A：Bruce, I am so glad that we have made an agreement on the price.   Now let’s talk about the time of shipment.

B：The earliest time we can effect shipment is by the end of October.

A：The end of October? I’m afraid that’ll be too late. You know, this is a seasonal product. If we can’t put the goods on the market in time, good quality and competitive price would mean nothing.

B：We’re fully aware of the importance of timely delivery, but there’s a great demand for this product recently. Production can hardly keep pace with demand.

A：Could you try to find some way to make an earlier delivery?

B：How about partial shipment? We’ll ship whatever is ready to meet your urgent needs instead of waiting for the whole lot to get ready.

A：Then when can you make the first shipment and in what quantity?

B：The first lot of 4,000 dozen will be shipped by the end of September and the balance will be shipped by the end of October. Is that all right to you?

A：Could you ship more in September, say 5,000 dozen?

B：We’ll try our best.

A：And we hope you can make a direct shipment.

B：I’m afraid I can’t promise. You know, August and September are the two busiest months for shipping companies. If there is no direct steamer, will you consider  transshipment?

A：Of course we’d prefer a direct vessel. But if the worst comes to the worst, I’ll have to consider accepting transshipment.

B：Good. I’m very glad we’ve finally reached an agreement on shipment.