What does translator mean on Upwork?

[Luce N]

This is great news! I'm recently noticed that more and more clients asking for translation are implying that they are aware of the existence of machine translation and that is exactly what they refuse to pay for.

How come they have finaly learnt that a machine translation is not worth paying for?

[Akia D]

Some, but not all, Clients really think freelancer is a slave. I faced a similar issue recently which I rejected. I don't get how other freelancers are bidding lower than this. I bet they are going to give them something worth than google translation...lol. The right client who acknowledge your skill will come. Don't be discouraged.

[Luce N]

I'm not discouraged, I do have clients that know the difference between human and machine translation. But sometimes, you come accross people who have the guts to tell me that they think my translation is very good, but they'll hire the person offering translation for $0.04, or less, even if they don't like the "quality" of their "translation". I just think "good luck to you!".

[Akia D]

I just faced the same thing. Do you know what he asked for? He asked me to judge 1000 websites as low, medium, and high only with 8.7$; He wanted it to be completed in one day. He wanted a research specialist, but this is what he offered. Have you ever seen a client who offers such a low amount?  Some are not are in their right mind.

[Luce N]

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Akia D wrote:

I just faced the same thing. Do you know what he asked for? He asked me to judge 1000 websites as low, medium, and high only with 8.7$; He wanted it to be completed in one day. He wanted a research specialist, but this is what he offered. Have you ever seen a client who offers such a low amount?  Some are not are in their right mind.

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Have you asked why he was offering $ 8.7 instead of $ 8.8, or even $ 9?

I agree with you, some of these mean "clients" really exagerate, but then some freelancers are so desperate that they offer to work for nothing at all, hoping that by some miracle this will end up making them earn millions of dollars.

[Akia D]

He was trying to cover the service fee. He offered 7 USD first. When I told him that Upwork will take 20%, he said 9.7; after a minute he texted me again saying, "I made a mistake, I mean 8.7." So funny...

Do you know what I did? I accepted the offer and judged 260 websites. I am going to refund his money right now, not because he asked, but to teach him a lesson. I did that so he can realize that he is asking me to work for free. I accepted with that in my mind. I am waiting for what he has got to say. I am curious. You might think I am crazy, but I am very satisfied with what I did.

[Luce N]

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Akia D wrote:

He was trying to cover the service fee. He offered 7 USD first. When I told him that Upwork will take 20%, he said 9.7; after a minute he texted me again saying, "I made a mistake, I mean 8.7." So funny...

Do you know what I did? I accepted the offer and judged 260 websites. I am going to refund his money right now, not because he asked, but to teach him a lesson. I did that so he can realize that he is asking me to work for free. I accepted with that in my mind. I am waiting for what he has got to say. I am curious. You might think I am crazy, but I am very satisfied with what I did.

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Ooops, beware, if you don't get any money from a contract it might hurt your JSS or whatever, check about it before refunding.

I love the fact that he calculated how much to pay you to cover the 20%. That's an excellent story. And the fact that he miscalculated makes it even better.

[Petra R]

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Akia D wrote:

Do you know what I did? I accepted the offer and judged 260 websites. I am going to refund his money right now, not because he asked, but to teach him a lesson.

You might think I am crazy, but I am very satisfied with what I did.

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You won't be so "satisfied with what you did" when you get your job success score...

Accepting a job with the sole purpose of "teaching the client a lesson" is always a very, VERY bad idea. It teaches the client absolutely nothing, makes you look foolish (why accept a contract that clearly isn't what you want) and affects your chances of getting future work. 

[Alexandra H]

Found today:

..."Could you confirm the 3 USD dollars per hour for this translation service as stated in your profile?"...

And you think USD 0.04/word is cheap?

[Luce N]

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Alexandra H wrote:

Found today:

..."Could you confirm the 3 USD dollars per hour for this translation service as stated in your profile?"...

And you think USD 0.04/word is cheap?

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You're right, I've been contacted for a huge translation job at $ 0.03 a word... I had to turn it down. Even if the total offered was between $300 and $400, I don't fancy spending a week translating for peanuts, I still have better things to do!