Court case[1953] 1 QB 401

Boots ran a self-service chemist's shop. Customers picked medicines from open shelves, put them in a basket and paid at a cash desk, where a registered pharmacist was stationed and could refuse any sale. The Pharmacy and Poisons Act 1933 made it an offence to sell listed poisons unless the sale was effected under the supervision of a registered pharmacist. The Pharmaceutical Society argued that the sale was complete when the customer took the article from the shelf, so that it was not supervised.

The Court of Appeal, affirming Lord Goddard CJ, held that the display was an invitation to treat. The customer made the offer by presenting the goods at the cash desk, and the shop accepted (or, through the pharmacist, refused) there. The sale was therefore made under the pharmacist's supervision and no offence was committed. Somervell LJ pointed out that the contrary view would mean a customer could not put an article back once it was in the basket.