I have a question about the legal status of one-click contracts - the result of ordering something from a website. The site (should have)/has a legal-sounding description of the terms of the transaction, maybe buried away, maybe easily accessible.
But how does clicking the "buy" button establish a contract? There will probably be some language stating that "by clicking here you agree to be bound by the terms stated", but this seems too one-sided to be enforceable - the buyer has no input to the terms. It seems too much like, for instance, a store owner putting up a sign saying "If you lean your bike against my window you agree to pay me $100", and then claiming that anyone who does so owes him $100.
If the "contract" requires me to pay in advance, the situation seems even more one-sided. I am now entirely at the mercy of the seller, who may fail to provide the desired object or service. If I change my mind about the transaction and wish to withdraw, I am entirely at his mercy if he decides to keep my money, or a portion of it.
How can such an unequal "contract" be enforceable?
But how does clicking the "buy" button establish a contract? There will probably be some language stating that "by clicking here you agree to be bound by the terms stated", but this seems too one-sided to be enforceable - the buyer has no input to the terms. It seems too much like, for instance, a store owner putting up a sign saying "If you lean your bike against my window you agree to pay me $100", and then claiming that anyone who does so owes him $100.
If the "contract" requires me to pay in advance, the situation seems even more one-sided. I am now entirely at the mercy of the seller, who may fail to provide the desired object or service. If I change my mind about the transaction and wish to withdraw, I am entirely at his mercy if he decides to keep my money, or a portion of it.
How can such an unequal "contract" be enforceable?