| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | One more example of crazy logic on the part of some translation agencies Thread poster: Vladimir Pochinov
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Hello,
This is to check your availability for a new product Line with the below details:
• Language pair: English Into Russian
• Task Type: Revision
• Volume: 40000 hour
• Field: Mining & Minerals / Gems
• Rate: 10 USD per hour due to the volume
• Tool: Memsource
Please note that the resource should go through a small test free of charge to test the quality
1. They treat a translator as a resource, no name necessary. By the way, their website says they have 16+K native professionals in all European, Asian,
Middle Eastern and African, as well as many African languages. How many of those did at least one job for the agency? I know that some agencies have me in their vendor pools for as long as 20 years. The send me requests to update my details from time to time, but they don't send any work my way
2. Is the rate so low because they want revision which typically costs 1/3 to 1/2 of your rate for translation? Well, I don't think this applies to hourly rates.
3. 10 USD per hour due to the volume (40,000 hours). Do they offer 1 USD per hour when they have 400,000 words to be revised? Mind you, it's about Mining & Minerals / Gems.
4. A small test free of charge ... for a chance to spend 40,000 hours, i.e. 1,000 five-day weeks, working for peanuts. They must be kidding
[Edited at 2022-06-09 13:27 GMT]
| | | | Thayenga 
Germany
Local time: 13:04
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
I especially love the free tests... as if they could go to the gas station and get some free gas just to test its quality.
The "due to volume" justification for their rock-bottom rates is truly amusing. Apparently they believe that translators are wholesalers willing to grant discounts due to larger orders. Maybe someone should educate them regarding the difference between translators and wholesalers.
There are some really good agencies that value the work of translator... See more I especially love the free tests... as if they could go to the gas station and get some free gas just to test its quality.
The "due to volume" justification for their rock-bottom rates is truly amusing. Apparently they believe that translators are wholesalers willing to grant discounts due to larger orders. Maybe someone should educate them regarding the difference between translators and wholesalers.
There are some really good agencies that value the work of translators. They would never even dream of insulting their translators by offering ridiculous rates. But some agencies are just "too good to be real", especially in regards to sincerely believing that anyone would even consider accepting their terms. Instead of dreaming they should take a moment to figure out who they are and who the translator is. Maybe, just maybe, they might then realize that the service provided states the T & C's, not the customer. This is just a basic worldwide business rule. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Crazy logic from translators too | Jun 9, 2022 |
To be fair, it's not just agencies. Plenty of translators on here offer a range of hourly rates. I've never been able to get my head around that.
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Thayenga wrote:
I especially love the free tests... as if they could go to the gas station and get some free gas just to test its quality.
When we go to the gas station to get gas, we can be assured of its quality, no need to test it. If only the same were true of translators, given that anyone with a PC and an internet connection can call themselves a translator. That's why we go to the gas station and don't buy "gas" from a guy selling fuel of a dubious nature from jerry cans at a roadside stall.
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Vladimir Pochinov
Russian Federation
Local time: 13:04
English to Russian
TOPIC STARTER | Different hourly rates for different services | Jun 9, 2022 |
Ice Scream wrote:
Plenty of translators on here offer a range of hourly rates. I've never been able to get my head around that.
Exactly. An hour of your time is just that ... one hour, regardless of how you spend it.
Per word rates may be different, but the resultant hourly pay should stay the same:
Translation: $0.10 per word @300 words per hour, i.e. you earn $30 per hour
Editing: $0.06 per word @500 words per hour = $30 per hour
Proofreading: $0.03 per word @1000 words per hour = $30 per hour
| | | | Lieven Malaise
Belgium
Local time: 13:04
Member (2020)
French to Dutch
+ ...
Vladimir Pochinov wrote: 4. A small test free of charge ... for a chance to spend 40,000 hours, i.e. 1,000 five-day weeks, working for peanuts. They must be kidding [Edited at 2022-06-09 13:27 GMT]
Reminds me of another classic: "They ask for a test free of charge, but if you pass we will assign you the complete task of n thousand words."
Last time I replied with "You pay me for the test and I will be happy to deduct the test price from the price for the the total task after you've assigned it to me."
