitely creep in and (may) cause havoc.
There is, I believe, sufficient work English > Dutch for good to excellent rates, so why would you work for peanuts. Focus on that n... See more Paula: translating into a language that is not your native language is (usually) asking for trouble unless it is in a technical topic that you are higly specialised in.
Parrot: has a very valid point - the third language (Spanish), the one that you are currently immersed in may, I would say will definitely creep in and (may) cause havoc.
There is, I believe, sufficient work English > Dutch for good to excellent rates, so why would you work for peanuts. Focus on that niche; I think you'll see that you will do well there and have a lot of work.
My two cents worth.
Good luck!
Lucinda ▲ Collapse
| | | | Nicolette Ri (X)
Local time: 07:38
French to Dutch
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Dirk Wouters wrote:
I have a client that is also a freelance translator, she came to me with a project of around 80,000 words from dutch into english (I am native Dutch) at a rate of 0,02. Who of you would take this job? She said she will do the proofreading and gets a total of 0,05. Is this 40% translator, 60%outsourcer a fair deal yes or no?
I hope that you are aware that this job is likely to be re-sold to an agency for 0,08-0,10 €/word and this agency will resell your work to a direct client for 0,15-0,18? You're at the end of a chain of at least 3 subcontractors, and if someone in that chain doesn't pay, you'll never receive your money. Besides, 2 cents is ridiculous, you will be working for 5 or 6 euros per hour, and with that you will have to pay taxes, social charges, costs, etc. etc.
| | | | Pilar T. Bayle (X)
Local time: 07:38
English to Spanish
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| Prices low in Spain... | Dec 1, 2004 |
I am trying to convince her to give me 0,03 (which I know is still ridiculously low, but I am hoping on more translations and I live in Spain so prices here are very low especially for young translator like me)
There is this mentality around that says that Spain is a dirt cheap country. And you bet it is if you have a German, British or Scandinavian salary.
Unfortunately I live in Spain, have lived here two thirds of my life, and this country is not cheap at all for people with Spanish salaries.
0.02 per word is WAY below Spanish standards, but if you want to dump prices in your market, work your b*** off for a sheer pitiance, and be known as a cheap translator, please, feel free to do so.
If you are tempted by the volume, please reason with me that the first 5000 words will take you as long as the "third" 5000 words. This is not a business for volume discounts: the higher the amount of words, the longer it takes you. It's that simple.
Kind regards,
P.
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Hey, I'll give you €0.04 and I'll do the proofreading.... I always think that if the pay is too low, I'd rather be doing a cleaning job, at least then I would not be helping price dumping.
There is a lot of work around at the moment, no need to start working for rates like that. Instead you'd better invest in yourself, make sure you specialise in certain fields etc. Do some smaller jobs to gain experience.
I also liv... See more Hey, I'll give you €0.04 and I'll do the proofreading.... I always think that if the pay is too low, I'd rather be doing a cleaning job, at least then I would not be helping price dumping.
There is a lot of work around at the moment, no need to start working for rates like that. Instead you'd better invest in yourself, make sure you specialise in certain fields etc. Do some smaller jobs to gain experience.
I also live in Spain and I do not think the cost of living is low here: housing is very expensive, social security costs €225 a month (that's how many words at a €0.02 rate?!) and the food in the supermarkets is more expensive than in the Netherlands. Only the beer is cheaper, but you cannot live on beer alone.
Good luck!
Anjo (Palma) ▲ Collapse
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Dirk Wouters
Belgium
Local time: 07:38
Member (2005)
English to Dutch
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TOPIC STARTER | spain expensive | Dec 1, 2004 |
[quote]Pilar T. Bayle wrote:
I am trying to convince her to give me 0,03 (which I know is still ridiculously low, but I am hoping on more translations and I live in Spain so prices here are very low especially for young translator like me)
what I meant is that rates are lower here in spain then in Belgium or England or Holland for instance. Prices aren't;
I know that all too well. Someone said, don´t take it because you will be working for 5 or 6 euros an hour. Well... that is the average wage in Spain. And someone else said leave it and enjoy your stay in Spain, sounds nice but I am not on vacation here and need to pay the rent.
| | | | Pablo Roufogalis (X)
Colombia
Local time: 00:38
English to Spanish
MarcPrior wrote:
Any business that consistently pays its suppliers less than an acceptable price runs, sooner or later, into quality problems (the process is known as "Lopezization").
Marc
Hello Marc.
Never heard that termo before and so does Google. Can you give us some background?
Thanks in advance.
| | | | Parrot
Spain
Local time: 07:38
Spanish to English
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Nicolette_ wrote:
I hope that you are aware that this job is likely to be re-sold to an agency for 0,08-0,10 €/word and this agency will resell your work to a direct client for 0,15-0,18? You're at the end of a chain of at least 3 subcontractors, and if someone in that chain doesn't pay, you'll never receive your money. Besides, 2 cents is ridiculous, you will be working for 5 or 6 euros per hour, and with that you will have to pay taxes, social charges, costs, etc. etc.
This was what I referred to by "defensive pricing". By scaling your rates down really low, you don't really compete more; you just leave yourself open to a whole gang of intermediaries whose best contribution to the work is to zap the files 3 times around the globe before they get to the end-user. If any of those guys misses out on a target, you're done for. And the more of them there are, the better their chances of missing.
Spain has a long history of being shy of direct marketing. It's only recently (late 1980s) that it has kind of broken out of the circle.
| | | | Marc P (X)
Local time: 07:38
German to English
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| José Ignazio Lopez | Dec 1, 2004 |
Former manager of Opel and then VW, notorious for drastic cost-cutting measures. Achieved huge short-term cost reductions and consequently great improvements in profits. In the automotive industry, the pay-back for short-term fixes like this may not come until years later. Lopez is now being blamed by many in Germany for the crisis at Opel, which has been suffering falling sales for years and is now facing plant closures.
Marc
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AllisonK (X)
Netherlands
Local time: 07:38
Dutch to English
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| exactly what I was going to say......... | Dec 2, 2004 |
[quote]Jeff Whittaker wrote:
No.
Why would anyone ever accept $1600 to do a job when they should be receiving $9600? By accepting this job in lieu of others, you are losing $8000 and giving this woman $2400 for doing nothing!
key phrase here is 'in lieu of others' - think of all the other work you could be doing for a better rate which you will have to turn down since you'll be occupied with these 80,000 words for quite some time............
| | | | Amal Al-Arfaj
Saudi Arabia
Local time: 08:38
Member (2005)
English to Arabic
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| Totally agree with AllisonK | Dec 2, 2004 |
AllisonK wrote:
key phrase here is 'in lieu of others' - think of all the other work you could be doing for a better rate which you will have to turn down since you'll be occupied with these 80,000 words for quite some time............
If I were you I would never accept.
It's up to you now!
| | | | Irmlind (X)
Local time: 07:38
Dutch to English
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I had the same with an agency once in the same language pair. First they asked me to work for 0,03 Euro a word. I took that because it was a small one. It seems that they still thought the price was too high, because now their prices are even getting lower to 0,02 or 0,01 Euro. You have to deceide for yourself, but those prices are far too low. Especially because it seems that they just want to use you and go lower with their prices.
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