Business Law Contract Please Before Sending Handshake

You are a broke college student, who is a business major, in need of some extra tuition money for next quarter. Looking around your apartment, you notice that you have a set of encyclopedias that your grandmother gave you as a high school graduation present. Now that the internet has everything for your research needs, you realize that the books are more for decoration than actual use. You quickly put an ad in your local newspapers, in which you describe the encyclopedias as being a complete set, only two years old, perfect condition, and that the buyer must buy the whole set. The value of the set is approximately $600.00, but you list the price as $650.00 in case a potential buyer wants to negotiate. It will let the buyer feel as though they received a deal.

Within a week, Robert Barker, a high school history teacher contacts you and expresses an interest in the encyclopedias. He wants to use them in his classroom so that the students can use them during research competitions. After inspecting the set and with some negotiation, both parties decide on a final price of $600.00. Mr. Barker requests that you draw up a written contract because you have taken a business law course. He will need to submit this contract so that he can be reimbursed by his school for the cost of the books. You are meeting with him in one week so that both parties can sign the contract. At this time, you will exchange the books for cash

Based on the above facts, you sit down to draft a contract. Remember there are required elements to every contract. Refer to the Project Introduction for the recommended terms that should be included in this particular contract. How you include these terms is up to you.

While you are able to set up your own terms based on the information provided, the following terms should be included:

1. Parties – The names and addresses of all the contracting parties should be clearly stated. You can make these up for this contract.
2. Dates – List the date that the contract is being entered into
3. Definitions and Interpretations – If there are any defined terms in the contract this section should provide specific and clear definitions.
4. Payment Provisions – The exact price to be paid for the goods or services provided and the date or dates for payment to be made should be clearly set out. Remember, you want cash and not a check or credit card for this contract
5. A specific description of the goods – a solid description of the encyclopedias should be stated in this section. You may need to do some research to find out what a traditional set of encyclopedias looks like.
6. Term of contract – The length of the contract should be stated and it should also be noted whether there are any options to continue the contract. This is a contract for this specific instance and should be noted in the contract.
7. Limitation of liability – This section caps the liability of either party to the contract. For example, Mr. Barker has inspected the set of encyclopedias and accepts them “as is.” If he finds a defect with them at a later date, you have no further responsibility to him.