Lexico-semantic characteristics of business letter correspondence, Детальна інформація

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,