Offer, invitation or information?
A clear and definite promise showing willingness to be legally bound if the other party accepts.
What is an offer?
What is acceptance?
Final and unqualified agreement to the terms of an offer.
What did Mrs Carlill have to do to accept the company’s offer?
Use the smoke ball as directed and still contract influenza.
What is an advertising puff?
An exaggerated promotional claim that a reasonable person would not interpret as a serious contractual promise.
A laptop is displayed in a shop with a $900 price tag. Is the display an offer or an invitation to treat?
Invitation to treat. The customer makes the offer when they attempt to purchase the laptop.
Can silence generally constitute acceptance?
No. An offeror generally cannot state that silence will be treated as acceptance.
What fact in Carlill demonstrated that the company was serious about paying the reward?
The company stated that it had deposited £1,000 in a bank.
A restaurant advertises that it serves “the greatest burgers in the universe.” Is this likely an offer or a puff?
A puff. It is exaggerated, subjective and not sufficiently definite.
In Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain v Boots, when was the offer made?
The customer made the offer when presenting the goods at the checkout. The store could then accept or reject it.
Mia offers to sell a bicycle for $300. Noah replies, “I’ll pay $250.” What has Noah made?
A counter-offer, not an acceptance. The original $300 offer is generally rejected.
Why did the court find that Pepsi’s Harrier jet advertisement was not a contractual offer?
No reasonable person would regard it as a serious and genuine promise. It was humorous and exaggerated.
A person posts: “$500 reward to anyone who returns my missing dog. Call the number below.” What type of offer could this be?
A unilateral offer that can be accepted by performing the specified act—returning the dog.
In Harvey v Facey, why was the statement of the lowest price not an offer?
It merely supplied information about the price and did not show a definite willingness to sell.
Under the postal acceptance rule, when does acceptance generally become effective?
When the correctly addressed acceptance is posted, provided that using the post was contemplated or reasonable and the rule has not been excluded.
Give two reasons why the advertisement in Carlill was enforceable while the Pepsi advertisement was not.
Possible answers include:
An advertisement states, “Huge cash reward available to anyone who is disappointed with our product.” What contractual problem does this create?
The promise may lack certainty because “huge,” “disappointed” and the conditions for receiving the reward are unclear.