ProZ.com Translation Forums

Quote Declined - why? | Bull's Eye

Bernhard Sulzer — Tue, 07 Apr 2020 20:51:00 +0000

Forum: Getting established
Topic: Quote Declined - why?
Poster: Bernhard Sulzer
Post title: Bull's Eye

[quote]Paul Dixon wrote:

I actually like a game of darts. Never played blindfolded though.
I used to play a lot at home in Brazil and when I moved to the UK (92 to 95) my watering hole, with a dartboard, was the Stag and Pheasant, known locally as the 'Slag and Peasant', on Holbrook Lane. [/quote]

It's just that to hit the bull's eye on the dartboard on translator job boards even with open eyes means you will have to aim with the smallest rate possible (1 to 5 Cents per word apparently works very very well). ;-)

Quote Declined - why? | Darts

Paul Dixon — Tue, 07 Apr 2020 19:39:00 +0000

Forum: Getting established
Topic: Quote Declined - why?
Poster: Paul Dixon
Post title: Darts

I actually like a game of darts. Never played blindfolded though.
I used to play a lot at home in Brazil and when I moved to the UK (92 to 95) my watering hole, with a dartboard, was the Stag and Pheasant, known locally as the 'Slag and Peasant', on Holbrook Lane.

Quote Declined - why? | quote declined

Michael Newton — Tue, 07 Apr 2020 19:29:00 +0000

Forum: Getting established
Topic: Quote Declined - why?
Poster: Michael Newton
Post title: quote declined

The reason for declining a quote can be totally illogical. Don't spend too much time trying to figure it out. Trying to garner a job through the proz system is like playing darts blindfolded.

Quote Declined - why? | @Paul

Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida — Tue, 07 Apr 2020 18:58:00 +0000

Forum: Getting established
Topic: Quote Declined - why?
Poster: Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Post title: @Paul

Changing the status of a job is not unusual in what regards Portuguese jobs: sometimes an outsourcer starts by posting a job without specifying which version he is interested in and after being flooded with offers from one side or the other of the Atlantic then he decides to change it.

Quote Declined - why? | OK

Paul Dixon — Tue, 07 Apr 2020 16:46:00 +0000

Forum: Getting established
Topic: Quote Declined - why?
Poster: Paul Dixon
Post title: OK

Yes, I understand now.

Actually it was not the first time I have had a quote declined, but now I have a better idea. Thank you for all who replied.

Quote Declined - why? | Simple answer

S. Kathryn Jiménez Boyd — Tue, 07 Apr 2020 16:41:00 +0000

Forum: Getting established
Topic: Quote Declined - why?
Poster: S. Kathryn Jiménez Boyd
Post title: Simple answer

Hi Paul,

I understand what you're trying to ask. You probably submit quotes all the time and have never gotten a "declined" response. That doesn't mean that your quote was declined at the Proz.com level, it went through.

What happens is that when recruiters get quotes, on the management screen, they can either 1. take no action or 2. decline the quote. Given the high number of quotes most job offers receive, most outsourcers (myself included, when I have to outsource work for other languages) just leave the ones they're not going to hire, and just contact the person they want.

In this case, it seems like the outsourcer is taking the time to hit "decline" on the quotes that don't match what they are looking for (price, specializations, deadlines, whatever). You were not what they were looking for for this particular job, so they hit "decline" and that's why you got that message (whereas normally you'll hear nothing at all if they don't want to hire you).

As Samuel says, it's actually fairly common for clients to change posts to "private" when they get overwhelmed with quotes. Being "private" simply means that only translators who meet the requirements for the job can see it (usually it's country-based, whether or not you're a freelancer, what language you're native in, etc.). So this outsourcer obviously got overwhelmed with responses, declined the ones they knew wouldn't fit, and changed the criteria so they wouldn't get so many responses. Kudos to them for their thoroughness.

I hope this clears things up for you. :)

Quote Declined - why? | @Paul I and II

Samuel Murray — Tue, 07 Apr 2020 15:13:00 +0000

Forum: Getting established
Topic: Quote Declined - why?
Poster: Samuel Murray
Post title: @Paul I and II

[quote]Paul Dixon wrote:
I found nothing about the possibility of declining quotes on the FAQ page on bidding for jobs. [/quote]

Quotes/bids on ProZ.com work pretty much the same way as quoting in the real world: sometimes, more than one seller submits a quote for a job, and then the buyer chooses one of them (or none of them). It would be odd if buyers were required to accept all quotes from all sellers who send them quotations.

[quote]Paul Dixon wrote:
Wouldn't think someone else got it, as the job is apparently still open. [/quote]

The fact that they declined your quote does not mean that they had accepted someone else's quote.

[quote]When I made my quote it was "open", but later it appeared to have been changed to a "private job". Isn't that against the rules, to change the status of a job while bidding is still open? [/quote]

I see nothing in the job board rules about not changing a job from open to private. I'm not sure if clients can do that (i.e. first choose to make a job open, and then later choose to make it private), but from your description, apparently they can. And it makes sense, too: a client might choose to make a job "open" initially, not realizing how many quotes they'll receive, and then later refine the job requirements in order to receive quotes from a smaller number translators who meet a stricter set of requirements.

If the job was previously open to you, but is no longer open to you, it probably means that the client had realised that they needed to change the requirements, and changed it, and you no longer meet the requirements.

[Edited at 2020-04-07 15:21 GMT]

Quote Declined - why? | We can't answer this question for you.

philgoddard — Tue, 07 Apr 2020 15:11:00 +0000

Forum: Getting established
Topic: Quote Declined - why?
Poster: philgoddard
Post title: We can't answer this question for you.

Only they know the answer.

Also, I wouldn't rely too much on bidding for jobs in ProZ. They're usually interested in price rather than quality, and get swamped with responses - you were lucky even to get a reply. It's better to have a good profile and wait for people to come to you.

Quote Declined - why? | Still open

Paul Dixon — Tue, 07 Apr 2020 15:04:00 +0000

Forum: Getting established
Topic: Quote Declined - why?
Poster: Paul Dixon
Post title: Still open

Wouldn't think someone else got it, as the job is apparently still open.

When I made my quote it was open (so much so that I could make my bid) but later it appeared to have been changed to a 'private job'. Isn't that against the rules, to change the status of a job while bidding is still open? (except in the case of the job being assigned)

I would just like to understand what happened.

Quote Declined - why? | Someone else got it?

Lincoln Hui — Tue, 07 Apr 2020 14:59:00 +0000

Forum: Getting established
Topic: Quote Declined - why?
Poster: Lincoln Hui
Post title: Someone else got it?

Have you never had a job application, school application or whatever other kind of offer turned down in your life?

Quote Declined - why?

Paul Dixon — Tue, 07 Apr 2020 14:53:00 +0000

Forum: Getting established
Topic: Quote Declined - why?
Poster: Paul Dixon

I applied for a job this morning through the jobs board. I met the requirements and I gave a reasonable price for the work, but later on I got a reply saying that my quote had been declined. What has happened? Why?
I found nothing about the possibility of declining quotes on the FAQ page on bidding for jobs.