| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Poll: I have partially or completely raised my rates over the last 2 - 3 years. Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "I have partially or completely raised my rates over the last 2 - 3 years.".
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My rates have been about the same for the last 4 years.
| | | | Kay Denney 
France
Local time: 07:26
French to English
I haven't raised my rates, but I am earning more, simply because I have more work from direct clients than from agencies nowadays. I'm having to refuse agency work because direct clients are keeping me very busy.
And I have resisted all efforts to reduce my rates too.
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I no longer have one rate across the board, I have various rates for different clients. I haven’t touched the rates I apply to my long-standing customers since 2016 when I last raised them but I've been applying either a higher rate or a per project rate to my new clients.
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| Higher Rates | Jun 13, 2022 |
I charge more since July 2016, which is when I was awarded my Master's degree in Creative Writing and Literary Translation. Also because the cost of just about everything goes up periodically, and now on what is truly a daily basis, due to the economic agenda of the current administration in the White House.
| | | | Dan Lucas
United Kingdom
Local time: 06:26
Member (2014)
Japanese to English
| Small organic increase | Jun 13, 2022 |
One large client sends me less work than they did three years ago. Others, most of whom I charge slightly more because they are newer, send me more work. Net result is a slight increase in the average rate.
Dan
| | | | Thomas Pfann
United Kingdom
Local time: 06:26
Member (2006)
English to German
+ ...
Teresa Borges wrote:
I no longer have one rate across the board, I have various rates for different clients. I haven’t touched the rates I apply to my long-standing customers since 2016 when I last raised them but I've been applying either a higher rate or a per project rate to my new clients.
This is pretty much true for me, so I answered the poll with "True" – I have partially or completely raised my rates over the last 2-3 years.
| | | | Baran Keki
Türkiye
Local time: 08:26
Member
English to Turkish
| A much more interesting poll question | Jun 13, 2022 |
would be 'how do you go about raising your rates with agencies" (seeing as 90 to 95% of colleagues here are working with translation agencies as opposed to direct clients)?
In my experience the only way of doing that is what Dan does -ditching the lesser paying ones (meaning the ones with whom, for whatever reason, you'd negotiated lower rates) and getting new ones with whom you've negotiated higher rates. But I'd be very interested to hear other strategies, if any (other than the obvious... See more would be 'how do you go about raising your rates with agencies" (seeing as 90 to 95% of colleagues here are working with translation agencies as opposed to direct clients)?
In my experience the only way of doing that is what Dan does -ditching the lesser paying ones (meaning the ones with whom, for whatever reason, you'd negotiated lower rates) and getting new ones with whom you've negotiated higher rates. But I'd be very interested to hear other strategies, if any (other than the obvious one, which is telling the agency that you've increased your rates..) ▲ Collapse
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Barbara Carrara
Italy
Local time: 07:26
Member (2008)
English to Italian
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I agree with Baran's 'more interesting poll' suggestion. And no, I have no strategies to share. Sorry.
Back to the question at hand, though, why the 'true/false' options, as if this were a test of sorts, and those who answered it correctly, with a majority of either option, received some useless accolade. Or nothing at all, for that matter.
| | | | | As easy as ABC | Jun 13, 2022 |
Baran Keki wrote:
In my experience the only way of doing that is what Dan does -ditching the lesser paying ones (meaning the ones with whom, for whatever reason, you'd negotiated lower rates) and getting new ones with whom you've negotiated higher rates. But I'd be very interested to hear other strategies, if any (other than the obvious one, which is telling the agency that you've increased your rates..)
Why would you need a strategy other than the obvious one?
I have raised my rates by 10% this year. (I forgot last year, hence a bigger leap than usual.)
For the two agencies who might have objected, I mentioned inflation. Simples.
| | | | Dan Lucas
United Kingdom
Local time: 06:26
Member (2014)
Japanese to English
| Cultural factors | Jun 13, 2022 |
Following up Baran's comment, I suspect that in some cases there are cultural issues at play. Long-term relationships in Japanese business incorporate the expectation that price increases by suppliers are only proposed as a last resort. The quid pro quo is that customers are loyal to suppliers and direct consistent orders to them.
I am certain that if I emailed my main clients and told them I was unilaterally raising prices by 10% they would object, but eventually accept it. ... See more Following up Baran's comment, I suspect that in some cases there are cultural issues at play. Long-term relationships in Japanese business incorporate the expectation that price increases by suppliers are only proposed as a last resort. The quid pro quo is that customers are loyal to suppliers and direct consistent orders to them.
