Обсуждение цен и условий. Акцептование и отклонение предложений

It may happen that a customer deems¹ prices too high. Then he will give the seller his reasons why the price should be reduced. He supports his points² by submitting³ the prices or offers of competitors which are lower than those demanded by his present supplier.

The exporter, in his turn⁴, will see to it that the prices he obtains⁵ are on the level⁶ of world market prices. He may try and persuade⁷ the customer to pay a higher price. Of course strong language is out of place here, too.

NOTES

1. to deem v                                 — считать, находить

2. to support one's point                — поддерживать свою точку зре-

ния

3. to submit v                               — предоставлять (документы)

4. in his turn                                — в свою очередь

5. to obtain v                                — получать

6. level n                                    — уровень

7. to persuade v                            — убеждать

EXPRESSIONS MOST COMMONLY USED IN THE DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING PRICES

 

We must point out that your prices are considerably higher than those of your competitors.

Мы должны указать на то, что Ваши цены значительно выше цен Ваших конкурентов.

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EXAMPLES OF LETTERS 1. General outline of policy by importer buying cook sieves. London,... Dear Mr. Smirnov, Plastic Rim Cook Sieves^1 18/25 cm I should like to refer to Mr. Snyder's letter of the 10^th July, your reply of the 18^th July, and your further letter dated the 1^st August regarding'^2 the above subject. Your Plastic Rim Sieves were first offered to us last year at the price of 6.6 USD. Trial shipments were made to test the market, and it was found that they were satisfactory at this price. Subsequent repeat orders^3 were placed with you.

We should be prepared to buy... if you could reduce your prices by 5 per cent.

We are surprised to learn that...

The price being as high as the one quoted by you, we must say that we shall be marketing the goods at the smallest of the profit margins.

Your price being too high, you will realize that your chances of securing this order are very slight.

We suggest that you should revise your offer.

It is felt here that the fair price would be in the region....

We are interested in keeping the stable business connection with you. However, given the prices which we cannot consider to be justified....

We regret not being able to accept your offer as other firms have offered us better prices and more favourable terms.

If you are in the position to quote us lower prices and improve your terms, we may revert to the matter again.

We are surprised to hear that you consider our prices to be higher than those of our competitors.

Мы готовы купить...,

если Вы снизите цену на 5%.

Мы с удивлением узнали, что....

Если цена будет такой высокой, как Вы предлагаете, то мы будем продавать товар лишь с минимальной прибылью.

Так как Ваша цена чересчур высока, Вы должны понять, что Ваш шанс получить этот заказ очень невелик.

Мы предлагаем Вам пересмот­реть Ваше предложение.

Здесь многие считают, что справедливой будет цена около....

Мы заинтересованы в сохранении стабильных деловых отноше­ний с Вами. Однако, при ценах, которые мы не можем считать оправданными....

Мы сожалеем о невозможности принять Ваше предложение, но другие фирмы предложили нам более низкие цены и более благоприятные условия.

Если Вы можете котировать более низкую цену и предло­жить лучшие условия, мы могли бы вернуться к обсуж­дению этого вопроса.

Мы с удивлением узнали,

что Вы считаете наши цены более высокими, чем цены конкурентов.

Having reexamined the matter and found that the increase in production costs is not so high as we had at first expected, we are pleased to inform you that we can reduce the prices.

We should be prepared to allow you 5 per cent discount from the prices quoted by us.

Having carefully examined the matter, we have found means to reduce the prices to...

We cannot sell at the prices you indicate but have to insist on....

Please let us know whether you can accept these prices. Otherwise we are reluctantly compelled to turn down the order.

Вновь исследовав проблему, мы установили, что повыше­ние затрат не так значитель­но, как мы предполагали вначале, и поэтому рады сообщить Вам, что можем понизить цену.

Мы готовы дать Вам пятипро­центную скидку с цен, пред­ложенных нами.

Внимательно исследовав

проблему, мы нашли способ снизить цену до....

Мы не можем продать по цене, указанной Вами, но должны настаивать на....

