The price of a translation job depends on size, complexity, urgency, desired form of delivery, the number of translators competing for the job, and how hungry/needy they are. Professional orgnizations like to recommend an industry standard of 10 cents per word for general (non-technical) text that isn't needed urgently, but you simply can't fix prices in a free market economy. And the Internet has created a global free market economy.
I routinely bid about 7.5 cents per word on jobs, and I routinely don't get them. Sometimes I do. I also routinely see clients specifying that they won't pay more than 5 cents per word. And why should they? Someone will do it for 5 cents per word, or less.
For a rare language pair, like Japanese to Cambodian, where the topic is technical and the deadline is close, the price is dictated by the scarcity of translators. Even then, if the competitors are of similar professional reputation, the work is likely to go to the translator in Cambodia, where living costs are low, though the bid need only beat the Japan-based translator by 25 percent or so to seal the deal.
A translation services agency will have a firm, fixed table of rates for particular kinds of translations, with multipliers for "rush" jobs and fixed rembursements for varying modes of delivery, from electronic to overnight to "snail mail". But the client will still have to go through something like the prolonged conversation in my previous post. Only maybe now it can be done via an online form.
In the end, there's no telling what price you'll pay for translation until the bids are in and you begin to assess cost estimates, delivery needs, and trustworthiness. Above all else, you want to be assured of a quality translation.
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