Auction sales
The advertisement of an auction is not an offer to hold it, but an invitation
to treat. The court stated in Harris v Nickerson that the advert was merely
an invitation to prospective buyers to come and make bids at an auction if
it was held.
The display of goods and the auctioneer’s request for bids at the beginning
of an auction is not an offer, but an invitation for bids from prospective
buyers. This could be likened to a shop window (the ‘window display’ of
the auctioneer). The bids themselves are the offers, each bidder making an
offer to buy which is accepted by the auctioneer bringing down his
hammer. The contract then formed is between the bidder and the owner of
the goods, who is simply making use of the services of the auctioneer. Until
the hammer comes down the bidder is free to retract his bid, and the
auctioneer is also free to withdraw an item from the sale.
32 Contract law
Scammell v Ouston (1941)
It was held that the expression ‘on hire purchase’ alone was uncertain.
Hire purchase varies between suppliers and it was impossible to
decide what the parties had actually agreed. If, however, the central
issues of a contract are clear, a court may overlook minor vague or
uncertain terms. They did so in the following case.Nicolene v Simmonds (1953)
The plaintiff ordered some iron bars at a definite price from the
defendant. He wrote ‘I assume that we are in agreement and the usual
conditions of acceptance apply.’ A dispute arose over the quality of
the iron and the defendant argued that there was no enforceable
contract because the words ‘usual conditions of acceptance’ were too
vague. It was held that the words were vague and meaningless, but
as they involved a subsidiary matter, all main points being agreed,
they could be ignored.Harris v Nickerson (1873)
A buyer travelled to an auction sale only to find that the goods which
he wanted had been withdrawn from sale. He sued for his costs of
travelling to the auction, but failed, since there was no contract to hold
the sale or to have individual items for sale on the day. This is no more
than an advertisement for a sale which is to take place in a shop.