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Asking advice on rate negotiations with agency 0,04 EUR/word
Thread poster: Karin Ervin
Karin Ervin
Karin Ervin
Estonia
Local time: 08:01
English to Estonian
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thanks for the advice Nikki! Apr 30, 2019

Nikki Scott-Despaigne wrote:

Karin Ervin wrote:

Thanks for the advice! Yes, lack of experience is now what puts me to the weak spot in negotiations and experience would be good. Good to know that the length of the project shouldn’t affect the price, I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks!


In favour of accepting the offer:
- you will get experience
- it may be an acceptable hourly rate for you (if you can do enough words and make sufficient money after deducting the costs of running your business)

Against accepting the offer:
- this is below standard rates
- if the agency sees you accept to work for 0,04€/word, he has no reason to accept to pay you more
- as you are new, you will work more slowly so you might not be able to do the amount of work you need to make money
- paradox: indeed, precisely because the rate is low, you may find yourself having to work fast to make it profitable: this is good for the agency but not good for you

The two points in favour may be more important than the four points against. It's up to you to balance them out and decide.

I see some large agencies in France offering very low rates, even for experienced translators (I have 25 year's experience), particularly when the work is for the European Union. Rates are close to rates I was getting when I started out more than 20 years ago. There are agencies that pay good rates, pay on time and are pleasant to work with too.

if you think some work is better than no work, bear in mind that the good jobs can also arrive when you have just agreed to do a big volume at a cheap rate. It is not easy to decide.



Hello Nikki,

Thanks a lot for the advice and overview. I proposed the company new rate and minimum I'd accept to work with. Experience is good but I had enough internship positions during university studies and prefer to start better off. You are right, negotiations happen in the beginning of any business deal and later on I won't get what I want so easily.

Will keep your advice in mind and choose an agency wisely.

Thanks a lot for this insight,

Kind Regards,

Karin


Kaspars Melkis
 
Dr. Matthias Schauen
Dr. Matthias Schauen  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 07:01
Member (2007)
English to German
EU rate 2015 for EN>ET and ProZ.com community rates Apr 30, 2019

Hi Karin,

1. From Teresa's link (you have to delete the closing bracket and the period) I calculated word rates for EN>ET from 0.07 to 0.13 €.

2. When using the community rates feature here on ProZ.com one has to be aware that the filter for fields of expertise does not work. You always get the average of the complete community rates, which means that higher rates for specializations (for instance sciences, law, maybe government/politics/international org) do not sho
... See more
Hi Karin,

1. From Teresa's link (you have to delete the closing bracket and the period) I calculated word rates for EN>ET from 0.07 to 0.13 €.

2. When using the community rates feature here on ProZ.com one has to be aware that the filter for fields of expertise does not work. You always get the average of the complete community rates, which means that higher rates for specializations (for instance sciences, law, maybe government/politics/international org) do not show. Look at the sample size: For EN>ET it is always around 320, no matter if you filter for any field of expertise or not. (Since 2015 I have been sending one support request per year on this; they were all "forwarded to the developers". Earlier this year I suggested that the filter be deactivated as long as it is not working. This was also "forwarded to the developers".)



[Edited at 2019-04-30 10:14 GMT]
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Asking advice on rate negotiations with agency 0,04 EUR/word







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