6. LETTER OF ENQUIRY.

REPLYING TO A LETTER OF ENQUIRY

I. What is a letter of enquir!
II. Rules to "e follo#e$
III. %tru&ture an$ useful 'o&a"ular
I(. Re)lin* to a letter of enquir
(. A&ti'ities
(I. +o,e#or-
I. What is a letter of enquir!
A letter of enquir. inquir is a general term used for a number of different kinds of "usiness letters
addressed to a company with a view to getting information about the goods they manufacture/ deliver or
about services offered d like to order. It is usually short and to the point, containing only the request and a
short introduction with an address, phone number or e-mail address from the sender's side.
II. Rules to "e follo#e$
state clearly and concisely what you want general info, a catalogue, price list, sample, quotation
etc!
when your enquiry is to a supplier whom you have not dealt with previously, say how you
obtained their name and give some details about your own business!
when writing to a supplier who has been recommended, you should mention this fact!
when there are many points on which info is required, it may be useful to enumerate your enquiry!
if replying to an advertisement, you should mention the "ournal or newspaper, the date!
if referring to a catalogue, brochure, leaflet, always quote the reference #e.g. $at. %o. A&'(!
)/*/(+!
you can suggest terms and discounts!
be direct, but still polite #e.g. I want a prompt reply vs. A prompt reply would be appreciated+.
III. %tru&ture an$ useful 'o&a"ular
/. Intro$u&tion
Useful lan*ua*e
With reference to your advertisement (ad) in...
Regarding your advertisement (ad) in ...
We were given your name by
We were advised by that you were interested in supporting
I am writing to enquire about
We were impressed by the products you displayed at the ehibition and we are now genuinely
interested in
We are a wholesale importing house having many customers throughout the country both in the wholesale
and retail trades and
We are a well!established trading company which maintains its commercial networ" in the main cities of
the country
We are importers and eporters speciali#ed in
We are one of the largest importers$ eporters and distributors in the industry.
%our commercial office in our city has advised us that you handle the eport of of which we are large
buyers.
&ollowing our conversation with your representative in your 'ondon showroom$
&
0. 1o$
a. Useful lan*ua*e for e2)ressin* request for quotations3 offers3 &atalo*ues3 )ri&e4lists3
)ros)e&tuses et&.
Will you please( )indly( *lease let us have( send us a quotation( your best price for a lot of products.
We would be grateful( obliged if you would send us your catalogue( price!lists( pattern!boo"s.
)indly (please) quote us your lowest( best( most advantageous prices for the goods listed below.
We should be glad to receive your illustrated catalogues and leaflets.
It would be helpful if you could send us samples showing your range of products.
We would li"e to attend your showroom to see a demonstration
Would you please give me the following information+
". Useful lan*ua*e for e2)ressin* )ros)e&ts for fruitful "usiness relations an$ request $is&ounts
or other a$'anta*eous ter,s
As we epect( anticipate( foresee a considerable demand for this range of goods$ we should require
special terms( a special discount.
As we hope to attain a considerable turnover$ we trust you will quote us your lowest price.
If your prices are competitive$ we shall probably give you large( regular orders.
If your quality comes up to our epectations$ we shall be able to do good business to mutual advantage.
If you can supply right away from stoc"$ we would be prepared to place an initial order at once.
5. En$in*
Useful lan*ua*e
We than" you in anticipation of a prompt reply.
An early reply will oblige( your prompt reply will be appreciated.
We loo" forward to your quotations.
I(. Re)lin* to a letter of enquir. Offers
/. Intro$u&tion
In reply to your enquiry of concerning $ we wish to inform you that
Replying to your request for information of $ please note that
In reply to your letter of $ we regret to state we are quite unable to give you any information about .
,han" you for your enquiry in reply to which we are sending you under separate cover our illustrated
catalogue.
In reply to your enquiry we send you enclosed our price lists and folders.
,han" you for your enquiry$ in reply to which we are sending you our illustrated catalogue under
separate cover.
It is always a pleasure to hear from an old friend again.
We are pleased to receive your letter in reply to our advertisement in ,he ,rade Review
0. 1o$
%our enquiry is receiving our careful attention and we hope to be able to send you our quotation soon.
We have contacted the manufacturers with a view to finding out whether those products are available for
sale and will advise you immediately upon receipt of their reply.
We regret to inform you that$ at the present time$ we cannot offer for sale the goods you requested.
We epress our regret that we are unable to accept deliveries within the time you required.
'
As our company does not eport the required goods$ we have passed your enquiry to $ who$ being the
sole eporters of such goods in this country$ will contact you.
We can quote the following quantities and prices
We are happy to inform you that
We have pleasure in offering you the following goods
We enclose herewith our price list
-atalogue and price list are enclosed for your "ind attention.
,he samples submitted to you recently represent our latest production.
,he samples we sent will undoubtedly convince you of the ecellent quality of our goods.
,he quality of our goods leaves nothing to be desired( is superior to any other ma"e.
,he price would amount to per
.ur prices range from to
We regret that due to increased costs of raw material and labour$ we have no alternative but to request a
higher price for this than in the previous contract.
5. En$in*
We are certain our goods will give you full satisfaction and we shall be glad to hear from you soon.
We feel sure these goods meet your requirements
We shall be pleased to receive an order form you( to have your confirmation soon so that we "now how to
proceed with your requirements.
*lease let us "now if you would li"e further details.
If you consider our terms acceptable$ please mail your order as soon as possible.
We assure you we will give our best attention to your orders.
We shall eecute the order on receipt of your instructions.
If there are any other products in which you are interested$ "indly as" for further offers.
(. A&ti'ities
/. 1elo# ou #ill see )arts of three letters of enquir. 6hoose one #or$. )hrase fro, the follo#in*
list to fill in ea&h *a)7
advertisement discount latest catalogue price list advise faithfully
model price range current issue forward particularly still
reference ,ear information payment available
A.
..&...... -ir
I have seen your .....'................ in the .......(............... of .ffice Wee"ly and am interested in your range of
office stationery.
$ould you please send me your ....................... and ........./............... .
I look ............0............ to hearing from you.
1ours ........2............,
(
1.
3ith ........4............ to your advertisement in today's ,imes, could you please send me
........5........ about your office furniture. I am 6...&7...... interested in your ad"ustable typist's chairs.
6.
-ome time ago we purchased from you some )82' solar-powered pocket calculators. As this .......&&.........
was so popular with our customers, we would like to know if it is ........&'............ If so, would you
kindly .......&(........... us of your terms of ................... and any quantity .......&.............. available. $ould
you please also include details of any new models in the same .....&/..........9
0. 6o,)lete this fra*,ent fro, a letter of enquir. 8e&i$e #hether to use7 a, the or no arti&le at all
in the "lan- s)a&es.
:hank you for your letter giving us .......&...... details of ......'..... products we enquired about.
.....(...... main item we are interested in is ............. kitchen unit listed in ...../...... catalogue under .....0......
heading $*'&.. As we are building .....2..... large block of 6.46..apartments, we think ......5.... unit
like ...&7...... one listed, might be .....&&..... best installation for our purposes.
;lease let us know what your terms of .....&'..... trade are. $ould you also tell us if you are able to
offer ....&(66.. trade and ......&....... quantity discounts on ....&/..... price for ......&0...... large order9 3e
would also be grateful for .....&2....... samples of all materials used in ......&4........ manufacture of your
units.
I am including ......&5...... plan of our apartments, and ......'7...... dimensions we would need.
5. Rea$ the letter a"o'e a*ain an$ fin$ #or$s. )hrases that ,ean7
a. details of conditions of sale!
b. price reduction to a company in the same business!
c. a small amount of a product offered free to a potential customer!
d. book giving details of items for sale!
e. request from a customer to supply goods!
f. price reduction for a large order.

