Chapter Three　Enquiries and Reply

3.1　Introduction to Enquiries

After obtaining the desired information about the firms concerned one wants to do business with，an enquiry letter is needed to enquire about the detailed information for the goods you want.An enquiry is a request for information.In international business，enquiry letters are often written by importers to exporters.Sometimes exporters send enquiry letters to importers to enquire about whether there is a possibility to sell their products.Enquiry letters are the most frequent business letters people write.

Enquiries can be classified into two kinds：general enquiries and specific enquiries.In a general enquiry，the writer may ask for catalogues，pricelists or samples in order to get a general understanding of the products handled by the exporter.A specific enquiry letter is written when the writer is interested in a particular article or product.And it is written to get some more detailed information about the products he wants to buy right away.The writer may ask the exporter to make an offer or a quotation for particular item or items.