Nothing New under the Sun
What's the use, anyway? I'm just getting all worked up, foaming at the mouth, and nothing changes.
So, what's been going on in the meantime?
Nothing really new.
The translation jobs I'm getting are getting worse, the quantity of Chingrish is on the rise... :)
And the rates I'm offered are getting lower and lower.
Just recently I've been trying to expand my business locally, and approached a well-known large-scale importer and wholesaler of IT equipment, offering my translation and prepress (DTP) services.
Like all the importers, they are legally bound to provide translated user manuals for everything they import and sell.
Initial contacts were promising, I sent samples of my work, they liked it.
However, when initial contacts and presentations were done and we moved to prices, I was in for the shock of my life!
They calmly told me that they are currently paying about $7 per page for translation AND DTP (?!)
FYI, the usual going rate for typists is about $1 per page - that's just for typing a page of text :)
And the absolutely cheapest DTP per page that I managed to find locally is about $5...
That leaves us with what - about $3-$4 per page (approx. 250 words) of translation, at best?
Oh, yes, and they openly admitted that they do not pay through the usual channels and in the usual (legal) way (invoice plus VAT), but they only pay through student service contracts - meaning I'd have to find someone who has a status of a student, so that payment could be made that way. It's blatantly illegal practice (tax evasion), but it was take it or leave it proposition.
Of course, I did not take the offer - it's about 20% of my lowest possible rate, and, besides, I don't have the slightest intention of operating illegally...
However, it seems that's the usual practice around here :(
To be honest, the stuff they get for those prices just proves that you get what you pay for ;)
Labels: translation business
posted by Freelancer at
12:11 PM
1 Comments:
The company's bottom line must be that they don't see a real correlation between poorly translated user manuals and sales.
Maybe they never will.
As globalization increases, the need for language services has increased, which would normally raise prices, but the glut of low-paid and unqualified translators and the increasing acceptance of machine translation by those who don't care much about the output seem to have outpaced the demand.
So good translators are in the position of doing constant client education. This is usually easiest with clients that have already paid too little elsewhere and learned their lesson.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home