An offer must be very clearly made. An offer can be made to one person, a group or to the whole world. For example, offering a reward for a lost wallet is an offer to anyone finding the wallet. In cases where there is a counter-offer the original offer is no longer valid. A counter offer is an implied rejection of the original offer. Foe example: John offers to sell Paula a laptop for $10,000. Paula subsequently offers him $8000.00 as she thought $10,000 was too expensive. Paula has rejected John’s original offer and has made a counter-offer of $8,000.
Acceptance must also be clear. In the case of a counter offer a clear acceptance to the new offer must be identified.
Contracts may be made orally, in writing or they may be implied.
Oral Contracts
Are based on what the parties said. For example, asking someone to wash your car for payment
Written Contracts
Both offerer and offeree must sign the contract document
Implied Contracts
Implied Contracts are made by the observed actions of the parties involved. For example, someone who sits at a table in a restaurant and places an order has implied that he will pay for the food that will be served.