Jitka Trnková | Saturday, 31 October 2015
“The translation seems expensive, how do I negotiate with the agency about the price for the translation?”
You should know the price of the translation prior to ordering it. If you don’t, then we certainly do not recommended ordering a translation from such an agency because it may mean you end up paying a much higher price than you would have expected.
If, however, you do get into such a situation, a professional translation agency should explain exactly what the price includes and why it is set at this amount. Over the years that we have been active in the business we meet with more and more clients whose first reaction to our offer is that we are expensive. What does expensive actually mean? It is a relative concept. For some a T-shirt for CZK 2,000 is expensive, for others a T-shirt for CZK 200. We tell our clients that we are as expensive as the quality of our translations. And because we too are people, then the price can always be negotiated. If a client enquires about an extensive translation, then they automatically get a discount. In more than 80 % of the cases we don’t charge our long-standing clients a surcharge for express translations, if the situation does not require it. Don’t be afraid to ask a translation agency for a discount if you have a good reason. A translation agency, where everything is running as it should, will take up your query. Most translation agencies, however, won’t get back to you. Even this response to such an inquiry should be an impulse for you to ponder whether you have chosen the right translation agency for long-term cooperation.
We don’t sell discounts, we sell translations. We always try to find a common solution with the client, to the satisfaction of both parties.