Definition of a public offer: what is it in simple words

The legal concept of "public offer" is a term that has become widespread in our lives. Television videos, street advertising on billboards, numerous websites of online store sellers or organizations offering services quite often contain the expression “public offer”, or vice versa “is not a public offer”. Consider what a public offer is and its key definitions.

In simple terms, a public offer means an offer to purchase a product or receive a certain service on the conditions described. Unlike a contract, a proposal or offer is not addressed to specific people or organizations, but is directed to everyone who is interested in it. Therefore, the offer can be called a kind of preliminary contract, which the potential buyer has the right to accept or not accept.

At the same time, such an offer still contains specific characteristics of goods or services, a clear description of their qualities, terms and conditions of delivery. But, unlike a contract, an individual or company offering an offer does not have the right to give preference to one acquirers over others. Therefore, the proposal - the offer is called "public". If the appeal occurs to some specific categories of people, then such a message is not classified as a public offer.

A public offer, unlike a simple one, is aimed at an indefinite circle of people

That is, in a nutshell, a public offer is the seller's intention to sell a product or provide a service on certain conditions, and then the buyer himself decides whether he will buy it or not.

Note: despite the fact that a public offer is not a contract, this term is fixed in the Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

Origin of the word "offer"

Historically, the meaning of the word "offer" comes from the Latin: oferro, which means "to offer." This concept spread in French speech, and in the middle of the 19th century it also penetrated into the Russian language with some changes in sound. In French, the term sounds like offrir and in literal translation means "to bid, to transfer."

In the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the party making the offer is called the "offerer", and the party intending to accept the service or buy something produces the so-called. The offeror may make an offer orally or in writing in the form of a contract. But officially, its action begins only after the signature of the opposite side.

Public offer in the legislation of the Russian Federation

In accordance with Articles 437 and 494 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, any public offer must contain 3 main conditions:

The intention of the offeror (offering a legal or natural person) to conclude a contract must be clear to everyone.
This intention should clearly describe all the conditions: terms, prices, discounts, execution procedures, etc.
Unconditional entry into contractual relations with everyone who wants to accept the offer.

In addition to a declaration drawn up in writing or discussed orally, a public offer may mean certain actions. For example, according to the article, it also refers to goods and demonstration samples offered for retail sale in shop windows and on open shelves. It does not matter if price tags and detailed retail conditions are attached to them. The exceptions include cases of the seller's explicit refusal to sell the goods for any reason.

Examples of a public offer

Here are examples of the most common publicly expressed offers to sell:

menus in catering establishments: dishes with prices, quantities and methods of preparation;
an offer to buy products offered for sale at points and in store windows. Moreover, it refers to the offer, even if there are no price tags;
online stores: catalogs with goods indicating the price, delivery time, payment methods and warranty obligations of the seller;
an offer by banks and credit organizations to use their services with a clear description of the scope of the service and the procedure for its provision;
in domestic terms, we can give the following example: the owner of the garden offers his neighbors to buy an extra crop. Or friends inform that they can give you a bike or skateboard for a while on some specific conditions.

All these are peculiar types of public offer, that is, offers to purchase a product or service aimed at everyone. Often, when announcing, it is clearly written that this is a public offer.

What is behind the phrase "is not a public offer"

The phrase "is not a public offer" often appears in advertising messages, whether it's a video or a billboard. If we consider the general provisions in the light of the law, then advertising is not considered an offer, since its task is to present the advertised objects in the most advantageous perspective, and not at all to tell the mass viewer the detailed conditions for the acquisition.

But there are exceptions: some advertising messages, in fact, just state these very conditions, i.e. detail the points of a possible product purchase agreement. In this case, the advertisement falls into the category of a public offer, imposing on the advertiser the obligation to comply with all of the above conditions.

As an example, in the video, the price of a brand “X” TV is 30,000 rubles, while there is no clause “is not a public offer”. Then, according to the law, observing the rules of the offer, he must sell all TVs of this brand for exactly 30,000 rubles. Therefore, advertisers, in order not to limit themselves in the ability to change the price, make this small addition.

What is called an "offer agreement"

In fact, public offer is a preliminary contract representing a draft of a possible contract. It reflects the will of the seller. The contract itself is considered concluded when the potential buyer also agrees with all the clauses of the transaction. A written draft agreement provides a guarantee that the interaction of the parties will take place without problems and on conditions that are designated and understandable to both parties.

Forms of registration of a public offer

If such a preliminary agreement is drawn up in writing, then it can be in the form of:

a detailed document, which includes, in addition to the basic conditions, the most insignificant nuances;
letters describing the most important points of the planned transaction;
messages indicating only the main parameters of the proposal.

A public offer agreement is the acceptance of an offer from one company to another on mutually beneficial terms.

What conditions are described in the public offer:

the names and descriptions of the goods or services offered;
quality characteristics and cost;
offer period;
description of documents accompanying the subject of the contract;
the procedure for fulfilling warranty obligations, if any;
delivery options;
payment methods;
conditions for the return of goods, the algorithm and terms for their consideration, incl. in a court;
necessarily, the consent of the buyer to the processing of his personal data. It is necessary to indicate which personal data can be used.

How to write a business letter with a public offer

As a rule, any sample contract of a public offer for the provision of services or the purchase of goods contains a number of details that are mandatory in execution.

For example, according to the accepted rules, in an official letter containing an offer with the intention to carry out a transaction, the following information is present:

the heading of the letter indicating to whom it is addressed;
date of the letter and outgoing number according to the order of internal documentation;
if the proposal in the letter is a response to a written request for cooperation, then you need to make a reference to the number of this written request;
title, reflecting the title of the document;
in case of personal appeal, the name and position of the person addressed;
the content part of the proposal itself with a listing of all conditions;
surname, initials, position and signature of the person who sends the business letter.

Thus, an offer is a specific continuation, expressed in different forms and having a different type of implementation. When creating an offer, you need to remember all its requirements and conditions that must be met by the offeror when publishing the offer.