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Too many secrets (What if there are too many translation agencies?)
Thread poster: Mario Chavez (X)
Daniel Frisano
Daniel Frisano  Identity Verified
Italy
Local time: 13:19
Member (2008)
English to Italian
+ ...
Yup Dec 24, 2017

Maxi Schwarz wrote:

I don't discriminate among my clients: the fees are set according to the work, not according to who it is for. If any agency can resell my work to their end client at $0.34/word, power to them! I'm still getting paid my fees that I set myself, and that is what matters to me.


Well said. Any payment terms between the agency and their clients is none of my business. Money-wise, keeping both sides blind to each other is a great idea.


 
Mirko Mainardi
Mirko Mainardi  Identity Verified
Italy
Local time: 13:19
Member
English to Italian
No, it should not Dec 24, 2017

Maxi Schwarz wrote:

Mirko Mainardi wrote:

Just a couple examples based on publicly available data from 2 "paper pusher" "online translation services":

1) $.035(!) paid to translators, $.06 charged to end clients. That's a 71% markup.
2) $.054(!) paid to translators, $.084 charged to end clients. That's a 64% markup.


The "paid to translators" part should be changed to "charged by translators" since we are not employees, and we set our own fees.


No, it should not, since that's exactly how those "online translation services" operate. They set the buying rates (and some "traditional" agencies do that too, both here and elsewhere). Besides, you're preaching to the choir, Maxi. That's how it SHOULD be, and I agree, but that doesn't magically erase what ACTUALLY is, which also includes the above scenario, that BTW is consistent with the dynamics of a buyer's market.

The agency charging its end client $0.06 would be incurring quite a loss, since they have to pay me almost three times as much. The emphasis has to be on what YOU charge, not on what they think they can pay you as your customer.


Same as above. You don't have to convince me, as I do agree. But again, that's totally beside the point/topic. As I wrote in my previous post, I was just giving 'a couple examples based on publicly available data from 2 "paper pusher" "online translation services"' concerning the markup they apply just to "push paper", as this is what was being discussed in previous posts.

Turning this around. I have my fees, which I think are fair fees. I don't discriminate among my clients: the fees are set according to the work, not according to who it is for. If any agency can resell my work to their end client at $0.34/word, power to them! I'm still getting paid my fees that I set myself, and that is what matters to me.


Again, I believe this has very little to do with my post and deviates from the topic, but I have to disagree on one point: IMHO there SHOULD be a proportionality between the price paid to the "vendor" and the markup an agency applies on that price, based on the respective value both parties add to the final product sold to the end client.


 
Robert Forstag
Robert Forstag  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 08:19
Spanish to English
+ ...
The limitations of reframing Dec 24, 2017

I see no need to continue to reproduce the prior posts, but I did want to note that Mirko has made some excellent points here.

Translation agencies set their own “red lines,” which are determined by what they charge to end clients and the profits that they want to make. Any charge for services proposed by translators that cross those lines will be rejected.

More and more translation agencies are setting these red lines in places that result in fees that are impossi
... See more
I see no need to continue to reproduce the prior posts, but I did want to note that Mirko has made some excellent points here.

Translation agencies set their own “red lines,” which are determined by what they charge to end clients and the profits that they want to make. Any charge for services proposed by translators that cross those lines will be rejected.

More and more translation agencies are setting these red lines in places that result in fees that are impossible a lot of experienced translators in advanced countries to accept - and yet these agencies still manage to find translators (somewhere) who accept such fees.

I am all for translators “standing their ground” (i.e., stating their fees, and saying “take it or leave it”). But if a translator cannot find enough “takers,” he or she will soon be in big trouble.

And more and more translators find themselves in such a predicament.
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Jennifer Forbes
Jennifer Forbes  Identity Verified
Local time: 12:19
French to English
+ ...
In memoriam
What can be GOOD about agencies .... Dec 24, 2017

... and a point few seem to have considered in this thread is that agencies find work for translators presumably from their clientele of companies which frequently need translations, thus relieving translators from spending time and energy canvassing companies themselves.
That's why I personally am happy to work for agencies, provided, of course, that the agencies are honest, reliable and pleasant - which my agencies are, or I'd cease working with them.
What the agencies charge their
... See more
... and a point few seem to have considered in this thread is that agencies find work for translators presumably from their clientele of companies which frequently need translations, thus relieving translators from spending time and energy canvassing companies themselves.
That's why I personally am happy to work for agencies, provided, of course, that the agencies are honest, reliable and pleasant - which my agencies are, or I'd cease working with them.
What the agencies charge their clients does not much concern me, as long as they pay me the fee we have agreed on and pay it on the due date.
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Dan Lucas
Dan Lucas  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:19
Member (2014)
Japanese to English
As expected Dec 24, 2017

Robert Forstag wrote:
And more and more translators find themselves in such a predicament.

Robert, the vast bulk of the translation market (assuming for the sake of argument that there is one, monolithic market) will consist of relatively poorly paid work. Only the top 10% or so will involve highly paid work. This is as expected, surely? There is stratification in all relatively free markets...

Dan


 
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Too many secrets (What if there are too many translation agencies?)







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