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An offer is deemed to be accepted when the offer is unconditional
and unequivocal; the offer is accepted by the person to whom it
was addressed; the acceptance is in response to the offer; and the
acceptance complies with set formalities (if any). Considering the endless
variety of announcements, advertisements and other forms of promotion
and communication encountered daily on social media platforms, it is not
easy to establish when an offer has been made and accepted to establish
a binding contract.
In a recent South African case, a sporting club announced the extension
of one of its players’ contracts for the next season on social media.
However at the end of the season, the contract was not extended. Our Commercial
courts held that the mere announcement of the extension by the club on
social media did not constitute a contract of employment, as there were
other formalities the club required to be complied with before a contract
extension was valid.
In addition, the fact that the club had made an announcement on social
media that the player’s contract had been extended did not meet the
requirements of a ‘data message’ that concluded an agreement in terms
of the ECT Act. The announcement by the club therefore did not constitute
a valid offer which could be accepted and did not create an enforceable
contract.

In your case however it could be argued that the Facebook post created
a general invitation to the public to contract, but that a valid contract
came into existence once you and the breeder had through messaging
established the details of the offer, and which were accepted by the parties
to create a binding electronic contract. However, as you can see from the
above, each case must be considered on its own merits and the detail
of your communications with the breeder will hold the key as to whether
there are sufficient grounds confirming the existence of a valid contract
and which meets the requirements set out above.

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