| Pages in topic: < [1 2] | Rates: are they required or optional? Thread poster: Monika Coulson
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Monika Coulson 
Local time: 16:19
Member (2001)
English to Albanian
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TOPIC STARTER SITE LOCALIZER | This function, as it is now, does not work for me | May 30, 2002 |
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\"I\'m afraid we cannot have it both ways: trying to get rid of offers at excessively low prices, but still wanting to see them, just in case.\"
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I do not think hiding the problem would solve that problem, but that is another story.
My concern is that at times, I do offer low rates when Trados does 80-90% of my job and I do not want to miss these projects (by not offering low rates on ... See more [/quote]
\"I\'m afraid we cannot have it both ways: trying to get rid of offers at excessively low prices, but still wanting to see them, just in case.\"
[/quote]
I do not think hiding the problem would solve that problem, but that is another story.
My concern is that at times, I do offer low rates when Trados does 80-90% of my job and I do not want to miss these projects (by not offering low rates on my profile), but at the same time, I do not want to miss my normal rate projects either, because the computer calculates my maximum rates based on my minimum (trados rate in my case). That\'s it, and it is as simple as this.
Monika
[ This Message was edited by: on 2002-05-30 18:48 ] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Ralf Lemster
Germany
Local time: 00:19
English to German
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| ...I hear your point, Monika | May 30, 2002 |
Quote:
My concern is that at times, I do offer low rates when Trados does 80-90% of my job and I do not want to miss these projects (by not offering low rates on my profile), but at the same time, I do not want to miss my normal rate projects either, because the computer calculates my maximum rates based on my minimum (trados rate in my case). That\'s it, and it is as simple as this.
...which is why I ... See more Quote:
My concern is that at times, I do offer low rates when Trados does 80-90% of my job and I do not want to miss these projects (by not offering low rates on my profile), but at the same time, I do not want to miss my normal rate projects either, because the computer calculates my maximum rates based on my minimum (trados rate in my case). That\'s it, and it is as simple as this.
...which is why I closed my post by saying: \"Where I do see a problem is in fixing a maximum rate; whilst this might be interesting from a statistical perspective, I don\'t think the 250% range is necessarily correct, nor does a maximum level make sense in all scenarios.\" ▲ Collapse
| | | | Monika Coulson
Local time: 16:19
Member (2001)
English to Albanian
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER SITE LOCALIZER | Exactly Ralf | May 30, 2002 |
[quote]
On 2002-05-30 19:37, Lemster wrote:
Quote:
...which is why I closed my post by saying: \"Where I do see a problem is in fixing a maximum rate; whilst this might be interesting from a statistical perspective, I don\'t think the 250% range is necessarily correct, nor does a maximum level make sense in all scenarios.\"
This is the beginning and the end of my concern. I do not know how to resolve this, maybe by not putting a maximum rate at all??? This way people can choose their minimum rate (without worring so much that their minimum will effect the maximum rate) and control the flow of unwanted (low-paying) jobs.
Monika
| | | | | I don't think that's fair | May 30, 2002 |
Rates vary a lot according to the country. For example in Eastern European countries the rates are very low (you pay about 3 Euro for one page if you go to an agency), however I do not wish to work at the same rate for international jobs. If I work for local clients, I cannot ask for international rates and if I work for international clients I do not want to work for local rates. So displaying my rates (or even entering them) would limit my work: either working for the local market, where you h... See more Rates vary a lot according to the country. For example in Eastern European countries the rates are very low (you pay about 3 Euro for one page if you go to an agency), however I do not wish to work at the same rate for international jobs. If I work for local clients, I cannot ask for international rates and if I work for international clients I do not want to work for local rates. So displaying my rates (or even entering them) would limit my work: either working for the local market, where you have most chances of getting jobs, but at a lower rate, or working for the international market and expose yourself to all risks.
I think this measure is not meant to help ProZ users, on the contrary, it limits our work possibilities (and I see that there is no differentiation between normal and paying member here). I wonder if I should still send the check for Platinum, if I acn\'t bid on jobs anyway, because I don\'t want to enter my rates. ▲ Collapse
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LJC (X)
France
Local time: 00:19
French to English
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| You can't submit rates without maximum rates. | May 30, 2002 |
Monika,
I tried leaving the maximum rates boxes blank and it doesn’t work – it just keeps telling you to fill them in and you don\'t get anywhere.
