Overseas Customer Thread poster: Yi Cao
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Yi Cao 
New Zealand
Local time: 05:26
Chinese to English
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Dear:
Have you worked with overseas customer before?
What sort of measure you have applied to make sure they are going to pay you on time?
I have recently been approached by one overseas client for the translation of more than 15000 characters.
I worry about he is not going to pay me. Therefore, I ask him to pay me 50% prior to my starting of work, 50% after finishing.
What do you think?
Because, it would cause a lot o... See more Dear:
Have you worked with overseas customer before?
What sort of measure you have applied to make sure they are going to pay you on time?
I have recently been approached by one overseas client for the translation of more than 15000 characters.
I worry about he is not going to pay me. Therefore, I ask him to pay me 50% prior to my starting of work, 50% after finishing.
What do you think?
Because, it would cause a lot of money to purchase air ticket and accommodation to chase the debt.
Thanks ▲ Collapse
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There is a feature named Blue Board here in ProZ. I usually use that to gauge my clients. Any clients under 4.5 stars typically do not get much attention from me.
But there is always a chance it's a new client, or they have not yet registered in ProZ. And they may not have a Blue Board record. In this case, I usually use Google or LinkedIn to find out more. However, I think the risks outweigh the opportunities, and I rarely accept such clients.
I hope it helps.
... See more There is a feature named Blue Board here in ProZ. I usually use that to gauge my clients. Any clients under 4.5 stars typically do not get much attention from me.
But there is always a chance it's a new client, or they have not yet registered in ProZ. And they may not have a Blue Board record. In this case, I usually use Google or LinkedIn to find out more. However, I think the risks outweigh the opportunities, and I rarely accept such clients.
I hope it helps.
[Diedit pada 2023-12-11 23:46 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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A new client is always a risk, be it overseas or not. 99% of my clients are “overseas” as I only have 1 Portuguese customer. Proper due diligence is a must, though over the years I’ve developed a sixth sense for scammers and non-payers. It usually takes less than 20 minutes, but if I can't really find anything about them and it doesn't feel good, it stops there. I always turn down a job from a potential client if something sounds fishy or too good to be true: better safe than sorry!
| | | | Marjolein Snippe
Netherlands
Local time: 19:26
Member (2012)
English to Dutch
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| Too good to be true? | Dec 12, 2023 |
This sounds like a big assignment for a new client.
If you are worried, I would probably not accept a big project initially, only after one or more smaller projects have run smoothly, including getting paid.
If a client offers a big project, without knowing the quality of your work (e.g. through recommendations from other clients or via a test translation), I would get suspicious.
Did they ask about your rate at all?
Partial payment upfront would cer... See more This sounds like a big assignment for a new client.
If you are worried, I would probably not accept a big project initially, only after one or more smaller projects have run smoothly, including getting paid.
If a client offers a big project, without knowing the quality of your work (e.g. through recommendations from other clients or via a test translation), I would get suspicious.
Did they ask about your rate at all?
Partial payment upfront would certainly take away some of my doubts, possibly all of them, but I don't think many clients, even very good, reliable ones, accept this. ▲ Collapse
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| Just want to point out... | Dec 13, 2023 |
that's 15000 characters, not words. Something agencies (the ones I worked with at least) would quote as doable in 1-2 business days.
Depends on the nature of the text and one's familiarity with the subject matter, of course, but if it's a legitimate company,
I think from their perspective that's just enough text to test the waters with a new translator without taking too much of a risk.
On your end, I think asking for an advance payment isn't at all outlandish, given the... See more that's 15000 characters, not words. Something agencies (the ones I worked with at least) would quote as doable in 1-2 business days.
Depends on the nature of the text and one's familiarity with the subject matter, of course, but if it's a legitimate company,
I think from their perspective that's just enough text to test the waters with a new translator without taking too much of a risk.
On your end, I think asking for an advance payment isn't at all outlandish, given the circumstances, and half seems about right.
Of course, that's always debatable, negotiable, etc. All that's left to sort out is: does this actually look like a 1-2 day job for you and do you feel like taking this risk. ▲ Collapse
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