Folks, these are just COMMON SENSE EMAIL SUGGESTIONS. Perhaps you never considered such a thing as "email etiquette". Please don't say you HOPE you are asking properly, or "following all the rules". It isn't our "rules", it's just common sense.
#1 - If you are you a PREVIOUS CUSTOMER, please mention it.
It is to your advantage and ours to have accurate, consolidated customer records. We often recognize previous customers, but may not for a big variety of reasons. If you have a new email account or shipping address, it would be great if you update us. Additionally, you might receive a discount or free shipping or some other perk. We have be known to send free printed manuals, or PDF's, or perhaps enlarged schematics even though not normally included, or other things. Such perks are not a stated "policy", but is just something we often do when the whim strikes us.
#2 - Type a USEFUL SUBJECT LINE.
NOT USING AN EASY-TO-IDENTIFY SUBJECT LINE increases the chance of your email getting DUMPED AND NEVER READ. Every day we get emails with subject lines that are BLANK OR SIMILARLY USELESS. For instance, "Re:", "blank", "manual", "availability", "inquiry", "price", etc are NOT HELPFUL because 90+% of of our legitimate emails ARE inquiries about manual availability and price. Use a "SPECIFIC" subject line something like these... - "Pioneer SX-1250 service manual"
- "need 8 Sansui manuals"
- "Sony reel to reel user manual"
- "Teac mixer"
- "Marantz 2385 service"
- "17 models price inquiry"
#3 - Please... no L O N G subject lines.
You may be using a web-based email interface or other email client that shows long subject lines in their entirety, but that does not mean everybody else does. We use MS Outlook. As we use it, only about 2 inches of subject line is visible without tediously scrolling sideways in a tiny area. HOWEVER, we can INSTANTLY SEE all the content of your "message area" simply by clicking on the message.
#4 - Please put what you want to say IN THE MESSAGE AREA, not the subject line.
Feel free to write as much or as little as suits you. We read fast so it's no problem if you write a long message... even a long story about discovering a passion for audio gear in the military PX in Germany, etc. We are friendly and enjoy such messages and might even post them on our site with your permission.
#5 - DO NOT just say "MANUAL". Tell us "exactly" what you want. - Company Name (Do not assume we know we "just know")
- Model Number (equipment model number of back or front of unit)
- then (usually)... one of these
- User Manual (owners manual, operating instructions, etc.)
- Service Manual (schematics, fix-it information, etc.)
- Sales Brochure (advertising, marketing information piece, etc.)
#6 - TELL US if you have already seen our description & price online.
If you want to purchase an item AND have ALREADY SEEN THE DESCRIPTION AND PRICING on our web site... just tell us to send you an email invoice AND that you already saw the item info, etc. We can then invoice you without further ado. This saves us (and you) the additional steps of us having to lookup the information, then put it all together and sending you a reply email with the same information you have already seen. Besides being a time-waster, it causes unnecessary delays while we wait for you to reply to an email you didn't even need to receive. If you are want to purchase and have already seen the information, all we need to do is send you an email invoice.
#7 - What COUNTRY do you live in?
#8 - If you don't see our reply within a few hours, a day or so,
read Email Ain't Perfect!!, then write us back. |
