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Hiring on Odesk: Fixed price or Hourly?

by wabbit
12 replies
Hi,

About to post my first job on Odesk (looking for an English/Spanish translator) and want to know what would be an acceptable price for translating a 3,000 word ebook? How long would that take for an experienced translator and should I choose a fixed price or hourly rate?

Thanks,
wabbit
#fixed #hiring #hourly #odesk #price
  • Profile picture of the author dvduval
    I think you will get quite a few bids either way. Fixed price will insure the price. If you don't plan to hire the person for additional work, that is probably a good way to go.
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  • Profile picture of the author Cataclysm1987
    Fixed price.

    Hourly doesn't incentivize the person to get the work done fast enough. It just incentivizes them to WORK.

    That is never good enough.
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  • Profile picture of the author JOSourcing
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    Wabbit, with fixed-fee projects, oDesk doesn't offer a money-back guarantee, nor does it protect your money with escrowing. Something to think about.
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  • Profile picture of the author SergeLight
    Go with fixed price. That way you won't get any surprises. Make sure you test the worker. Don't just hire anybody. Make sure he/she is up for the job and has good reviews.
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  • Profile picture of the author Garish Wasil
    Go for fixed price.
    I hired a coder lately on hourly basis and he just did nothing and charged me for $50 for 2 hours and flew away. [I reported that to odesk, but with no reply yet.]

    So Be careful and choose wisely
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    • Profile picture of the author curly sue
      As a contractor I prefer hourly pay cause thats guaranteed money. But as an employer fixed price is cheaper and you can refuse to pay if the work is not right (contractor's nightmare)
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  • Profile picture of the author Bruce NewMedia
    Even though there are some disadvantages, I'd still go with offering a fixed price. And you need to see good reviews, before selecting someone.
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    • Profile picture of the author robyna
      I used to work on elance and I much preferred to be hired at a fixed price. Now mind you have a strong work ethic, but I liked knowing exactly what I was getting when the project started I was motivated to work fast. My clients were always happy with my turnaround time. I heard horror stories about other workers who dragged things out. I can certainly see that happening on an hourly job...what's to motivate them to work fast? They earn more if they work slow.

      So, yes, I think you'll be much happier with your worker if you go with a fixed rate.

      Interview them first so you get a feel for the type of worker you will be getting. It's your project and you have the right to know who you will be working with. Look over their feedback carefully. Take to heart any negative feedback. One or two bad feedbacks in a slew of positives might be nothing because there are some bad clients. I had an awful one once. Don't hire someone with no feedback or virtually no feedback.

      Good luck!
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  • Profile picture of the author wabbit
    Thanks everyone, seems like fixed price is the way to go... Does anyone have an idea on what would be a fair price for an English/Spanish translation of 3,000 words?
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    • Profile picture of the author robyna
      Originally Posted by wabbit View Post

      Thanks everyone, seems like fixed price is the way to go... Does anyone have an idea on what would be a fair price for an English/Spanish translation of 3,000 words?
      Can you do a search for similar projects? I've never used Odesk but Elance used to allow that. They've disabled that feature now I think. But if you could get an idea what others are paying that would help you.

      Or, just wait for the bids to come in and see what they are and see what the ones you like the most are bidding and see if they're in your price range. I wouldn't think English to Spanish would be too high because that's not too difficult of a skill with so many bilingual in those languages.
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      • Profile picture of the author Nick Lawless
        I'd definitely go for fixed price. The tendency with an hourly rate is that they will drag the work time so you can pay them higher fees. Although Odesk do not have money back guarantee for fixed priced projects, think about the money you can save. Just make sure that you test the writer before hiring to ensure that you are getting your money's work.

        Best,
        Nick
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  • Profile picture of the author mert
    Fixed price.. You can set the fee as per word or 100 words basis or just go for 3000 words
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