"It is not a public offer" - what does the expression mean?

"Information is not a public offer!" - often we hear this phrase in advertisements on the radio and see it on TV. The first thing that comes to mind for many is that “pitfalls” are hiding somewhere or they are deceiving us and not finishing something. In fact, such thoughts are not far from the truth. In the article we will answer the question of what it means "is not a public offer." We will also tell you about the purposes for which this phrase is needed in advertising messages and what will happen if it is not used.

concept

So, we saw or heard the phrase "is not a public offer." What does it mean? To begin with, it is necessary to disassemble the concept itself.

An offer is an offer by one of the parties to make a purchase to the other party. This is how Russian legislation interprets this concept. In other words, an offer is an offer from the seller (offer) to the buyer (acceptor).

An acceptor does not have to be one person. Under this concept, the Civil Code also implies an unlimited circle of persons. It is the latter circumstance that gives such a concept as a public offer. Let's analyze it in more detail.

What is a public offer?

Under what conditions is a proposal not a public offer? The answer to this question can be found in the definition.

A public offer is an offer of a product in its advertising, catalogs and descriptions addressed to an indefinite circle of persons, if it contains all the terms of the retail sale contract.

For example, you saw a catalog with cosmetics. It contains all the information about the product: price, characteristics, composition. You responded to the offer, but you received a response from the manufacturer: "We apologize, but this offer is not a public offer." Next, you learn that a manufacturer is testing the price of a new product in the market, and he realizes that the initially advertised price is lower than what he could sell it for.

In this example, the phrase "offers are not a public offer" will not help him. Art. 494 of the Civil Code obliges the seller to make a deal with anyone. In this case, you can safely apply to Rospotrebnadzor and the court for compensation for non-pecuniary damage.

However, it is worth noting that if the seller refers to the limited nature of the goods, then in this case it is useless to apply to the regulatory authorities and the court. The seller will not bear any responsibility in the event that the warehouses simply ran out of goods. Therefore, you may receive an answer with an apology that this product simply does not exist from the catalog, despite the fact that no one was going to sell it to you. Proving otherwise would be extremely difficult.

Signs of a public offer

Sometimes the explanation “is not a public offer” is illegal. Article 437 part 1 of the Civil Code gives us clear parameters for the offer:

• the presence in the information of all essential terms of the agreement;
• the advertiser's clear desire to sign an agreement with everyone on the specified conditions;
• unlimited circle of people.

For example, if there is an announcement in the advertisement: “we give a second identical refrigerator to anyone who buys the first one”, then in this case the information can be classified precisely as a public offer, and not as an informational announcement, even though somewhere there will be a warning to the contrary.

Public offer in retail stores

Almost all people go to ordinary stores for shopping. Goods on store shelves are a vivid example of a public offer, even though they do not have price tags. However, this rule has one very significant exception: if the seller independently determines that the product is not sellable, then it will not be possible to buy it.

Is the price a public offer?

There is one sore point in many shopping centers - the discrepancy between the real price and the declared one. In other words, you take the goods for 50 rubles, and at the checkout they tell you that there was a revaluation in the morning, and the employees did not have time to change the price tags. Now this product costs 60 rubles. This situation happens all the time. Sometimes such disagreements between the seller and the buyer are resolved by the world, but there are also conflicts on this basis. Often the situation is aggravated by the cashiers themselves, stating that the prices are not a public offer. In fact, this is not so: prices, according to the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, are a documented offer. If the seller has set a condition for the sale of goods - a price, then he is simply obliged to sell it according to this condition (price).

Advertising and public offer: what is the difference?

Many citizens cannot distinguish ordinary advertising from a public offer. These are different things. And not always the phrase “a public offer is not an offer” is legal and justified. Also, the absence of such a phrase does not mean the opposite. Let's analyze this in more detail.

Advertising - an information offer - is information of an introductory nature in order to convey to the mass user the advantageous characteristics. They may not contain the inscription “is not a public offer”. However, this will not mean that the seller is obliged to fulfill everything that he promised. As a rule, advertisers often play it safe, as court practice shows that courts often punish dishonest people.