Raise your rate for MTPE by 30% Thread poster: Samuel Murray
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Samuel Murray 
Netherlands
Local time: 19:33
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
Hello everyone
More and more clients are now applying a 30% discount on MTPE segments during an otherwise normal translation. Often, the MTPE discount is automatically applied to any segment that doesn't have a fuzzy match. At other times, clients simply designate random segments to be MTPE segments, and expect the translator to take a 30% hit on those segments.
So, I'm thinking that I'll have to either accept that starting from this year, all of my work pays 30% less... See more Hello everyone
More and more clients are now applying a 30% discount on MTPE segments during an otherwise normal translation. Often, the MTPE discount is automatically applied to any segment that doesn't have a fuzzy match. At other times, clients simply designate random segments to be MTPE segments, and expect the translator to take a 30% hit on those segments.
So, I'm thinking that I'll have to either accept that starting from this year, all of my work pays 30% less, or I have to change my pricing structure: my usual rate for standard segments, and my usual rate plus 30% for MTPE segments (so that, when the 30% discount is applied, I get paid my usual rate for those segments).
E.g. 6c per word for new and fuzzy segments and 9c per word for MTPE segments. Or 9c per word for new and fuzzy segments and 11c per word for MTPE segments.
It remains to be seen how my agency clients respond to this novel pricing structure.
Samuel ▲ Collapse
| | | | Lingua 5B
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 19:33
Member (2009)
English to Croatian
+ ...
I’m sure they’ll be impressed.
I don’t have to worry about pricing MTPE segments, as I don’t provide this service.
| | | | Zea_Mays
Italy
Local time: 19:33
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
Samuel Murray wrote:
More and more clients are now applying a 30% discount on MTPE segments during an otherwise normal translation. Often, the MTPE discount is automatically applied to any segment that doesn't have a fuzzy match. At other times, clients simply designate random segments to be MTPE segments, and expect the translator to take a 30% hit on those segments.
MTPE can only be where there is MT output. So are these strings machine translated? And what is the quality of that output?
In any case, just remind them of ISO 18587 and ask them if they have the appropriate certification.
Another question would be what kind of client this is.
| | | | | I'd start looking for new clients now... | Jun 18 |
Samuel Murray wrote:
More and more clients are now applying a 30% discount on MTPE segments during an otherwise normal translation. Often, the MTPE discount is automatically applied to any segment that doesn't have a fuzzy match. At other times, clients simply designate random segments to be MTPE segments, and expect the translator to take a 30% hit on those segments.
So, I'm thinking that I'll have to either accept that starting from this year, all of my work pays 30% less, or I have to change my pricing structure: my usual rate for standard segments, and my usual rate plus 30% for MTPE segments (so that, when the 30% discount is applied, I get paid my usual rate for those segments).
E.g. 6c per word for new and fuzzy segments and 9c per word for MTPE segments. Or 9c per word for new and fuzzy segments and 11c per word for MTPE segments.
It remains to be seen how my agency clients respond to this novel pricing structure.
Badly, I imagine. That kind of agency wants to save money, end of, and doesn't respond well to a "request" for a rate increase of any kind. The only leverage you have is if you are their only reliable "resource", as I was until recently for a certain global behemoth. Then they started doing exactly what you describe, so I simply stopped working with them.
It's no big loss. They only provided filler and I always hated the catty river-spanning ******** anyway.
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Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 19:33
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Zea_Mays wrote:
MTPE can only be where there is MT output. So are these strings machine translated? And what is the quality of that output?
Curiously, this is what one client also asked me: what is the quality of the MT output provided by the client? I guess the attitude is that if the MT quality is good, then the translator should be happy to give 30%.
I've never seen a client-supplied MT that is better than Google Translate. Clients' MT output are usually not too bad, but I still don't think I should take a 30% hit just because the client had enabled MT and set the CAT tool to either pre-populate with MT or to provide MT translations in the fuzzy match window.
| | | | Zea_Mays
Italy
Local time: 19:33
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
| maths (with a 30% increase, you would lose money) | Jun 18 |
If your standard rate is 0.12 ($/€ or whatever) per word, and your client pays you 30% less for MTPE, you'll get: 0.12 - 0.036 = 0.084
If you raise your standard rate by 30%, you'll get: 0.12 + 0.036 = 0.156
Now, in this "30% MTPE discount scheme", your client would then pay 70% of the latter, meaning 0.1092 (0.11 rounded).
So you'll have to raise your standard rate by more than 30% - rather 42-43%, meaning a rate of around 0.17 per word.
| | | | Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 19:33
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
I prefer to keep my rates round numbers (i.e. client-friendly), and not add several digits after a decimal point. So what if I lose 10% on the deal. At least I'm not losing 30%.
| | | | Zea_Mays
Italy
Local time: 19:33
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
| I am not willing to lose even 10% | Jun 18 |
So let's do calculations right.
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Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 19:33
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Zea_Mays wrote:
I am not willing to lose even 10%
So let's do calculations right.
I'm not ideological about precise mathematics.
| | | | Zea_Mays
Italy
Local time: 19:33
Member (2009)
English to German
+ ...
| not only for better impression | Jun 18 |
Samuel Murray wrote: Zea_Mays wrote:
I am not willing to lose even 10%
So let's do calculations right. I'm not ideological about precise mathematics.
When you have to choose between 11,000 and 12,000 bucks, you will.
| | | | Daryo
United Kingdom
Local time: 18:33
Serbian to English
+ ...
Samuel Murray wrote: Zea_Mays wrote:
I am not willing to lose even 10%
So let's do calculations right. I'm not ideological about precise mathematics.
Up until now I was under the impression that if there is any science that can never be "ideological" in any way that would be maths.
But here I stand corrected.
Just in case you can overcome your "ideological reticence" to accurate maths here are some FACTS:
If a price has been lowered by 30% (from 100 to 70), in order to get back to the initial price the new lower price has to increased by 30/70*100= 42.86%, or 43% if you prefer a rounded figure.
Sure, anyone could be "ideological" about maths (never be worried about doing calculations right) - or about red and green light while crossing a road ... Does it really matter?
As for "Raise your rate for MTPE by 30%" I have my own solution: stay out of MTPE. At the limit, there are plenty more other interesting professions where knowing 2 or more languages is a huge bonus.
| | | | Baran Keki
Türkiye
Local time: 20:33
Member
English to Turkish
You seem to be in the freelance translation business for decades. You must have registered with hundreds, if not thousands, of translation agencies in the world. Do you have this much competition in Afrikaans or is it that lowly paid that you have to consider doing MTPE?
I always thought MTPE was the newcomer's game.
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