Advertisement to buy a product - Invitation or Offer?!

Hello all!

This may seem the most basic of questions... but please bear with me... new starter!! Any help would be much appreciated.

So, is an advertisement (in something like a newspaper) to purchase something an invitation to treat? For example: 'wanted: red sofa under 5 years old. Willing to pay around £750'.

Obviously I understand that the general rule on advertisements to sell is that they consitute an 'invitation to treat' (Partridge v Crittenden), with clearly stated interest being an offer (Gibson v MCC), however is this the case also when the advertisement is to purchase something, rather than to buy? It's notan invitation to tender is it?

Could anyone also provide any case law for this situation, as I'm struggling to find anything...

And in the example given, if I was to call the person and say 'I will sell my red sofa to you for £750' - is this then the offer, for the advertiser to accept? Or did I accept his offer to buy?

Thank you for the help, and sorry if this is a daft question!!

Cheers,

The advertisement should properly be construed as an invitation to treat - it certainly isn't an offer. It isn't clear enough to constitute an offer, nor does there appear to be any intention to create legal relations. It is too uncertain in this case, not least because it doesn't state anything about what type of red sofa bar the time limit nor does it give a fixed price. The comments in Patridge v Critteden are also relevant here in relation to advertisements in newspapers.

If someone calls up and says they have a red sofa which they will sell for £750 then they are effectively making the offer - in response to the invitation to treat - which the person making the advertisement may then accept or reject.

It would have to be very specific for the court to infer an intention to create legal relations from such an advertisement.