Never heard of it again.
| | | | Vladimir Pochinov
Russian Federation
Local time: 13:04
English to Russian
TOPIC STARTER | Deducting the test price from the actual project price if the latter materializes | Jun 9, 2022 |
Lieven Malaise wrote:
Reminds me of another classic: "They ask for a test free of charge, but if you pass we will assign you the complete task of n thousand words."
Last time I replied with "You pay me for the test and I will be happy to deduct the test price from the price for the the total task after you've assigned it to me."
Never heard of it again.
I'll use this one next time
| | | | Stepan Konev
Russian Federation
Local time: 14:04
English to Russian
| A similar offer | Jun 9, 2022 |
I received a similar offer today (EN>RU, Mining, Memsource) but it seems to be a different agency because they requested that I propose my own rate. And it was 'translation+review' type of task. And they mentioned 40K words but not hours.
[Edited at 2022-06-09 18:44 GMT]
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Michael Newton
United States
Local time: 07:04
Japanese to English
+ ...
There is a famous fringe Mexican film entitled "Esmeralda de noche vienes". It owes much to Bunuel and Fellini. Basically it deals with coping with the chaos of life in Mexico. You must (1) realize that life is absurd and (2) have unlimited optimism.
If you expect logical behavior from agencies, you will be defeated. Many of the so-called translation managers are certifiable moonbats and expect you to do five-dollar jobs with payment in 60 days. Realize that despite all of the onero... See more There is a famous fringe Mexican film entitled "Esmeralda de noche vienes". It owes much to Bunuel and Fellini. Basically it deals with coping with the chaos of life in Mexico. You must (1) realize that life is absurd and (2) have unlimited optimism.
If you expect logical behavior from agencies, you will be defeated. Many of the so-called translation managers are certifiable moonbats and expect you to do five-dollar jobs with payment in 60 days. Realize that despite all of the onerous onboarding and papyrology demanded by many agencies, you will probably never be contacted. A 300-word "free" translation easily turns into a 1,000 word freebie. Some managers seem to have bipolar disorder with all the attendant mood-swings. You are flavor-of-the-month one day and the next day they never heard of you. You are just a name in a universal, endless, virtual Rolodex. Somebody in Pago-Pago is ready to translate an Japanese-language article on Ventricular Fibrillation for pennies And yes, translators are resources.
Solution: avoid agencies and cultivate direct clients. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Vladimir Pochinov
Russian Federation
Local time: 13:04
English to Russian
TOPIC STARTER | Avoid agencies and cultivate direct clients | Jun 10, 2022 |
Michael Newton wrote:
Realize that despite all of the onerous onboarding and papyrology demanded by many agencies, you will probably never be contacted. ... You are flavor-of-the-month one day and the next day they never heard of you. You are just a name in a universal, endless, virtual Rolodex. ... And yes, translators are resources.
Solution: avoid agencies and cultivate direct clients.
You may face the same treatment from direct clients sometimes. I won a two-year contract with a UN agency last year. 10 months later, I am still waiting for a single job to materialize
| | | | Michael Newton
United States
Local time: 07:04
Japanese to English
+ ...
I think the fly in the ointment with the UN agency is that it is a large, international entity with all the bureaucracy that entails. My direct clients are law firms.
| | | | Vladimir Pochinov
Russian Federation
Local time: 13:04
English to Russian
TOPIC STARTER
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Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:04
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Ice Scream wrote:
To be fair, it's not just agencies. Plenty of translators on here offer a range of hourly rates. I've never been able to get my head around that.
Yeah - I don't get that.
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:04
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Vladimir Pochinov wrote:
" Rate: 10 USD per hour due to the volume"
The volume of one hour of my time is 60 minutes, and does not change.
[Edited at 2022-06-10 07:37 GMT]
| | | | Maciek Drobka
Poland
Local time: 13:04
Member (2006)
English to Polish
+ ...
| Deducting the test price | Jun 10, 2022 |
Lieven Malaise wrote:
(...)
Last time I replied with "You pay me for the test and I will be happy to deduct the test price from the price for the the total task after you've assigned it to me."
Never heard of it again.
I have dealt with agencies who actually accept this approach.
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