| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Poll: Have you ever compared your prices/services to your peers'? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Have you ever compared your prices/services to your peers'?".
This poll was originally submitted by Iulia P.. View the poll results »
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When I started out translating full-time in 1985 (Proz wasn’t even born) in Brussels I did search around what the charging range was in order to set my rates. Then, 30 years later when I moved back to Lisbon in 2015, I thought of adapting my rates to the Portuguese market, but finally it made no sense at all to reduce my rates as I had exactly the same client base as before. Since then, I've occasionally raised my rates...
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:19
Member (2008)
Italian to English
| I do it all the time | Jan 4, 2023 |
ProZ.com Staff wrote: This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Have you ever compared your prices/services to your peers'?". This poll was originally submitted by Iulia P.. View the poll results »
I do it all the time
| | | | Lieven Malaise
Belgium
Local time: 13:19
Member (2020)
French to Dutch
+ ...
| I set my own rates. | Jan 4, 2023 |
I started in 2005 with a word rate of 0.07 euros (advised by a PM of the agency I worked for during 5 years). Today I charge from 0.08 to 0.09 euros and I'm perfectly fine with that. I think it's low enough to get a lot of work being a senior translator. At the same time it's high enough to provide me with a very decent income, thanks to my high daily translation capacity.
It's interesting to see what other translators charge, but you can't actually know what they are really chargin... See more I started in 2005 with a word rate of 0.07 euros (advised by a PM of the agency I worked for during 5 years). Today I charge from 0.08 to 0.09 euros and I'm perfectly fine with that. I think it's low enough to get a lot of work being a senior translator. At the same time it's high enough to provide me with a very decent income, thanks to my high daily translation capacity.
It's interesting to see what other translators charge, but you can't actually know what they are really charging. Some have negotiable rates and set their rates extra high, just to be able to lower it during negotiations. ▲ Collapse
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| | | Anonymous comparisons at powwows | Jan 4, 2023 |
On several occasions we compared rates anonymously at the Danish powwow.
The basic procedure was that people wrote their rates on slips of paper, and one of the more mathematically minded attendees then made a chart showing the results. The details varied from year to year.
It was a little difficult, because many of us charge different rates for different language pairs and different subject areas, but Danish was always one of the languages. Otherwise there were too few... See more On several occasions we compared rates anonymously at the Danish powwow.
The basic procedure was that people wrote their rates on slips of paper, and one of the more mathematically minded attendees then made a chart showing the results. The details varied from year to year.
It was a little difficult, because many of us charge different rates for different language pairs and different subject areas, but Danish was always one of the languages. Otherwise there were too few examples to keep it anonymous.
It was still only a small sample, but we had some good discussions.
As a matter of principle I never go below the standard average shown on the Community rates page, and I usually charge more.
https://search.proz.com/employers/rates?source_lang=dan&target_lang=eng&disc_spec_id=¤cy=eur&view_old_rates=1&submit=Submit
Colleagues have sometimes told me what they charge for specific jobs when we work together, and then I adjust my rate for the same client, but on the whole I set my own rates. They vary quite a lot, depending on the type of work. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:19
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Lieven Malaise wrote:
...... Some have negotiable rates and set their rates extra high, just to be able to lower it during negotiations.
My rate is high enough to keep me happy, and to keep away the kinds of jobs I don't want. But not so high that it scares people off. It's higher than the average in my language pair, but that's only because the rates in my language pair are very low. The main thing is that from a client's viewpoint, it's a rate that gets you a first-class translation, delivered to the highest professional standard, at a very reasonable cost - so compared to others, including some who may charge less, I am the translator you want.
[Edited at 2023-01-04 11:14 GMT]
| | | | | I have been doing the same... | Jan 4, 2023 |
Christine Andersen wrote: As a matter of principle I never go below the standard average shown on the Community rates page, and I usually charge more. https://search.proz.com/employers/rates?source_lang=dan&target_lang=eng&disc_spec_id=��cy=eur&view_old_rates=1&submit=Submit Colleagues have sometimes told me what they charge for specific jobs when we work together, and then I adjust my rate for the same client, but on the whole I set my own rates. They vary quite a lot, depending on the type of work.
