Poll: Have you increased your rates over the years?
Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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Jul 10, 2014

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Have you increased your rates over the years?".

This poll was originally submitted by jbhatia. View the poll results »



 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 10:38
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Other Jul 10, 2014

I started translating full-time in 1986 and of course my rates have increased since then (maybe even dramatically if I could remember what I charged back then...)

 
Christopher Schröder
Christopher Schröder
United Kingdom
Member (2011)
Swedish to English
+ ...
How could you not? Jul 10, 2014

Do 12% of the translators on here really live in zero-inflation countries and never get any better at their job?

I for one have quadrupled my rates over the past 20 years, and that doesn't feel overly dramatic.


 
neilmac
neilmac
Spain
Local time: 11:38
Spanish to English
+ ...
Other Jul 10, 2014

I was about to put them up when the economic crisis began in 2008. I've since managed to keep my rate at about the average standard in my pair for most clients, especially for the smaller ones, as I know they are struggling. I'd rather keep the clients I have now than scare them away by raising my rates, although if the need arises, I may have to raise them soon.

PS: The way I look at it, if I wanted or needed to raise my rates now, that would mean that my current rates were already
... See more
I was about to put them up when the economic crisis began in 2008. I've since managed to keep my rate at about the average standard in my pair for most clients, especially for the smaller ones, as I know they are struggling. I'd rather keep the clients I have now than scare them away by raising my rates, although if the need arises, I may have to raise them soon.

PS: The way I look at it, if I wanted or needed to raise my rates now, that would mean that my current rates were already too low, which they are not. All my bills are paid, I run two cars and a motorbike and still have a certain amount of disposable income. As long as this status quo keeps up, I'm happy to keep going with my current rates and conditions. Sometimes enough is just that.

[Edited at 2014-07-10 09:19 GMT]
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Ben_ (X)
Ben_ (X)  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 10:38
German to English
I should hope so! Jul 10, 2014

I've only been doing this a couple of years so have stuck with the same rates I started off with, but I'm doing a qualification in my subject so I can charge a higher rate. I wouldn't have gone into translation if I couldn't see a path upwards.

 
Vera Schoen
Vera Schoen  Identity Verified
Sweden
Local time: 11:38
Member (2008)
German to Swedish
+ ...
Other Jul 10, 2014

Neither slightly nor dramatically. Simply: yes.

[Edited at 2014-07-10 09:15 GMT]


 
Tim Drayton
Tim Drayton  Identity Verified
Cyprus
Local time: 12:38
Turkish to English
+ ...
Other Jul 10, 2014

It is hard to generalise. Yes, my rates are higher now than they were when I did a previous stint as a freelancer in 1999-2002; on the other hand, over the past three years or so, I have had to reduce the premium rate that I used to charge for legal translation but have also raised the rock-bottom rate that I used to charge for general work, so that the two have now in fact fused. The cost of living has risen greatly over the past decade that I have been living here in Cyprus, so in real terms I... See more
It is hard to generalise. Yes, my rates are higher now than they were when I did a previous stint as a freelancer in 1999-2002; on the other hand, over the past three years or so, I have had to reduce the premium rate that I used to charge for legal translation but have also raised the rock-bottom rate that I used to charge for general work, so that the two have now in fact fused. The cost of living has risen greatly over the past decade that I have been living here in Cyprus, so in real terms I am working for much lower rates than before. I saw a report not so long ago talking about global demand for language services rising by about 6% annually. I find neo-liberal economics impossible to understand. It used to be that prices rose if demand rose - that no longer seems to be so!Collapse


 
Muriel Vasconcellos
Muriel Vasconcellos  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 03:38
Member (2003)
Spanish to English
+ ...
Of course Jul 10, 2014

I've been translating for more decades than I care to admit. I can remember when US$ .025 per word was an acceptable rate.

 
tilak raj
tilak raj  Identity Verified
India
Local time: 16:08
Member (2012)
English to Punjabi
+ ...
Yes Jul 10, 2014

As per year due to inflation in everything, then why not in our profession. Simply Yes, I do increase rate slightly which client also feel ease to increase.

 
Elizabeth Joy Pitt de Morales
Elizabeth Joy Pitt de Morales  Identity Verified
Local time: 11:38
Member (2007)
Spanish to English
+ ...
I live in Spain... Jul 10, 2014

...and the crisis put an end to any thoughts about raising my rates. Like Neilmac, I'm doing well enough and it is in my best interest that my clients (mostly small, high-quality agencies) survive.

I have, however, managed to resist significant rate decreases, which I consider to be a real victory given the constant pressure to drop rates by some of my clients (mostly the larger agencies; the small ones know better).

I plan to increase rates when the economy starts to
... See more
...and the crisis put an end to any thoughts about raising my rates. Like Neilmac, I'm doing well enough and it is in my best interest that my clients (mostly small, high-quality agencies) survive.

