| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Poll: Are you planning to raise your rates in 2012? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Are you planning to raise your rates in 2012?".
This poll was originally submitted by Simon Cole. View the poll results »
| | | | | | Simon Bruni 
United Kingdom
Local time: 22:44
Member (2009)
Spanish to English
| Rate-raising is a continuous (albeit slow) process | Dec 2, 2011 |
Once I have enough clients at rate A I charge new clients rate B and once I have enough clients at rate B I charge new clients rate C and so on.
| | | | Interlangue (X)
Angola
Local time: 23:44
English to French
+ ...
I just did
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Simon Cole
United Kingdom
Local time: 22:44
Member (2008)
French to English
| Yes. And the others? | Dec 2, 2011 |
Simon Bruni wrote:
Once I have enough clients at rate A I charge new clients rate B and once I have enough clients at rate B I charge new clients rate C and so on.
And what do you do with previous rate A customers? Once rates B and C established, do you increase rate A customers?
Rates to most of my customers (all agencies) have not changed for 4-5 years (or since I started with them), so the time has come to raise them.
Good luck to all for 2012
| | | | Jenn Mercer
United States
Local time: 17:44
Member (2009)
French to English
| Do I have to quote Yoda? | Dec 2, 2011 |
It has become a cliché, but still...
Do or do not, there is no try!
And my answer was yes, but I am watching the currency markets and waiting to see if I pass the ATA exam before I decide by how much. I will keep my rates the same for my existing clients, although my Euro rates may have to go up . When I get to the point that I can sustain my business w/clients at the new rate, I will send a note to my o... See more It has become a cliché, but still...
Do or do not, there is no try!
And my answer was yes, but I am watching the currency markets and waiting to see if I pass the ATA exam before I decide by how much. I will keep my rates the same for my existing clients, although my Euro rates may have to go up. When I get to the point that I can sustain my business w/clients at the new rate, I will send a note to my old clients informing them of my new rates. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Simon Bruni
United Kingdom
Local time: 22:44
Member (2009)
Spanish to English
| Eventually, yes | Dec 2, 2011 |
Simon Cole wrote:
And what do you do with previous rate A customers? Once rates B and C established, do you increase rate A customers?
Good luck to all for 2012
On the whole, yes. Once you have enough customers at rate B to keep you busy, then it doesn't matter if you lose rate A customers as a result of raising their rates. In fact it kind of happens naturally because you are not going to accept work at rate A when you know you have plenty at rate B. Some are happy to pay the higher rate, some not so happy. Either way, you can't lose with this system. I reckon it's what a lot of translators do; in fact I picked up the idea from one of these forums, methinks.
I do have one client who I have more or less exempted from rate raises, but the circumstances are exceptional because they send me 30 to 50 thousand words every month without fail and the work is relatively "easy" because I am so used to it and there is a fair bit of repetition that my TM kicks up.
| | | | Conchi Otaola
Spain
Local time: 23:44
Member (2008)
English to Spanish
+ ...
| Definitely Yes | Dec 2, 2011 |
It is two years since I did not raise my rates. So it is time now.
I hope all my clients keep up working with me. If not, the time to to forget these clients and look for new ones would have come.
Good luck everyone!
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DianeGM
Local time: 00:44
Member (2006)
Dutch to English
+ ...
| Yes ... and no | Dec 2, 2011 |
I do increase my rates when there is the opportunity to do so, but that's mostly for infrequent but regular customers and new customers.
I'm interested to know if anyone just does that across the board, and if so, how?
| | | | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 23:44
Spanish to English
+ ...
I actually answered "I don't know" as I decided to stop planning ahead a while ago because of the current economic situation.
Basically I am happy with the clients, amount of work and remuneration I enjoy at the moment. For translation, I will probably just keep trundling along and maintain the status quo. However, I am considering raising my rate for proofing/revision services to the same as my basic translation rate, because:
- I often find revision work takes as long as... See more I actually answered "I don't know" as I decided to stop planning ahead a while ago because of the current economic situation.
Basically I am happy with the clients, amount of work and remuneration I enjoy at the moment. For translation, I will probably just keep trundling along and maintain the status quo. However, I am considering raising my rate for proofing/revision services to the same as my basic translation rate, because:
- I often find revision work takes as long as a translation, and usually enjoy it less;
- I am seeing more and more offers of this type of work.
- I don't wish to encourage practices that drive the established market rates down. ▲ Collapse
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Unless the current economic situation improves...
| | | | Mario Chavez (X)
Local time: 17:44
English to Spanish
+ ...
| No. Why, are you tracking us? | Dec 2, 2011 |
Sometimes I wonder about the reason behind these polls. What good would my answer do to the pollster anyway? Even if Mr. Cole and I worked in the same language pair and the exact same specializations, what good will it do?
There's useful information and there's just data occupying space in our heads. You be the judge.
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Steven Hanley (X)
United States
Local time: 17:44
Spanish to English
+ ...
| Tried once, but.... | Dec 2, 2011 |
...I found that I made less money. Probably because my rates are already at the top of the range for my language pairs. Fiddling with the rate structure, though, allowed me to double my income overnight.
I recently read that the Internet is the greatest deflationary tool ever invented, and it's probably true. So while my rates haven't risen that much since I started in this business nearly 20 years ago, I have many more clients, and thanks to proz & paypal and other online source... See more ...I found that I made less money. Probably because my rates are already at the top of the range for my language pairs. Fiddling with the rate structure, though, allowed me to double my income overnight.
I recently read that the Internet is the greatest deflationary tool ever invented, and it's probably true. So while my rates haven't risen that much since I started in this business nearly 20 years ago, I have many more clients, and thanks to proz & paypal and other online sources I can successfully do work for clients all over the world. When I began in 1993, to find new clients I had to go to the library and look up translation companies in the Yellow Pages.
While high rates may sound good, I'd rather be rate-competitive and offer good value for money - that's the key to making a better salary, not just raise my prices. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Michael Harris
Germany
Local time: 23:44
Member (2006)
German to English
not really as I would prefer to have "normal" rates and get paid in time or within a short period.
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Nope, it will be good enough to keep the present rates, although they're rather average, almost every new client was asking me to lower them further
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