Seller is asked; full price 300k offer came, initial buyer countered 280k; before buyer signs, seller got full-price 300k; he contacts the first buyer to revoke the counteroffer before acceptance. Which is true?

• A. As long as the first buyer has not accepted the counteroffer yet, the seller has the right to revoke it and accept the second, full-price offer.
• B. The seller must honor the counteroffer.
• C. The seller cannot revoke the counteroffer.
• D. The seller must wait for the buyer's acceptance.

Answer: (A)

A counteroffer creates a new offer and ends the original offer. The person who makes the counteroffer can revoke it at any time before the offeree accepts. In this scenario, the first buyer has not yet accepted the counteroffer, so the seller can revoke that counteroffer and move forward with the full-price offer from someone else. If the buyer had already accepted the counteroffer, a binding contract would exist and revocation wouldn’t be possible. The other options assume the counteroffer must stay in effect or be honored, which isn’t true before acceptance.