| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Poll: Do you display your rates publicly? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Do you display your rates publicly?".
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| | | | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 21:51
Spanish to English
+ ...
I think they're on my proz profile. Too busy to check right now...
Yes, it turns out they are there. Slightly off topic, I never reply to requests for "best rates" nowadays, but that doesn't mean that I won't give discounts if I feel like it.
[Edited at 2012-09-04 09:32 GMT]
| | | | Diana Coada (X) 
United Kingdom
Local time: 20:51
Portuguese to English
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But only on proz.com, where almost no end user visit my profile.
It also filters out outsourcers looking for cheap translations. All parties save time not writing emails.
Philippe
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Ty Kendall
United Kingdom
Local time: 20:51
Hebrew to English
Simply because I don't like carving them in stone. And once they're up and out there, many people consider that final.
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This is what my services cost, take it or leave it
| | | | | very interesting topic | Sep 4, 2012 |
Hello Diana,
Thanks for the article. However, it didn't say that we shouldn't display our rates - it said that we should experiment and pay attention. (Of course, I do admit that it also said we very probably should not display our rates.)
I used to display my rates on my website before it was really relevant (before anyone found me there), and I'll probably try it out again soon. The second scenario described in the article (the potential client searching through the internet... See more Hello Diana,
Thanks for the article. However, it didn't say that we shouldn't display our rates - it said that we should experiment and pay attention. (Of course, I do admit that it also said we very probably should not display our rates.)
I used to display my rates on my website before it was really relevant (before anyone found me there), and I'll probably try it out again soon. The second scenario described in the article (the potential client searching through the internet and being turned off by the constant demands to call or e-mail for an offer) perfectly describes my own behavior as a consumer.
The only thing that is important to remember: Make sure that none of your current clients pay more than the published rate, i.e., if you're not willing to publish an aggressive, optimistic rate, then you probably shouldn't publish one.
Sincerely,
Michael ▲ Collapse
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My rates are variable: the rate I charge for an embolectomy catheter instructions is not the same as for a gastronomy article, for obvious reasons. So, each job is quoted on a case by case basis.
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Teresa Borges wrote:
My rates are variable: the rate I charge for an embolectomy catheter instructions is not the same as for a gastronomy article, for obvious reasons. So, each job is quoted on a case by case basis.
Pretty much on a case by case basis too, for similar reasons.
I do have a base rate below which I will not work. After all, I don't pay my clients to work for them! However, I do moderate rates for big jobs and for jobs which will be straightforward once into the swing of it.
If there is a small one-off need for a friend, I do it free or at normal rates. The half-way house favourable rate is something I am uncomfortable with. I did once have a client who announced after having agreed and sign the purchase order who ran into financial difficulties. He must have seen it coming so I was really cross when he announced the situation. I'd simply have turned the job down. However, he did pay me in fish. Yes, I'm serious, I got paid in sea bass... for months!
I did not dare barter with the taxman, sea bass in hand! I never accepted another job from the client though.
| | | | Julian Holmes
Japan
Local time: 04:51
Member (2011)
Japanese to English
| Definitely not! | Sep 4, 2012 |
I do openly tell customers that I "offer competitive rates" and "like to work within their budgets" Since different customers have different budgets, I offer slightly better rates (for the customer, that is) to customers who give me regular or bulk work and who treat me well in other ways -- money isn't always the deciding factor.
If I were to go public and tell everybody what my rates are, I would be pressured to give preferential rates to customers who give me work only once in a ... See more I do openly tell customers that I "offer competitive rates" and "like to work within their budgets" Since different customers have different budgets, I offer slightly better rates (for the customer, that is) to customers who give me regular or bulk work and who treat me well in other ways -- money isn't always the deciding factor.
If I were to go public and tell everybody what my rates are, I would be pressured to give preferential rates to customers who give me work only once in a blue moon. Basically, I would be leaving myself defenseless. 
@neilmac
Maybe we should quote customers who ask for "best rates" double our top rate and tell them that it's "best for me." 
I am still searching for the Holy Grail of customers without budget constraints. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | I´m a copy cat @Julian Holmes: Definitely not! | Sep 4, 2012 |
1. Giving one single rate or a single set of rates would not give me a chance to negotiate with some clients, and there are certain jobs in which you could charge more- or less- depending on the difficulty of terms, desktop publishing requirements, and so on.
2. And it is also true that some clients look for the lowest rate, which I am not willing to offer. I offer fair rates and good quality.
| | | | Thayenga
Germany
Local time: 21:51
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
| Definately not. | Sep 4, 2012 |
Right from the beginning here on ProZ I didn't display my rates on my profile. Not because they might be too low or too high, but simply because there is no such thing - at least not for me - as a fixed/standard rate.
The rate for a technical translation differs from that which I quote on a more creative translation, because, strictly speaking, these are two completely different types of jobs.
Julian Holmes wrote: @neilmac Maybe we should quote customers who ask for "best rates" double our top rate and tell them that it's "best for me." I am still searching for the Holy Grail of customers without budget constraints.
My reply to best rates is simple: there's only one "best" rate: mine.
@ Julian,
Oh, the Holy Grail of "no budget restrains" does exist. Just take a look at the scam forum. There's plenty of customers who are willing to pay whatever price you quote.
[Edited at 2012-09-04 12:39 GMT]
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Alison Sabedoria (X)
United Kingdom
French to English
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Most of my clients are French. In a certain milieu, money is still almost a taboo subject! 
If price is the main issue, I'm too expensive, full stop. Most people get the idea without me having to spell it out (like you can tell when you walk into a certain style of shop that it's not a discount store, but you might well get shown to an armchair and be offered tea).
If price isn't the main issue, we discus... See more Most of my clients are French. In a certain milieu, money is still almost a taboo subject!
If price is the main issue, I'm too expensive, full stop. Most people get the idea without me having to spell it out (like you can tell when you walk into a certain style of shop that it's not a discount store, but you might well get shown to an armchair and be offered tea).
If price isn't the main issue, we discuss, we negotiate... Like others, I have very variable rates.
Earl Grey or Darjeeling? ▲ Collapse
| | | | Allison Wright (X)
Portugal
Local time: 20:51
It keeps the flies away.
The rates as stated do not prevent me from departing from them (besides, I cannot fix the editing in English one). There are a host of factors which go into determining what to charge for a translation. The rates are about as set in stone as one translation is the same as another.
If I have shot myself in the foot, then I am blissfully unaware of it.
| | | | Mario Chavez (X)
Local time: 15:51
English to Spanish
+ ...
| Competitive vs. best rates | Sep 4, 2012 |
Julian Holmes wrote:
I am still searching for the Holy Grail of customers without budget constraints.
My approach has been to work with the client's budget. One of my most recent clients then told me “There's no budget” in the sense that they have no fixed amount to spend. To which I thought to myself “Sweet!“
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