零售商以电子邮件发了一封询价信给供货商之后，第二天即与对方联络。以下就是供货商在电话中向他报价的情形：

英文正文

A: Good morning. We e-mailed an inquiry to you yesterday about the SuperWang computer.

B: Oh yes! Thanks.I was told that our salesman, Mr. Chen, had solicited your inquiry.

A: Yes. Mr. Chen. I met him at a trade show last month, and he gave me full particulars on the SuperWang.

B: In your e-mail you asked for a quotation. We can quote you U.S. $800 for the item.

A: That sounds good. When would be the earliest delivery date for an order of 2000 units?

B: That's not a difficult matter, but I'll need to check. I think 20 days from the day the order is made would be the earliest date possible.

句型总结

●　何时会…
1. When would be...?
2. Can you advise me as to when...?
3. May I inquire as to when...?

这个句型主要是很客气地询问对方‘什么时候可以做某件事’。"would be"与"will be"意义相同，‘将会是...’之意，但口气上"would"比"will"要客气得多。所以在请别帮忙某事时是多用"Would you please..."，而较少用"Will you please..."。

短语解说

solicit your inquiry 促请您询价
"solicit"，‘恳求、请求’之意。"solicit your inquiry"是欢迎买者前来询问产品的商业客套话。一般询价通常由买方提出，但卖方为推广产品，亦可主动提供商品数据给买方，以期引起买方的与趣。这在销售上是一种反守为攻的主动作法。

quote 报价；开估价单
"quote"为动词，名词为"quotation"。这是指买卖其中一方（大多数为卖方）将价格及条件报给对方。这个字的用法与"offer"虽可交替使用，但实务上，用"offer"时，通常已决定了交易数量及其它交易条件，而用"quote"或"quotation"时，却尚未敲定交易数量。

earliest delivery date 尽快送达；最早交货日期
"delivery"原意为‘运送、交付’；"delivery date"；即交货日期，在国际贸易实务的习惯上，这其实是指‘装运日期’--"date of shipment"（由于国际贸易多采海上运输）但‘交货日期’又分为两种：‘即期交货’和‘定期交货’。‘即期交货’并未载明确切日期，因此容易发生纠纷，在实务应用上远不如约好交货日子的‘定期交货’来得普遍，而"earliest delivery date"－－最早交货日期，属于未限定日期的‘即期交货"。