Unit 1
Enquiry and Offer

• I.General Introduction

• An enquiry is a start in business transactions and it means to ask if the exporter can supply the goods that he is interested in. A great number of business transactions start with enquiry. To the exporter, an enquiry is important because it often establishes a new and perhaps very valuable connection. When the exporter receives such an enquiry, he will reply whether or not he can supply the goods. When the exporter sends out information about what he is ready to sell, he gives the exact price, quality and quantity of the goods that he is able to supply. This is an offer. In an offer the exporter always states the exact name and specifications of the commodities, the price, the currency in which payment is to be made, the terms of payment and delivery terms and other necessary information.

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• An offer is a proposal of terms and conditions presented in a potential contract by one party, called the offeror, to another party, called the offeree. In order for the agreement to be binding, the offeree must first accept the offer; otherwise, there is no legal contract. Like an enquiry, an offer that can be made by the seller is customarily called “selling offer”, in which such wording as “can supply”, “supply” “offer” or “offer firm” is mostly used. In general, it is the seller, the offeror, who offers the sale of certain commodities to the buyer, the offeree.

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• II.Dialogues

• Dialogue 1

• A: Good morning, Miss. Liang. Would you tell me which items

• you are keen on?

• B:All of your products are fantastic. I’m especially interested in

• Art No. 5. How is the supply position?

• A: All the articles displayed here are available. Generally

• speaking, we can supply from stock.

• B: I should say that we think highly of your products.

• A: I’m very glad to hear that. We are very confident that our

• products will find a good market in your country.

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• B: There’s no problem about it. Here is our enquiry

• note. Please quote us your lowest price, CIF

• Rotterdam

• A: I’ll look into your requirements first and let you

• know our firm offer tomorrow. You’ll surely find

• our price favorable.

• B: I hope so.

• A: How soon do you want your goods to be

• delivered?

• B: Early October.

• A: OK. See you tomorrow then.

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• Dialogue 2

• A: Can you show us your catalogue?

• B: Certainly. Here’s a catalogue for some of our

• popular items.

• A: Thank you. We’re quite interested in some of your

• products. Here’s an enquiry sheet we’ve drawn up.

• B: Thanks. We’ll take a closer look at it.

• A: How about the supply position of your products?

• B: We have a steady supply for most of them.

• A: Do you quote FOB or CIF?

• B: We usually quote on a CIF basis.

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• A: The market at our end has become pretty

• competitive. In order to sell successfully there, your

• goods will have to be competitive in price as well.

• B: You’ll find our prices very attractive.

• A: Would you give us an offer for Art. No. 16 CIFC 5

• ％London now?

• B: What’s the quantity you wish to order?

• A： We’d like to start with 20,000 pieces. It’s an

• attractive quantity, do you think so?

• B： When do you want the goods to be delivered?

• A： Could you make it for May?

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• B： I think we should be able to manage it. OK. So

• now we can offer you 20,000 pieces. For Art. No.16 at

• US$80 per piece CIFC 5％London for shipment in May.

• A： Thank you. How long will this offer be open?

• B： It’s valid for three days.

• A： I’ll study your offer with my colleagues and give

• you a definite reply in three days.

• B： I'll be waiting for your reply.

• A: See you then.

• B:Ok, Bye-bye.

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• Dialogue 3

• B: Good morning.

• A: Good morning. Now, shall we discuss something more

• concrete?

• B: Okay.

• A: I was wondering if you would give us a response to our fax

• enquiry.

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• B: Certainly. We are pleased to offer you 120,000 pieces cotton poplin blouses at US$18.80 each, FOB Shanghai. The blouses will be packed in plastic bags, every 5 dozen to a cardboard box. They will be delivered in two consignments of 60,000 each, the first lot by August 15 and the second by September 15. The terms of payment will be the same as those in the previous contract, i.e. sight credit. A: Thank you very much for your offer. We’ll give it serious consideration. As it’ll take us some time to calculate, may I suggest we take a break? Then we can give you an answer this afternoon.

• B: Fine. We’ll be waiting for your reply. See you then.

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• III.Key words and phrases

• D1

• 1.All the articles displayed here are available.

• Generally speaking, we can supply from stock.

• Meaning: generally speaking, all the articles displayed

• here can be supplied from stock.

• 2.to quote sb. a price: meaning to give/offer sb. a price

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• D 2

• 3.lowest price: favorable/reasonable/moderate price

• 4.item: meaning product. similar terms are article, goods and

• commodity.

• 5.How long will this offer be open?: how long will this offer

• be valid/firm/good?

• 6.It’s valid for 3 days.: We shall keep the offer open for 3 days.

• D3

• 7.in two consignments: meaning in two lots. Consignment

• here means the shipment, the goods or the order. In terms of

• shipment, the seller is asking for a partial shipment.

