Offers withour reply (EN RO), meaning.... Thread poster: Lake78
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Lake78 
Local time: 13:46
Member (2014)
Romanian to English
+ ...
Hello
I am a newbie here on proz (registered user) and I am dealing with this "plague": I get translations offers from various agencies (they make the first move), most of all sound the same "we have a few pages bla bla....give us your CV and rates". I give them the rates (0.02-0.03Euro/word) and my CV. No replay whatsoever from here on....I can't seem to find the meaning of this. Could it be:
The rate is too low, he does not know what he is doing (dumb ideea if you ask... See more Hello
I am a newbie here on proz (registered user) and I am dealing with this "plague": I get translations offers from various agencies (they make the first move), most of all sound the same "we have a few pages bla bla....give us your CV and rates". I give them the rates (0.02-0.03Euro/word) and my CV. No replay whatsoever from here on....I can't seem to find the meaning of this. Could it be:
The rate is too low, he does not know what he is doing (dumb ideea if you ask me)
They are trying to get a portofolio of translators
They found somebody cheaper and cannot be bothered to reply
They love me and are trying to print my CV and use it as toilet paper
.........
Any ideas?
[Edited at 2014-09-05 14:53 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Thayenga
Germany
Local time: 12:46
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
Welcome to the industry!
Many agencies are "head-hunting" to enlarge their pool of translators.
The type of inquiries you are receiving, asking your rate and for your business brochure (CV) are also "common" practice, and most agencies are serious and honest. However, there are some who only email you to "harvest" CV's. These are well-known scammers who use your information to land big jobs or who are abusing your business information in other ways.
Therefo... See more Welcome to the industry!
Many agencies are "head-hunting" to enlarge their pool of translators.
The type of inquiries you are receiving, asking your rate and for your business brochure (CV) are also "common" practice, and most agencies are serious and honest. However, there are some who only email you to "harvest" CV's. These are well-known scammers who use your information to land big jobs or who are abusing your business information in other ways.
Therefore, before you reply to those emails and, even more importantly, email them your CV, do your homework by checking the Internet for anything you can find on these agencies/end customers. One place is ProZ. where you can subscribe to the Translators' Scam Alerts. Also, you need to watch out for any CC'd "undisclosed recipients". If a customer is seriously interested in your services, then s/he will address you by your name or, if it doesn't show on your profile here, at least in a proper way and...without those CC'ed undisclosed recipients.
I usually reply to these emails with my rate and ask for acceptance of the same. Many times I don't receive a reply. I guess I'm too expensive for them.
And frankly, your rate is extremely low, so that, as you have stated, the potential customer might think that the quality of your work just might match your rate.
Always check these job opportunities, the sender's identity, their IP address and location.
Much succes!
Thayenga ▲ Collapse
| | | | | If I were you | Sep 5, 2014 |
I'd try tripling my rates and see what happens.
| | | | | It's a rough industry | Sep 5, 2014 |
The translation industry seems to become more and more of a 'meat market' as the years go by. I think many of us wouldn't even bother if we could earn money on something else.
I agree with what has already been said about your rates: they are so low that many would expect poor quality work for the low price. Below €0.08 per source word I would be suspicious if I were to find a translator to subcontract to.
Many agencies seem to contact a large number of translators w... See more The translation industry seems to become more and more of a 'meat market' as the years go by. I think many of us wouldn't even bother if we could earn money on something else.
I agree with what has already been said about your rates: they are so low that many would expect poor quality work for the low price. Below €0.08 per source word I would be suspicious if I were to find a translator to subcontract to.
Many agencies seem to contact a large number of translators when they have a job to do, and they don't seem to mind to inconvenience so many people when the chance of getting the job is so low statistically. They often don't wait to give you a decent chance to reply, so they can compare the offers, but simply appoint someone as soon as they've found what they think they need.
The best thing a translator can do, in my opinion, is to try to build up a loyal group of direct customers who will come back with more work if they are happy with the quality. The same can be said of some of the good agencies that treat translators with respect. Too many of them unfortunately don't. ▲ Collapse
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Lake78
Local time: 13:46
Member (2014)
Romanian to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thanks for you answers and support. I will follow your indications (CC, IP, why wasn't I thinking of that already I don't know) and raising the rates....to see what happens.
| | | | DLyons
Ireland
Local time: 11:46
Spanish to English
+ ...
| Of course not! | Sep 7, 2014 |
Lake78 wrote:
They love me and are trying to print my CV and use it as toilet paper
No, those are the agencies that ask you to print your CV on single-sided, good quality paper and send it to them in the mail (with your best number of additional blank pages to keep down their stationary (sic!) overheads).
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