Many stores around the country display large signs with the words “you break it you buy it.”

But if you break a store item in Australia, you are not legally required to purchase it.

A binding contract only forms when one person makes an offer and another communicates an intention to accept it. When you select a product in a shop and pay for it at the counter you enter a binding contract with the shop owner.

A legal relationship only arises once you take an item to the checkout (make an offer) and the shop assistant takes payment (accepts that offer).

The display of goods for sale – whether in a shop window, on the shelves of a supermarket, petrol station or clothing rack – are considered invitations to treat and do not constitute an offer. An invitation to treat is merely an indication of a shop owner’s willingness to negotiate a contract.

The delightful meaning of this missive!?

If you accidentally break something expensive while browsing (because, let’s face it, those tiny antique stores can be really hard to negotiate with a sizeable satchel), you can now keep your credit card holstered and frolic out the front door conscience-free since no legal relationship has been created!

So Next Time You Shop, Remember:

Goods on display do not form a binding contract, they are purely an invitation to treat. If you break something, you do not have to buy it.

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