| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Poll: How often do you raise your rate for a regular client/agency? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "How often do you raise your rate for a regular client/agency?".
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| | | | neilmac
Spain
Local time: 15:50
Spanish to English
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It depends. I rarely work with agencies, and the couple I do work with usually ask my rate for the job, and accept it. As for my direct clients, it will depend on individual circumstances, as well as the overall economic situation.
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I used to raise my rates almost every year, but I no longer do that (the worldwide economic situation and now the pandemic do not advise it). For my "regulars" (direct clients and agencies) my rates were raised 4/5 years ago and I intend to continue to serve my existing client base at current prices. For new clients I prefer quoting on a per-project basis rather than a per-word basis.
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Most of my clients set the rates. I'm not complaining. With the pandemic and all that we're going through, I wouldn't even think of raising my rates.
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| Right the opposite | Aug 18, 2021 |
Sad to say, these days agencies and other clients periodically reduce translation service rates
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Every year. Consumer prices don’t stand still.
| | | | | Have Raised Rates Because Of Massive Inflation | Aug 18, 2021 |
We are experiencing hyper- and shrink-flation here in the US, so I have raised my rates accordingly. In any event, I will still give loyal clients who have given me very large volumes of work a bit of a break, anyway.
| | | | John Fossey 
Canada
Local time: 09:50
Member (2008)
French to English
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I find raising rates a tricky subject. Sometimes it loses a client, because they are working in a certain price range and raising my rate puts me out of their bracket. I have better luck raising rates that are set in a platform such as XTRF, Plunet, etc. However, I may get less work from those clients after raising my rate.
My rates cover quite a wide range, though, depending on the client. Most are slightly above the Proz.com community rate, some a bit below (they tend to fill in d... See more I find raising rates a tricky subject. Sometimes it loses a client, because they are working in a certain price range and raising my rate puts me out of their bracket. I have better luck raising rates that are set in a platform such as XTRF, Plunet, etc. However, I may get less work from those clients after raising my rate.
My rates cover quite a wide range, though, depending on the client. Most are slightly above the Proz.com community rate, some a bit below (they tend to fill in dry times), and a few direct clients pay nearly double the Proz.com community rate. My goal has been to maintain a reasonably high average rate, without getting too hung up on the rates for particular clients.
I find it easier to apply a higher rate to new clients than to raise the rate for existing clients. ▲ Collapse
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LIZ LI
China
Local time: 21:50
French to Chinese
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I just notified one of my client (my favorate one) about raising 10% of my rate which was set 5~6 years ago.
I showed the PM my rate list (with different LSPs), and told him that their company would still be my priority if raising 10%, as even with such raise they're still among the lowest on my list.
I did the calculation before I proposed to update my rate with them:
- This agency provided me 40%~50% of my total workload about 5-6 years ago, and gradually dropped to 1/... See more I just notified one of my client (my favorate one) about raising 10% of my rate which was set 5~6 years ago.
I showed the PM my rate list (with different LSPs), and told him that their company would still be my priority if raising 10%, as even with such raise they're still among the lowest on my list.
I did the calculation before I proposed to update my rate with them:
- This agency provided me 40%~50% of my total workload about 5-6 years ago, and gradually dropped to 1/3 after 1~2 years since I started to work on getting new clientele, then around 10%~ 15% nowadays.
- If they agree on it, I'll keep working with them, as always, and as I said, they're my favorate local LSP.
- If they stop sending me job, then, I'll be fine with more leisure time, and will look for e-learning opportunies in medic or legal. And that will turn into the investments into my future diversification.
I'll have to wait to see how it works out. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Mario Freitas
Brazil
Local time: 10:50
Member (2014)
English to Portuguese
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| Never in 30 years | Aug 19, 2021 |
In 30 years, I had very rare occasions when I was able to raise my rates with any client. What I have experienced all along is clients that stop sending me jobs when I mention any raises. So the solution for me, living in Brazil, was to work with an 85% share of clients in the northern hemisphere, and have only 15% temporary clients locally, which I have to change regularly because they simply will not raise their rates, even though the inflation here is around 10% per year. Old clients have loo... See more In 30 years, I had very rare occasions when I was able to raise my rates with any client. What I have experienced all along is clients that stop sending me jobs when I mention any raises. So the solution for me, living in Brazil, was to work with an 85% share of clients in the northern hemisphere, and have only 15% temporary clients locally, which I have to change regularly because they simply will not raise their rates, even though the inflation here is around 10% per year. Old clients have looked for me regularly, offering the same rates we practiced 5 or 10 years ago, after an inflation of 50% to 100% meanwhile. It's impracticable.
