The Analysis Factors of Translatorsbase Service
Translatorsbase has a business model that mirrors some writing services. In essence, those in need of translation service complete a simple form with the source and target languages, and then receive bids from translators that are registered with the site.
We conducted this Translatorsbase.com review based upon requests from visitors/users of our site. In order to provide as objective a review as possible, we looked at a number of elements. We studied the website content – each page. We searched the web for customer reviews and found a good number of them; we also placed an order for a translation of a blog post from English to Spanish and held several conversations with the translator we selected from among the bidders. All of these elements were considered for this Translatorsbase review, and our findings are summarized below.
What Services Do They Offer?
The landing page of this website lists and briefly describes all of the translation services a customer can order. These include website content, brochures, books, resumes and CV’s, manuals, MSDS translation, and such documents as diplomas, birth certificates, adoption documents, divorce decrees, etc. There is no mention of contracts and business/financial documents, although we suspect that translators would be found for those as well.
There is a listing of languages available, and it is quite comprehensive, from Latin translation service to Chinese and Arabic translation services, indicating that the freelance team the company uses is quite large.
How Much Do They Charge for Translation Services? The Special Features
There is a listing of general pricing by language, but in reality, that is just an estimate. Prices are only finalized when the customer and the selected translator agree upon a final price, and Translatorsbase.com is not involved in those negotiations.
Any add-ons, such as free pages, etc. again would be established between customer and translator. We had a 650-word blog post to be translated from English to Spanish and finally settled on a price of $0.09 per word. This is about average for the industry.
Testing Translatorsbase Quality
From the offsite customer we found and read, the picture is pretty mixed. While most everyone stated they received their products on time, there were a number of complaints about the quality of translation and the lack of company involvement when there were issues with the work that a selected translator had completed. While customers have the right to evaluate their translators, it appears that poor reviews do not show up.
Once we received our blog post translation, we took it to a native Spanish graduate student for review. In her opinion, the translation contained a number of grammatical and structural errors, some of which altered the meaning somewhat. When we contacted our translator for revisions, we were met with lack of response. And the only way to contact the company was through email. The response was to take it up with our translator which we had already done. We were not impressed.
Pros & Cons Expert Analysis
Among the pros, we can say that the website is simple and direct. A customer posts a project, receives bids, can discuss details with potential translators and then choose a translator that will be the most suitable. There is also a link for translators to help them design their own freelancer websites.
The cons outweigh the pros. First, there is no quality control. Anyone can register as a translator. The other issue is that when an order is posted, there is no ability to post details, only the two languages. Details must be discussed with potential translators, after reading a short summary of their backgrounds. The other major con of this company is their lack of involvement in customer issues. Settling those issues is between the customer and translator, and resolution does not appear to be positive for the customer.
Summing Things Up
Overall, we are disappointed with Translatorsbase. Even though it has been in business since 2002, it does not seem to have evolved to be more customer-friendly. And there are also concerns relative to the ease with which translators can join as freelancers.
In sum our Translatorsbase.com review results in a rating of “fair to poor” and it is definitely not the best translation site reviewed by Translation Report. Customers are placed in a position of choosing translators they know very little about and who do not seem to be overly concerned with high quality.
