| Pages in topic: < [1 2] | Responding to unsolicited offers of excessively low rates Thread poster: Richard McDorman
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Ulf Samuelsson 
Mexico
Local time: 09:09
Member (2007)
English to Swedish
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| Always reply with your rate | Jun 29, 2011 |
I always reply to low-rate offers by stating my rate for that job. According to my way of thinking, I might not get more ridiculous offers from that agency if I state my price.
However, in one case, I got an answer back the next day stating "We have re-negociated with the end client and can now accept your rate". That was a surprise. I did the job I had not planned on doing and even got paid for it on time.
However, I haven't been able to shake the thought that there pr... See more I always reply to low-rate offers by stating my rate for that job. According to my way of thinking, I might not get more ridiculous offers from that agency if I state my price.
However, in one case, I got an answer back the next day stating "We have re-negociated with the end client and can now accept your rate". That was a surprise. I did the job I had not planned on doing and even got paid for it on time.
However, I haven't been able to shake the thought that there probably weren't any re-negociation being done at all - meaning that they could afford my rate from the outset, but tried to make a much better profit by offering a really low rate, but no desperate translator took the bait before it got close to the deadline.
So, are these agencies offering low rates because their bargaining skills are so poor that they offer really low prices to the end clients, or are they simply trying to make a bigger profit on the poor translators who accept the stated rates? ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Even an answer is not worth | Jun 29, 2011 |
Richard McDorman wrote:
No, it definitely was not the first time I've received such an offer from an agency located in the U.S. but it was the first time I received one for medical translation, which is what really bothers me.
Not only in the US there are swindlers, but anyway, there are always enough 'so-called' translator who are ready to work for peanut.
That's not fair for those who have studied and worked hard for it, but as long as the profession is not regulated.
But professional and serious agencies, which want a professional job, would not come around with such 'special ' rate.
| | | | Krzysztof Kajetanowicz (X)
Poland
Local time: 17:09
English to Polish
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| always reply? | Jun 29, 2011 |
I'm not sure. When you reply, you give the agency something that every business wants very badly - free feedback.
If they come up with 1/3 of my rate, what's the chance they'll triple it? (Or, given the starting point, more than triple it to make up for the bad impression made at the start.)
| | | | Giles Watson
Italy
Local time: 17:09
Italian to English
In memoriam | If it's spam (ie, a generic message sent to a list of addresses), | Jun 29, 2011 |
just bin it.
On the other hand, quite a lot of agencies write polite personal messages to translators they have identified from the Proz directory. These deserve a polite reply and if you tell them the rate your are currently willing to accept, they might just come back with a more appropriate offer or project.
As Ulf says, it's important to bargain effectively. The fact that the client has got in touch with you (and not the other way round) already gives you a slight e... See more just bin it.
On the other hand, quite a lot of agencies write polite personal messages to translators they have identified from the Proz directory. These deserve a polite reply and if you tell them the rate your are currently willing to accept, they might just come back with a more appropriate offer or project.
As Ulf says, it's important to bargain effectively. The fact that the client has got in touch with you (and not the other way round) already gives you a slight edge. The edge gets bigger if the language combination and/or specialisation required are difficult to find. ▲ Collapse
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Giles Watson wrote:
As Ulf says, it's important to bargain effectively.
I don't think this is about getting that agency as a proper customer.
| | | | Giles Watson
Italy
Local time: 17:09
Italian to English
In memoriam
Sonja Kroll wrote: Giles Watson wrote:
As Ulf says, it's important to bargain effectively. I don't think this is about getting that agency as a proper customer.
Like Ulf's, my statement was intended to be general.
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