| Pages in topic: [1 2 3] > | Poll: What is the current trend for your rates? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "What is the current trend for your rates?".
View the poll results »
| | | | Julian Holmes 
Japan
Local time: 17:22
Member (2011)
Japanese to English
I'm always on the lookout for long-term relationships with customers who appreciate quality and are willing to pay extra, i.e. more than my other customers. I have a yen for the Yen. 
This approach has worked well for me this past year, in particular.
Edited to change one word
[Edited at 2013-03-07 01:03 GMT]
| | | | Ventnai
Spain
Local time: 10:22
German to English
+ ...
| Upward but slowly | Mar 6, 2013 |
I would say slowly upward because I only accept new clients on the basis that they pay more than the bottom rate that my long-term clients pay. It's virtually impossible to increase rates with exisiting clients in my experience.
| | | | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 10:22
Spanish to English
+ ...
The economy in Spain right now is not ideal for raising rates - I just consider myself lucky that my clients are managing to stay in business and pay their bills, which means that I can too.
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| Kind of steady... | Mar 6, 2013 |
But last year, with the "help" of the economic crisis, I decided to open up my price range, lowering slightly my minimum rate for certain clients and increasing accordingly my maximum rate for others (when possible).
| | | | Tim Drayton
Cyprus
Local time: 11:22
Turkish to English
+ ...
I said 'steady', but this depends on the reference point. Due to lack of work, I discounted my rates towards the end of last year. My rates have been steady since the beginning of this year, at these discounted levels, and there has also, thankfully, been a sharp upturn in work volumes. My target is, hopefully, to return to my former, undiscounted rates in the second half of this year.
| | | | Allison Wright (X)
Portugal
Local time: 09:22
| Slightly upward | Mar 6, 2013 |
It is hard to extrapolate data from the small handful of clients I have, but on balance, and considering the relative proportion of work received from each, I would say ever so slightly upward.
There was one major push in January for an effective lower rate, but I sent a counter-proposal for an effective increase in the rate. I was pleased at the outcome: agreement that my rate remained unchanged. Crazy.
| | | | | So where is that awful price drop everybody is complaining about? | Mar 6, 2013 |
This poll kind of validates my fatigue about all the low rate complaints. Low offers always have existed and will exist - people would be silly not to try to get things for the cheapest price possible. There will always be one or another translator that just got started and accepts these rates. And will raise prices after a while because after all, people need to eat. While those who prefer to pay near nothing are going to save themselves out of business after a while.
In my opinion... See more This poll kind of validates my fatigue about all the low rate complaints. Low offers always have existed and will exist - people would be silly not to try to get things for the cheapest price possible. There will always be one or another translator that just got started and accepts these rates. And will raise prices after a while because after all, people need to eat. While those who prefer to pay near nothing are going to save themselves out of business after a while.
In my opinion, those who open topic after topic about any outraging offers they receive have too much time on their hands. So probably even their rates aren't that bad. ▲ Collapse
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DianeGM
Local time: 11:22
Member (2006)
Dutch to English
+ ...
I think ... it is so hard to tell
For EL-EN and EN-EL my rates are the same-ish, For NL-EL and NL-EN a very slight increase overall, but that is mostly due to acquiring a couple of new direct clients.
However as the cost of living and running a business has increased so drammatically here in Greece in the last year and the last couple of years too, I am definitely still losing rather than gaining financially. I am just hoping to weather the storm.
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Three years ago I started working with a great client (an international organization) at a rate higher than I had been making, and each year they have raised me by a penny a word. This forced me to start asking for higher rates from the rest of my clients because I couldn't afford to work for them if it meant missing out on better-paying jobs. So far, several have agreed to a one-cent increase, and one of them, to a two-cent increase. With the others, I'm finding that I'm rarely available for th... See more Three years ago I started working with a great client (an international organization) at a rate higher than I had been making, and each year they have raised me by a penny a word. This forced me to start asking for higher rates from the rest of my clients because I couldn't afford to work for them if it meant missing out on better-paying jobs. So far, several have agreed to a one-cent increase, and one of them, to a two-cent increase. With the others, I'm finding that I'm rarely available for them unless it's a job I really want to do and it's short enough that I can finish it in a day or two.
This has meant that I'm turning down a lot of potential clients who don't want to match my current rate. As long as I'm busy full time and don't have all my eggs in one basket, I'm not worried about building my list at this point.
Just last week I got an "offer" at 4 cents a word for a large rush technical job. I could have ignored it, but I think these clients need to hear that we're not willing to work for their rates any more. I did respond, and I told him very politely what I thought of rate and working conditions. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Alexandranow
Romania
Local time: 11:22
Romanian to English
+ ...
ProZ.com Staff wrote: This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "What is the current trend for your rates?". View the poll results »
I tried to get a fair price from a long time client, for which I worked at a very low rate, but the long time client did not accept the idea...Now I am looking for other kind of clients, because working for very bad price will make me get bankrupt...Now I have no work.
| | | | Sheila Wilson
Spain
Local time: 09:22
Member (2007)
English
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| They're more flexible now | Mar 6, 2013 |
I've actually been accepting work below my normal rates since last year, the first time I've ever done that in many years of freelancing! But it isn't directly linked to "the crisis", it's because I moved from the south of France to Spain. It definitely is cheaper to live here, at least in the Canaries where there's 7% VAT-type tax, no heating costs, no long journeys to do, not too many clothes needed...
So, I'm more prepared here to accept my "minimum rate", which is 0.02 EUR per ... See more I've actually been accepting work below my normal rates since last year, the first time I've ever done that in many years of freelancing! But it isn't directly linked to "the crisis", it's because I moved from the south of France to Spain. It definitely is cheaper to live here, at least in the Canaries where there's 7% VAT-type tax, no heating costs, no long journeys to do, not too many clothes needed...
So, I'm more prepared here to accept my "minimum rate", which is 0.02 EUR per word and 5 EUR per hour below my "standard rate". OTOH, I'm still very happy to work for the pre-move rates. ▲ Collapse
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Luca Tutino
Italy
Member (2002)
English to Italian
+ ...
| "Steady" might mean downwards | Mar 6, 2013 |
Anna Sarah Krämer Fazendeiro wrote:
This poll kind of validates my fatigue about all the low rate complaints.
I agree with you that insisting in the discussion of low rates can be counterproductive. But I do not think this poll means what you read in it: actually we could say that (at present) 75% of the respondent did not report being able to at least adjust their rates to inflation.
"Steady" at the minimum possible business level for many consecutive years of inflation might be a strong sign of a downwards trend in real terms.
| | | | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 10:22
Spanish to English
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| A glass half full | Mar 6, 2013 |
Luca Tutino wrote:
"Steady" at the minimum possible business level for many consecutive years of inflation might be a strong sign of a downwards trend in real terms.
When I say "steady" it means I'm still charging the same rates as 4 years ago. I don't care what it means in "real" terms, as long as my rent and other bills, including traffic fines, get paid. I'll raise my rates when it eventually becomes feasible for my clients, or I start feeling the pinch.
| | | | Tatty
Local time: 10:22
Spanish to English
+ ...
| Mine are steady | Mar 6, 2013 |
@ Neilmac... Are we to assume that you pass your Spanish driving test? Wasn't it just a couple of days ago, and you've been fined already, or are you planning to speed...
Congratulations, anyway, well done!
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