Question

On November 5, an electronics store owner realized that his stock of 15 copies of the most popular video game of the holiday shopping season would not last until the first of the next month. Seeing an advertisement from the manufacturer of the game in a trade journal listing its price at $3,000 per hundred, with delivery one week from order, the store owner e-mailed to the manufacturer an order for 100 copies of the game at $3,000 per hundred. There were no further communications between the store owner and the manufacturer. By November 25, the store owner realized that the manufacturer was not going to deliver any of the video games. He thus was forced to obtain additional stock by purchasing from a middleman at a cost of $4,000 per hundred. The store owner brings an action for breach of contract against the manufacturer.

Answer 1

This information was missing in the question:

Who will prevail?

A. The manufacturer, because the communications between the parties were not definite or certain enough to form a contract.

B. The manufacturer, because it never accepted the offer contained in the store owner's e-mail.

C. The store owner, because his e-mail was an acceptance of the manufacturer's offer.

D. The store owner, because he changed his position in reliance on the manufacturer's promise to deliver the video games within one week.

Answer: B.

Explanation: First we need to take into account that if the communication want to be an offer, it must contain a any kind of promise or commitment that can be include in a contract. The broader communicating media, for example: publications, and the courts will view the communication as a way of solicitation of an offer. An advertisement in a journal is often considered as an invitation to submit offers, but not an offer itself. Furthermore, the store owner's e-mail was an offer that was never accepted by the manufacturer.

Hope this helps.