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• catalogue

• sample

• offeror

• offeree

• sample book

• enquiry

• quotation

• offer

• price list

• supply sb. with sth.

• place an order

• FOB price

• supple from stock

• out of stock

• be in short supply

• IV.Technical terms

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• V.Useful Sentences

• 1.Would you tell us what quantity you require so that

• we can work out the offer?

• 2.We are thinking of placing an order for 500 tons.

• 3.I'd like to have your lowest quotation CIF San

• Francisco.

• 4.All the quotations on the list are subject to our final

• confirmation.

• 5.If your price is favorable, we can book an order right away.

• 6.All these articles are our best selling lines.

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• 7.Our products are of the best quality and the lowest price.

• 8.I’m sure these commodities will find a ready market in

• your area.

• 9.At your request, we are offering you the following items.

• This offer will remain open for 3 days.

• 10.We can supply from stock and will have no trouble in

• meeting your delivery date.

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• VI.Negotiation skills

• 1.How soon do you want your goods to be delivered?

• Note: time of delivery is very important to the seller.

• Therefore, such information should be included in the

• process of making an enquiry.

• 2.price factor: as a negotiator, when you try to persuade

• your counterpart to offer you a favorable price, you will

• have to apply appropriate negotiation skills. In order to

• convince your counterpart to accept your suggestion,

• you’ve got to give good reasons to support your

• requirement of the lowest price, by, for example, listing a

• series of factors that affect the prices.

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• 3.packing factor: the mode of packing is another

• important term to be discussed to avoid any

• misunderstanding which may lead to disputes or claims

• resulting from damage to the goods.

• 4.payment term: plays a very important role for every

• transaction, and it must be expressly (explicitly) stated

• when making an offer.

• 5.We can offer you 20,000 pieces for Art. No. 16 at

• US$80 per piece CIFC 5% London for shipment in May.

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• This is a very useful and helpful technical expression

• commonly used when making an offer, in which

• name of commodity, total quantity, unit price, price

• terms, terms of payment, time of shipment, validity of

• offer (if it’s a firm offer) are included.

• 6.I was wondering …

• When asking for a favor from someone, it would be

• impolite to be direct. Instead, functional expressions

• such as “I was (am) wondering/wonder if …” can

• express your politeness.

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• Unit 2

• Price Bargaining

• I. General Introduction

• In business negotiations, price bargaining is of greatest importance. The seller, on the one hand, wants to sell at a high price and a secure terms of payment; the buyer, on the other hand, wants to buy at a low price and an earlier delivery date. So the seller’s quotation is often much higher than what the buyer has expected. In this case, if the seller and the buyer want to conclude a transaction, they must drive a hard bargain. So great patience is needed and in order to put the business through, both the seller and buyer should have a perfect understanding of each other’s position.

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• II. Dialogues

• Dialogue 1

• A: Ms. Liang, we’ve been involved in the tea business for many years. How is the business going? B: Not bad, really. We’ve done pretty well over the years. This time I’m prepared to order a much larger quantity. But for an attractive order, I’m expecting you to offer me a lower price. Will you give me a lower price if my order is large?

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• A: A lower price? Sorry, but you don’t really mean that, do you? You want us to lower our price though the market price is going up? When I gave you the previous quoation, I made it very clear that if there’s a change in the market, our quotation will follow. Now you see, the market price has going up in a spiral. We can’t match our previous offer, and we certainly can’t go lower.

• B: Then what is the lowest price?

• A: USD185 per case. We can’t make any further concessions.

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• B: I’m not used to bargaining. But your price is too high for us to accept. It would be very difficult for us to push any sales if we just take the price.

• A: if you take quality into consideration, the price we offered is more favorable than the quotations you can get from our competitors.

• B: Since we’re likely to place sizable orders, we hope that you will make some special concessions. You know, our order is for a much larger quantity.

• A: May I ask what’s your idea of a much larger quantity?

• B: Say, 1,500 cases.

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• A: You can hardly call it a large quantity, can you?

• B: Perhaps not, but still it is an order of some size. I’m sure you certainly appreciate the painstaking efforts we’ve made in pushing the sale of your tea in our market.

• A: Then what’s your idea of price?

• B: The best we can do is USD155 per case.

• A: I’m afraid that’s quite impossible. You can’t expect us to reduce the price to that extent just for the purpose of supporting your efforts.

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• B: I think you are well informed about the market. You know that some other Asian countries are selling the same at cheaper prices. So our counter-offer is in line with the world market.

• A: Price can’t be taken separately from quality. In terms of quality, I don't think that the goods of other brands can compare with ours. It’s the excellent quality that makes it worth the difference in price. You know, better quality means a higher price.