Пожалуйста, сообщите,

приемлемы ли для Вас эти цены. В противном случае мы вынуждены будем отменить заказ.

 

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Unfortunately you found it necessary to increase the price by about 15 per cent to 7.6 USD. This, we think you will agree, was a tremendous⁴ increase for us to absorb⁵. Nevertheless, during the meeting with you in Moscow in March, we agreed to take a further quantity at this increased price of 7.6 USD. Then I stated that if it were possible for us to obtain a suitable price for the Sieves, we would be willing to pay a little more also for further business.

Since March we have made sales of this article at satisfactory prices, and it is hoped that the association between us can be kept and improved by bigger and more regular business in this line. This, however, is very difficult indeed when each time we place repeat business, we find a considerable increase in price.

Quite a large amount of your first increase from 6.6 USD to 7.6 USD could not be passed on immediately to our customers, because the African is slow to accept⁶ even small increases. It was, therefore, necessary for our company to absorb the maj ority of your approximately 15 per cent increase. Efforts were made, of course, to obtain better selling prices in West Africa in line with your inc­rease to 7.6 USD. In this respect we were not entirely unsuccessful⁷, hence the reason for placing our more recent order No. 05834 for

1.000 sets for North Nigeria.

You now, however, tell us that you have raised your price to 8.6 USD, a further 13 per cent increase on your last price. On this increase of 1.0 USD per set, FOB, we have to pay 10 per cent duty⁸ on Sieves shipped to Nigeria, which makes your increase more than 1.1 USD per set.

As mentioned earlier in this letter, I would like to see the Plastic Rim Sieve shipped regularly to West Africa, but this can only be done by cooperation from both parties⁹. It is felt here that a fair price for the order in question would be in the region of

7.1 USD per set, but in the hope of long-term business associa­
tion, 8.2 USD would be accepted by us, even though it means
marketing the sieves at the smallest of profit margins. It is possible
that at 8.2 USD we may sustain losses¹⁰, but these losses may be
regained at some future date when the Plastic Rim Sieves are
more firmly established.

Would you please, therefore, look again at your costs and cooperate with us by accepting our order No. 05834 at 8.2 USD per set. You can rest assured that as soon as a satisfactory figure is achieved and maintained, regular orders of a considerable size will follow.

It is possible that I may come to the Moscow Fair on the 1^st September. If this visit materializes¹¹, it will be very pleasant to meet you again and discuss future business. In the mean-time¹², please do everything you can to accept present order at 8.2 USD per set.

Yours faithfully,

2. Exporter justifying increase of price.

Moscow,... Dear Sirs,

Re: Your Order No. 98765

Thank you very much for the above order covering 1,000 sets of No. 24 Sieves 18/24 (4 pieces per set), and 1,000 sets No. 26 Sieves 18/26 (5 pieces each set). We appreciate the confidence you put in us¹³ and shall do our best to satisfy you.

Unfortunately, we cannot accept your order for delivery in February, the earliest date being April. Furthermore we are sorry to tell you that we cannot sell at the prices you indicate but have to insist on a price of

USD 3.9 FOB St. Petersburg for the 18/24 set, and

USD 4.8 FOB St. Petersburg for the 18/26 set.

We trust that you can accept these prices and should be pleased to have your reply soon.

Yours faithfully,

PS. I suppose that Mr. Wylde of your company will come to the Moscow Spring Fair. Our stand is in the "Moscow Fair Hall", 4^th floor, stand No. 441. We should be pleased to see him there and to discuss future business carefully.

 

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3. Reply to the above — importer insisting on the original low
price.

London,...

Dear Sirs,

Re: Outstanding¹⁴ Order No. 98765

Confirming your telephone conversation with Mr. Wylde on the 24^th January..., we should like to review the present situation. We have outstanding with you order No. 98765 for Sieves. As Mr. Wylde indicated during the conversation, we have received recent quotation from Germany at 3.3 USD per 18/24 set and 4.0 USD per 18/26 set. This is hardly consistent¹⁵ with your present quotation of 3.9 USD and 4.8 USD. We would ask you to look into this matter very seriously and give consideration to¹⁶ supplying our outstanding order at the prices originally stated. Once¹⁷ you have been able to do this, we shall review the situation again and will, no doubt, reach some agreement with Mr. Petrov when we see him in a few weeks' time.

