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new bid fee ($1 or 100 browniz) from january on
Thread poster: Katharina Boewig
Telesforo Fernandez (X)
Telesforo Fernandez (X)
Local time: 22:44
English to Spanish
+ ...
rates too to be fixed Nov 18, 2001

Now, it is nice that we will come to know the full address, e- mail address of the job poster and full details of the text to be translated.



We must thank proz.com for this initiative.



The minimum rates too will have to specified on the site.



Proz.Com is business and it deserves to be well paid for the same.



On the other hand, the translators also mean business and they too have to be paid reasonable well for
... See more
Now, it is nice that we will come to know the full address, e- mail address of the job poster and full details of the text to be translated.



We must thank proz.com for this initiative.



The minimum rates too will have to specified on the site.



Proz.Com is business and it deserves to be well paid for the same.



On the other hand, the translators also mean business and they too have to be paid reasonable well for their work.



With 1$ fee (or 100 browniz), lots of people will be able to bid. The good , the bad and the not so good ones.



But the low rate bidders will bag the jobs and those who quote reasonable rates between 8 cents/ 10 cents/ 12 cents will be the losers.



They will continously lose their $ (or browniz), every time they bid, because of a very low rate quoted by other translators.



This area has to be set right before one loses dollars (or browniz) continuously.

[ This Message was edited by: on 2001-11-18 22:43 ]

[ This Message was edited by: on 2001-11-19 07:29 ]
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bochkor
bochkor
Local time: 13:14
English to German
+ ...
Accessing that info FROM the posting is the key!!! Nov 19, 2001

Quote:


On 2001-11-18 07:33, Henry wrote:

Note that for approximately one year, any member who enters an agency name has been required by the registration script to enter an address, etc.





It\'s one thing to requires an address from agencies at registration time and another how much of that registration data (namely nothing!) is visible to the bidder on a job posting.



So acc... See more
Quote:


On 2001-11-18 07:33, Henry wrote:

Note that for approximately one year, any member who enters an agency name has been required by the registration script to enter an address, etc.





It\'s one thing to requires an address from agencies at registration time and another how much of that registration data (namely nothing!) is visible to the bidder on a job posting.



So access to that address is the key. You don\'t even know, which country they\'re in and pardon me, it matters! What I used to do is select \"Close Bidding\" and although I won\'t be allowed to delete somebody else\'s posting, of course, at least it reveals their e-mail address and if it\'s a free one like [email protected] or [email protected], then forget it and if it\'s a foreign country, I won\'t risk it, either, because I\'m not protected by U.S. law abroad, that simple.



So I look for the right side of their e-mail address and if it sounds like their own website (not just their ISP!), then I check it every time against Network Solutions\' WHOIS database (http://www.networksolutions.com/cgi-bin/whois/whois), which gives me full names, address and phone numbers, but I would really welcome, if I didn\'t have to go to NS and the full name, address, phone number, website info would come up on ProZ.com right from the job posting. If it\'s too much for your programmer(s), at least provide a link to NS\'s WHOIS database right from the job posting! But knowing nothing more, than an e-mail address is really unaccceptable/meager.



So yes, if such ID requirements will be implemented for agencies/posters, too, then I as a bidder/freelancer have nothing against this modest way of revenue for the ProZ.com website owners, who also have to make a living, after all. (Don\'t we all?) ▲ Collapse


 
Werner George Patels, M.A., C.Tran.(ATIO) (X)
Werner George Patels, M.A., C.Tran.(ATIO) (X)
Local time: 13:14
German to English
+ ...
$1 a bid (or 100 browniz) is an excellent idea Nov 19, 2001

I love this idea - for a number of reasons.



First of all, we cannot expect Henry to operate this site for free: it is his time and efforts that go into this ever-growing service, and he needs to be compensated for it in some way.



Second, as Henry pointed out, less-than-serious bids will become a thing of the past. Currently, a lot of members just take \"pot luck\" and submit bids to all kinds of job postings, regardless of whether they are really qualifi
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I love this idea - for a number of reasons.



First of all, we cannot expect Henry to operate this site for free: it is his time and efforts that go into this ever-growing service, and he needs to be compensated for it in some way.



