Offer
In this lesson, you'll learn what legally constitutes an offer—a key element of contract formation. An offer is a clear statement of specified terms that cannot be negotiated, and it can be made to an individual, a group, or even the whole world.
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In this lesson
- 0:00 What is an offer in contract law
- 0:54 Distinguishing offers from non-offers
- 2:01 What does not constitute a legal offer
- 3:07 Carlisle v Carbolic Smoke Ball explained
- 6:51 Adverts and invitations to treat
- 8:44 Shop displays and customer offers
- 11:45 How offers can be terminated
- 14:58 Conditions for offer termination
About this lesson
You'll discover why vague statements like "would you like to buy my car?" don't count as offers, and how to distinguish offers from invitations to treat—such as shop displays, price lists, and advertisements—which are generally just invitations to negotiate. The lesson explores the landmark case Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Company, which established that offers can be made to the entire world. You'll see how the company's specific advertisement of a £100 reward, backed by money deposited in a bank, was ruled an enforceable offer rather than mere marketing puff. This case explains why modern advertisements now include "terms and conditions apply"—companies learned they could be held to their specific claims. You'll also understand how shop displays and supermarket pricing work: the shop displays items as an invitation to treat, you make the offer at checkout, and the shop accepts or rejects it. Finally, you'll learn how offers can be terminated before acceptance through rejection, counter-offers, lapse of time, revocation (withdrawal by the offeror), or failure to follow specified conditions of acceptance. Understanding these distinctions is essential for spotting offer and acceptance issues in scenario-based exam questions and real-world contracts.
Duration: 16m
Transcript
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