| Pages in topic: < [1 2] | Agency dropped price dramatically--advice? Thread poster: Jennifer Schottstaedt
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peiling 
Germany
Local time: 21:45
Chinese to English
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| Decisions, decisions | Apr 7, 2011 |
I think you'd be the best person to answer that question.
And in any case, there's really no guarantee that they'd actually pay you in two weeks, is there? I mean, they've already went back on the rate agreement...
| | | | Sandra B.
Portugal
Local time: 20:45
English to Portuguese
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Jan Willem van Dormolen wrote:
BTW, personally I believe your rate of 0.07€ is already quite low. For the sake of the business, for the sake of your colleagues, don't go any lower.
If people continue to accept low rates we simply will not be able to make a living as translators. It just happened now, I got an offer of a job from an Italian agency and their rate was EUR 0,045 !!! I said that mine was XXX, and they replied to me saying to disregard their email because they were going to offer it to another translator (who is willing to work for 0,045!).
I really find this unbelievable! We must value ourselves (our work, our qualifications, our experience, our efforts to deliver quality, etc.) otherwise no one will do it!
| | | | | What to do What to do | Apr 8, 2011 |
OK, I've read your situation and quite frankly its ridiculous what they are trying to do. If the currency was negotiated at first in euros, it's the paying agency's obligation to finalize the agreement in euros and not dollars. Even if the currency had the same value which obviously it doesn't the offer was made in euros. Do we go to the supermarket, ask for a pound of ham and accept a pound of bologna instead? Now, in regards to the payments being made, if it's already been a nonetheless hassle... See more OK, I've read your situation and quite frankly its ridiculous what they are trying to do. If the currency was negotiated at first in euros, it's the paying agency's obligation to finalize the agreement in euros and not dollars. Even if the currency had the same value which obviously it doesn't the offer was made in euros. Do we go to the supermarket, ask for a pound of ham and accept a pound of bologna instead? Now, in regards to the payments being made, if it's already been a nonetheless hassle to decide how much you will be payed only god knows what'll happen when the time comes for them to pay up. If you think the pay will be worth the headache then without a doubt go for it, if you think it won't it's probably better to just get a few smaller jobs instead and save yourself the stress. Anyhow I wish you good luck. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Cetacea
Switzerland
Local time: 21:45
English to German
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| Don't ask for it... | Apr 8, 2011 |
peiling wrote:
And in any case, there's really no guarantee that they'd actually pay you in two weeks, is there? I mean, they've already went back on the rate agreement...
Exactly! I can't believe you're even considering taking on this job when they've already tried to cut (what I personally consider) an unacceptably low rate in half after you signed an agreement with them. Making an offer in EUR, then changing it to USD, grossly miscalculating the total number of words in their favor--that's a big red flag if I ever saw one.
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| Agree with Cetacea | Apr 8, 2011 |
Cetacea wrote: peiling wrote:
And in any case, there's really no guarantee that they'd actually pay you in two weeks, is there? I mean, they've already went back on the rate agreement... Exactly! I can't believe you're even considering taking on this job when they've already tried to cut (what I personally consider) an unacceptably low rate in half after you signed an agreement with them. Making an offer in EUR, then changing it to USD, grossly miscalculating the total number of words in their favor--that's a big red flag if I ever saw one.
Totally agree.
There is absolutely no reason why you should be flexible with their mistakes. They should accept they made a mistake (or deduct the losses from the PM's salary - it's not your problem) and stick to what they specifically agreed to.
I once agreed to a Trados job with many repetitions for which the PM initially promised 75% *payment*. I found that quite reasonable, I accepted, only to notice later that the PM issued the PO with a 75% *discount* for repetitions. I warned them that was not we agreed on, and that the emails clearly stated 75% *payment* and not *discount* - indeed, the problem was the PM's incorrect wording. Yet, she never went back on her word, but accepted the consequences.
Be adamant, by all means. Just ask yourself: if things were the other way around, and you mistakenly agreed to USD rates while actually thinking of EUR, would THEY accept to pay more just because of your mistake? Definitely no. And that says it all.
Even if you manage to reach a compromise, make sure you get partial payments. After all this, you could simply not trust they would indeed pay within 2 weeks. Even if they did, working for a month and a half with no payment is not a profitable business.
| | | | | Let them have it! | Apr 8, 2011 |
.Sandra wrote:
If people continue to accept low rates we simply will not be able to make a living as translators. It just happened now, I got an offer of a job from an Italian agency and their rate was EUR 0,045 !!! I said that mine was XXX, and they replied to me saying to disregard their email because they were going to offer it to another translator (who is willing to work for 0,045!).
