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No. 1 resource for buyers of language services.
Save time and money with TranslationBuyer.com
  • Play the market!
    Over 30.000 translation vendors want your business.
  • Be organised!
    Think about translation before you head to the airport for that important meeting in Paris.
  • Be sceptical!
    You think plumbers run a rotten trade? You ain't seen nothing yet!

Buying translations is a skill

TranslationBuyer.com is here to help you acquire that skill. You don't need a qualification or extensive training to be a good translation buyer, but you do need to analyse your options carefully and you must understand that you are not buying nuts and bolts.

Think before you buy - Start thinking about translation as soon as you draft your document in your original language. Make use of technology, make the translator's life easy, do market comparisons and don't forget a healthy degree of scepticism - a deal that sounds too good to be true, is too good to be true.

Translation overview

In all its simplicity, translation is the process where you take a message in one language (source language) and re-write it in another (target language). A common misconception, however, is that the process of translation is easy or straight-forward. In fact, it's neither; translation requires great skill, expertise and time. Another misconception is that computers can translate: No they can't. Computers can substitute words, but they cannot understand meaning. Machine translators have advanced considerably in recent years, but they will never match what a skilled translator can do.

Most translations are bought through translation agencies who use freelance translators to do the work. There are tens of thousands of these around the world - how do you figure out which agency is the right one for you?

Winning recipe

Form partnerships! For most organisations, a partnership with a knowledgeable translation procurement consultant is the way to go. These people monitor the industry, they know who is good with what languages and they can find the best deals consistently. If you only deal with one or two languages, you could find a good agency to partner with. The key is not to fidget - be consistent and you will get good results.