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My rates are different depending on the pair, as I also provide translations in a (relatively) rare pair (DU-ITA), my rates are in line with the ones of my peers.
Happy 2023 to all of you!
| | | | Nikolay Novitskiy 
Russian Federation
Local time: 16:19
Member (2018)
English to Russian
I've talked to over 140 other translators. And I was the paraphrase the phrase in my old neighborghood. The rest of them is not a patch in my jeans. If I set the rate I need to set.
| | | | Kay Denney
France
Local time: 13:19
French to English
I set my rates based on what I knew of the industry having worked in a high-end boutique agency that was then bought out by a best-rate high-volume agency. And since then I have stood firm any time anyone has tried to bully me into lowering my rates.
(Ironically the one agency that's tried the hardest to get me to lower my rate is the one that pays me the least already)
| | | | Kaspars Melkis
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:19
English to Latvian
+ ...
| my rates are higher (above €0.10/word) | Jan 5, 2023 |
Which makes me very uneasy because I consider them quite low and in comparison earning money from translation is harder than working as a pharmacist.
I need to raise my rates due to inflation but the situation where many of my peers charge less makes it hard. Most agencies are scared when I tell them my rates. I will raise my rates anyway because the current levels are not sustainable. If I won't get more translation jobs, that will be fine. I will work exclusively as a pharmacist ... See more Which makes me very uneasy because I consider them quite low and in comparison earning money from translation is harder than working as a pharmacist.
I need to raise my rates due to inflation but the situation where many of my peers charge less makes it hard. Most agencies are scared when I tell them my rates. I will raise my rates anyway because the current levels are not sustainable. If I won't get more translation jobs, that will be fine. I will work exclusively as a pharmacist then. The locum pharmacist rates have increased by up to 100% during last 2-3 years.
I understand that inflation is actually bad and in part it is a phenomena that we all (vendors and workers) raise prices and demand higher salaries. The inflation would become lower if we collectively stop this vicious circle. But I don't want to become a martyr for this cause. ▲ Collapse
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Baran Keki
Türkiye
Local time: 14:19
Member
English to Turkish
| The Dogs of Riga | Jan 5, 2023 |
Kaspars Melkis wrote:
Which makes me very uneasy because I consider them quite low and in comparison earning money from translation is harder than working as a pharmacist.
I need to raise my rates due to inflation but the situation where many of my peers charge less makes it hard. Most agencies are scared when I tell them my rates. I will raise my rates anyway because the current levels are not sustainable. If I won't get more translation jobs, that will be fine. I will work exclusively as a pharmacist then. The locum pharmacist rates have increased by up to 100% during last 2-3 years.
I understand that inflation is actually bad and in part it is a phenomena that we all (vendors and workers) raise prices and demand higher salaries. The inflation would become lower if we collectively stop this vicious circle. But I don't want to become a martyr for this cause.
But your good colleagues in Latvia are doubtless making a more than decent living over there by charging a lot less than you do in the UK. The same is the case in my language pair. Unlike the agencies you mentioned, I'm actually 'scared' to compare my rates with my 'peers'. What the idiots can't (and will never) comprehend is that they could make an even better living by charging 'normal rates' instead of undercutting each other. But no, that goes against the grain for them. They must take everybody down with them and get off on FX rates... I couldn't live in the UK with what I'm making, and I'm supposed to be a 'digital nomad'? Yeah, right.
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:19
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Kaspars Melkis wrote:
..... If I won't get more translation jobs, that will be fine. I will work exclusively as a pharmacist then. The locum pharmacist rates have increased by up to 100% during last 2-3 years.
For many people, such as tenured academics on generous salaries, translation is a sideline and they don't depend on it for a living. Maybe that's the way things are going. So another poll question might be "do you depend entirely on translation to make a living?"
it is a phenomena
NO NO NO ! You're fired !
[Edited at 2023-01-05 10:31 GMT]
| | | | Kaspars Melkis
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:19
English to Latvian
+ ...
Tom in London wrote:
So another poll question might be "do you depend entirely on translation to make a living?"
I do so far. I studied pharmacy because I wanted to improve the quality of my translations.
I am sorry that I made a mistake by using the plural of “phenomenon” inappropriately.
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