OK, let them have it! It's a free world. In these situations my advice is to stay cooperative and polite, since chances are that they very soon experience the result of their misdeed and lose a potentially juicy end customer. Then they might think that your rate was not that absurd.
| | | | | Solution found | Apr 8, 2011 |
Annamaria, that 75% discount/payment thing is absolutely absurd. I cannot believe it! Thank goodness that PM was an ethical person.
Okay. I've finalized things with these people and started on the project, and thank you to everyone for commenting--I might have given in a little earlier had I not had your advice.
The solution is this: I will get about $700 less than I originally thought, but a few thousand more than they were willing to give me, and they will pay me... See more Annamaria, that 75% discount/payment thing is absolutely absurd. I cannot believe it! Thank goodness that PM was an ethical person.
Okay. I've finalized things with these people and started on the project, and thank you to everyone for commenting--I might have given in a little earlier had I not had your advice.
The solution is this: I will get about $700 less than I originally thought, but a few thousand more than they were willing to give me, and they will pay me two weeks after I deliver the work, instead of 60 days. I've worked for them before, and I've read their Blue Board feedback--they have a few "they paid me late!" comments but none at all that said that they never paid, so I think I'm safe there.
Ideal: no. It was their mistake. On the other hand, I do really want this job and the money that they will pay. And the current rate is not unreasonable; it's just not so perfect that my bank account will set of fireworks of joy. I can live with that.
Thanks to all! ▲ Collapse
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etoilevineta wrote:
On the other hand, I do really want this job and the money that they will pay. And the current rate is not unreasonable.
I've just read through the comments and I don't think at this point it's worth adding mine since the decision has been made.
However, I really felt the need to point out that your statement about the rate is most definitely subjective, and the second sentence is most definitely dependent on the first sentence - FWIW, I translate German to English, and I cannot even imagine* accepting a rate as low as EUR 0.07 per word, especially not EUR 0.07 per source word. And if I considered even approaching that level, TM discounts would be absolutely out of the question.
I don't mean that to be disparaging - I hope you will not take it that way - but if you have confidence in your services and your abilities, you might just want to digest that for future reference.
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*with the exception to the rule being some currently unforeseeable global meltdown of a magnitude much worse than the one recently experienced
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Janet Rubin wrote:
However, I really felt the need to point out that your statement about the rate is most definitely subjective, and the second sentence is most definitely dependent on the first sentence - FWIW, I translate German to English, and I cannot even imagine* accepting a rate as low as EUR 0.07 per word, especially not EUR 0.07 per source word. And if I considered even approaching that level, TM discounts would be absolutely out of the question.
I don't mean that to be disparaging - I hope you will not take it that way - but if you have confidence in your services and your abilities, you might just want to digest that for future reference.
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*with the exception to the rule being some currently unforeseeable global meltdown of a magnitude much worse than the one recently experienced
Thank you. I will certainly take that into future consideration. Honestly? I'm young. I'm in graduate school. I have the nagging feeling that I have no right to charge what people who have been doing this for years and who have graduated from school charge. I have been speaking and going back and forth between languages my whole life, and I'm an exceptionally picky English writer and grammarian, but I don't have the advanced diplomas to back that up.
Reading comments on the forums, I get the feeling very often that people who have been doing this for thirty or forty years probably worked very hard for a long time to make the rates they are now, and so I shouldn't expect or demand that so early.
| | | | Phil Hand
China
Local time: 03:45
Chinese to English
| That's over 10,000 USD in a month | Apr 9, 2011 |
So for those people who are worried about not being able to make a living, is that really not acceptable?
Of course, not all documents can be translated at that speed. But I try to work at around 4000 characters per day, and can go faster on easy docs.
I'm young and naive enough to think that my superior experience and reliability will allow me to charge more as I get older. But even if it doesn't, if I can get projects that keep me in the 5,000-10,000 USD per month br... See more So for those people who are worried about not being able to make a living, is that really not acceptable?
Of course, not all documents can be translated at that speed. But I try to work at around 4000 characters per day, and can go faster on easy docs.
I'm young and naive enough to think that my superior experience and reliability will allow me to charge more as I get older. But even if it doesn't, if I can get projects that keep me in the 5,000-10,000 USD per month bracket, I'd accept that as pretty much what a skilled writing professional gets. ▲ Collapse
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