I am certain that if I emailed my main clients and told them I was unilaterally raising prices by 10% they would object, but eventually accept it. These are private-sector agencies who deal with some of the largest companies in Japan, and they themselves are under pressure from their own clients. If they are not competitive they will wither and eventually die, and managing input costs (such as the fees they pay freelancers) is a big part of that.
So, while they would probably accept a price increase if I insisted, I am also sure that they would not forget my actions, and that their response would be multi-pronged. First, they would prioritize other suppliers whenever feasible, for every job. Remember those stable orders I just mentioned? Well, they're predicated on the supplier being perceived to have kept their side of the bargain in long-term relationships.
Second, they would no longer assign me the plum jobs that come up every few weeks, which are in part a tacit "thank you" for being available and helpful. Third, they would seize any future opportunity to ask me to cut prices. "You said inflation was affecting your cost of living. That was when sterling was at 165 to the yen. Now the pound is at 145. For every 10,000 yen we pay you, you're now getting 69 pounds instead of 61 pounds. So given that your income has improved by more than 10%, you should cut your prices to reflect that." And so on. That's potentially a real can of worms.
Of course, if I were a translator of such sublime competence that no client could afford not to work with me, things might be different. I tell you now, I am not such a translator. I am hardworking and competent, but that alone doesn't give me carte blanche to - from the client's perspective - ride rough-shod over standard industry practice.
So personally I am very cautious with regard to pricing. It's not something to be taken lightly in this cultural context. It may be very different in other pairs and other areas of specialisation, or those who deal with direct clients. I would strongly suggest a softly-softly approach unless you're very sure of your ground!
Dan ▲ Collapse
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I don't raise my rates, that would most likely end any work going my way (already happened twice). Instead of raising my rates, I find new clients willing to agree for a fairer rate. All in all, it's still a way to raise rates, but not quite exactly.
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Baran Keki
Türkiye
Local time: 08:26
Member
English to Turkish
| I had the same experience | Jun 14, 2022 |
Jocelin Meunier wrote:
that would most likely end any work going my way (already happened twice). Instead of raising my rates, I find new clients willing to agree for a fairer rate. All in all, it's still a way to raise rates, but not quite exactly.
I tried raising my rates both with the 'big nasties' and the boutique type LSPs, and the result has invariably been the same: I've never heard from them again (as in the good old Turkish saying: "don't ask me for money or you'll get the cold shoulder")
I don't care if the agencies that were already sending me jobs once in a blue moon decide to part ways with me on account of my 'high rates', but I'd hate to (and more to the point, I can't afford to) lose those sending me work regularly and where I seem to enjoy the position of 'go-to translator'.
I don't know, they may agree to raise my pw rate by a cent or two and send me work as regularly as before, or they may not. It just seems like too big of a gamble for me to take at this point. I could perhaps live more dangerously if I had at least two more regular clients..
| | | | Lieven Malaise
Belgium
Local time: 07:26
Member (2020)
French to Dutch
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I have raised my rates several times in the past, but always in prosperous economic times. Given the succession of crises in the world, I have no plans in the short or even medium term to raise my rates, but neither do I have any plans to lower them (this also has some advantages: I do not have the slightest difficulty in defending my rates towards clients who would like a lower rate. No tiresome negotiations or discussions: take it or leave it). I have been lucky enough to have a constant workf... See more I have raised my rates several times in the past, but always in prosperous economic times. Given the succession of crises in the world, I have no plans in the short or even medium term to raise my rates, but neither do I have any plans to lower them (this also has some advantages: I do not have the slightest difficulty in defending my rates towards clients who would like a lower rate. No tiresome negotiations or discussions: take it or leave it). I have been lucky enough to have a constant workflow for years (I am essentially never without work) and that is worth much more to me than a higher rate but a lower workflow. It provides less uncertainty and more predictability.
[Edited at 2022-06-14 07:53 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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Dan Lucas wrote:
Long-term relationships in Japanese business incorporate the expectation that price increases by suppliers are only proposed as a last resort.
So in Japan nobody ever gets a pay rise, and they're happy for you to earn less and less in real terms every year as your skills grow? That seems bizarre. And unlikely.
There's always a risk of a customer finding someone else who is cheaper even if you don't raise your prices. But the way I look at it is they're only going to look for someone else if you disappoint them. And any translator who is as good as me, but doesn't charge as much as me, won't have any spare capacity anyway.
Does anybody really believe agencies don't raise their prices regularly?
Would you really rather do 10k words a week at 10 cents rather than 8k (or even 4k) at 20 cents and get to enjoy life more?
I know we all have different realities, but have you ever really tried standing up for yourselves? Am I really such an outlier?
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