LAWS6991 Chap.2 Offers, Invitations to Treat and Revocation
Offers, Invitations to Treat and Revocation
This chapter covers the first half of the agreement topic. An offer is a willingness to be bound on stated terms without further negotiation, while an invitation to treat only invites offers. Shop displays, catalogues, tenders, auctions and most advertisements fall into the second group, though Carlill shows an advertisement can be an offer to the world.
The chapter also explains how offers end through lapse, failed conditions, rejection and revocation, why a paid option cannot be revoked, and how Mobil Oil treats revocation of unilateral offers during performance.
What this chapter covers
- 01
Offer and invitation to treat
- 02
Shop displays and catalogues
- 03
Tenders and auctions
- 04
Offers to the world and unilateral contracts
- 05
Requests for information
- 06
Lapse, rejection and counter-offer
- 07
Revocation and options
- 08
Revoking a unilateral offer during performance
Worked example · free
A newspaper promise to refund a training course
- 1Issue: was the advertisement an offer capable of acceptance, or puff and an invitation to treat?
- 1Rule: advertisements are generally invitations to treat, but Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball held that a sufficiently specific promise, backed by a deposit to show sincerity, can be an offer to the whole world.
- 1Application: the conditions are precise, the amount is stated and the trust account mirrors the bank deposit in Carlill, so a reasonable reader would see a commitment rather than exaggeration.
- 1A unilateral offer is accepted by complete performance. Nadia attended every class, finished the course and sat the exam, so she performed all the stated conditions.
- 1Conclusion: a unilateral contract was formed and Nadia can claim the $1,500 refund; the school's description of its own motive is irrelevant under the objective theory.
Key terms
- Offer
- An expression of willingness to be bound on stated terms as soon as the other party accepts, without further negotiation.
- Offeree
- The person or class of persons to whom an offer is made and who alone may accept it.
- Option
- An offer that the offeror has been paid to keep open, which cannot be revoked during the agreed period.
- Counter-offer
- A reply proposing different terms, which rejects and destroys the original offer.
- Revocation
- Withdrawal of an offer before acceptance, effective once the offeree knows of it from a reliable source.
- Puff
- Exaggerated promotional language that a reasonable person would not take as a promise.
Offers, Invitations to Treat and Revocation FAQ
Is a price tag in a shop an offer?
Generally no. Under Boots Cash Chemists, goods displayed for self-service are an invitation to treat. The customer offers to buy at the checkout, and the shop accepts there, which lets a shop correct a wrong label before the sale.
Can an advertisement ever be an offer?
Yes, if it is specific and shows commitment. Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball treated a reward advertisement as an offer to the whole world because of its detailed conditions and the money deposited to show sincerity.
Can an offeror withdraw after promising to keep the offer open?
Usually yes, because a bare promise to hold an offer open is unsupported by consideration. If the offeree paid for the promise, as in Goldsborough Mort v Quinn, it is an option and revocation within the period is a breach.
Does revocation have to come from the offeror personally?
No. Dickinson v Dodds held that an offeree who learns from a reasonably reliable third party that the offeror has dealt elsewhere has sufficient notice that the offer has been withdrawn.
What did Mobil Oil decide about unilateral offers?
The Full Federal Court rejected a universal rule that an offeror cannot revoke once performance starts. Depending on the facts, there may be an implied promise not to revoke or an estoppel, but neither was established on Mobil's vague language.
Why was the reply in Harvey v Facey not an offer?
Facey answered only the question about the lowest price and said nothing about being willing to sell. Supplying information is not an offer, so Harvey's purported acceptance had nothing to accept.
Exam move
Build a two-column table of communications that are and are not offers, with one case for each row and the words that tipped the balance. Then practise timelines: write each event in a problem in date order and ask whether the offer was still alive at that moment, checking lapse, rejection, counter-offer and revocation in turn.
Pay attention to who paid for what, because consideration for a promise to keep an offer open changes the answer. Ask Sia to generate short offer and revocation timelines and check your conclusion for each date.
Working through Offers, Invitations to Treat and Revocation in LAWS6991? Sia is AskSia’s AI Law tutor — ask any LAWS6991 Offers, Invitations to Treat and Revocation question and get a clear, step-by-step explanation grounded in how LAWS6991 is taught and assessed. Read this chapter free, then take your hardest questions to Sia.
