It's safe to assume that most people have accepted an offer sometime in their life. If you are currently working, you have accepted a contract presented by your employer. The initial offer is something that is relatively easy to understand. When someone presents you an offer (i.e.: pay $50 for your used hockey skates) and you accept, it's a done deal.
But, what happens when things get on a larger scale and someone counter-offers the initial offer? Does that mean the first offer is still on the table? Can one accept that offer later? I decided to take a deeper look to provide some additional information that could be helpful if you find yourself in a similar situation down the road.
Here's the scenario. You see an advertisement online for a canoe that you have been looking for. The listed price is $250. However, you were hoping to get the canoe for a bit less. So, you e-mail the seller and offer $200 for the canoe. Since you made a counter-offer, that cancels the initial offer. The initial offer is now off the table, unless the seller re-offers it to you. If the seller offers up another offer in response to yours for $200, then the $200 offer is in turn cancelled and off the table.
In terms of acceptance, there are different ways of accepting the offer, and different restrictions to acceptance. If a contract is signed in person, then the deal is accepted right then and there. If you receive an offer via e-mail, and you accept it in response to the email, the deal is accepted at the time that the e-mail is sent. If the offer is made to several people, and the first to respond is the one who wins the deal, the time stamp on the message would determine who was the first to respond.
One area of concern is accepting an offer through regular mail. Some have said that it is when the letter is sent that the offer is accepted, while others have said that when the recipient receives the letter is when the deal is accepted. This creates some grey areas, because what if the recipient goes on holidays, and comes back to open their mail and opens a letter of acceptance that was sent later than the first one? The recipient saw the other letter first, which means that they get the position since theirs was the first one that was opened. However, most letters are stamped or dated when they are mailed out, or can be sent by courier, which can indicate the date they were delivered. This form of acceptance is a bit sticky, and isn't usually used in today's society. E-mail confirmations or signed contracts are the more prominent ways of doing business these days.
Hopefully this provides a little more insight into what effect a counter-offer has on an initial offer, and how an offer is accepted through different channels of communication.
- T.B.
But, what happens when things get on a larger scale and someone counter-offers the initial offer? Does that mean the first offer is still on the table? Can one accept that offer later? I decided to take a deeper look to provide some additional information that could be helpful if you find yourself in a similar situation down the road.
Here's the scenario. You see an advertisement online for a canoe that you have been looking for. The listed price is $250. However, you were hoping to get the canoe for a bit less. So, you e-mail the seller and offer $200 for the canoe. Since you made a counter-offer, that cancels the initial offer. The initial offer is now off the table, unless the seller re-offers it to you. If the seller offers up another offer in response to yours for $200, then the $200 offer is in turn cancelled and off the table.
In terms of acceptance, there are different ways of accepting the offer, and different restrictions to acceptance. If a contract is signed in person, then the deal is accepted right then and there. If you receive an offer via e-mail, and you accept it in response to the email, the deal is accepted at the time that the e-mail is sent. If the offer is made to several people, and the first to respond is the one who wins the deal, the time stamp on the message would determine who was the first to respond.
One area of concern is accepting an offer through regular mail. Some have said that it is when the letter is sent that the offer is accepted, while others have said that when the recipient receives the letter is when the deal is accepted. This creates some grey areas, because what if the recipient goes on holidays, and comes back to open their mail and opens a letter of acceptance that was sent later than the first one? The recipient saw the other letter first, which means that they get the position since theirs was the first one that was opened. However, most letters are stamped or dated when they are mailed out, or can be sent by courier, which can indicate the date they were delivered. This form of acceptance is a bit sticky, and isn't usually used in today's society. E-mail confirmations or signed contracts are the more prominent ways of doing business these days.
Hopefully this provides a little more insight into what effect a counter-offer has on an initial offer, and how an offer is accepted through different channels of communication.
- T.B.