translation fees

[Richard Robin]

Dear Seelangers,

I find the cloak-and-dagger bit surrounding translation costs a bit
mystifying. The most cursory Google search (Russian + translation + price)
turned up dozens of pages for English-Russian/Russian-English translators
with price lists. I followed usable links on the first two pages. I suppose
that someone will scream if I actually repeat the openly advertised pricing
that I saw. After all, translation terrorists may be monitoring the list.
You can do the Google search yourself.

However, this discussion does bring a few absurd questions to mind.

· Do translators who advertise their prices, thus revealing them to
competitors, violate FTC rules? (Obviously, the FTC has no pull over .ru
sites - or even the one .uk site I saw.)
· Is a public discussion on fees by non-translators in the spirit of "Here
are the kinds fees I have heard bandied about:" an FTC violation?
· Given the easy globalization that the Internet makes possible (most of the
sites I found are either based abroad or have links to Russian translation
mills), is a SEELANGS discussion of fees vs. issues of quality (especially
concerning translation into English) not warranted? Would that also be a
violation of FTC rules?
· Our department has on its website a list of tutors with a non-endorsement
disclaimer. We tell potential clients that tutoring rates in the local area
run between $x and $y (Would it be an FTC violation for me to quote the
actual figures?) per hour depending on lots of factors. Is our website
engaged in price fixing? If so, then are Click and Clack of Car Talk (who
actually run a car repair shop) in violation when they tell their radio
audience "A repair like that should run you about $x?
· I subscribe to a local neighborhood e-list. ("How much should I expect to
pay to have my house re-refoofed?", etc.) Are the list members violating FTC
rules by repeating on the list rates that they have been charged? Would a
repair person living in the neighborhood face a summons if he or she
responded, "A job like that runs $x"?

I realize that many translators subscribe to SEELANGS, which makes it very
different from a neighborhood e-list. But as a non-translator (as I suspect
most SEELANGers are), I find the topic of fees for an activity so easily
subject to the winds of globalization a fascinating one. I find it hard to
believe that the FTC would consider such a discussion price fixing. Of
course, the ATA couldn't possibly be to joyful about the implications of
such a discussion - not because of fears about fixing prices, but because of
the potential for falling prices.

Rich Robin

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Use your web browser to search the archives, control your subscription
  options, and more.  Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web Interface at:
                  http://home.attbi.com/~lists/seelangs/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------