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Terms of Sale | Free Contract Law Essay

Sean placed a notice in his flat window stating ‘Guitar for sale - £300'. On Tuesday whilst walking her dog, Anne's attention was drawn to this notice. The next day Anne walked past Sean's house again and saw that the notice had been removed. She knocked on Sean's door and asked him if the guitar was still for sale. He said that it was and Anne proceeded to inspect it. Anne told Sean that she liked the guitar but could not afford more than £250. She also said, ‘I will buy the guitar if I can raise the money'.

Sean promised that he would not sell the guitar to anyone else before Saturday, while Anne tried to raise the money.

On Thursday, Anne phoned Sean but as he was unavailable she left a message on his answering machine saying she had got the money and would collect the guitar on Saturday as agreed.

Sean's flat-mate, Dave, returned from work later that Thursday and assuming all messages had been heard deleted them from the answering machine not realising that Sean had not yet arrived home.

On Friday Sean met Chris who offered to pay £350 for the guitar which Sean accepted. Later that day he posted a letter to Anne informing her that he had found another buyer.

Paul, the postman delivered the letter to the wrong address and Anne appeared with a hired car to collect the guitar on Saturday morning.

Advise the parties of their legal position.

In considering the legal positions of parties under contract law, it may be difficult to determine whether a party's words or conduct amount to an offer. Clearly, the first order of business here is to determine whether Sean's notice constitutes an offer or an invitation to treat. Generally, no offer is made when a party communicates their proposed terms unless they also demonstrate a clear commitment to be boundon the other's acceptance of the terms without any need for further negotiations. On the facts, the notice clearly states a price of £300 for the guitar. However, there is no opportunity to inspect the guitar, nor is there a prescribed method of communication with Sean. It is unlikely that a buyer would commit to the purchase without an inspection or at the very least, a description of the guitar. Furthermore, the established rule is that displays or advertisements of goods for sale are not offersto sell, but rather invitations to treat as demonstrated by the leading case of Pharmaceutical Society of GB v Boots Cash Chemists (1953) which held that goods displayed in shops are merely invitations to treat since it is the customer who makes the offer to buy and the shop may decide whether to accept or reject. In Fisher v Bell (1961), it was held that the display of a flick-knife in a shop window was merely an invitation to treat, not an offer. Finally, in Partridge v Crittenden (1968), it was held that a classified advertisement will usually be considered as an invitation to treat, not an offer. Conversely, there are situations where an advertisement does in fact contain all of the essential requirements to be considered an offer as in Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co (1893), where it was held that the advertisement was an offer to the whole world and that a unilateral contract was made with those who met the advertised condition. However, Sean's notice is too vague to be considered an offer. It follows that the notice is an invitation to treat and not an offer.

In order for the law to conclude that agreement has been reached by the parties to a contract it must be established that an offer and an acceptance have taken place. Thus the answer to the following questions must be ascertained with regard to the dealings between Anne and Sean:

• Has an offer been made?

• If an offer has been made, has it been unequivocally accepted by the offeree?

• Has the acceptance been effectively communicated?

• Was the offer still valid at the time of acceptance?

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