Second, as Henry pointed out, less-than-serious bids will become a thing of the past. Currently, a lot of members just take \"pot luck\" and submit bids to all kinds of job postings, regardless of whether they are really qualified or not. What is the poor outsourcer to do if he/she receives 300 bids or more? That kind of defeats the whole purpose, doesn\'t it? Instead of sifting through 300 bids (plus clicking on 300 different profiles and even more additional links, etc.), it would be easier to do a selective search of the member profiles from the start. The bidding process was designed as a \"filter\" so that outsourcers can locate the right person for each job faster and more efficiently - which is not the case now.



By setting certain \"barriers\", the bidding process will become \"leaner and meaner\" - very much to the benefit of both translators and outsourcers.



Certainly, under the new system, each outsourcer should be required to register with ProZ, set up a professional profile and provide all the relevant information before being allowed to post a job. This is happening now to some extent: I have seen more and more postings where a click on the outsourcer\'s name will take you straight to their profile page; then, you can decide whether to submit a bid or not (I recently saw a posting and clicked on the link. I was taken to the profile of the outsourcer and saw that they were located in Hungary. So, I immediately decided not to bid, given the low rates in Eastern Europe).
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Evelyna Radoslavova
Evelyna Radoslavova  Identity Verified
Canada
Local time: 10:14
English to French
+ ...
Bid fee, etc. Nov 19, 2001

The bid fee of $1 or 100 brownieZ is a great idea as far as I am concerned, and one small job is enough to compensate for it. Aquarius charges a 5% service fee on every job and I have always felt uneasy about it (imagine I get a $1000 job and the client defaults on payment - I would still have paid 50$ to Aquarius!).



As far as forcing outsourcers to reveal their contact information, I believe that they have the right to keep their information private, as long as they are re
... See more
The bid fee of $1 or 100 brownieZ is a great idea as far as I am concerned, and one small job is enough to compensate for it. Aquarius charges a 5% service fee on every job and I have always felt uneasy about it (imagine I get a $1000 job and the client defaults on payment - I would still have paid 50$ to Aquarius!).



As far as forcing outsourcers to reveal their contact information, I believe that they have the right to keep their information private, as long as they are registered with ProZ. If I were posting a job offer and expecting 300 bids for it in the first two days, I would definitely set up a separate e-mail address (yahoo? - why not!)so that my e-mail box does not get clogged.



I would suggest that outsourcers register with full e-mail and contact information and display for bid purposes only their country of residence, website/e-mail address and whether they are already registered with ProZ (ideally, their information could be verified in some way). This would weed illegitimate outsourcers while protecting their privacy.



Finally, setting minimum rates might sound great but its first (and probably major) effect would be to alienate a portion of ProZ users - those who simply cannot afford to outsource at a higher rate. As Telesforo and many others, I deplore the fact that some translators sell incredibly low and wish that they would take advantage of the global market to raise the value of their services. However, I don\'t think that the rate is the only criterion for outsourcers. Otherwise, someone might suggest a minimum bid rate of $0.14, because they would not work for less - and what would happen to the number of job offers then?
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Trudy Peters
Trudy Peters  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 13:14
German to English
+ ...
Problem with job posters' identities Nov 19, 2001

While I\'m all for making job posters\' identities public, what would prevent us from bypassing ProZ when bidding on the job, thus avoiding having to pay the $1 (or 100 browniz) fee?



Just a thought...


 
Alexandra Tussing
Alexandra Tussing  Identity Verified
Member (2003)
English to Russian
+ ...
Rates and things Nov 19, 2001

Dear Colleagues,

It seems that everyone agrees: charging a small fee for bids is a great idea.



Of course, we cannot always be unanimous on all subjects, but the following comment by Evelynar I personally find quite alarming:



\"As far as forcing outsourcers to reveal their contact information, I believe that they have the right to keep their information private, as long as they are registered with ProZ. If I were posting a job offer and expecti
... See more
Dear Colleagues,

It seems that everyone agrees: charging a small fee for bids is a great idea.



Of course, we cannot always be unanimous on all subjects, but the following comment by Evelynar I personally find quite alarming:



\"As far as forcing outsourcers to reveal their contact information, I believe that they have the right to keep their information private, as long as they are registered with ProZ. If I were posting a job offer and expecting 300 bids for it in the first two days, I would definitely set up a separate e-mail address (yahoo? - why not!)so that my e-mail box does not get clogged.\"



- In theory, this is correct. but in practice, what you get is a nameless posting, with nothing more than an e-mail address, and therefore no real way to follow up, if the potential client (for the present or future project) chooses to ignore the bids. I firmly maintain, that at the time of job posting there should be more information available on the one who posts it, for reasons very eloquently described before me.