It is, however, imperative¹⁸ that the above-mentioned order be delivered as soon as possible. As you know, our trade depends on our being able to meet our customers' demands. If you fail to deliver within the time stipulated, it will involve considerable loss of faith¹⁹ both for yourself and our organization in West Africa.

We look forward to your continued support and the confirmation of the prices indicated above.

Yours faithfully,

4. Continuation — importer insisting on maintaining old
price.

London,...

Dear Sirs,

Re: Cook Sieves — Outstanding Order

During the last few days your London Office has indicated that the MVES²⁰ has refused to allow our outstanding order for Sieves to go through²¹ at the old prices.

We informed your people in London that if MVES maintained²² their attitude there would be considerable danger of their losing the majority, if not all, of the business.

We have recently received quotations from manufacturers in Germany at levels considerably lower than those you are quoting at present. Although we have no wish to take this business away from you, there will undoubtedly be a need to do so unless we obtain some satisfaction on the price quotations.

The Russian manufacturers must realize the highly competitive nature of this trade. There has been rarely more than a few cents difference operating between different countries. As we have always tried to maintain a reasonably substantial trade at a low margin²³, it has been necessary to obtain the lowest possible prices. You will then appreciate our amazement when we received your price increases. We wish to give you our full cooperation, but without some help from the manufacturers and the export authorities this is impossible.

We hope that now we have stated our view so frankly²⁴, you will see that to maintain these price levels will give your competitors in Germany the opportunity they have been waiting for, to re­establish²⁵ themselves in this trade.

We look forward to your earliest reply.

Yours faithfully,

5. Continuation — exporter insisting on higher price.

Moscow,... Dear Sirs,

Re: Sieves — Your Order No. 98765

Referring to your letter of 28^th January we are sorry to inform you that MVES have returned to us your above order for Sieves. They refuse to accept the old prices and ask you to pay USD 4.00 for the 18/24 set and USD 4.80 for the 18/28 set, FOB St. Petersburg. For orders covering 5,000 sets a rebate of five per cent will be deducted.

 

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Please let us know whether you can accept these prices. Otherwise we are reluctantly compelled to return the order.

We are very sorry for the inconvenience. As far as we can see, the only chance to obtain better prices is to send us original offers²⁶ from competitors. Then we may be able to negotiate price reductions with MVES.

Yours faithfully,

6. Continuation — importer still hoping to maintain old price.

London,...

Dear Sirs,

We were informed that MVES insist on the price of 4.00 per set. In spite of that, our office will negotiate once more on this matter. They state, however, that they will probably not have any success because MVES have sufficient orders at the new price. We shall let you know the result of their discussions in the next few days.

Yours faithfully,

7. Continuation — government agency of the exporter's country
agreeing not to increase price.

London,...

Dear Sirs,

Re: Prices for Cook Sieves

Further to our letter of 3^rd April, our Moscow office were only this morning able to discuss the price reductions with Mr. Ivan-chenko of the MVES. On receipt of their e-mail message²⁷ this morning we tried to inform you about the outcome, but were unable to spot²⁸ you.

We are happy to announce that MVES have agreed to reduce the price to USD 3.50 per set, and should appreciate to learn soon whether you agree to this figure. Miss Farken endeavoured to obtain another slight reduction but failed.

We understand that this price of 3.50 USD per set will apply to the old order No. 98765 and the future orders we may place²⁹.

Please, telephone us your decision immediately on receipt of this letter. We have to notify MVES as soon as possible.

Yours faithfully,

8. Continuation — importer asking about new orders.

London,... Dear Sirs,

Re: Prices for Cook Sieves

Further to our letter of 6^th April and following our telephone conversation with you this morning, we have informed our Moscow office that you accept the price 3.50 USD for the order already placed. We have asked them to ship that order as soon as possible.

At the same time we have told them that you are looking into³⁰ the question whether or not we can place our future orders at this figure, and we look forward to your decision.