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Quote:
On 2002-05-30 20:07, eli wrote:
If I work for local clients, I cannot ask for international rates and if I work for international clients I do not want to work for local rates. So displaying my rates (or even entering them) would limit my work: either working for the local market, (...)
or working for the international market (...)
Exactly.
| | | | Ralf Lemster
Germany
Local time: 00:19
English to German
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| The very reason for a discussion here... | May 31, 2002 |
...is that things are almost never set in stone. In fact, although it\'s possible to enter rates (and to have them displayed or not, according to preference), to my knowledge the next step (i.e. a filtering of job notifications based on rate levels) has not been implemented (Jason, please correct me if I\'m wrong).
Monika said:
Quote:
I do not know how to resolve this, maybe by not putting a maximum rate at all
... See more ...is that things are almost never set in stone. In fact, although it\'s possible to enter rates (and to have them displayed or not, according to preference), to my knowledge the next step (i.e. a filtering of job notifications based on rate levels) has not been implemented (Jason, please correct me if I\'m wrong).
Monika said:
Quote:
I do not know how to resolve this, maybe by not putting a maximum rate at all???
That\'s exactly what I would suggest.
Lesley said:
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I tried leaving the maximum rates boxes blank and it doesn’t work – it just keeps telling you to fill them in and you don\'t get anywhere.
Which reflects the current state of programming - but that doesn\'t mean it has to stay that way.
eli said:
Quote:
So displaying my rates (or even entering them) would limit my work: either working for the local market, where you have most chances of getting jobs, but at a lower rate, or working for the international market and expose yourself to all risks.
I don\'t see why you would limit yourself if you entered your lower \"local\" rate (given the \"spread\" applied for international jobs, you would obviously not display it).
What you would filter out is the 1-cent jobs that most people would like to see banned anyway...
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| | | | Ralf Lemster
Germany
Local time: 00:19
English to German
+ ...
| Quoting Jason... | May 31, 2002 |
Earlier in this thread, a post by Jason in another forum was quoted - however, it\'s important to read all of his comments, not just the help files (I have added **\'s to highlight the important bits):
Quote:
This has been fixed.
We now also have more targetted emails for jobs, so you may not receive all the job notifications you received in the past. **We\'ll be monitoring and improving the system
... See more Earlier in this thread, a post by Jason in another forum was quoted - however, it\'s important to read all of his comments, not just the help files (I have added **\'s to highlight the important bits):
Quote:
This has been fixed.
We now also have more targetted emails for jobs, so you may not receive all the job notifications you received in the past. **We\'ll be monitoring and improving the system for the next few days, at which point a formal announcement will be made, so it\'s best to hold off on discussions until then.**
In the meantime, you can enter your rates using the
Enter rates
link on your Profile page. Details on how this effects which job emails you receive can be found at this page (**again, subject to change, please hold off on specific discussions until the announcement**):
Hope that clarifies a few things. It certainly does not make this discussion redundant - but it does change the perspective. ▲ Collapse
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| The goal is to put upward pressure on rates | May 31, 2002 |
The new rates functionality came out of discussions here and on the moderator list regarding the need to prop up rates. We have examined many, many proposals, and we feel that this is the most likely to achieve the desired results.
To boost rates, we need to provide two types of incentives:
(1) We need to incent outsourcers to post jobs at reasonable rates.
When this system is fully implemented, a job posting will be sent only to ... See more The new rates functionality came out of discussions here and on the moderator list regarding the need to prop up rates. We have examined many, many proposals, and we feel that this is the most likely to achieve the desired results.
To boost rates, we need to provide two types of incentives:
(1) We need to incent outsourcers to post jobs at reasonable rates.
When this system is fully implemented, a job posting will be sent only to those who are willing to work at the rate specified by a job poster. We will even be able to tell the outsourcer, at the time of posting, how many people will be notified. Outsourcers wishing to post jobs at 0.00001 cents/word will be informed that their job will be seen by no one. At 2 cents/word, it will be seen by 4 people, and so on. This is a form of client education that we believe is sorely needed.
(2) We need to incent service providers to submit offers at reasonable rates.
