Facts
- It was illegal to offer a flick knife for sale in England
- A shopkeeper displayed a flick knife in his shop window, with a pricetag behind it
- The shopkeeper was charged with offering an offensive weapon for sale
Issue
- Was the display of the knife an offer, or was it an invitation to treat?
Held
- Although a lay person may have viewed the knife as being offered for sale, it was not a legal offer under contract law
- It was instead an invitation to treat – i.e. the display of the knife was to tempt possible buyers to make an offer, it was not an offer in itself. It could not automatically be accepted and a contract created.
- Therefore the shop keeper was not in brach of the Act.
- In deciding this case, Lord Parker employed a literal approach to interpretation.
Significance
- This case is illustrative of the difference between an offer and an invitation to treat. It shows, in principle, goods displayed in a shop window are usually not offers.
-- Download Fisher v Bell [1961] QB 394 as PDF --

