An order letter

1. An order is an offer to buy. It is a common form of correspondence for obtaining goods or services. To be sure to get exactly what is being ordered, accuracy and clarity are essential. Many buyers now use printed order forms which ensure that all the necessary information is given.

2. An order letter Dear Sirs We thank you for your quotation of 3 October and the sample garments you sent us. We find both quality and prices satisfactory and are pleased to place an order with you for the following: 1,000 MJ Blouses (five colors and five sizes) 2,000 CP Suntops

3. (also five colors and five sizes) • The terms agreed upon with Mr. Wang during my telephone conversation this morning are as follows: • a. prices as stated in your quotation of 3 October to include delivery to final destination. • b. payment to be made in Sterling to your London representative within one month of the arrival of the goods at Liverpool,

4. c. Insurance to be arranged by you with a Lloyd's broker through your London representative. • We should appreciate prompt shipment and hope to establish a regular connection for the future if this first consignment proves to conform to the samples supplied. • Yours sincerely .

5. Dear Sirs • Your Reference LB/AP • We enclose our order No. 345 for four items in your latest catalogue. • We note that you can supply these items from stock and hope you will send them without delay. • Yours sincerely

6. Acknowledging an order • Dear Sirs • We were very pleased to receive your Order No. 345 for bed sheets and pillow cases. We accordingly accept the order and shall arrange delivery as soon as possible. • We hope they will reach you in good time and that we may have further orders from you. • Yours sincerely

7. Acknowledging order with delayed shipment • Dear Mr .... • We accept your order No. TR~89 for 2 tons of Fungus, but ask for two week's delay in shipment. As you probably know, the recent dockers' strike delayed our shipments from the Far East. However, the strike is over, and ships are being unloaded.

8. We sincerely regret any inconvenience you may have experienced, and are making every effort to speed up the delivery. Your order will be processed by June 10. • Sincerely

9. Acknowledging agreement reached We hereby confirm the agreement reached this morning about special discounts on MD equipment as discribed on page 8 of our catalogue. These prices will prevail through 30 June. Regular price ...... Special price ...... We look forward to your formal order. Sincerely

10. (Reply) • Gentlemen • We are pleased to have received your fax confirmation of agreement reached between us this morning about special discounts on MD equipment prevailing through 30 June this year.

11. Regular price • Special price • We look forward to signing the Contract when we meet on 3rd June. • Sincerely

12. Dear Sirs We very much regret that we shall not be able to accept your order for Christmas packs of dates as supplied in previous years. We are sure you will appreciate that the rough weather this year has made it impossible to purchase supplies at economic prices. Moreover, such purchases as we have made were not packaged in the traditional way, but in cartons with polythene tops. Letter rejecting old price

13. The price, therefore, is 20% higher than last year's. Would you please reply at once if this interests you. In view of our long business connections we will definitely keep supplies available for you if you place an order within seven days. Yours sincerely

14. Letter refusing price reduction • Dear Sirs • We have carefully considered your counter-proposal of 5th May to our offer of woollen underwear, but very much regret that we cannot accept it. The prices we quoted in our letter of 2nd

15. May leave us with only the smallest of margins, they are in fact lower than those of our competitors for goods of similar quality. The wool used in the manufacture of our "Thermaline" range undergoes a special process that prevents shrinkage and increases durability. The fact that we are the largest suppliers of woollen underwear in this country is in itself evidence of the good value of our products.

16. If, having given further thought to the matter, you feel you cannot accept our offer, we hope it will not prevent you from approaching us on some other occasions. We shall always be glad to hear from you and will carefully consider any proposal likely to lead to business between us. • Yours sincerely

17. Dear Sirs Thank you for letting us know about your concern that our quotation for 1,000 Folded Chairs you enquired for last week is higher than the average market level. As we understand your letter you feel you could have gotten

18. essentially the same quality chairs as you purchased from us last year for about the same price as our last year's. As a result, you would like either to ask for the same price as last year's or receive a 5 % discount.

19. With the present market trend, we have to say that our price is really the best we can quote, notwithstanding we would do everything possible to make you satisfied with your purchase. • I hope this explanation answers your question concerning our price structure, and look forward to your order. • Yours sincerely

20. Gentlemen • We regret not being able to accommodate your request for lower prices to cope with the instability in the foreign exchange markets. We, however, are willing to accept your request to defer your next shipment until July to give you time to evaluate

21. the impact of higher prices on demand. In view of the fact that the authorities are taking actions to stabilize the dollar, we suggest that you reconsider the matter and let us know your final decision. • Sincerely

22. Gentlemen • Thank you for accepting our request to defer our next shipment until July to give us time to evaluate the current price trend. • We will let you know in time should there be any change in our final decision. • Sincerely

23. Request for increase in price • Gentlemen • We regret having to announce that beginning May 1 our export prices will be raised by 10% as a result of the recent sharp appreciation in the value of the U. S. Dollar on which our export prices are based.

24. Please understand that we have made every effort to absorb the US$ depreciation of 20% through cost reduction measures to share the entire burden. Your understanding in this matter will be. highly appreciated. Sincerely

25. Gentlemen • We have reluctantly decided to accept your proposal to raise the price by 10 % beginning May 1. • We, however, would like to remind you that the increase at this time cannot help but depress sales considerably. It will also hurt our image with our customers who may choose to switch suppliers. We nevertheless will make every effort to minimize the damage. • Sincerely

26. Letter rejecting delivery terms • Dear Mr... • Thank you for your order of May 6 for six hundred sets of "Peony" television sets, but since you make delivery before Christmas a firm condition, we deeply regret that we cannot supply you as we have done on so many occasions in the past.

27. The manufacturers are finding it impossible to meet current demand for this very popular set. We ourselves placed an order for twenty-four sets a month ago, but were informed that all orders are being met in strict rotation and that our own could not be dealt with before the beginning of February.

28. I gather from your fax received this morning that your customers are unwilling to consider other makes. May I suggest that you try China National Light Industrial Products Corporation in Beijing. They may be able to help you. • Sincerely yours

29. Seller's counter offer Dear Sirs Thank you for your fax of 7 July enclosing your order for 8,000 metres of 100 cm wide CWT silk. We are sorry we can no longer supply this silk. Fashions constantly change and in recent years the demand for watered silk has fallen to such an extent that we have ceased to produce it.

30. In its place we can offer you our new"Gossamer" brand of rayon. This is a finely woven, hard wearing, non-creasable material with a most attractive lustre. The large number of repeat orders we regularly receive from leading distributors and dress manufacturers is clear evidence of the popularity of this brand. At the low price of only $1.80 a metre this rayon is much cheaper than silk and its appearance is just as attractive.

31. We are makers of other kinds of cloth in which you may be interested and are sending you a full range of patterns by parcel post. All these are selling well in many countries and we can safely recommend them. We can supply all of them from stock and if you decide to place an order, we could meet it promptly. • Yours sincerely