Examining english business letters

Now let's turn to the practical point of writing business letters. They  may be divided into official and semi-official. The first kind of letters is characteristic  of  those  people working in  business:  an executive,  a department manager,  a salesman, a  secretary  or  a  specialist  in   business   and technology. But also many people may want to buy something, to accept an invitation or to congratulate somebody - this  is  a kind of semi-official letters.  The first kind  of letters may in turn be subdivided into such groups as:  inquiries, offers, orders, and  so  on.  I  am  going  to examine this group more carefully looking at the correspondence of Chicago businessmen and English manufactures.

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Example 1.

MATTHEWS & WILSON

Ladies' Clothing

421 Michigan Avenue

Chicago, III.60602

Messrs GRANT & CLARKSON

148 Mortimer Street

London WIC 37D

England                                  October 21, 1993

Gentlemen:

We saw  your  women's  dresses  and suits at the London Fashion Show held in New York on October 17.  The lines you showed for teenagers, the  "Swinger"  dresses  and trouser suits would be most suitable for our market.

Would you kindly send us your quotation for spring and  summer clothing that  you  could  supply  to us by the end of January next. We would require 2,000 dresses and suits in each of  the sizes 10-14,  and  500 in sizes 8 and 16.  Please quote c.i.f. Chicago prices. Payment is normally made by letter of credit.

Thank you for an early reply.

Very truly yours,

P.Wilson.Jr

Buyer

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This is undoubtedly an import inquiry letter. In the first part of a  letter  there  is  a  kind  of  introduction  as  a prospective customer  approaches supplier for the first time ,and it  is  from  this  part  that  we  found  out  that   the correspondents are engaged in textile industry.

The second   part   expresses   request   for   detailed information about the goods in question, their prices and terms of possible transaction.

In this   example   we   come   across  the  abbreviation concerning the terms of delivery, that is commonly accepted  in the business  world.  It is interesting to know what this kind of abbreviations means:

c.i.f. - cost, insurance, freight.

If consignment  is  to  be  delivered  according to c.i.f., then the supplier insures  the  goods  and pays for the whole delivery.

f.o.b. - free on board.

If consignment  is  to  be  delivered  according to f.o.b., then  the  supplier pays for transportation to port,  steamer or air shipment and dispatch; and the customer  pays  for  onward  transportation and insurance.

f.o.r. - free on rail.

It is   the   same   as  f.o.b.,  but  for  railway transportation.

c & f - cost and freight.

If consignment  is  to  be  delivered  according to c & f, then the supplier pays for the whole delivery and the customer - for insurance.

It is worth mentioning here  that  the  whole  letter  is written in  a  highly  polite  way,  nevertheless  it is quite precise and sticks to the point.

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Example2

GRANT &CLARKSON

148 Mortimer Street

London W1C 37D

MATTHEWS & WILSON

Ladies' Clothing

421 Michigan Avenue

Chicago, III.60602                                   30th October, 1996

Dear Sirs,

We are pleased to make you an offer regarding our ‘Swinger’ dresses and trouser suits in the size you require. Nearly all the models you saw at our fashion show are obtainable, except trouser suits in pink, of which the smaller sizes have been sold out. This line is being manufactured continuously, but will only be available again in February, so could be delivered to you in March.

All other models can be supplied by the middle of January 1997, subject to our receiving your form order by 15th of November. Our c.i.f. prices are understood to be for sea\land transport to Chicago. If you would prefer the goods to be sent by air freight, this will be charged extra at cost

Trouser suits sizes 8-16 in white, yellow, red, turquoise, navy blue, black

Sizes 12,14 also in pink                      per 100 $2,650.00

Swinger dresses sizes 8-16

in white, yellow, red, turquoise, black           per 100 $1,845.00

You will be receiving price-list, cutting of our materials and a colour chart. These were airmailed to you this morning.

Yours faithfully,

F.T.Burke

Export Department

As you can clearly see it we face  the  second  phase  of business correspondence  -  the  answering letter.  It is very important, because it adjusts the  relationships  between  two partners. It does not only characterise the company,  but also advertises it.  The purpose of the letter is to  persuade  the partner that you are the best in business.

This letter  contains  the  quotation  in  reply  to   an inquiry. In lots of similar letters the quotations are simply prices and another information asked for.  But this sample  is quite the  opposite:  it  shows  the  customer that he met the sales-cautious businessman,  who  uses  every  opportunity   to stimulate his   correspondents   interest   in  his  goods  by including the  sales  message. And  the  assurance  that   the customer will  receive  personal attention is read between the lines. In order to draw the attention of the customer  to  the products in  question  the  supplier  offers  "cuttings of our materials and a colour chart".  On the whole a firm  offer  is subject to  certain  conditions,  a deadline for the receipt of orders, or a special price for certain quantities.

 Этот доклад я получила от своей подруги, которую впечатлил http://seldy.ru/. Она давно хотела воспользоваться услугами Интернет магазина молодежной одежды и теперь смогла осуществить свою мечту. Это быстро и удобно.