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.

GRANT &CLARKSON 148 Mortimer Street London W1C 37D MATTHEWS & WILSON Ladies' Clothing 421 Michigan Avenue Chicago, III. 60 602 30^th 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 15^th 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.

A business transaction often starts with an inquiry which may later be followed by an order.

Both inquiry and order are meant to arose and stimulate business activity on the part of recipient. They are typically asking letters. Orders convey the writer’s intention to do business with his correspondent, usually to buy some goods from them.

MATTHEWS & WILSON Ladies' Clothing 421 Michigan Avenue Chicago, III. 60 602 GRANT &CLARKSON 148 Mortimer Street London W1C 37D November 4,1996 Gentlemen: Thank you for your quotation of October 30. We have pleasure in placing an order with you for 1,900 ‘Swinger' dresses at Price: $ 38,745 in the colours and sizes specified below:

Delivery: air freight, c. i. f., Chicago We shall open a letter of credit with your bank as soon as we receive your order acknowledgement. Please arrange for immediate collection and transport since we need the dresses for Christmas.

Very truly yours, Wilson

Buyer It is indisputably an import order, and as we can notice placing orders is simple from the point of view of letter writing. The fact is that usually the purchasing department or the buyer fills in an order form. But in this case the correspondent prefers to write a letter in order to make certain points quite clear. There are special import regulations which are touched upon in the last paragraph: it is necessary to complete formalities and to stress delivery instructions.

It should be mentioned here that the supplier must send order acknowledgement as an answer to order promptly to thank his customer for the order and to confirm it.

If some conditions have changed, the customer must be notified. In the case the goods ordered are no longer available, a substitute may be offered.

What follows the order acknowledgement is the advice of dispatch.

GRANT &CLARKSON 148 Mortimer Street London W1C 37D MATTHEWS & WILSON Ladies' Clothing 421 Michigan Avenue Chicago, III. 60 602 20thNovember, 1996 Dear Sirs: We have pleasure in notifying you that your credit was confirmed by our bank yesterday, 19^th November. We have had the 1900 ‘Swinger' dresses collected today for transport by British Airways to Chicago on 25^th November.

Enclosed is our invoice for the goods in question plus the extra charges for air freight, packing list to facilitate customs clearance at your end, certificate of origin, air waybill and insurance policy.

Hoping that this initial order will lead to further business, we are Yours faithfully F. T. Burke Export department The first thing to be done before writing such a letter is to examine carefully whether the partners account is valid or not. So in the first paragraph we come across phrase «your credit was confirmed by our bank yesterday». Air shipment for «Swinger» dresses is also mentioned here.

The next paragraph deals with the documents which are necessary while importing goods: Invoice packing lists, certificate of origin, air waybill and insurance policy. As it is the initial order by MATTHEWS & WILSON, the GRANT & CLARKSON hopes to encourage them to place further orders, so their last phrase sounds very polite.

No matter how efficient a business firm tries to be, mistakes will happen. There might be a misunderstanding about the goods to be supplied; sometimes the consignment is dispatched too late or delays are caused in transit; defect is discovered when the equipment is put into operation and so on.