It will not do us any good if a large number of members enter a range of $0.00/word to $100.00/wd. That is why we are limiting the range. By limiting the maximum rate to 2.5 times the minimum rate, we are providing an incentive to enter an honest range. Without this, the system will have no effect. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Monika Coulson
Local time: 16:19
Member (2001)
English to Albanian
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER SITE LOCALIZER
Dear Henry,
This is my concern:
Often I do offer low rates when Trados does 80-90% of my job and I do not want to miss these projects (by not offering low rates on my profile), so I want to enter this special low rate in my profile. By doing this, the computer calculates my maximum rates based on my minimum, and as a result, my maximum rate according to this calculation, is still very low comparing to my normal rate.
I am not again... See more Dear Henry,
This is my concern:
Often I do offer low rates when Trados does 80-90% of my job and I do not want to miss these projects (by not offering low rates on my profile), so I want to enter this special low rate in my profile. By doing this, the computer calculates my maximum rates based on my minimum, and as a result, my maximum rate according to this calculation, is still very low comparing to my normal rate.
I am not against the system. I do not want to get those projects that offer low rate, but I do give low rates on special assignements, when trados finds 90% matches (especially on update projects).
By removing the maximum level ProZ members will control the flow of unwanted (low-paying) jobs however they want. It is their loss if they decide to enter a minimum rate of $0.
Or maybe no one should even be given this choice of $0.00 or $0.00001 etc.
Monika
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| | | | Roomy Naqvy
India
Local time: 03:49
English to Hindi
+ ...
I think a 2.5 times is probably wrongly skewed towards colleagues from certain parts of the world. A better range is 3.00-3.50 times which could cover most subjects and clients.
| | | | Magda Dziadosz
Poland
Local time: 00:19
Member (2004)
English to Polish
+ ...
| Pricing policy - a question | Jun 2, 2002 |
Quote:
My concern is that at times, I do offer low rates when Trados does 80-90% of my job and I do not want to miss these projects (by not offering low rates on my profile), but at the same time, I do not want to miss my normal rate projects either,
As I see it this new function may help all of us to determine better pricing policies.
Here is something I do ... See more Quote:
My concern is that at times, I do offer low rates when Trados does 80-90% of my job and I do not want to miss these projects (by not offering low rates on my profile), but at the same time, I do not want to miss my normal rate projects either,
As I see it this new function may help all of us to determine better pricing policies.
Here is something I do not understand Monika, if Trados does 80-90% of your work, that means that you have built considerable expertise in the field, yet you are offering it at huge discount. What are then your \"normal rate projects\"? Those where your Trados memory is blank? Shouldn\'t it the pricing be opposite then?
Magda
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Life is becoming more expensive for all of us. Price are going up everywhere, except maybe in Japan, but those were already high to begin with. Lowering our rates is not logical.
I really don\'t see why computer programmers who write crappy programs in bad programming languages for barely functional operating systems would have to be paid more than a translator who actually has to understand what it\'s all about.
It really doesn\'t matter if one uses a g... See more Life is becoming more expensive for all of us. Price are going up everywhere, except maybe in Japan, but those were already high to begin with. Lowering our rates is not logical.
I really don\'t see why computer programmers who write crappy programs in bad programming languages for barely functional operating systems would have to be paid more than a translator who actually has to understand what it\'s all about.
It really doesn\'t matter if one uses a goose quill or the most sophisticated speech recognition (awful), CAT (horrible) or any other tools.
Even if Trados would translate my entire document (doubtful, I don\'t use it ^_^) without any intervention, I would still have to read the thing and compare it to the original to be sure the translation says what I want it to say. I would still have to use my expertise. I am not paid for typing a text. I am paid for translating it. How I do it, is my business.
A maximum rate of 2.5 times the minimum rate is quite a big spread, really. I charge a standard rate and that rate does not normally change. Except for very special circumstances (say, someone wants me to create a completely new translation into Dutch of the Parisiensa Nomina Anatomica), I see no reason whatsoever to change my rates. Difficult texts, easy texts. What does it matter? For my customer, it\'s just a text. For me, it involves my expertise. All of it. Always, at any time, for any text and any customer.
It would be a good idea to create the possibility to ask for a minimum invoice amount. Regardless of the length of a translation, three words or 147,258 words, an invoice has to be made. And that takes time.
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