And another point of concern:

\"Finally, setting minimum rates might sound great but its first (and probably major) effect would be to alienate a portion of ProZ users - those who simply cannot afford to outsource at a higher rate. As Telesforo and many others, I deplore the fact that some translators sell incredibly low and wish that they would take advantage of the global market to raise the value of their services. However, I don\'t think that the rate is the only criterion for outsourcers. Otherwise, someone might suggest a minimum bid rate of $0.14, because they would not work for less - and what would happen to the number of job offers then?\"



- The number of job offers will probably drop. That is true. However, I still believe we must not sell ourselves short - and by establishing a certain minimum price we indicate to the client that they cannot, as the Russians say, \"get a handful of dimes for a penny\". To a certain extent people are learning that, and do not bid on jobs where the prices are set ridiculously low by the outsourcers who think they can get away with it. But we have to foster that process -- all the translators and interpreters will benefit as a result.
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Telesforo Fernandez (X)
Telesforo Fernandez (X)
Local time: 22:44
English to Spanish
+ ...
But one point Nov 19, 2001

Evelyna,

I would differ from you on this issue of job posters indentity.

They should be prepared to receive a large number of applications, as all other companies do.



Even huge multi- billion companies give their full addresses when they recruit people. Even, if they give a post - bag number there is no harm for anybody becuase there is no money involved.



BUT, in case of translators money is involved , so they should know who they
... See more
Evelyna,

I would differ from you on this issue of job posters indentity.

They should be prepared to receive a large number of applications, as all other companies do.



Even huge multi- billion companies give their full addresses when they recruit people. Even, if they give a post - bag number there is no harm for anybody becuase there is no money involved.



BUT, in case of translators money is involved , so they should know who they are bidding for.



Here, basically , translators want to know who they are working for, because they don\'t want to lose their money.



I think it is of paramount importance to disclose full details of the job poster.



Bu the way, Henry or PROZ.com DO NOT STAND GUARANTORS FOR ANY AGENCY OR FREELANCER FOR THE MERE FACT THAT THEY ARE LISTED ON PROZ.COM.



So, it is imperative to have full details of the agencies.

[ This Message was edited by: on 2001-11-19 19:55 ]
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LFRodrigue (X)
LFRodrigue (X)
Local time: 19:14
English to Italian
+ ...
Bid fee or not fee, that's the question Nov 20, 2001

The time of free Internet is meeting his final match and I think that if ProZ staff is able to offer a good business and good opportunities to get more and better jobs, why not pay for it?

But I think that it\'s absolutely important to know who our clients are (name, street address, phone number, etc) and why not to have a sort of payment forum here? We could have more information about ProZ clients payment practices ans avoid some anonimous people do not pay us and continue posting jo
... See more
The time of free Internet is meeting his final match and I think that if ProZ staff is able to offer a good business and good opportunities to get more and better jobs, why not pay for it?

But I think that it\'s absolutely important to know who our clients are (name, street address, phone number, etc) and why not to have a sort of payment forum here? We could have more information about ProZ clients payment practices ans avoid some anonimous people do not pay us and continue posting jobs.
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Tatjana Aleksic, MA (X)
Tatjana Aleksic, MA (X)  Identity Verified
English to Serbo-Croat
+ ...
It's a good idea Nov 25, 2001

I\'ve just stumbled upon this discussion and think that 100 BrowniZ is not difficult to earn and that everybody can do that. That way members will be encouraged to contribute, not only expect services from the site staff.



The other thing, posters\' identity, is of utmost importance if we want to get serious about getting serious jobs through ProZ.So far I have seen too many jobs (and got some of them, but never really DID them!) remaining open and the \'winner\' never chosen
... See more
I\'ve just stumbled upon this discussion and think that 100 BrowniZ is not difficult to earn and that everybody can do that. That way members will be encouraged to contribute, not only expect services from the site staff.



The other thing, posters\' identity, is of utmost importance if we want to get serious about getting serious jobs through ProZ.So far I have seen too many jobs (and got some of them, but never really DID them!) remaining open and the \'winner\' never chosen.



And the lowest price of $ 0.08 is a great idea, too! But let\'s stick to it!
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new bid fee ($1 or 100 browniz) from january on







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