Yours faithfully,

9. Continuation — discussing prices of new orders.

London,... Dear Sirs,

In the course of our negotiations in April with regard to the January order, and also future business, it was confirmed by correspondence that the 18/24 set would be accepted at 3.50 USD per set. We were given to understand that this price would also apply to all future business.

Since sending our orders in April and June, however, we have received many conflicting reports including your final letter with a communication from Director Mertens, in which a price of 3.90 USD was insisted upon³¹.

On receipt of this information from Director Mertens it was our intention to cancel the April and June orders because we have received a better proposition from a Hamburg source. In your last tetter, however, you quote as follows:

 

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"The price for the Cook Sieves can only be reduced to 3.9 USD less five per cent rebate³², if you place an order for at least 10,000 sets."

There is no mention in your letter of the period in which the 10,000 sets have to be taken, but we can tell you that Hamburg are quoting this same price for a similar quantity taken over the period of one year.

You have received from us this year, beginning January 1^st, orders totalling 7,000 sets, none of which have been shipped. You will see from this figure that it would not be difficult for us to reach a total of 10,000 sets over the year. We shall, in fact, require further 2,000 sets and can send you order within the next few weeks. It should not go unmentioned that without all the difficulties that have been placed in our way since January, our purchases would have been considerably larger than they were³³.

We should be glad, therefore, if you would immediately confirm to us our April and June orders at the price quoted in your last letter of 3.9 USD per set less five per sent rebate, i.e. 3.7 USD per set net.

For easy reference³⁴ we enclose a list showing the orders placed this year, with the relative quantities. Please let us have the information requested by return.

Yours faithfully,

WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS

1. plastic rim cook sieves 2. letter... regarding... 3. repeat order 4. tremendous adj 5. to absorb v 6. to accept v 7. not entirely unsuccessful 8. duty n dues, taxes and charges

— кухонные решета с пластико­вым ободом

— письмо..., касающееся...

— повторный заказ

— огромный, громадный

— впитать, поглотить, зд. «пере­варить»

— зд. принять, согласиться с

— небезуспешный

— денежные сборы

— сборы, налоги, выплаты

 

9. both parties

10. to sustain losses

11. to materialize и

12. in the mean-time

13. confidence you put in us

14. outstanding adj outstanding order outstanding bill

15. consistent (with) adj

16. give consideration to...

17. once conj

Once you have been able to do this, we shall review the situation

18. it is imperative that

19. loss of faith

20. MVES

21. to go through

22. to maintain v

to maintain one's attitude

23. at a low margin

24. frankly adv

25. to re-establish oneself

26. original offers

27. message n

28. to spot v

29. orders you may place = orders which you may place

30. to look into (the question)

 

— обе стороны

— нести убытки

— материализоваться, т.е. осуществиться

— тем временем

— уверенность, вера, Ваше доверие к нам

— коммерч. невыполненный

— невыполненный заказ

— неоплаченный счет

— согласующийся (с чем-то), логичный

— подумать о том, чтобы...

— когда, если

— Когда Вы сможете это сделать, мы пересмотрим свое отноше­ние к ситуации

— необходимо, чтобы

— зд. потеря авторитета

— МВЭС, Министерство внешне­экономических связей

— проходить (через инстанции)

— поддерживать, сохранять

— не изменять своего отношения

— с небольшим процентом прибыли

— откровенно

— вновь утвердиться

— оригиналы предложений

— сообщение

— находить, заставать кого-то

— заказы, которые Вы, возмож­но, разместите

— разобраться (в вопросе)

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— на цене настаивали — скидка — Нельзя не отметить, что, если бы не было всех тех трудно­стей, которые перед нами на­громождали, начиная с янва­ря, наши закупки были бы зна­чительно объемнее, чем это было на самом деле. — Для облегчения ссылок (на предыдущую переписку)...

 

31. price was insisted upon              —

32. rebate n                                   —

33. It shall not go unmentioned that — without all the difficulties that have been placed in our way since January, our purchases would have been considerably larger than they were.

34. For easy reference...                  —