Other than that, I have raised my rates regularly for new clients. So I currently have old clients paying me lower rates, and new clients paying a higher rate. But if I ask the old clients to readjust the rates, I'll likely lose them.
[Edited at 2021-08-19 03:12 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:50
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Mario Freitas wrote:
In 30 years, I had very rare occasions when I was able to raise my rates with any client. What I have experienced all along is clients that stop sending me jobs when I mention any raises. So the solution for me, living in Brazil, was to work with an 85% share of clients in the northern hemisphere, and have only 15% temporary clients locally, which I have to change regularly because they simply will not raise their rates, even though the inflation here is around 10% per year. Old clients have looked for me regularly, offering the same rates we practiced 5 or 10 years ago, after an inflation of 50% to 100% meanwhile. It's impracticable.
Other than that, I have raised my rates regularly for new clients. So I currently have old clients paying me lower rates, and new clients paying a higher rate. But if I ask the old clients to readjust the rates, I'll likely lose them.
[Edited at 2021-08-19 03:12 GMT]
I'm in a similar situation. 10 years ago I used to work with an agency in Milan who sent me a lot of work, but despite the fact that I have never increased my rate to them, over the past 3-4 years they have been sending me less and less work until now it's nothing at all: maybe one tiny job per month, at best. The reason: they have been gradually reducing the amount they pay their translators and they can find people who are cheaper than me - whilst maintaining or even increasing their own profit margins.
Another long-time client in Rome has tried to persuade me to reduce my rate, and I have refused. This led to a long period during which they stopped sending me work; but now they've started again - sending me quite a lot of work at the rate I want.
So the lesson seems to be: NEVER REDUCE YOUR RATES. If people know and respect the work you do, they'll be back. If you reduce your rate they won't respect you. They'll think you're (I can only say it in Italian) un fesso/un coglione.
If necessary, lose some clients. If you're a good translator with an efficient, professional attitude, you'll still get plenty of work from other clients - at the rate you think you deserve.
[Edited at 2021-08-19 08:14 GMT]
| | | | Baran Keki
Türkiye
Local time: 16:50
Member
English to Turkish
| Translators, not translation agencies | Aug 19, 2021 |
Tom in London wrote:
The reason: they have been gradually reducing the amount they pay their translators and they can find people who are cheaper than me - whilst maintaining or even increasing their own profit margins.
Unfortunately in language pairs similar to mine (i.e. EN-RUS, EN-SPA etc.) it's the translators who reduce their rates to undercut each other. Translation agencies are simply giving them what they 'want'.
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Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:50
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Baran Keki wrote: Tom in London wrote:
The reason: they have been gradually reducing the amount they pay their translators and they can find people who are cheaper than me - whilst maintaining or even increasing their own profit margins. Unfortunately in language pairs similar to mine (i.e. EN-RUS, EN-SPA etc.) it's the translators who reduce their rates to undercut each other. Translation agencies are simply giving them what they 'want'.
I agree. The problem is not clients who pay less and less; it's translators who accept to work for less and less. Many of whom will be reading this.
[Edited at 2021-08-19 10:39 GMT]
| | | | Kevin Fulton
United States
Local time: 09:50
German to English
| Hyperinflation, really? | Aug 19, 2021 |
Barbara Cochran, MFA wrote:
We are experiencing hyper- and shrink-flation here in the US, so I have raised my rates accordingly. In any event, I will still give loyal clients who have given me very large volumes of work a bit of a break, anyway.
I haven't seen people pushing wheelbarrows full of cash to the grocery store. Compared to parts of Latin America, the situation is relatively tame – in Brazil, for example, the official rate as of July 31 was 8.99%. The US inflation rate as of the end of July 2021 was 5.4%. In 1978 the rate was 7.59%. Neither rate reflects a hyperinflationary economy.
| | | | | Long Lines For Food Boxes | Aug 19, 2021 |
Kevin Fulton wrote:
I haven't seen people pushing wheelbarrows full of cash to the grocery store.
Oh, but there are plenty of people here in the US who have been lining up in their cars to get boxes of free food at churches and other predetermined locations, or going to schools to pick up free breakfasts and lunches, whenever they can, because of the hyper-inflated prices at the grocery stores.
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