Job posted with low rates (staff: \"please think twice before posting this sort of message\")

On 2002-11-12 11:32, Mouhannaya wrote:

Steffen, don\'t get angry. There are lots of bids of this kind. Look at this one:



\"English>German 6500 Words!

English>German

6500 Words, English into German.

You need Trados.IT Related text.

0.04 USD per Word.\"



The poster of this job did not even give his name or contact addresses - and yet there are people who bid on those \"jobs\".

What cane we do? Delete the posting and smile ....





That is not a bid. It is a job posting. Please do not confuse the two. There is no indication that anyone \"bid\" what the agency requested. I repeat: just because a client asks for something, does not mean you must agree to it.



I would let these small errors slide, but having just returned from the ATA conference, I realize that this sort of misinformation travels. Several people reported having seen \"bids\" at rates such as 2 cts/wd. Of course, seeing others\' bids is impossible (unless you are an outsourcer.) Even then, 2-cent bids are rarely entered, since all but 1/2 of 1% of the community have made a hard-and-fast choice not to avail themselves of jobs at that rate.



The trouble with being careless or flippant about this issue is that some people might take the data to heart and act accordingly. Outsourcers might begin to expect 2-cent bids, and service providers might begin to offer them. So by posting \"Look -- another offensive job\" messages repeatedly, with the associated assumption that bidders are jumping to accept it, you really do a disservice to the industry.



Why not, instead, encourage people to bid their own rates, no matter what the outsourcer asks?



Put differently, the only rates competition at this site is in your head...and if it is your head, please keep it there! ▲ Collapse

Re: low rates



While we cannot view bids, these rates can be seen on colleagues\' profiles (if one has published their own). I have checked on many in my own language pair only to find that pair along with many others advertised at $0.03/word!



Moreover, when I first found about this site, I applied at what I considered to be a \"respectable\" rate and was unable to get any response until I drastically lowered my rates.



I would have much preferred it the other way.



Thank you,

Rita Heller





Your perception is not accurate, and your reaction is ill-advised.



As a platinum member, you have access to the rates charged in your pair. Please check it:

http://www.proz.com/?sp=rates_view



In French to English, 617 pros have entered rate data. The average maximum, target and minimum rates are 20 cts, 11 cts/wd and 8 cts, respectively. For hourly billing, the rates are $71, $35 and $28 (max, target, min).



Fewer than 1% of French to English translators registered here offer rates as low as 3 cents. Furthermore, few of these people are paying members--so their bidding is limited. Also, do not forget that we are talking about *minimums*. If you assume that a person always bids at his or her minimum, you would again be wrong.



If you doubt the above data, consider this: rates quoted can be assumed to be trustworthy, because once they are entered, a person has no opportunity to bid outside of his or her own range on this site.



The bottom line is that you should charge the rates you require to do good work and maintain your standard of living. If you do anything else, you are damaging yourself and the industry. ▲ Collapse