Under common law, if an offeree's acceptance changes a term of the offer, what is the result according to the mirror image rule?

• A. It is a rejection
• B. It is an acceptance with modification
• C. It creates a new contract on different terms
• D. It is ignored

Answer: (A)

Under the mirror image rule, an acceptance must conform exactly to the terms offered. If the offeree changes any term—price, quantity, date, etc.—the response isn’t an acceptance at all; it’s a rejection of the original offer and a counteroffer. That means no contract forms on the original terms, because the original offer is terminated by the counteroffer unless the offeror later accepts it. So the result is a rejection (and the offeree’s reply acts as a counteroffer), not an acceptance with modification, not a new contract on different terms, and not something to be ignored.