Invitation to Treat

An invitation to treat is a preliminary communication made by one party to another with the aim of eliciting an offer to enter into a contract. It is not an offer but rather an invitation to negotiate or make an offer. In other words, an invitation to treat is a statement or action that indicates a willingness to receive offers from another party but does not amount to a legally binding offer.

Examples of invitation to treat include advertisements, price lists, and catalogs, which are not offers but rather an indication of the goods or services that are available for sale. When a customer responds to an invitation to treat by making an offer to purchase the goods or services, the seller can either accept or reject the offer. The seller's acceptance of the offer creates a legally binding contract between the parties.

An invitation to treat is not the same as an offer. An offer is a specific proposal made by one party to another with the intention of creating a legally binding contract. An invitation to treat, on the other hand, is a preliminary communication that does not create any legal obligation until an offer is accepted.
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