9. Re#rite the follo#in* questions in a less $ire&t for,3 "e*innin* #ith the #or$s *i'en.
e.g. 3hat are your terms of trade9
;lease let us know what your terms of trade are.
&. $ould you send me a copy of your latest brochure9 I would be grateful 666
'. <ow much discount will you give on orders of /,777 units9 $ould you please tell us 6
(. 3hen can we e=pect to receive the cheque9 I am writing to enquire6..
.. 3ould you like us to arrange an appointment with one of our representatives9 ;lease let us
know666
/. <as *r. $rane returned from the *enswear >=hibition yet9 ,o you happen to know6..
0. ,oes your company e=port to -outh ?orea9 $ould you tell us6.
.
:. Translate the follo#in* letters into En*lish7
a.
/timati 0omni$

/untem o firma importatoare si de desfacere in domeniul articolelor pentru cadouri. 1e
interesea#a produsele noi si am fi bucurosi sa primim informatii asupra marfurilor pe care sunteti
pregatiti sa le eportati. /untem dispusi sa functionam ca repre#entanti unici sau sa importam sis a
desfacem produse direct.
Asteptam cu nerabdare amanunte cu referire language marfurile dumneavoastra.

-u stima$

b.
/timate 0omnule 2rown$
0atoram numele si adresa dvs. -onsilierului comercial al ambasadei dvs. In tara noastra$ dl. 3an
3a"obson.
1e interesea#a sa importam de language dvs. 4asinile mentionate in lista alaturata.
5om fi indatorati daca ne!ati trimite catalogul si preturile cele mai sca#ute pentru masinile
mentionate.
5a rugam sa ne trimiteti raspunsul dvs. /i cataloagele cu posta aeriana.
Al. dvs.$
c.
/timati 0omni$
5a multumim pentru scrisoarea dvs. 0in data de 67 martie 6787.
1e face placere sa aneam pre#entei catalogul nostru$ impreuna cu lista noastra de preturi pentru
toate produsele$ asa cum ne!ati solicitat.
5a rugam sa ne informati ce articole va interesea#a pentru a va putea furni#a detaliiile necesare.
*uteti fi suguri ca vom acorda prompt atentie comen#ii dvs.$ pe care asteptam sa o primim.
-u stima$


(I. +o,e#or-
As <ead of :he <uman @esources ,epartment of the International 2an" &R9, write a letter of enquiry
#about '/7 words+ to the /chool for 4odern 'anguages, where you would like your employees to get
training in Ausiness >nglish. Ask questions about how long the course lasts, the overall number of classes,
level, price, available materials, certification offered etc.
/