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• B: I agree that yours are of better quality. You know, we wouldn’t have turned to you for an offer if it weren’t for the good quality of your products. But your price is still on the high side even if we take quality into consideration. So, I think it unwise for either of us to insist on his own price. How about each making a further concession so that business can be concluded.

• A: You want to drive me bankrupt! The largest cut we can offer is 3 percent.

• B: So you really don’t see your way to get it down a bit?

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• A: No, I’m sorry. This is our rock-bottom price. If you find it unworkable, I’m afraid I have to call the deal off. Just now we made a move. To have this business concluded, you’ll also have to move, okay?

• B: It seems there is nothing more I can do but take up your offer. But we accept your price only if you can make an earlier shipment. Bring it forward from October to September.

• A: No problem. I’m glad that we’ve settled the price.

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• Dialogue 2

• B: What’s the agenda for today?

• A: I’d like to get the ball rolling by talking about prices.

• B: I’d be happy to answer any questions you may have.

• A: Your products are very good. But I'm a little worried about the prices you’re quoting . B: You think we are asking for more？

• A: That's not exactly what I had in mind. I know your research costs are high, but what I’d like is a 25% discount.

• B: That seems to be a bit too high, Mr. Wang. I don’t know how we can make a profit with that.

• A: Please, Ms. Liang. Well, if we promise future business – volume sales – that will slash your costs, right？

• B: Yes, but it’s hard to see how you can place such large orders. How could you turn over so many？We’d need a guarantee of future business, not just a promise.

• A: We said we wanted 1000 pieces over a six-month period. What if we place orders for twelve months, with a guarantee？

• B: Even with volume sales, our costs won’t go down much.

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• A: Just what are you proposing？

• B: We could take a cut on the price. But 25% would slash our profit margin. We suggest a compromise – 10%.

• A: That's a big change from 25%! Can’t you go any further?

• B: I’m afraid it’s the best we can do.

• A: Ok. In that case, we’ll think it over and give you an answer soon.

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• Dialogue 3

• A: We understand that you’re in the market for vinyl paint. You know we are one of the leading manufacturers in America and shall be pleased to be helpful if you need.

• B: I wonder if this is the best time. There is much more Vinyl paint on the world market than actually is required at present, so the price of this kind of product is tending downward. Look, here is the quotation in today’s newspaper. The price has plummeted over the last two days.

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• B: Thank you for your offer, Mr. Wang. But I’m afraid your price is out of line. Higher than current market price.

• A: Out of line? I’d be rather surprised. I admit the present market is very unfavourable to us. But this won’t last long. It only occurred in this time period. It cannot represent the trend.

• B: Maybe we hold different points of view on the trend of the current market price. But to be frank with you, all the offers we have received from Europe are below USD 1,100.

• A: But you must take quality into consideration when you compare prices. Have you compared our quality with theirs? Are they in the same class? Ours is the best worldwide.

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• B: I accept that: the quality is indisputable; but I’m sure that you, as a big supplier, know better the supply position in the world market. It’s only in view of our long-standing business relations that we come here to purchase from you.

• A: O.K., since the international market is low, I’d like to adjust our price downward by 50 dollars to USD 1,110 per ton. We hope this revised price will enable you to place an order.

• A: All right, with a view to long-term interests, I agree to conclude the transaction at the price you suggested.

• B: I appreciate your efforts and cooperation and hope that this will be the forerunner of other transactions in future.

• A: So do I.

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• V. Useful Sentences

• 1.The price of this commodity has gone up a lot in the

• last few months.

• 2.Your price is higher than those we got from

• elsewhere.

• 3.With respect to quality, I don't think that the goods

• of other brands can compare with ours.

• 4.If you have taken everything into consideration, you

• may find our quotation lower than those you can get

• elsewhere.

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• VI.Negotiation skills

• 1.price negotiation:

• As a buyer, when asking for a lower price, you have to give

• good reasons. Size of the order is one of the factors affecting

• the price to be offered high or low. So you should mention it

• in striking the price bargaining. Many other factors affecting

• the price include the cost of raw materials, quality, size of

• order labor cost, exchange rate, world market tendency, and

• other competitors’price.

• However, As a seller, normally you’ll need to try to convince

• the buyer of the price offered reasonable, by reasoning the

• world market price trend.

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• 2.According to the negotiation strategy, sometimes

• maintaining one’s ground can force your counterpart make

• some concession.

• 3.If the two parties cannot agree on the price, then they can

• move to negotiate other terms/conditions, such as shipment,

• terms of payment, or packaging by one party or both making

• some necessary concessions. After all, the ultimate goal is to

• get the business concluded mutually beneficially.

• 4.When one party finally agrees to make a concession, he/she

• usually states the reason for their mutual understanding.

• Further business opportunities or long-term business interests

• are found to be some very common grounds. The other party

• shall express his/her appreciation.

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