When buying translations from a reputable source, you do pay for the resources and experience of the translation provider, accumulated over many years, and for the time during which this expertise is used in your project. So beware of cheap translations that may betray the novice attempting to get his first translation job, but don't automatically assume that a high price equals high quality. There is more to managing a large translation project than splitting it up among a number of translators. The entire project must be carefully coordinated prior to assigning portions of it to different translators, glossaries and style sheets must be prepared to make sure that what was called a share on page 10 is not called a stock on page 25, or a shareholder on page 5 is not referred to as a partner on page 20. Upon completion of the project, the entire text must be carefully proofread and edited for consistency of terminology, style, and format, placement of graphics and captions, not to mention completeness and accuracy.
Similar considerations apply to multilingual projects.
Low prices are undeniably attractive when purchasing consumer goods, but are less so when purchasing human skills. Hiring the cheapest lawyer may carry a very high price tag later on. The company that performs your translation is crafting your image to your foreign customers. If your documentation has taken six months to compile, revise, and edit, it is critical to allocate sufficient time to achieve similar high-quality results in a foreign language. For large-scale projects, short time lines or simultaneous release, the scheduling and management of the translation process are as important as the translation itself.