I have, however, managed to resist significant rate decreases, which I consider to be a real victory given the constant pressure to drop rates by some of my clients (mostly the larger agencies; the small ones know better).

I plan to increase rates when the economy starts to move again...if I'm still alive by then.
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José Henrique Lamensdorf
José Henrique Lamensdorf  Identity Verified
Brazil
Local time: 07:38
English to Portuguese
+ ...
In memoriam
Domestic or international rates? Jul 10, 2014

A translator's ubiquity, thanks to the Internet, especially broadband, creates new issues to deal with. Orders and jobs cross international borders ever more easily and quickly. Meanwhile payment/money across borders poses problems of its own.

For the record, looking back at the past four years or so, my work is equally split between domestic and foreign clients.

My rates in my local currency (BRL) have been kept unchanged since July 1994. Amazing? No. We do have some i
... See more
A translator's ubiquity, thanks to the Internet, especially broadband, creates new issues to deal with. Orders and jobs cross international borders ever more easily and quickly. Meanwhile payment/money across borders poses problems of its own.

For the record, looking back at the past four years or so, my work is equally split between domestic and foreign clients.

My rates in my local currency (BRL) have been kept unchanged since July 1994. Amazing? No. We do have some inflation in Brazil, however it is almost negligible, if compared to the staggering figures we had over the decades preceding 1994. On the other hand, IT developments - both in hardware and software - have ever since have boosted my productivity so much, that they by and large covered inflation.

On the other hand, exchange rates have had their hiccups, and Brazilian interest rates (the time value of money) are outrageously high, in comparison to other countries, e.g. 44x those in the USA.

In 2009 the USD exchange rate plummeted here, it lost 25% of its value, relative to the BRL. I stood tight for that year, and lost 1/4 on half (see above) of my work, i.e. my income suffered a 12.5% loss. In 2010 I raised my rates in USD by 20%. Lost all the overly price-conscious clients I had, gradually gained many quality-conscious new clients.

In 2012, the USD recouped its previous status. Instead of lowering my international rates, I began granting discounts for faster payment and avoidance of costly (to me) payment methods. Now 90% of my clients pay me COD or close to it, and save a bundle at the expense of PayPal and greedy banks in Brazil. The net rates for them in USD are the same I used before 2010.

So I haven't changed my rates over exactly 20 years now, thanks to advances in IT. I merely separated translation and financial costs. As a translator, I am not in the money lending business. If translation clients nevertheless want to get loans from me via extended payment terms, they'll have to pay the financial costs pertinent to where I am. I checked... my bank does NOT offer translation services!
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Christine Andersen
Christine Andersen  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 11:38
Member (2003)
Danish to English
+ ...
Largely by working with better-paying clients Jul 10, 2014

Many of my clients come and go, so when I am offered a demanding job by a new client, I push my rate up a little.

I usually have plenty of work to do, so I have simply dropped some of the lowest payers. Where possible I have negotiated a higher rate once or twice, or done so on a job-by-job basis. If they don't agree to it, I send them to the back of the queue and only work for them when I have time.

I still work for the original 'core' rate I used to charge ten years
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Many of my clients come and go, so when I am offered a demanding job by a new client, I push my rate up a little.

I usually have plenty of work to do, so I have simply dropped some of the lowest payers. Where possible I have negotiated a higher rate once or twice, or done so on a job-by-job basis. If they don't agree to it, I send them to the back of the queue and only work for them when I have time.

I still work for the original 'core' rate I used to charge ten years ago, but now I use a faster CAT and can usually translate more words per hour. But I also have more clients who pay higher rates!

I have not actually raised rates much recently, but now that the economy is picking up here - and I hope it soon spreads - I might consider it.
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Triston Goodwin
Triston Goodwin  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 04:38
Spanish to English
+ ...
Yes Jul 10, 2014

I started out working in-house where I was paid $8.75 per hour. I have nightmares about going back.

 
Rolf Kern
Rolf Kern  Identity Verified
Switzerland
Local time: 11:38
English to German
+ ...
In memoriam
No Jul 10, 2014

I mostly work for Swiss Agencies. They fix the rates and have lowered them for certain clients. It's take it or leave it.

Rolf


 
neilmac
neilmac
Spain
Local time: 11:38
Spanish to English
+ ...
Spain is different Jul 11, 2014

Elizabeth Joy Pitt de Morales wrote:

... I have, however, managed to resist significant rate decreases, which I consider to be a real victory...

I plan to increase rates when the economy starts to move again...if I'm still alive by then.




Same here. I think the situation varies greatly from country to country. As long as I can keep earning a similar amount to my dentist/mechanic/plumber... etc, I can put up with it for now.


 


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Poll: Have you increased your rates over the years?






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